Money (Hey, I'm a merc, y'know)
Toying with his foes
Anything that might excite him
Comic books
Boredom
Zagan's jerkass tendencies
Terrible writing
Martial arts
Peak agility and reflexes
Razor-sharp claws
Collecting comic books
— Dustin Wylde, Clash of Mythics: Genesis
Most fighters around the world tend to rely mostly on discipline and the mind. With Dustin Wylde, however, when push comes to shove, it’s all about making the best out of one’s instincts. He appears as a major character and one of the playable characters in the Clash of Mythics series, starting with Clash of Mythics: Genesis - the first installment of the series. Like another mercenary he knows, Dustin initially set out to hunt Burst for her bounty but would soon find himself in the middle of a grander scheme.
Appearance[]
Dustin is a Mobian hyena who stands at around five feet, six inches tall. The fur on majority of his body sports a dark, reddish-brown shade, while his muzzle and the tip of his tail sport a dark grey coloration. Additional tufts of dark grey fur can be found on each side of his muzzle, below his ears, and on his back. Dustin also sports a long, shaggy hairdo that reaches past his shoulders and also sports a dark grey coloration, as well as a pair of eyes that sport bright, yellow irises, large pointy ears with black insides, and a pair of fingers that he can turn into a pair of razor-sharp claws at will.
The most noticeable component of Dustin's mercenary outfit is a simple dark blue coat with elbow-length sleeves, underneath which a white, short-sleeved dress shirt can be seen. Meanwhile, he also sports a pair of black fingerless gloves - which are meant to allow room for his claws, a set of black, straight-cut pants, and a pair of brown boots with metallic-grey toes and heels.
Personality[]
Dustin is commonly seen as someone who is carefree and laidback to a fault. Most of the time, he can be seen not making a lot of effort to take many of the situations he finds himself in seriously, preferring to crack a joke or two - sometimes at someone else’s expense, though he usually means no harm in it. In fact, it wouldn’t be hard to assume that he’s disinterested in anything aside from “the thrill of the hunt”, as he likes to call it.
Speaking of which, while both he and Zagan, whom he affectionately refers to “Dave” - as he himself is not aware of the Gravebringer’s true identity - are mercenaries by occupation, the manner in which he approaches his job couldn’t be any more different. While Zagan tends to focus on getting a job done as quickly as possible, Dustin prefers to toy with his enemies and have some fun during his fights.
In addition, Dustin is visibly much kinder and less of a condescending jerk than Zagan. All in all, he is quick to make friends with almost all of the people he meets, and is generally easygoing and fun to be around, in spite of his flamboyant tendencies.
Meanwhile, Dustin is still plenty capable of recognizing when a situation has become particularly dire and will drop these tendencies, albeit only temporarily, if the situation calls for it. In addition, his carefree personality actually hides a more savage side to him, one where his more beastly instincts essentially run wild - something he lets happen only when he gets desperate.
History[]
Appearances[]
Canon appearances are in bold.
Fan Games[]
- Clash of Mythics series
Skills and Abilities[]
Dustin lacks any notable powers or abilities beyond being able to control ki to enhance his own natural physical ability, launching an energy wave that travels along the ground at admittedly-quick speeds, or sensing the life energy of other individuals, all of which many other and more powerful ki-users are more than capable of. In spite of that, Dustin is still not one to immediately dismiss because of that.
While his raw physical strength is admittedly not much to warrant a reaction from, Dustin is incredibly nimble and can strike his opponent at an intense rate of speed while maintaining a high level of precision. Not to mention, he is incredibly skilled in the martial art known as the Hunting Predator Arts, which prioritizes making the most out of one’s more beastly instincts, as well as quick, precise movements, both of which Dustin greatly excels at. Mix that with the razor-sharp claws on his fingers, and Dustin is quite dangerous in his own right.
Notable techniques that Dustin sports in his skillset include - but are not limited to - the Wylde Fury, a lightning-fast rushing attack where he rapidly strikes the opponent with his razor-sharp claws before following up to several possible follow-up moves, the Storm Claw, a quick projectile that covers great distances along the ground once fired. The former technique sports several variations, including the Wylde Tornado, where he spins around like a twister while striking the opponent with his claws, the Wylde Rush, a quicker variation more focused on closing in on the opponent quickly, as well as the Wylde Frenzy and Wylde Wrath, which are essentially more powerful version of the base move.
Moveset[]
Statistics[]
- Stats are based from 1-10. 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest.
Attack: 4 - As mentioned before, Dustin’s raw physical strength isn’t exactly the most impressive thing in the world.
Defense: 6 - Dustin is not the most durable person either, and his speedy fighting style sort of leaves little room for defensive options.
Speed: 8 - This particular area, meanwhile, is where Dustin highly excels, as seen by the sheer speed of several of his attacks, as well as his ability to cover distances quickly.
Magic: 2 - Dustin’s prowess in manipulating his ki isn’t all that impressive either, unfortunately.
Evasion: 9 - Dustin’s capabilities in regards to agility and reflexes are slightly more impressive, as he is plenty capable of dodging several incoming attacks, including short-range - not necessarily point-blank - gunfire, with ease.
Intelligence: 7 - While Dustin is quite carefree and laidback, he is definitely far from stupid and does indeed take a moment to think before going in for the kill. It’s just that his instincts begin to do the talking once he gets into action.
Skills: 8 - Dustin is definitely one of the most skilled fighters, in spite of his weaknesses, mostly due to his ability to refine his instincts when fighting. In addition, he also seems to be a competent mercenary.
Accuracy: 8 - Seeing as how precision is one of the Hunting Predator Arts main priorities, it’s only natural that Dustin’s precision and accuracy is mostly on point.
Stamina: 7 - Dustin’s physical conditioning over years of training has allowed him to keep himself going for an impressively long time, but he does have his limits.
Tolerance: 6 - As Dustin is still an average Mobian with no supernatural powers, in spite of all his physical conditioning, his tolerance for physical trauma only slightly exceeds that of the average person.
Overall: 65%
Weaknesses[]
One obvious weaknesses that Dustin sports is his overall-unimpressive raw physical strength. While he is capable of tearing his opponent to pieces quickly with his claws, he is a lot less capable of knocking the enemy out with a single punch. In addition, his speed-oriented fighting style and focus on rushing the enemy down means his defenses are only slightly-above average at best.
Most notable of all is his lack of any supernatural powers or abilities. Though he is an incredibly-skilled fighter, his lack of such talents - his limited ki manipulation notwithstanding - means he can be outmatched by more powerful individuals, and quite badly, at that.
Quotes[]
Trivia[]
- As strange as it may be, the primary inspiration for the creation of Dustin was actually - of all people - Yamcha from the Dragon Ball series.
- Admittedly, this was primarily because Crimson couldn’t help but feel pity for how much the status of Memetic Loser has been cemented to the character for several years.
- Dustin even has Yamcha’s moveset from Dragon Ball FighterZ, as well as a few additions.
- Meanwhile, Dustin sports personality traits similar to that of Dante from the Devil May Cry series, as well as Ken Masters from Street Fighter.
- He even has the same voice actor who voiced the both of them, Reuben Langdon.
- Yes, Dustin shares his surname with Kurt Wylde and Mark Wylde from the animated film, Hot Wheels: World Race, and its sequel series, Hot Wheels: AcceleRacers.