Hoodlums

The Hoodlums are the (fictional) main villains of the video game Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc by Ubisoft. Hoodlums are large sacks of cloth under which huddles a Black Lum. They come in many different types and colours as well as abilities and strengths.

The Black Lums
A Black Lum is a small, fluffy, sapient, black Lum, of low intelligence and high malevolence, and capable of reproducing at an alarming rate. Initially, the only one is André, but he soon creates more by transforming the Red Lums in the Crossroads of Dreams into creatures like himself. Black Lums themselves are basically harmless, although swarms can strip an Aardvark of fur in a matter of seconds, and André is able to attack Fairies without difficulty. However, they weave animal hair into outfits that resemble potato sacks, which, when coupled with the amazing powers of Laser Washing Powder, function as combat fatigues. A Black Lum wearing one of these outfits is known as a Hoodlum. In the Desert of the Knaaren, Rayman gains the power to transform Black Lums into Red Lums by pulling a face.

Types of Hoodlum
There are many varieties of Hoodlum, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Examples include:

Armaguiddon
The Hoodlums loaded this next-generation combat fighter with every- thing they could think of, like triple-plum condensers, rechargeable Fulgure- 27-cannons, phase gigatubes, gyro-grommets, and all sorts of stuff engineered for maximum havoc.

Appearances : Hoodlum Headquarters.

Grims
Under the training of their wily Grimkeepers, the scrappy little Grims make up of their small size with a highly expolosive personality. They appear as tiny green hoodlums carrying bombs.

Grim Keeper
These are large, tough and strong Hoodlums with giant wooden shields who attack by unleashing little, grenade-bearing Hoodlums called "Grims" from under their robes. Retired private tutors, Grim Keepers joined the Hoodlums to practice the negotiated delivery of tidbits on a large scale. Grim Keepers also keep a jug of plum juice handy to drink away the shellshock after losing precious Grims in combat. They also enjoy tennis.

They dress in red and wield a large, wooden shield to deflect attacks.

Appearances : Land Of The Livid Dead, Hoodlum Headquarters, Tower Of The Leptys.

Heckler
Hecklers are especially large and powerful Hoodlums, who are invulnerable to most attacks. They can only be defeated using the Heavy Metal Fist, and even then they are still not weak. The cannons they use, although undeniably powerful, are actually constructed from seatless toilets.

In their armor they appear covered in a patchwork of wood and metal planks with a big metal cannon mounted on their shoulder. When their armor is off, they appear as bulky olive-green hoodlums.

Appearances : Land Of The Livid Dead, Hoodlum Headquarters, Tower Of The Leptys.

Hoodboom
These mirthful Hoodlums throw grenades containing volatile cocktails at foes. They are also exceptionally intelligent, and the only Hoodlums capable of counting up to three. They are also noted for their fondness for poetry. The Hoodboom's collective works are published in an anthology entitled Don't Take It Anti-Personelly, which has certainly sold more than three copies.

They appear red and yellow with a belt full of bombs slung over their shoulder. The tops of their heads appear to have been blown open with plumes of smoke issuing out.

Appearances : Clear Leaf Forest, Land Of The Livid Dead, Summit Beyond The Clouds, Hoodlum Headquarters.

Hoodmonger Officers
These are the highest ranking Hoodmongers, as evidenced by their decorations (which take the form of brightly coloured clothes). Officers attack using firearms that launch bullets in three directions, making them difficult to dodge.

Appearances : Land Of The Livid Dead, Desert Of The Knaaren, Summit Beyond The Clouds, Hoodlum Headquarters, The Tower Of The Leptys.

Hoodmonger Private First Class "Hoodblasters"
These are the most common enemies in Rayman 3. They are exceptional marksmen, and excellent shots with rifles. Privates First Class are also fond of card games. They are often employed for manual labour. A Private First Class is the star of the Wanna Kick Rayman series of DVDs, a series of lessons providing ideas for killing Rayman. These videos typically feature various creatures dressed up as Rayman, on which the Private First Class demonstrates various methods of execution. Not all of these methods prove successful.

Appearances : Fairy Council, Clear Leaf Forest, Bog Of Murk, Land Of The Livid Dead, Desert Of The Knaaren, Summit Beyond The Clouds, Hoodlum Headquarters, The Tower Of The Leptys.

Hoodmonger Soldier
Soldiers are ground-based Hoodlums who walk everywhere. They use rifles which fire small clusters of ammunition at targets. Soldiers are also trained in camouflage, and wear bright purple outfits to disguise their varicose veins.

Appearances : Clear Leaf Forest, Land Of The Livid Dead, Summit Beyond The Clouds, Hoodlum Headquarters, The Tower Of The Leptys.

Hoodloon
Equipped with pairs of leathery, batlike wings, the Hoodloon division is on a mission to achieve air superiority and do not carry guns or shoot. Unfortunately, the Hoodloons are so batty about their ability to fly that they'd rather be superheroes than soldiers.

Appearances : Summit Beyond The Clouds, Hoodlum Headquarters.

Hoodoo
Gifted sorcerers, they protect other Hoodlums using magic force fields. They are also of note for being the only Hoodlums capable of appearing and disappearing who don't have careers in politics and steal from the state coffers.

Appearances : Land Of The Livid Dead, Desert Of The Knaaren, Summit Beyond The Clouds, Hoodlum Headquarters, The Tower Of The Leptys.

Hoodstomper (Masterkaag)
The Masterkaag is masterful indeed a simple yet smashing war machine controlled by a small Hoodlum atop two destructive stomping legs. The Hoodlums are so thrilled with theire precious powerhouse that they obsessively scrub it down in nearby ponds.

Appearances : Clear Leaf Forest.

Hoodstormer
These are particularly annoying Hoodlums that are capable of flight. However, the propellers they wear to achieve this make walking difficult. Hoodstormers attack with shoulder-mounted cannons. When hit, they say "Yay," "Ya-hoo".

Appearances : Land Of The Livid Dead, Desert Of The Knaaren, Hoodlum Headquarters, The Tower Of The Leptys.

Hoodstriker
Trained Hoodstormers on JetBikes, Using Blue Laser Cannons to attack flying Victims. Hoodstrikers needs to lock their targets and then launch the Blue Laser Cannnon on its Opponent, They are also hard to hit. They do also like to race.

Appearances : The Tower Of The Leptys.

Mecha-Destroyer
Giant, tough Submarine mech which launches homing missiles and laser beams. In his mouth, There's a little armored Hoodlum, That has a heavy plasma cannon on his shoulder, He's the one who controls the big machine so he's actually it's only weak spot.

Appearances : Land Of The Livid Dead.

Lavomatrix (Lavicraft)
Lavomatrices are customised washing machines. They can fly, shoot, and launch tractor beams. They have won the hearts of a number of housewives, making them invaluable in swelling the ranks of the Hoodlum army.

Appearances : Desert Of The Knaaren, Summit Beyond The Clouds, The Tower Of The Leptys.

Slapdash
Also one of the most common enemies in Rayman 3, Slapdashes are unbelievably stupid, even by Hoodlum standards. By far the weakest type of Hoodlum, they do not carry guns, preferring to launch boxing gloves on sticks at adversaries, a practice which stems from their taking of the staff order to "gain the upper hand" literally, when it was intended only as a figurative expression. However, the boxing gloves inflict as much damage as the fire of a Hoodmonger Private First Class does when they hit Rayman.

Appearances : Fairy Council, Clear Leaf Forest, Bog Of Murk, Land Of The Livid Dead, Desert Of The Knaaren, Summit Beyond The Clouds, Hoodlum Headquarters, The Tower Of The Leptys.

Hoodlock (Spineroos)
Hoodlocks are paranoid prison guards, which spin around at high speed to ensure that nobody sneaks up on them from behind. They wear chainmail which protects them from most of Rayman's attacks, although they can be destroyed by a loaded Heavy Metal Fist.

Appearances : Bog Of Murk, Desert Of The Knaaren, Summit Beyond The Clouds, Hoodlum Headquarters.

Stumbleboom
These are Hoodbooms on stilts, allowing them to cross dangerous terrain. They are beyond the reach of most of Rayman's attacks, but the Vortex power-up destroys their stilts, turning them into regular Hoodbooms.

Appearances : Bog Of Murk, Desert Of The Knaaren, Summit Beyond The Clouds, Hoodlum Headquarters.

André
André is the primary antagonist of the game, as well as the first (in the opening cutscene) and last (in and outside of cutscenes) enemy to appear. He is small but strong, extremely bad-tempered, and fond of making wisecracks and drinking fermented plum juice.

He is first fought by Rayman inside the Fairy Council. For the duration of this fight he is disguised as a Hoodmonger Private First Class. Afterwards, he flees through the Fairy council, hoping to transform the energy from the Heart of the World into an army of Hoodlums and use them to get revenge on Rayman. Unfortunately for André, before he can reach the Heart he is accidentally ingested by Globox.

Following the advice of the Teensie monks who guard the Heart, Rayman and Globox go visit various "witch doctors" (which closer resemble professional doctors), who eventually manage to force André to leave by playing classical music. André, however, escapes and employs Reflux, and the Hoodlums regroup.

Eventually, Rayman tracks André down and turns him into a Red Lum, much to Globox's dismay, as he had grown fond of André. This is not the end of the André, however, as Rayman's hands sneak off whilst Rayman is asleep and transform André back again.

Reflux
Reflux is not himself a Hoodlum, but he is an important member of their army, and he does wear a hood occasionally. Reflux is actually a Knaaren, and the champion of Gumzi's Arena. Following his defeat by Rayman, he is treated with contempt by Gumzi and takes to mooching around in the tunnels. It is here that he meets André, and the two join forces.

Reflux steals the Ancestral Sceptre from Gumzi and summons the Leptys, the god of the Knaaren. The Leptys gives him the power of great strength, as well as providing André with energy to multiply. In this form, Reflux serves as the true end boss of Rayman 3.

Toots
Toots is never seen save for in the form of pictures. She is the only female Hoodlum ever mentioned, and operates the intercom in Hoodlum Headquarters, claiming to work at the welcome desk. She is once mentioned by name, by André, near the end of the level. Globox falls in love with her voice, and is eager to meet her. However, when he reaches the room which purports to contain the welcome `desk, Toots is not present. However, there is a cut-out of a female, bikini-clad glewt. Believing this to be Toots, Globox rushes forward and attempts to hug the cut-out, and falls into a strategically-placed trap door. Toots also appears as a target in the firing range. Hoodlums are penalised for shooting it, as it is intended to represent an ally.