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Skipper Skip-king is the leader of a band of penguins bent on a secret agenda of escaping the confines of the zoo and being free in Antarctica. He is the second shortest and chubbiest of the group (Only Private is shorter and chubbier) and he has ice blue eyes. It is probable that Skipper and the rest of his squad are warm climate penguins, for they do not live in an air-conditioned habitat. This is supported in one episode, where the city was having one of the coldest days ever, and the penguins used heat lamps to warm up their habitat, and also in the movie where the penguins aren't bothered by the warmth of Africa and Madagascar, but intensely dislike Antarctica. He is the only penguin that remembers the penguins credo Never swim alone (A Christmas Caper). His men remembered that when Skipper went alone. (Crown Fools) The only penguin who can get him to do anything is Private. (Night and Dazed)

Early Life

Not much is known about Skipper's early life, but we do know from their movie how he met Private and how Skipper, Kowalski, and Rico adopted him as their younger brother, A fourth member to their team. He has revealed that - due to as-yet-unspecified circumstances involving explosions, a high-speed chase and Hans the Puffin - he is unable to set foot in Denmark after being declared Public Enemy Number One by Queen Margrethe II. In the Episode "Skipper Makes Perfect" it is revealed that the incident had something to do with open faced Sandwiches.

Skipper also mentions, in the episode Mr. Tux, that he once woke up in Kyoto hotel room on a bed of counterfeit Deutschmarks. This must have been many years ago because Deutschmarks are no longer in use.

Another of Skipper's enigmas is the two former penguin agents Manfredi and Johnson. Skipper has mentioned them on many occasions. They died under unknown circumstances (but is later found out in The Penguin Who Loved Me that the two aren't really dead, but trapped at Sea Vill). The only reason for this is that Skipper changes the reason every time he talks about them. He is also arch-enemies with the mad dolphin super villain Doctor Blowhole, although the circumstances under which they formed this enmity are unknown.

We don't know how all of this came into play, or where his brothers were during it.

Also, we see what Skipper looked like as a baby, in the episode Rock A Bye Birdie .

In Littlefoot, we find out that Skipper was in Mexico for 8 years learning how to play a Spanish guitar.

Skipper's age is unknown, but his sometimes old fashioned sexism and resentment towards counterculture hippies suggests that he is the oldest of the four penguins.

at some unspecified point Skipper and his team were in Cuba

Later Years

It is unknown how he got to the Zoo in the first place.

Life with other penguins

Kowalski

As his second in command, Kowalski is a respected penguin, but because of Kowalski's crazy murdering inventions, Skipper has his suspicions about anything Kowalski makes, but still tries to treat him equally and knows that he is a important member of their brotherhood and team.

Rico

Rico has the third rank, and despite being lower than Kowalski. Rico and Skipper seem to have a close relationship,(probably because they share a love of violence). Rico and Skipper have a best friend relationship, as Skipper is the older brother that makes sure the younger does not get in trouble (Skipper makes sure that Rico does not harm innocent people).Rico is the best in combat in the group and the second most emotional after Private. However, in the episode "Needle Point", Skipper shows the ability to take him down, along with Private and Kowalski singlehandedly, demonstrating that he may be inferior to the leader.

Private

Private and Skipper seem to have the closest relationship out of all the penguins. They have best brother relationship as well. Skipper helps Private become more and more experienced as he thinks of Private as naive and gulliable so Private would die more easily than the others. Ever since, Skipper, Kowalski, and Rico had decided to adopt Private as their little brother, Skipper treated Private differently, because he was a little bit younger then him and the others. But Skipper learns that Privates is a important member too. In the series, sometimes, apparently they have a kind father-son relationship. 

Background

Madagascar (film)

As leader, Skipper was the mastermind behind a plot to escape the confines of the zoo and leave for Antarctica with three other penguins as his accomplices. As it were, Skipper and his troupe of penguins dug and dug under their enclosure until they reached the enclosure of Marty the zebra, thinking it to be the South Pole. Skipper explained to Marty that they would escape the zoo on the grounds that penguins don't belong in captivity and with that, ordered his accomplices to continue tunneling. Late that night, Skipper and the other penguins were caught by a SWAT team, as were six other animals also found outside the zoo. The penguins were tranquilized and put into a crate to be transferred.

When they awoke, Kowalski was confused at the lettering on the crate where they were held and ordered a nearby chimpanzee named Mason to read it, with Mason's companion Phil reading it: they were all bound for a wildlife preserve in Africa (African habitat is not for penguins, but some think that Africa was simply the first stop, and Antarctica was going to be a later stop, while others think it was simply confusion). Skipper ordered Rico, another penguin to pick the lock on the crate where they were held, whereupon the four penguins knocked out the crew and took command of the ship, commandeering it to reach Antarctica. Skipper and his mates finally reached Antarctica and were sorely disappointed by the barren, desolate terrain.

Skipper had the ship return quickly from the South Pole where it crashed into the beaches of Madagascar and a much warmer climate. Upon arriving, he and the other three encountered Gloria and Melman, and saw that Alex and Marty (known as their "monochromatic friend") were gone. Skipper decided to help rescue Marty from the grim fate of being eaten by the native fossa. (Possibly as gratitude for his silence regarding the escape.) It was Skipper who helped to distract the fossa while Marty was recovered and then helped fight off a number of them.

Skipper noticed later on that Alex was still hungry, not being able to eat steak, and had Rico prepare fresh slices of fish in the form of sushi for Alex. Skipper then relinquished control of the ship to Alex, as he no longer needed it (it being out of fuel), and proceeded to sunbathe on the tropical beaches in comfort. Skipper was asked by Private, one of his accomplices, if they should tell Alex and his friends that the ship was out of gas. Skipper declined, telling his troup to "Just smile and wave boys, smile and wave."

In the sequel, Skipper leads the penguins in repairing a crashed air plane with parts of the ship and Kowalski's ingenuity and then fixing the plane when it crashes at Africa with the help of "more thumbs" (Mason and Phil recruited more chimps to help out). At the end of the movie, he marries a bobble head doll. Then the penguins and the chimps fly off in the newly-fixed plane - re-engineered as a military helicopter - with the diamonds and gold the animals found while looking for water, headed for Monte Carlo on Skipper's honeymoon, promising that they'll be back when the money runs out. But his wife has probably died or something has happened, as Skipper now does not care for her as Rico cares for Ms Perky.

In the third movie, it is revealed that Skipper, his younger brothers, and a group of chimpanzees were still in the Monte Carlo casino. With one of the chimpanzees dressed as the "King of Versailles", they were able to amass a fortune of jewels, diamonds and gold and were planning to buy an aircraft to pick up the "hippies" (Alex, Marty, Gloria, and Melman) in Africa and return to New York. However, things change when Alex and the others rush to Monte Casino, believing that the penguins abandoned them. Skipper would later use the fortune to help the gang, and with themselves also, get to a travelling circus.

Pengiuns of Madagascar (Film)

COMING SOON!

The Penguins of Madagascar (Series)

  • Needle Point: Skipper started to panic when a visit to the vet revealed that the penguins were getting an injection. A frightened Skipper ran off, but was convinced to come back when Private was taking Skipper's place. Learning that the shot would make him sick (or worse) ( the worse part must mean that Private will die) , Skipper reluctantly takes it.
  • I Was a Penguin Zombie: After Skipper breaks his wing, the vet applies a topical cream to ease his pain. The cream has a slight sedation side effect, and this makes Skipper a bit loopy. As he escapes, a movie is played, and this makes Kowalski , Private , and Rico , believe that Skipper became a zombie. Skipper manages to come back to his senses, but the remaining three still don't believe him, and all end up breaking their wings from a fall.
  • Out of the Groove: King Julien 's antics result in Julien getting his groove stolen. Desperate for help, Julien seeks the assistance of the penguins to get his groove back. But when fighting over the jar that contains his groove, it breaks and enters Skipper's body, and he starts dancing (even doing the moonwalk). The baboons will only help if King Julien apologizes, but given his stubbornness he still refuses to apologize. Skipper has to make Julien apologize by dancing all over him, surprising the rest of the penguins and lemurs speechless to the point where Private says that he wants to cry (this is significant, since penguins don't cry) because Skipper's dancing is so perfect, yet strange. The King 's groove is later returned, and Skipper is left to wonder what made him dance until Private thinks he has a little dancer inside him. Skipper says, "Magic's real. Case closed."
  • Miss Understanding: A small malfunction during a DNA test causes Skipper to believe he's a girl. After failed missions, Skipper then leaves the penguin's habitat to go visit Marlene and see what it's like being a girl. Marlene is very annoyed because of Skipper's small-minded attitude to what being a female is about - and especially because he hasn't changed at all, but thinks that just because he is a female he is no longer any good at being a commando. She takes Skipper to see the lemurs and save them from the wires. Then Rico , Kowalski , and Private show up to save the lemurs, but end up getting stuck too. Skipper, believing that he is a girl, decides that the mission is not ladylike enough. Eventually, Skipper decides to take off his pink bow and makes an impromptu whip/dance ribbon. After that, the penguins take Skipper to do the test again and find a broken fuse. After they replace the fuse, the machine draws a vertical line through the minus sign, completing the plus mark and proving that Skipper is a boy. Foolishly, Kowalski gave the machine an optional beak-shiner, thus hogging more power. Marlene then becomes sad, hoping Skipper could be her friend. Skipper then put a flipper around her, talking about Alice "Well she's a mammal, everyone knows they're all morons" and Marlene gives him a nasty look and is insulted.

Character

Skipper is a hardened commando-type, and the leader of the squad of penguins. He often acts like a 'Nam veteran with regards to some kind of Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder, especially with regards to his raving paranoia (which even the other penguins sometimes consider as being over-the-top) and conflicting stories of past events. He believes that a friend is just an enemy who hasn't attacked you yet. Thanks to his training in commando skills, he seems to have absolutely no idea of how to act like a real penguin, with Private having to give him advice when he's under close observation by humans.

Skipper is very suspicious, and usually mistrusts those whom the other penguins have all fallen for. He is often proven correct. He can sometimes be a bit cold and often does things only because the other penguins, especially Private, want him to.

Of the four penguins, Skipper is the best at hand-to-hand combat, generally able to take down even their surprise attacks. However he has a tendency to overestimate his own abilities, taking on opponents many times his own size, and continuing the attack even when it's shown to be totally ineffective. He claims to not know the meaning of the word 'surrender' and always has trouble admitting fear of anything.

Skipper cannot stand hippies, as seen in Night and Dazed, It's About Time and Hello, Dollface, and would very much like to either beat them up or make them get jobs. He also has Trypanophobia (Fear of needles) as shown in Needle Point and Love Hurts. In King Me he wasn't able to knit because of this fear.

He's a 50's style male chauvinist, believing women are weak and need protecting. He's also rather xenophobic, with the opinion that any species other than avian (especially mammals) is inferior. All of this ties in with his raving paranoia, and the other penguins don't always back him up on these points. It has also been stated that he has a fragile ego. In Madgascar 3 Skipper buys dentures and gets them sprayed gold and eats an apple but realizes he hates the taste of apples meaning that penguins dont like apples.

Romance

  • He falls for a falcon named Kitka in The Falcon and the Snow Job, but the relationship failed.
  • Skipper also seems to be very protective of Marlene, probably just because she's a girl. He thinks she's smart and doesn't call her nicknames, even when he considers mammals as inferior.
  • In The Otter Woman he falls for Marlene mistaking her for an arctic mink named "Arlene".
  • He was in love with a cute bobble-head hula doll in Madagascar 2 which he "married" at the end of the movie. She returned in Madly Madagascar
  • In Skipper Makes Perfect he mentions in a flashback, that he met a perfect girl in a perfect day, but after the perfect day he lost her phone number.

Taken from IMDB

Skipper is the official leader of the Penguin Commandos. While his rank is never given (in fact the only Penguin with a rank is the eponymous Private), it may be assumed from the word 'skipper' that he carries the rank of Captain. He is quick-thinking and unflappable under pressure, and always knows exactly what to do and how best to deploy his troops (uttering the line 'Private probably won't survive' in the movie may be viewed as insensitive, but this conflicts with his fiercely protective behavior and use of the credo 'never swim alone' in the Christmas caper, and is most likely due to the application of professional judgment.) Skipper is also skilled in close combat, and speaks fluent German.

Taken from NICK

Skipper has the heart of an action hero and the swagger to match. He's a natural leader with a single-minded focus on results. Skipper approaches every situation with intensity, which may explain his overly active imagination. To Skipper, every innocent coincidence appears to be a nefarious conspiracy. It's a good thing that he's 100% confident that only his team is capable of finding the truth!


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