Joey the Kangaroo

**Joey the Kangaroo** is a character from *Mystic Forest Fighters*. He represented the forest of Enchino in the third Dragon Games.

A long-time member of the Mystic Forest Fighters and a master of martial arts, Joey is well known for his fighting ability, smarts, and overall charm. Despite his traumatic past, Joey has learned from his wrongdoings and looks to improve not only himself, but also to mentor and subsequently father, Noah. His strength and wisdom has allowed him to help slay Enchi, participate in the Dragon Games, and slay the tyrannical King Hubert as a member of the resistance force, currently serving in Luke's royal court.

## Bio

Joey is a twenty-two-year-old kangaroo of Australian descent who has been a member of the Mystic Forest Fighters since he was eighteen who, since joining, has developed himself as a very extroverted and friendly member of the guild. His wacky antics and general likability has made him a valuable asset to the morale of his fellow guild members. As a result, however, Joey has received disdain from the more stern and serious members, who find him to be quite childish and foolish for his age at times.

Despite his typical upbeat and lighthearted personality, life has not always been easy for Joey. Before the series began, Joey had lost a brother named William, who was an experienced member of the guild, while they went to take on a very dangerous case without proper assistance from the Enchino Police Department, receiving much scorn from his father in particular afterward.

This caused Joey to spiral into a deep depression and sadness, his family life at home shattering in the process. Since this, Joey seems to also have intense anxiety - especially when being called out on the spot or proven wrong - and will have generally sporadic behavior when in certain situations. He is very cautious and protective of those he cares about and will do anything to keep them safe - especially Noah - as a result of the death of his brother.

Regardless, Joey does well in keeping his composure and does not let the thoughts and feelings of others effect who he is as an individual, and proves otherwise as an veteran member of the Mystic Forest Fighters. An experienced soccer player and martial artist, Joey is both athletic and competitive, attending martial arts classes three days a week to perfect his craft in combat and uses these skills for fighting crime.

## In the Games

Joey makes his video game debut in *Forest Brawlers* as one of the four starting characters. His strength and martial arts mastery are very evident in-game, as his primary attacks include karate kicks and chops. He can also perform a rapid kick and a bouncing technique as his special move, causing a greater deal of damage to the opponent. Beating this campaign will unlock Purry and will also help in furthering the progress to unlock Saad. Joey is also required to unlock Fertwin.

In *Mystic Forest Fighters - Land of One*, Joey is one of Noah's Buddy Characters. When a Joey icon is activated, the player may switch to him in the middle of a stage. Joey can take on enemies too strong for Noah with his martial arts skills, as well as meditate on Magic Mats to clear obstacles.

In *The Showstoppers - Time and Punishment*, Joey appears in the fifth level of the game, set in Enchino. Here, the player meets Luke upon their arrival and learns that Zeekos have taken over and have captured some of his friends. As they go through the level, they are able to save Lucille and Greg before they finally rescue Joey, who is being held in a cage inside of Enchino's dojo. He thanks them greatly for their help after being saved, saying that he was overwhelmed by the Zeekos. He cautions the group to be extra careful from here on out and points them in the right direction to go, wishing them luck and pleading with them to get his "little buddy" free from the Zeekos before departing.

## In the Comics

In the comics, Joey is depicted as his regular goofy and eager to fight self. He is often seen with Jewel or practicing his combat with Ra, but he is also shown to have grown a fondness toward Otis. When the Mystic Forest Fighters X travel to Sargoga, Joey is captured by Zhajor alongside Anastasia, causing their shipmates to come to their rescue.

## In Other Media

Joey is featured on a vast variety of clothing items and merchandise with the other primary characters of *Mystic Forest Fighters*, including t-shirts, caps, backpacks, and notebooks. Action figures for Joey have sold immensely well, especially those that will perform martial arts and other fighting moves upon either the pressing of a button or the squeezing of parts on the figurine. Another popular item is a punching bag that features only Joey - life-sized to his likeness in the television show - in a fighting stance.

## Trivia

* Joey is the only resident of Enchino who seems to have some sort of foreign accent. In his case, he speaks with a clear and thick Australian accent.
	+ This may mean that either his parents, grandparents, or any other ancestor of his was originally a native of Australia before being sent to Enchino to inhabit it, although this has never been confirmed.
* Joey had an older brother named William, a fellow long-time guild member, who passed away.
	+ Despite being mentioned a numerous amount of times throughout the series, William is actually first featured in the movie Mystic Forest Fighters - Case Closed after Joey is sent through a portal to a different world at the hands of Enchi. Enchi was able to skew William's true personality into that of a villain who berated Joey endlessly about his death. Fortunately, Joey was able to overcome his burden, reminding himself of who the real "monster" was when he passed, that being his father.
* Joey is prone to having panic attacks, as seen in "The Prince and the Pupper" when he got bit by Winslow the Snake, scaring the kangaroo greatly.
	+ Ironically, Joey and Winslow would be chosen to represent Enchino in the third Dragon Games as partners, with this experience making them great friends.
* Joey's real name is actually Joseph. Joey is simply what his family called him as a nickname in his youth and has preferred to be addressed as this since.