Helicopter Hair

The **Helicopter**, also known as the **Helico** or the **HairlyCopter**, is Rayman's signature ability. It consists of rapidly spinning the fronds of his hair, as if they were propeller blades, in order to hover and slow his descent. Rayman possesses this power in almost every game in which he appears, and like most of his powers, he seems to gain and lose it multiple times over the course of the series.

In the original game, the helicopter is the fourth power that Rayman receives from Betilla the Fairy (or from the Tings in the Game Boy Color version of *Rayman*. She grants it to him at the end of Allegro Presto. However, it is still possible to get it before the grappling fist, depending on the order in which the player chooses to play the levels. It allows Rayman's hair to spin very briefly like helicopter blades, which lets him jump further. This way, he can reach platforms which were previously inaccessible and glide back down to the ground with precision. Several other creatures in the game also possess helicopter hair, including Electoons and Antitoons.

A temporary upgrade of the helicopter is also available: it is called the super helicopter. It allows him to fly in the air with his hair, which happens three times in the game: in Mr Stone's Peaks, when he is given the potion by the Musician, in Eraser Plains where the potion can be acquired by touching a group of stars and in Pencil Pentathlon, where he finds another potion. In the Game Boy Color version of *Rayman*, Rayman also obtains the super helicopter ability by eating a specific kind of a plant.

Even though Rayman loses most of his powers at the beginning of *Rayman 2*, his helicopter remains, being as useful as ever. When he goes beneath the Sanctuary of Rock and Lava, Ly the Fairy appears before him and gives him a Silver Lum, which upgrades his helicopter to the super helicopter again. Unfortunately, at the end of the level, he loses this upgrade to Foutch, who thumps him. In *Rayman Revolution*, this was partially restored, meaning that he could permanently fly only over pools of lava, and also during the battle against Grolem 13.

In *Rayman M*, all characters have an ability equivalent to the helicopter. Rayman and Dark Rayman fly by activating their helicopter hair, Globox and Uglette fly by inflating themselves like balloons, Admiral Razorbeard and Razorwife fly by spinning their arms like propeller blades, the Henchman 800 and Henchman 1000 fly by activating their jetpacks, and Tily flies by flapping her wings.

In *Rayman 3*, Rayman retains his normal helicopter ability. The super helicopter ability was revisited in the game as well, in the form of the Throttle Copter. The Throttle Copter was, of the five, the power with the shortest time limit, though it allows for brief flying similar to that in previous games.

### In *Rayman 3* (Game Boy Advance)

In the Game Boy Advance version of *Rayman 3*, Rayman receives the power to fly with his helicopter so long as he obtained a Blue Lum – small ones let him fly for a little while, whereas large ones allow him to fly until the end of the level, similar to that of the world Magmacosm. Blue Lums are first found in Prickly Passage, however Rayman cannot use them until he has been given the power to do so by Ly. The first main level in this game to use these Blue Lums to continue is the Underlands. In this game, Rayman is unable to fly like the other games, as he can only stay in airborne for three seconds until he falls.

In *Rayman: Hoodlums' Revenge*, Rayman can use the helicopter since the beginning while stating that "he has been able to use his helicopter power his whole life", which can be possibility a reference to the events from the original *Rayman*. The Throttle Copter combat fatigue explores again the super helicopter ability, although this time it used Blue Lums to stay airborne once activated.

In *Rayman Origins*, Rayman, Globox and the Teensies receive the power to glide after rescuing Holly Luya from the mouth of a Darktoon. The helicopter allows the characters to glide over obstacles, and can lift them if they use the ability in an air current.

In the PlayStation Vita version of *Rayman Origins*, the player can collect relics to unlock two mosaics showing stories from the pasts of Rayman and Globox. The Rayman mosaic reveals the ultimate origin of Rayman's helicopter hair. It seems that Rayman was originally bald, and had a girlfriend or wife who was a member of his own limbless species. One night, as they slept together in a forest, an army of tiny blonde hair creatures crept up on Rayman, and parasitically attached themselves to his head. Frightened by this strange event, Rayman's female companion took out an oversized pair of scissors and tried to cut Rayman's hair. Rayman panicked and ran off the edge of a cliff, only to discover that his new hair had the ability to act as a helicopter, flying him to safety.