#Like how Dexter is older than Max so he's more mature - but he's still younger and has (presumably) less life experience than DAX

[sysig]

He’ll try, anyway (Patreon)

[silyabeeodess]

FusionFall Headcanons: Character Ages

From taking the canon ages of the various CN characters within their own shows into account to people noticing the... liberties, the game took to some of the designs for them in the game, I’m well aware that this is going to be a point of debate.  Still, after some consideration, I’d like to cross reference some of these points to come up with at least a general sense of where these characters may be/have been in their lives.  I probably won’t come up with specifics--moreso early/late this or that--for the ages.  Now, I will bring up puberty a bit in this--definitely not heavily, but it is mentioned--so keep that in mind.   

Dee Dee, Dexter, and Mandark

For these characters, I view Dee Dee, Dexter, and Mandark being in their late teens-early 20′s.  We already know based on evidence from the show that Dee Dee is Dexter’s older sister by just a few years while Dexter and Mandark are only about two years apart themselves (as implied by concept art for “Ego Trip” as explained on the Dexter’s Laboratory wiki).  It’s possible that Dee Dee might have at least a year over Mandark and/or for Dexter and Mandark to be the same age, since he is in Dexter’s class as far back as elementary school, but we also have to consider the high possibility that he was held back due to his parents’ lifestyles keeping him from going to school during his early childhood. 

Since Dee Dee lives alone at their old family home and it’s already established that her and Dexter’s parents live up on the house on top of Dexlabs, she’s likely already an adult.  She probably looks after the home not only for security purposes, but due to the massive success of Dexlabs making their family wealthy enough to maintain it and for her to live there despite being fairly young--meaning she wouldn’t have to get a dorm if she chose to go to college or something similar, but still has the liberty of living on her own. Based on how she continues to wear her dance outfit, her maintaining a slim physique similar to professional ballet dancers, and that she still goes to recitals as evidenced in “Dee Dee’s Dilemmas (Part 3)”, it’s also likely that she either studies dance or may even teach it to small children. 

What makes me think Dexter and Mandark are in their older teens is how much of a foothold their companies have during the events of the game, enough so for their tech to be everywhere.  It’s possible that their genius gave them a leg up enough to quit high school and form their companies early, but they’d still need a few years to build and develop them to the extent we see.  

Numbuhs 1-5

For the operatives to still be viewed as official members of the KND (at least to public knowledge), this would mean that they’d have be younger than 13, so they’d be in their tweens.  Given the extent to which the war has altered the KND’s operations, however, they may even be a little older--just with their decommissioning being the farthest from anyone’s mind at the time.  We also know that at the group would remain a part of the KND well into adulthood based on the series finale as the issue stands, supporting this.

Furthermore, for Numbuh One to lead an operation in the war so far from the rest of not only his team, but other parts of the KND, as well as seeing him work with Plumbers like Grandpa Max, it’s possible that the war may take place after the events of the KND finale would--after Numbuh One would’ve experienced space-travel for himself through the G:KND, an expansion of the KND in sequel series that was never aired.  What could also hint to the war being post-G:KND is the mention of bases within Earth’s solar system besides the moonbase--which the KND lose contact with in the official FusionFall comic, but were never mentioned in the actual show.  All of this further points to a passage of time at which the operatives would be a little older than their original depictions, which already averaged at around 10 years old.    

The Powerpuff Girls and the Gangreen Gang

Well, I’m gonna go ahead and say that the girls aren’t five unless the developers of FusionFall took a page from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure in their character designs.  We also have the presence of Pokey Oaks Middle School in-game as opposed to Pokey Oaks Kindergarten from the show, acting as a subtle clue that the girls are at least middle school age within the FusionFall universe, but I’d like to take that a step farther:  

In the show, we were given a general age range for the Gangreen Gang at 14-17 years, with Ace being the oldest and Lil’ Arturo extending that approximation according to his wiki page with a personal age range of 10-14 years.  In FusionFall, we’re given aged-up versions of the girls, but not from what we can tell of the Gangreen Gang.  Still, even if the ages are different, we have to take into the account the likelihood that the group is at least slightly older themselves as, in a sense, they have grown up a bit: They’ve moved on from most of their criminal ways to form a successful band, which couldn’t have happened in too short a time.  

The point above, combined with the possibility given of Buttercup and Ace being in a relationship despite the massive age gap between their TV Show counterparts unless the OG developers had a, ahem, questionable idea of relationships like the kind the PPG reboot has gained attention for, make me think that the girls might be at least in their mid-teens in Fusionfall while the Gangreen Gang and in their late-teens or early 20′s.  

Samurai Jack

Following the route the fifth season took, even if it was made after the game, I’m going to say that Jack is ageless due to the effects of time travel.  Whether or not Season Five can be taken into consideration as far as Jack’s backstory would go in Fusionfall, it works more for the game that he be this nigh-immortal adversary to match Aku.  First off, let’s say that the events of S5 were a part of the game lore: That would mean that, at some point, Jack did defeat Aku, went back to the past, and eventually time passed to reach the events that FusionFall would take place in with Aku potentially coming back in that timeframe similar to how he did after the Emperor first defeated him--only this time, Jack’s constantly ready to take him out again before he can reach full-strength. More likely though-- given that people still remember how Jack defeated Demongo--the timeline hasn’t been altered (barring that he didn’t defeat him a second time within the new timeline that we’d be unaware of).

Now let’s talk about it without S5: We already know that Aku isn’t the main villain here: Fuse is.  Aku’s barely a blip on the radar in the game, mentioned moreso as a potential threat if he ever came out of hiding.  Emphasis on if.  This is weird given that, in Jack’s show, Aku’s already taken over the world.  There is no ultimate evil beyond Aku, but that’s just not the case in FusionFall’s history.  Instead, Jack takes both Fuse and Aku as serious threats, placing his priorities on the former only because he’s the most present.  For Jack to set aside his life’s purpose to help battle Fuse, that has to mean he feels comfortable enough with his chances against Aku.  Not to mention the state of the world looks pretty ok beyond the threat of Planet Fusion, meaning it’s more likely that Jack has already defeated Aku at some point prior to the events of the game, but for some reason chose to stay in the future and continue his long-standing battle with him.  I know this cuts out S5′s rationale behind Jack himself being ageless, but bringing that idea into this as well fits with the context of this eternal battle between a hero and villain, two people who can embody an ultimate good and ultimate evil.

Ben 10 Trio

Given that the gang looks exactly like their Alien Force counterparts, this is pretty much a given.  I doubt they’re that different in an age range with the exception of maybe a couple year: It would depend on how much context you’d take from Ultimate Alien.  That would put Ben and Gwen at 15-16 while Kevin would be 16-17 years old.

Ed, Edd, and Eddy Characters

The characters in Ed, Edd, and Eddy already went to junior high in the show, placing them at least in their tweens.  Granted, they still look like kids in the show while some of them seem to be a little older in the game.  For example, the Kankers look more aged up than the Eds do, fitting both a passage of time and following the fact that girls tend to develop at a faster rate than boys (growth spurts, brain development, etc.) during puberty.  It’s possible that they’re still in their tweens or early teens, with some of them being in their first year of high school within the world of FusionFall.  

Billy and Mandy

Although Billy and Mandy were still in elementary school in their show as opposed to middle school, I’d place them in their tweens following the same logic I pointed out with the Kankers and Eds regarding development.  Mandy looks like she’s still young, but has hit puberty, while Billy looks very much like a kid.  They’re likely in middle school.  

Frankie and Mac

Considering that Mac was only 8 in the show and still looks pretty young in the game, he’s probably still a kid.  Maybe he’s aged up a little, but definitely hasn’t reached his teens just yet.  He’s still got his baby face.

In the show, Frankie was 22 years old, and like Mac I don’t think she’s aged much, so still in her early-mid 20′s. She’s probably devoted herself to running Foster’s Home much like her grandmother.  

Juniper Lee

While she was 11 in the show and the game doesn’t seem to have altered her design too much, I still get a feeling she’s more of a teenager--early-mid teens--in the world of FusionFall.  She just strikes me as being a little more mature, more experienced with her powers and all of the forces she’s dealt with after a while as a the Te-Xuan-Ze.  

Coop

Probably mid-late 20′s.  He was already an adult in the show, but he doesn’t seem to have matured enough to have passed far into his 30′s.  

Flapjack

He’s 7 in the show and based on his personally and appearance in the game, he’s still probably close to the age.  Maybe just a little older, but the same situation as with Mac.

 Ami and Yumi

(Mentioning them since Retro gave them a cameo and I loved this duo as a kid) The show’s wiki places them both at 13.  Their FusionFall counterparts don’t look much older, so they’re probably still in their teens--possibly just a few years older in we wanted to account for time for them to develop as young teen idols.