In celebration of Mexican Independence Day, I decided to draw Mexican Bomber, conceptually one of the most perplexing characters in the whole Bomberman Franchise. So this dude is clearly supposed to be a Jamaican/Rastafarian caricature. It's clear as day. I made the dreadlocks more pronounced, but everything about the original design screams "This guy is Jamaican!" aside from the belt he's wearing which says "USA" for some reason. I don't know who at Hudson Soft thought to name him Mexican Bomber. And the idea that someone in the 90's at one point thought Mexico = Jamaica and no one corrected them shakes the very foundation of my understanding of human psychology. How could anyone think that? The wild thing is, they got it right a month earlier. Mexican Bomber debuted in Super Bomberman 3, April 1995. In March that same year, Super Bomberman - Panic Bomber W came out and the first boss was Raster Bomber. This guy is explicitly from Jamaica. The similarities between the two are bountiful and probably are based off the same preliminary design. It's not like Panic Bomber W came out and then they made Super Bomberman 3. They were being developed concurrently. I can only assume they are supposed to be the same character, but the team working on Panic Bomber W was more perceptive about Jamaican Stereotypes while Super Bomberman 3 team was unfortunately not as cultured. Tragic, but I still don't get the Mexican conclusion. Is it the color scheme? Both include the same colors as the Mexican Flag, maybe that's the reason. But then why is that represented more in Raster Bomber than Mexican Bomber? Was it the Maracas? Are only Mexicans allowed to use Maracas based on this creator's world view? Mexican Bomber canonically loves reggae music. Like... come on man. Was someone just inexplicably adamant about him being called Mexican Bomber? They had to be, because he returns in Bomberman Party Edition 3 years later and he's still called Mexican Bomber. Panic Bomber W and Super Bomberman 3 were released within 2 months of each other. That divergence in the naming makes sense. but here they could correct it and make him Jamaican, yet they double down by making him look more Jamaican(darker skin), while still calling him Mexican.

I have to be missing something here right? There's gotta be something beyond the realm of dogged character naming practices. Are Mexican Stereotypes and Jamaican Stereotypes just far more similar than I thought? Maybe I'm the one who is uncultured here. No I'm just not thinking about it hard enough. Sure Mexican Bomber represents Mexico in Super Bomberman 3, but who is to say he doesn't have dual citizenship. This could be a man forced to leave his homeland of Jamaica due to unfortunate circumstances. It is possible that this is a linear storyline and Raster Bomber becomes Mexican Bomber. Something happened between Panic Bomber W and Super Bomberman 3. He's the first boss in Panic Bomber. He's basically a jobber. While representing Jamaica he's not succeeding in life. I theorize that Raster Bomber seeks strength. Strength he can't find while doing...whatever Bombermen do in these game usually idk, it's not very clear. The country of Mexico sees potential in him and offers a deal: Work for us, and we'll provide you everything you need. Unsatisfied with the way he is, he accepts and becomes Mexican Bomber. But while his body is in Mexico, his heart is still in Jamaica. He doesn't start wearing a Poncho and Sombrero. He doesn't start eating tacos at inappropriate times. He stays true to his culture. And that's why Mexican Bomber isn't what you'd assume he'd look like. He acts as the dividing line between Cultural Identity and Performative Nationality. This is a delectable tapestry of character writing and I was a fool to not see it before now.