Michael J. Caboose

Private Michael J. Caboose is a main character in Rooster Teeth Productions' machinima series Red vs. Blue. Voiced by Joel Heyman, Caboose first appears in Episode 3 of Season 1 as a new recruit for the Blood Gulch Blue Team, a group of soldiers engaged in a futuristic civil war against the Red Team.

Caboose is portrayed as one of the most eccentric characters in the series. Consistently shown to be mentally abnormal, his behavior varies from merely somewhat dim-witted in Season 1 to almost completely divorced from reality in Season 3. His unusual behavior frequently earns him the scorn and disrespect of the series' other characters.

In part due to positive early fan reaction, Burnie Burns, the main writer for the series, focused the storyline on Caboose and Donut (Dan Godwin), the Red Team's rookie.

Role in the plot
Prior to the series, Caboose was born and raised in a colony on the moon with 17 sisters. He joined the army after mistaking a recruiting center for college. Caboose first appears in Episode 3. Arriving with a tank named Sheila, he soon annoys the Blue Team's self-appointed leader, Church by accidentally calling his girlfriend a cow, and is consequently tasked with guarding the flag inside the team's base and waiting for a nonexistent general. Meanwhile, Simmons and Grif have sent their team's rookie, Donut, on a fool's errand for nonexistent supplies. In a mutual misunderstanding, Donut mistakes Caboose for a shopkeeper, and Caboose mistakes Donut for the "general" and allows him to take the flag. In the ensuing conflict, Caboose accidentally kills Church while using Sheila and narrowly escapes a bombing run that disables the tank. Caboose begins to show affection towards Sheila. Near the end of season 1, Caboose becomes possessed by O'Malley, an evil artificial intelligence (AI) who transmits himself to Caboose via radio before his original host, a mercenary named Tex, is killed.

In season 2 Caboose starts to show sighs to scare his team member Tucker through O'Malley. Episode 33 takes place inside Caboose's mind, which Church and Tex explore as ghosts in an attempt to kill O'Malley. There, they encounter Caboose's incorrect mental images of other characters. At the end of the season, Caboose becomes stranded with Sarge in an unknown location when a teleporter malfunctions. Caboose and Sarge escape from the Grunts, another set of respawning Red and Blue teams constantly fighting each other. After a bomb blasts most of the characters into the future, but Church into the past, Church learns of The Great Destroyer from Gary, a computer, who says that The Great Destroyer "will be known as the stupidest life form in the universe". Church assumes that this description refers to Caboose, but later events and the introduction of a new character, the Alien, cause the characters to suspect that the Great Destroyer is not Caboose. After the Blues encounter the Alien and learn of its quest, Caboose is sent along with Tucker; after the quest fails, they return to Blood Gulch. Caboose is later injured by 'donating' some blood to Tucker's Alien baby.

In Episode 89, Caboose is picked by his team to distract Sheila, while Tex shuts her down. They succeed, but Sheila is shut down just before she reveals the location of O'Malley to Caboose. He convinces his team of this, and they decided to place Sheila's AI into the newly arrived ship. Caboose stays behind to ensure the success of the transfer, and informs Tex by radio of the location of O'Malley, which was the leader of the blue team. Caboose reappears in the third episode of Reconstruction. Before being transferred out of Blood Gulch, Church told him to upgrade his armor to Mk. VI, but instead he downgraded to Mk. V. The reason he did this was because he thought it would be better since "on a Top 10 List, 5 is better than 6". It is also possible that Rooster Teeth did this to avoid confusion between Church and Caboose, as in Halo 3 the Blue armor color is a lot lighter than in Halo 2, so Church had to be made the Standard Issue Blue armor. The staff notes the simplistic design of the helmet coincides with him being a very dim-witted, hulking brute (as he is revealed to be very strong in Season 3). Caboose has been stationed at Outpost 28-A "Rat's Nest" where he has been tied up and tossed in the brig for safe keeping. The Rat's Nest blue team's leader, Lieutenant Miller, clearly dislikes Caboose and is delighted at Washington's request to take Caboose away. In the next episode, Caboose is reunited with Church (to the latter's chagrin). Some time after acquiring Delta, he was seen knocked out by the Meta. Wash managed to nurse him back to life with his healing unit, but was unable to revive him. Because of this, Church had to go into Caboose's mind again, this time encountering the mental image of Washington, as well as a "memory" of Delta he had left behind bearing the important message "Memory is the key". He eventually wakes up, but not until halfway through Chapter 12. After the Meta appears nearby, Sarge, Simmons, Grif and Caboose are forced to drive away and escape an EMP. The reds jeep is disabled, but Caboose manages to escape the EMP (pronounced "emp") by driving off a cliff. In the epilogue, he is the sole occupant of the Blue base in Valhalla. He is in possession of Epsilon, although Caboose has not implanted him into his system (which is probably a good thing considering the potential side effects that could be inflicted in the reality-divorced mind of Caboose) and appears to be trying to get the AI into the body of Tex. As of the end of Relocated, he has acquired several other sets of armor; his intentions are unknown, although he mentioned something about "being together forever".

Lack of intelligence
Rooster Teeth notes that originally, there was no plan for Caboose as a character; he started out simply as the Blue rookie counter to Donut. Geoff Ramsey states on the DVD Commentary that Caboose was initially "smarmy" and "a very different character", albeit rather dim-witted. After fans reacted well to his moments of stupidity, however, the crew later orchestrated a long decline in Caboose's intelligence, starting when Sheila is disabled for the first time in Episode 9. His mentality is again dealt a blow after O'Malley is forcibly ejected from his system, and he becomes fairly divorced from reality and prone to frequent non sequiturs, going as far as to load his rifle with crayons and spelling his own name wrong. This may also be attributed to the fact that Caboose's suit shut down for at least two days, and Caboose remarks "It was dark and I got to hold my breath!" and Church makes a comment about brain damage. Another possibility is that Caboose may be unintelligent, because all they drink are salty liquids, however, this is unlikely because all of the other soldiers are not as unintelligent. He has also forgotten how to use the sniper rifle. Shown in the first series to have the accuracy to get a headshot on a Church-possessed Sarge, he is quoted in saying he has no idea how to use the gun in Episode 82. Sarge notes in Episode 39 that it "sounds like O'Malley took some of the furniture when he left".

He occasionally asks questions about things the others take for granted, such as why a flag is so important, and often fails to grasp even basic concepts, such as the meaning of AI. The only human initially able to lift Andy, he is physically one of the strongest soldiers on either team; Church and Tucker think that it is "God's way of compensating" for his glaring mental deficiencies. He also is able to fly into a berserk state by thinking about something that makes him angry, namely "kittens... kittens covered in spikes" and "Milk... no wait, red... RED BULL". He seems to have an extremely low voice (like the voice he had when possessed by O'Malley) and no recollection of what he did during this state.

While rather dumb, he manages to make a plan to infiltrate Command which succeeds, and shows a good degree of driving skill, escaping an EMP by driving off a cliff.

In Relocation, Caboose found the power in the blue base turned on, and like Grif he believes electricity is "invisible magic" Another reason for Caboose's intelligence or lack there of is that the AI (O'Malley) was ejected out of his mind twice. Or It could be the Firefight that ensued when Church and Tex attacked O'Malley inside his mind, blowing away parts of his psyche could have distorted his though process very much.

Relationship with other characters
Caboose's relationships with the other characters is unique in that a few episodes depicted the interior of his mind, where the incorrect mental projections of the other characters appeared (with the exceptions of Tex, Lopez, Doc and Sheila). In his mind, Caboose believes himself to be intelligent, Church his foul-mouthed best friend, Tucker stupid, Grif yellow-armored, Donut female, and that Sarge speaks in what is actually a pirate accent. Additionally, in Episode 54, he refers to Simmons as "Simon", Grif as "Gruf", and the Warthog as the "Boss-Hogg" - though in Episode 82 he is able correctly name both Grif and Simmons. He still suffers from incorrect mental images with at least Church and Tucker, as in Episode 97, he refers to Tucker as his sidekick whom he dislikes, and believes Church to be calling to ask Caboose to be his best friend. In Reconstruction Chapter 11, it is revealed his mental image of Washington refers to himself as "Washingtub", is obsessed with secrecy, likes to scare people that are "just trying to help him", and claims to fight aliens and robots from the future with his "Freelancer Powers". Church comments that the description isn't far off from reality. Church and Caboose are also panicked when South is executed. Caboose thinks her execution was due to her problems walking, which causes him to announce he has no problems walking. The following episode, Church and Caboose are concerned that Wash will do the same with them.

Caboose's most prominent relationship is his remarkable admiration of Church. After dealing him several initial misfortunes, including inadvertently killing him while piloting Shiela the tank, Caboose was eager to make amends and become Church's friend; his attempts to do so inevitably failed. The issue was complicated when O'Malley shot and killed Caboose's mental image of Church, immediately causing Caboose not to recognize the real Church, and all his memories of him were lost. However, by the end of season 2, Caboose resumes communication with Church as before, and references the events he had previously forgotten. The Rooster Teeth crew notes that it was just too complicated to keep up. As late as Reconstruction Episode 11, Caboose has referred to Church as his best friend. (This is in spite of the fact that Church had tried to kill him several times earlier in the series.) Caboose is incredibly loyal to Church, offering to go in his place to the Freelancer base with Washington. Though this is shot down by Wash, it actually impresses Sarge due to its unthinking willingness to sacrifice himself. For his part, Church puts up with Caboose, but often loses his temper at him. However, in Episode 76, Caboose implied that he didn't know how pregnancy occurred, and Church promised to read a book with him. In episode 98, Church seems genuinely distraught when Wyoming and Gary kill Caboose,

Caboose is also infatuated with Sheila. He expresses much grief when Sheila is bombed out of commission in Episode 9, calling Sheila his "friend". He later refers to her as his "girlfriend". When she expresses interest in Lopez in Episode 30, what Tucker calls "a weird, horribly disgusting love triangle" begins to form and during this phase Caboose once called out "Shiela, come back to me... I baked you a muffin". In Episodes 89-90, the relationship is touched on again, when Caboose is enlisted to reboot Sheila after she begins acting aggressively, though he seems hesitant to talk to her because they have a 'history' and could have an argument much like Tex and Church "except more getting shot by tanks".

Reception
Caboose has become one of the more popular characters in the series, and in 2005, Caboose was selected as the Best Male Performance in the 3rd Annual Rockets on Prisoner Awards, which are intended to recognize exemplary work in Halo machinima. In his acceptance speech, Joel Heyman acted in-character.

Quotes

 * "Do you have any pictures of kittens in serious situations?- When Wash is trying to convince Church he's an AI.
 * "I am Caboose, the Vehicle Destroyer!" - Mistakenly thinking that he is invincible.
 * "My name is Michael J. Caboose, and I hate babies!" - just before he goes on a homicidal killing spree against the zealots of Battle Creek.
 * "That's not a target. That's Church." - Shortly before Caboose kills Church with Sheila.
 * "That was you?! I thought the tooth fairy was mad at me!" - Upon discovering that Tex is the one who had been punching him in the head while he was asleep.
 * "I like me." - After Tucker says that nobody likes him.
 * "My toes, are getting, pruny." When he and Sarge are in the river of Battle Creek.
 * "Oh man, that’s not good. Oh my god that jeep has a really big gun on it!" - While looking through the sniper rifle at Grif and Simmons shooting at Church and Tucker with the Warthog, and repeated when the Red Team is being attacked after attempting to steal another jeep.
 * "Sheila, come back to me... I baked you a muffin!" - After Sheila takes an interest in Lopez.
 * "Your toast has been burned, and no amount of scraping will remove the black parts!" - After killing the Battle Creek Zealots.
 * "Last time I was shot, I got a purple heart. Yeah, I-I hope this time I get a purple lung. You see eventually I hope to build an entire purple person... and we will be best friends." - During Tex's attack on Blue Base.
 * "Not my fault...someone put a wall in my way." - After throwing a spike grenade that sticks right in front of Washington and himself.
 * "Bleep Bloop" - Stated to imitate the sound of an Achievement during the 2nd Reconstruction PSA, Small Rewards.
 * "You wanted to see me Principal Miller"- When Miller summons him from the brig.
 * "Tucker did it" When he shot Sarge/Church in the head, and repeated in Reconstruction when he is knocked out.
 * Caboose: "We have a lot in common Agent Washington."
 * Washington: "No we don't. And don't ever say that again."
 * -Caboose referencing they both had A.I.'s they couldn't control (Omega and Epsilon respectively)

"I feel dizzy!" "I'm going to stop standing up now"- When Junior was born and he was "fed" by Caboose half a gallon of his own blood for a glass of orange juice and a cookie
 * "Rest in peace pinky toe. YOU SHALL BE AVENGED!"- Shortly after church shoots caboose's foot and his toe fallls off after O'mally take over him.
 * "ANDY you're a real boy!" After Sarge swaps Lopez's head for Andy.
 * "Oh my god! ANDY! You're dead..." Caboose after finding a skull in the same place where Lopez's head was a moment ago (Sarge swapped out the skull for Lopez)
 * "You are a nice person and people say nice things about you." Caboose giving Sarge a "boost".
 * "That window is high, I don't think you are tall enough..." Caboose explaining an obvious predicament to Sarge.
 * "That window is square and my head is round. I don't think it will fit." Caboose while in Battle Creek with Sarge.
 * "I see a room. Inside it are some walls and some ceilings. Oh wait, only one ceiling." Caboose while spying on the Blue Team in Battle Creek.
 * "It's amazing what Caboose will do if you promise him a glass of orange juice and a cookie." Doc, after explaining how Caboose "gave" a gallon of blood to Junior.
 * "Church...If I die... I want you to have my orange juice." Caboose, after being weakened from giving blood to Junior.
 * "Oh, he let me out and somehow shot himself in the back somehow. We both agree it was no one's fault..." Caboose, after shooting and killing Jones when summoned by Washington.
 * "I will eat your unhappyness!" In Battle Creek right before he follows Sarge to the teleporter.
 * "Uh, yes, I am scared of the thing that I don't know what it is." Caboose talking about the grav-lift, or Man Cannon as Sarge called it, in Vallhala.
 * "I do not want to catch pregnancy."
 * "I just work here." About himself in his own mind.
 * "Or it's a key all the time and when you stick it in people, it unlocks their death." When he and Church discuss the function and true form of Tucker's Sword.

Trivia

 * Caboose has 9 toes, as one fell off after Church shot him in the foot as an excuse to get Doc over to him.
 * Hilariously, it seems Caboose's claims of being a 'vehicle destroyer' are actually true, as seen in his initial appearance in Reconstruction. He had literally totaled every single one of the Rat's Nest Blue team's vehicles on his own.
 * Recovery Command has a shortcut on their keyboard for the sole purpose of recording Caboose's team kills: Ctrl + F + U
 * When Washington scans Caboose with a "BioCam" Caboose's Brain Activity is listed as "UNK" (unknown).
 * Caboose is one of 4 known characters in Reconstruction to not carry a battle rifle, but instead an assault rifle, he is seen with it at all times despite all normal Reds, Blues, and Recovery Agents, as well as most of the main characters, utilize battle rifles. This puts Caboose in a group, all the members carry specific weapons throughout the course of Red vs. Blue. Other members of the group include Church, Sarge, and The Meta.
 * Instead of saying "Red vs Blue" like everyone else, Caboose seems to always say "Blue vs Red". He justifies this by saying "it sounds stupid when you say it backwards."
 * Caboose mentions in season five that he got a purple heart because Church shot him. He hopes to gain more "Purple Parts" in order to build a whole "Purple Person".
 * Caboose's intelligence level is 0.1 according to Washington (Reconstruction Part 3 deleted scene).
 * When he and Sarge are killing the zealots all he does is write his name on the wall with bullets. It is worth noting that he also spells his name wrong: "CABOSE".
 * As the series progresses Caboose gets stupider and his voice slowly starts to sound differently. Most of these changes are after O'Malley leaves his mind. Sarge can be heard in Battle Creek stating that is sounded like when O'Malley left he must have "taken the furniture with him," referring to any brains Caboose may have had at some point.
 * It is possible that there is a fragmented A.I. in Caboose's head as a result of O'Malley's possession of him.
 * It is also possible that Caboose can't stand losing Church. So he gathered the A.I.s to recreate Church then place him into Tex's body.
 * An alternate theory is that Caboose is trying to use Tex's body to bring back Sheila since in Relocated, it was shown that he was hanging around her ship body. This would explain why he said: "being together forever", since Sheila would have gotten a human body.


 * In the Halo 3 engine, Caboose is seen wearing a MJOLNIR Mark-V helmet, possibly a reference to him being behind everybody.
 * His name could be a reference to Michael J. Fox who has Parkinson's Disease.