Convict

Age	Unknown
Gender	Male
Status	Alive
Relationships
Enemies	Pico Nene
Media information
Debut	Pico vs. Convict (2006)
Latest appearance	Trick or Treat (as Nene) (2022)

The Convict is the titular main antagonist of Pico vs. Convict, a Pico Day submission created by Luis. He is a mysterious serial killer who has the unique ability to physically shapeshift his body into any form that he chooses. He has since earned a cult following on Newgrounds, instantly becoming a fan favorite character.

Aside from his debut, he also appears as a playable character in Newgrounds Rumble and Strike Force Heroes: Extraction.

General information

Physical appearance

Convict is a towering humanoid creature with a dark gray skull in place of his head, possessing red eyes, sharp teeth, and no apparent jawbone. In his original appearance, he has shirtless and sported a dark-skinned, muscular body covered in tribal tattoos. In Newgrounds Rumble, he instead dresses more conservatively by wearing a black tuxedo suit with a bright red tie.

Personality

Judging by what little we know about him, the Convict was an infamous criminal who has committed multiple acts of illegal activity in the past, presumably murder. At some point in time, he was electrocuted by a lightning bolt, and rather than being killed instantly, he was instead reborn with the incredible superpower to physically alter his body to mimic the appearance of other lifeforms. Having newly gained this power, he now continues his life of crime by using it to manipulate others and kill all those who oppose him.

Abilities

After undergoing a horrific transmutation, Convict abnormally possesses the ability to shapeshift, transforming himself into whoever or whatever living thing he wishes. He is able to use different forms of melee and ranged attacks, such as a mace, bear claws, knives, and any other character's weapons, all just as efficiently as they can. Similar to Cassandra, he is a manipulative fearmonger who is hellbent on deceiving the world for his own personal gain, and essentially acts as her spiritual successor in Newgrounds Rumble.

History

Pico vs. Convict

Convict makes his debut appearance in Pico vs. Convict, as the main antagonist. According to a letter written by Nene, he had already killed a majority of the students in the school except for her and Pico, who encounters the Convict. Spotting his prey, Convict then transforms into Pico's cousin, Otis, and attacks him with a gladiator mace, making him bleed from the mouth and disorienting him. Immediately, he transforms into Big Brown Bary and grabs Pico by the neck in a stranglehold, overpowering him with little to no effort.

However, Nene notices this and comes out of hiding to distract him by flipping the bird. Convict, now aggravated after being insulted, lets go of Pico and transforms into Nene, as Pico quickly made his escape to arm himself. Inside the cafeteria, the two Nenes then fight each other, with Convict as Nene losing badly. Suddenly, Pico enters and unknowingly shoots the real Nene, just as she was about to finish off Convict, who stands up and hugs Pico. While hugging him, Convict (still disguised as Nene) breaks the fourth wall by revealing his face to the audience, leaving Pico's fate unknown.

Newgrounds Rumble

In Newgrounds Rumble, Convict appears as a playable character. His story mode portrays him as a new nemesis in Newgrounds, now having risen to fill the "deceased fearmonger" Cassandra's shoes in the wake of her slaughter. In his ending, Convict disappears from the public eye rather than taking Newgrounds' throne, much to everyone's surprise. Instead, he asserts his power as a shapeshifter by pulling the strings from the sidelines, all the while making sure that everything would go his way.

He also makes a cameo appearance in Nene's story mode ending. There, he takes on her form and impersonates her when she commits suicide out of despair sometime after becoming the King of the Portal.

Gallery

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  Convict looming over Pico.

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  Convict transforms into Otis.

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  Convict sheds his disguise.

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  Convict transforms into Big Brown Bary.

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  Convict morphs from Big Brown Bary to Nene.

• 

  Convict reveals his true face.

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  Convict's character icon in Newgrounds Rumble.

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  Convict attacking.

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  Convict's run cycle.

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  Ditto.

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  Convict's crouch.

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  One of Convict's attack animations.

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  Convict in Newgrounds Rumble.

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  Convict's ending in Newgrounds Rumble.

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  Convict's cameo in Nene's ending.

Trivia

• According to Luis, Convict was a former prisoner who, after being struck by a bolt of lightning, gained his unique power of shapeshifting.
  • In a character bio from Strike Force Heroes: Extraction, it's revealed that the Convict was either born in, or originated from, Australia.
• Convict shares some similarities with Buckshot, another character created by Luis. Both are ruthless mass murderers who have a skull for a head, but unlike Convict, Buckshot has a large Afro and seemingly possesses no superpowers. He also seems to work for the Assassin Organization, while Convict has no known affiliations with anyone.
• The background music that appeared in Pico vs. Convict originates from the 1988 Tim Burton film, Beetlejuice.
• Convict is one of the few antagonists in the Pico series to not be killed outright, as he manages to inadvertently trick Pico into saving his life while getting his friend Nene killed.
• In Newgrounds Rumble, Convict is the second most expensive character in the game, aside from Piconjo. The player must earn about 1,250 Grounds Gold in order to purchase him.
  • Unlike in canon, he cannot manually control his shapeshifting abilities. During battle, he can transform himself into one of the other characters at random, changing his movesets and properties each time. This requires the player to become familiar with both his and the other fighters' movesets in-game. Despite this, he is surprisingly a well-balanced character and "always has fresh attacks".