Hello guys! It's my second season of doing these, and I will redesign the home and away kits of all Championship teams alphabetically!
If you have a comment, feel free to share it!
Hello guys! It's my second season of doing these (the first was on an alternate account), and I will redesign the home and away kits of all Championship teams alphabetically!
If you have a comment, feel free to share it!
The gang’s lives have completely changed. Wolf is still the leader and has become increasingly comfortable doing the right thing, Snake still complains constantly about being good, Shark remains the master of disguise, Piranha provides muscle and chaos, Webs handles anything involving technology, and Diane has essentially become their unofficial handler and occasional teammate. Kitty Kat, Pigtail and Doom would still appear in supporting roles rather than simply disappearing. The biggest difference is that the rest of the world believes the Bad Guys are dead, which gives them something they’ve never really had before: freedom. No police chasing them, no wanted posters and no reputation to maintain. They finally have the chance to start again.
The movie opens at night in Switzerland, where the gang is breaking into a ridiculously secure private bank filled with lasers, guards, biometric locks and every security measure imaginable. Wolf narrates, “There’s one thing people never understand about pulling off the perfect heist.” Snake crawls through the ventilation system, Webs takes over the cameras, Shark somehow successfully impersonates a billionaire, and Piranha hangs upside down outside the seventieth floor. Wolf enters the vault and finds their target: one tiny flash drive. “It’s not about what you steal. It’s about making sure nobody knows you were there.” They escape perfectly without triggering a single alarm. It feels exactly like the old Bad Guys—until Wolf hands the stolen drive to a government agent. They’re secretly working covert missions now. Snake immediately complains, “I hate being a good guy.” Wolf replies, “You say that every mission.” Snake shrugs. “Because every mission keeps proving me right.”
The government’s secret criminal-intelligence division is controlled by Director Leon King, a sophisticated African lion who is elegant, calm, charismatic and extremely difficult to read. King recruited the Bad Guys because he understands that former criminals can go places and use methods that normal government agents cannot. He seems to genuinely respect Wolf, perhaps a little too much, and in many ways he represents what Wolf could have become if he cared more about control than friendship. King tells him, “You aren’t criminals anymore.” Wolf smiles and says, “Thanks.” King continues, “You’re something much more useful.” Wolf doesn’t think much of it, but Diane immediately dislikes King and doesn’t trust the way he talks about the gang.
Everything changes when someone breaks into The Vault, the most secure government facility on Earth. It isn’t a normal bank vault, but a massive storage complex containing confiscated criminal technology, stolen artifacts, prototype weapons and evidence taken from some of the world’s most dangerous criminals. Nobody has ever successfully stolen anything from it until one device suddenly disappears: the Skeleton Key. Years earlier, Webs designed an early version of the technology but abandoned it before finishing it. If completed, the Skeleton Key could theoretically bypass almost any digital security system on Earth, including banks, satellites, government databases and military networks. The situation becomes even worse when investigators discover that every piece of evidence points toward the same suspects: the Bad Guys.
The gang’s identities are leaked and the world suddenly discovers they’re alive. Within hours, news reports announce “THE BAD GUYS RETURN!”, wanted posters appear everywhere and police forces begin hunting them again. Years of trying to prove they changed disappear almost overnight. Snake looks around at the wanted posters and screams, “I KNEW IT!” Wolf asks, “Knew what?” Snake points at one of them. “GOOD GUYS DON’T GET WANTED POSTERS!” The gang manages to escape, but Wolf doesn’t find any of it funny. They spent years earning people’s trust, and it took less than a day for everyone to believe they were criminals again.
Diane secretly investigates the evidence and discovers that government records connected to the theft were manipulated from inside the agency. She immediately suspects King, but Wolf refuses to believe her because King was the person who gave them another chance when nobody else trusted them. Diane finally tells him, “Wolf, you trust people because you want them to trust you.” Wolf asks, “Isn’t that what being good is?” Diane shakes her head. “No. That’s what being you is.” Wolf doesn’t fully understand what she means yet, but the idea stays with him. His willingness to trust people isn’t something he developed because he became a hero. It has always been part of who he is.
Snake’s first instinct is to disappear until everything blows over, but Doom finds him before he can. Their relationship has continued, although neither of them particularly enjoys admitting how serious it has become. Doom sees Snake preparing to leave and asks, “Running away?” Snake immediately corrects her: “Strategic relocation.” Doom tells him he’s scared, and Snake replies, “I’m a snake. This is my face.” Underneath the jokes, though, Doom understands what he’s actually afraid of. Snake isn’t scared of going back to prison nearly as much as he’s scared that everyone was right about them—that animals like him really can’t change. Doom tells him, “You weren’t good because everyone believed you. You were good when nobody was watching.” That becomes the idea Snake carries with him for the rest of the story.
The gang decides to investigate the theft, but they don’t suddenly become traditional detectives. They solve the case the same way they would have planned a robbery. Wolf questions old underworld contacts, Webs tracks black-market communications, Shark disguises himself as increasingly ridiculous people, and Piranha somehow accidentally becomes friends with one of their suspects. Eventually, all their leads point toward the same person: Director King stole the Skeleton Key himself. The bigger surprise is that he isn’t planning to sell it. He wants to use it.
King believes crime can never truly be eliminated because every criminal who gets caught will eventually be replaced by someone else. Instead of endlessly fighting crime, he wants to control it. With the Skeleton Key, his agency could secretly control enormous parts of the world’s financial and security infrastructure. King could decide which criminals succeed, who gets arrested, who becomes rich and what information governments are allowed to see. He could manufacture threats and then publicly defeat them, making his organization completely indispensable. Wolf finally looks at him and says, “So you’re a criminal.” King almost seems offended. “Please. Criminals steal money.” He steps closer. “I steal certainty.”
King didn’t create the plan entirely by himself. While developing it, he secretly consulted someone in prison who knows better than almost anyone how to appear harmless and heroic while being completely evil. A cell door opens, tiny footsteps approach and Professor Marmalade walks into the room. Wolf immediately groans, “Oh, come ON.” Marmalade throws his arms open and screams, “MISS ME?!” He wouldn’t become the main villain again, though. He’s simply King’s consultant, helping him manipulate public opinion and design the perfect cover story. Naturally, Marmalade is also secretly planning to betray King the second he gets an opportunity, because trusting Marmalade with anything is still a terrible idea.
Wolf becomes obsessed with clearing the gang’s names and gradually starts making every decision himself. He tells everyone where to go, what risks to take and how everything has to happen because he’s desperate to prove to the world that they’re good now. Diane eventually confronts him and says, “You’re doing it again.” Wolf asks what she means, and Diane answers, “Performing.” She explains that Wolf originally spent his life performing the role of a bad guy because that was what everyone expected from him. Then he changed and started performing the role of a good guy because he desperately wanted everyone to know he had changed. Either way, other people are still defining him. Criminal, hero, good guy, bad guy—it’s all just another label. Diane finally tells him, “Maybe stop trying to prove you’re a good guy.” Wolf looks genuinely lost. “Then what am I supposed to be?” Diane smiles. “Wolf.”
I’d finally move Wolf and Diane’s relationship forward instead of spending another movie on teasing and near-confessions. During a quiet moment while they’re hiding, Wolf awkwardly starts, “When this is over...” Diane immediately replies, “Dangerous way to start a sentence.” Wolf gathers his courage and asks, “Dinner?” Diane reminds him they’ve had dinner plenty of times. Wolf struggles for a moment before clarifying, “No. Like... dinner dinner.” Diane deliberately makes him suffer by asking, “Are you asking me on a date?” Wolf immediately responds, “I’m reconsidering the entire conversation.” Diane kisses him on the cheek and walks away while Wolf completely freezes. Then he notices Snake has witnessed the entire thing. Snake starts laughing, and Wolf immediately tackles him.
King activates the Skeleton Key from a fortified command center beneath the International Reserve, the most secure financial complex in the world. The police can’t enter, the military can’t attack and any conventional attempt to breach the facility will automatically erase all evidence of King’s crimes. Diane looks at the group and asks the obvious question: “How do we get inside?” Everyone slowly turns toward Wolf. For the first time in a while, that old grin appears on his face. “We rob it.” The Bad Guys aren’t being forced back into crime this time. They’re willingly using everything that once made them great criminals to save everyone else.
The final heist would give every member of the gang something important to do. Wolf deliberately gets himself arrested because he realizes the easiest way through the front entrance is to have security bring him inside. Snake crawls through an impossibly narrow cooling system while complaining during literally every second of it. Shark faces his greatest disguise challenge by impersonating Director King himself, something nobody believes should work until it somehow works perfectly. Wolf eventually asks, “HOW?!” and Shark proudly answers, “Commitment.” Piranha receives one instruction: create chaos. Wolf asks if he can handle that, and Piranha nearly starts crying. “I’ve waited my whole life for you to ask me that.” Meanwhile, Webs enters a cyber battle against the Skeleton Key and realizes she’s essentially trying to defeat an advanced version of her own old code.
King eventually discovers Diane inside the facility, giving her the chance to go completely back into Crimson Paw mode. Security guards surround her, Diane looks around calmly, takes off her shoes and completely destroys them. King confronts her and demands, “Governor. Criminal. Hero. Which one are you?” Diane doesn’t even stop fighting. “Busy.” Then she punches him. Her role mirrors Wolf’s arc perfectly: Diane has had even more identities than he has, but she stopped worrying a long time ago about fitting neatly into one of them.
Wolf eventually confronts King alone, and in a straightforward fight, King completely outmatches him. He’s a lion fighting a wolf and is simply much stronger. But Wolf eventually remembers that he doesn’t need to fight like a hero. He’s a thief. He bluffs, cheats, distracts King, uses sleight of hand and constantly tricks him into looking in the wrong direction. King laughs and asks, “And you call yourself a good guy?” Earlier in the story, that would have bothered Wolf. This time he just smiles. “Nope.” King looks confused. Wolf opens his hand and reveals the Skeleton Key, which he secretly stole from King during the fight. “I’m a Bad Guy.” He pauses. “We’re just bad at being bad now.”
Just when it seems like they’ve won, Marmalade appears, steals the Skeleton Key from Wolf and escapes in a helicopter while screaming, “WHO’S THE GUINEA PIG NOW?!” He celebrates for several seconds before hearing the helicopter door open behind him. Snake is already sitting inside. “Hey.” Marmalade slowly turns around. “...Oh no.” Snake smiles. “Oh yeah.” A few seconds later, Snake has the Skeleton Key and Marmalade’s escape plan has ended exactly as badly as everyone should have expected.
The gang finally has access to evidence that can prove King framed them, but King activates one final failsafe. They have enough time to do only one thing: save the evidence clearing their names or destroy the Skeleton Key before it compromises millions of systems around the world. Everyone looks at Wolf. Earlier in his life, Wolf would have chosen himself. Earlier in this movie, he would have been desperate to save the evidence because he needed the world to know he was good. Now he doesn’t hesitate. He destroys the Skeleton Key, and the evidence disappears with it. Millions of people are safe, but the world may continue believing the Bad Guys are criminals. Snake looks at Wolf. “So we’re fugitives again.” Wolf answers, “Yep.” Snake continues, “No money?” “Nope.” “Everyone hates us?” Wolf shrugs. “Pretty much.” Snake slowly smiles. “Best day ever.”
Unknown to the gang, Diane managed to transmit part of King’s confession before the system collapsed. It isn’t enough to prove every detail of what happened, but it is enough to expose King and confirm that the Bad Guys were framed. The gang is officially pardoned again and immediately surrounded by reporters asking whether they now consider themselves heroes. Wolf looks at Snake, Shark, Piranha, Webs and Diane before smiling. “Nah.” He turns toward their car. “We’re the Bad Guys.” Everyone climbs inside, the tires screech and they disappear down the road. For the first time, the name isn’t something Wolf is ashamed of or something he uses to scare people. It’s simply theirs.
Later, Wolf is sitting nervously in an actual restaurant wearing a suit when Diane arrives. Wolf immediately asks, “So this is officially a date?” Diane sits down and says, “Depends.” Wolf asks, “On?” Diane replies, “Are you planning on stealing anything?” Wolf thinks for a second and says, “Your heart?” Diane just stares at him. Wolf immediately looks away. “Yeah, I regretted it immediately.” Diane laughs, leans across the table and kisses him. After three movies of flirting, teasing and almost saying how they feel about each other, they finally stop avoiding it.
The final scene has the entire gang driving down an open highway as Wolf narrates, “People want everything to be simple.” We see Snake as Wolf says, “Good guys.” Then Diane. “Bad guys.” Then the rest of the gang. “Heroes.” Finally, Marmalade is shown screaming furiously from inside a police van. “Villains.” Wolf looks at his friends and smiles. “But we’re a little more complicated than that.” Their car disappears into the sunset as THE BAD GUYS appears on screen, followed a moment later by THE END? From somewhere inside the car, Snake immediately shouts, “Oh, absolutely not.” CUT TO BLACK. It would still work perfectly as a trilogy finale because Wolf’s story has come full circle: he started by pretending to be bad, spent years trying to prove he was good, and finally realized that he doesn’t need either label to choose to do the right thing.
The main group would consist of Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad, Rosalina and a young Luma, with Bowser, Bowser Jr. and Kamek eventually becoming reluctant allies. Mario is still the main hero, but Luigi would have almost as much importance this time. Peach remains the ruler and leader of the Mushroom Kingdom, Toad brings his usual chaos, while Rosalina introduces everyone to a side of their universe they never knew existed. The main villain would be Tatanga, reimagined as an alien warlord who travels between galaxies conquering kingdoms and collecting powerful objects called Grand Stars. His ultimate target is the Grand Star at the center of Rosalina’s Comet Observatory, which would give him control over the gravitational pathways connecting different worlds.
The movie opens in the Mushroom Kingdom several years after Mario and Luigi first arrived, and by now the Super Mario Brothers are celebrities. Mario loves the attention, while Luigi mostly enjoys seeing his brother happy. Peach announces the beginning of the Star Festival, a celebration that occurs only once every hundred years, and Mario and Luigi walk through the crowded streets together. Luigi jokes, “You know, when we started the plumbing business, I thought unclogging toilets was gonna be the dangerous part.” Mario laughs before asking him something more serious: “You miss Brooklyn?” Luigi pauses. “Sometimes.” Before they can continue, a tiny yellow creature suddenly falls from the sky and lands directly on Mario’s face. It’s a Luma. Mario pulls it off and shouts, “WHY DOES EVERYTHING HERE HIT ME?!” Then every star in the sky suddenly disappears. The entire Mushroom Kingdom looks upward as the night becomes completely black.
Gigantic spacecraft appear above the Mushroom Kingdom, but these aren’t Bowser’s ships. Tatanga’s forces pour out and attack as Peach organizes the kingdom’s defenses while Mario and Luigi fight side by side. Then Tatanga himself arrives. He’s small, purple and initially looks almost ridiculous compared with the enormous invasion fleet. Mario stares at him and asks, “That’s the guy?” Tatanga casually raises one hand and changes gravity around Mario, sending him flying sideways through several buildings. Luigi watches him disappear into the distance and quietly says, “That’s the guy.” Tatanga isn’t interested in Peach or even Mario. He wants the Luma because it knows how to find Rosalina. Mario protects it, but Tatanga simply tells him, “Then I’ll follow you to her,” before withdrawing.
The Luma leads Mario, Luigi, Peach and Toad through a Launch Star and blasts them into space, where they eventually reach the enormous Comet Observatory. The atmosphere immediately becomes quieter and more mysterious as Rosalina appears. She’s calm, distant and almost otherworldly, and Peach quickly realizes that Rosalina isn’t simply another princess. Rosalina explains that the universe is connected by a network of Grand Stars that maintain the gravitational balance between galaxies. Tatanga has already stolen several, and if he obtains the final Grand Star from the Observatory, entire galaxies could begin colliding. Mario immediately says, “Okay. So we stop him.” Rosalina calmly answers, “No.” Mario blinks. “...No?” She tells them to return home because this isn’t their fight. Mario, naturally, refuses.
Peach and Rosalina would develop one of the movie’s most interesting relationships because Rosalina seems to know something about Peach’s mysterious past. Peach has spent her entire life knowing that she’s human despite growing up in a kingdom where nobody else is. She eventually notices the way Rosalina looks at her and asks, “You’ve seen another human before, haven’t you?” Rosalina remains silent until Peach pushes her for an answer. Finally, Rosalina says, “Many.” For the first time, Peach realizes there may be entire human civilizations somewhere beyond the Mushroom Kingdom. Rosalina refuses to explain where they are or whether they have any connection to Peach, leaving her origin unanswered but opening up a much larger mystery.
Meanwhile, Bowser remains imprisoned back in the Mushroom Kingdom, but Bowser Jr. has been desperately trying to rescue his father. Junior would be younger, smaller and somehow even more arrogant than Bowser. He attacks the Mushroom Kingdom expecting to find Mario, only to discover Mario isn’t even on the planet. He then kidnaps Kamek—despite Kamek already being his guardian—and demands answers. Kamek politely points out, “Young master... kidnapping your own guardian seems unnecessary.” Junior screams, “I’M THE KING NOW!” Kamek sighs. “Of course, sire.” Junior eventually discovers where Bowser is being held and launches an absurd rescue operation that somehow works. Bowser emerges dramatically and immediately shouts, “FINALLY! NOW WHERE IS PEACH?!” Kamek answers, “In space.” Bowser freezes. “...What?”
Rosalina reluctantly allows Mario and the others to use the Observatory, but they need to recover enough Power Stars to reach Tatanga. Their journey takes them across completely different galaxies where gravity and physics constantly change. In Good Egg Galaxy, Mario tries jumping between spherical planets, gets caught by changing gravity and falls upward while shouting, “I hate space!” In Honeyhive Galaxy, Mario gets the Bee power-up, and Luigi immediately takes a picture while telling him, “You look adorable.” Mario responds, “Not. One. Word.” In Freezeflame Galaxy, Peach gets a Fire Flower while Luigi gets an Ice Flower, and Mario is slightly offended that Luigi finally has the cooler power-up. Then they reach Ghostly Galaxy, where Luigi gets separated from everyone. Mario desperately races after him expecting another rescue, only to arrive and find Luigi standing beside a huge group of defeated Boos. Mario shouts, “LUIGI! I came to rescue you!” Luigi looks around and asks, “From what?” Mario slowly lowers his fists. “...Nice.”
This would be Luigi’s movie almost as much as Mario’s. Mario doesn’t intentionally overshadow his brother, but he does. Everywhere they go, animals talk about how Mario saved the Mushroom Kingdom, how Mario defeated Bowser and how Mario became a hero. Luigi is usually introduced as “Mario’s brother.” He keeps telling himself that this doesn’t bother him, but deep down it does. Rosalina notices and eventually asks him, “Why do you follow him?” Luigi answers immediately, “Because he’s my brother.” Rosalina looks at him and says, “That wasn’t my question.” Luigi has no answer. He loves Mario and wants to be beside him, but he begins realizing that following Mario and choosing his own path don’t have to be the same thing.
Mario has developed the opposite problem: he’s become too confident. He has saved kingdoms, defeated powerful enemies and become famous, so he increasingly believes that any problem can be solved if he just keeps moving forward. Rosalina repeatedly warns him not to rush into a confrontation with Tatanga, but Mario ignores her and attacks before the group is ready. This time there’s no lucky comeback. Tatanga completely destroys him by manipulating gravity so Mario can barely even reach him. Mario keeps attacking anyway until Tatanga finally asks, “Do you know why you’re losing?” Mario expects some huge villain speech, but Tatanga simply says, “Because you never learned when to stop.” He takes all the Power Stars the group has collected and escapes. Mario’s recklessness has handed the villain exactly what he needed.
Luigi finally loses his patience and tells Mario that they should have listened to Rosalina. Mario argues that he was only trying to protect everyone, but Luigi suddenly shouts, “You don’t always have to protect me!” Mario freezes. “What?” Luigi finally says what he’s been holding back: “I’m not the scared little brother you have to drag behind you anymore.” Mario insists, “I never said you were.” Luigi looks at him and answers, “You don’t have to.” Then he walks away. Mario realizes that even though he never intended to treat Luigi as a sidekick, his constant need to lead, protect and make decisions for both of them has made Luigi feel exactly like one.
Rosalina finds Mario alone and finally tells him part of her own story. She was once a human girl who left her family to help a lost Luma find its mother. She travelled farther and farther from home until she eventually realized she could never return to the life she had left behind. Over time, the Lumas became her family and the Observatory became her home, but that didn’t erase everything she had lost. Mario asks, “Don’t you regret leaving?” Rosalina quietly answers, “Every day.” Mario is surprised, but Rosalina explains, “Choosing a path does not mean you stop loving the paths you left behind.” Mario begins thinking about Brooklyn, his family and, most importantly, his relationship with Luigi. Moving forward doesn’t require pretending the person you used to be never existed.
Right when things seem hopeless, an enormous Koopa ship crashes into the Observatory. Mario sees it approaching and groans, “Oh, you’ve GOT to be kidding me.” Bowser emerges with Bowser Jr. and Kamek. Then Bowser sees Rosalina, pauses and instinctively fixes his hair. Peach immediately warns him, “Don’t.” Bowser awkwardly replies, “Wasn’t gonna.” He initially wants revenge against Mario, but Tatanga suddenly attacks and destroys most of Bowser’s fleet without any effort. Bowser watches his ships explode, goes silent for a moment and finally says, “Okay. I hate THAT guy more.” That creates a temporary and extremely uncomfortable alliance.
Tatanga collects the Grand Stars and uses them to create an enormous artificial galaxy around his fortress, causing reality itself to begin collapsing as planets crash together and gravity becomes increasingly unstable. Rosalina realizes they have only minutes before the entire structure becomes a massive black hole. Everyone finally gets an important role. Peach commands the combined Mushroom Kingdom and Koopa forces, Bowser attacks Tatanga’s battleships, Bowser Jr. and Toad infiltrate the fortress, Rosalina and the Lumas desperately stabilize the Observatory, while Mario and Luigi go after Tatanga and the final Grand Star together.
Tatanga manages to separate the brothers, leaving Mario stranded on one side of the artificial galaxy while Luigi lands near the path to the final Grand Star. Mario tries everything but simply cannot reach it. For once, Mario cannot save the day. Luigi can. Luigi contacts him and nervously asks, “Tell me what to do.” Mario pauses. Normally, he would immediately start giving instructions, but this time he understands what Luigi needs from him. He simply says, “You know what to do.” Luigi smiles and takes the lead. Alone, he crosses collapsing planets, dodges Tatanga’s forces, uses the Ice Flower and wall-jumps between rotating asteroids until he finally reaches the Grand Star, where Tatanga is waiting for him.
Tatanga looks at Luigi and laughs. “The lesser brother.” Luigi is visibly terrified. His hands shake and for a moment it looks like he might run. Instead, he looks at Tatanga and says, “Yeah. I’m scared.” He takes a step forward. “I’m usually scared.” Then another. “I just do it anyway.” That’s what makes Luigi heroic. His arc isn’t about suddenly becoming fearless or turning into Mario. Luigi remains nervous, cautious and easily frightened, but he finally understands that courage means acting despite that fear. He fights Tatanga alone and cannot defeat him, but he survives long enough for Mario to finally arrive. Mario lands beside him and asks, “Need a hand?” Luigi smiles. “Took you long enough.”
The final confrontation would be Mario and Luigi together against Tatanga. No solo Mario victory and no brother waiting to be rescued. They fight in perfect synchronization, using their differences instead of trying to fight identically. Mario uses the Fire Flower while Luigi uses the Ice Flower. Mario launches Luigi across gaps, Luigi freezes Tatanga’s gravity weapon, and Mario destroys it. Tatanga gradually loses control of the artificial galaxy until the Grand Stars finally break free. The brothers have won the fight, but they’re too late to stop the galaxy from collapsing.
The artificial galaxy collapses into an enormous black hole, and everyone desperately tries to escape but realizes there’s nowhere to go. Rosalina knows exactly what has to happen. The Lumas begin gathering around her, and Mario asks what they’re doing. For the first time in the entire movie, Rosalina begins crying. She quietly answers, “Saving us.” One by one, the Lumas fly into the black hole, sacrificing themselves as their energy overwhelms it. The universe collapses into complete silence, and then everything erupts in a massive burst of light. Instead of being destroyed, the universe is reborn.
Mario wakes up back in the Mushroom Kingdom with Luigi beside him, followed by Peach, Toad, Bowser and Bowser Jr. Everyone survived, and the stars have returned to the night sky. Rosalina appears far above them, almost like a constellation rather than physically standing there. Mario looks upward and quietly says, “Thank you.” Then something tiny falls beside him. A newborn Luma looks up and squeaks. Mario smiles, realizing the Lumas aren’t truly gone. Their old lives ended, but new ones have already begun.
Mario and Luigi eventually return to Brooklyn for a while. Their old plumbing van is still there, their parents still have dinner with them, and despite everything they’ve experienced, home still feels like home. Later, the brothers sit together on the roof. Mario looks at Luigi and says, “You know you’re not my sidekick, right?” Luigi replies, “Yeah.” After a pause, Mario adds, “I’m probably yours.” Luigi immediately answers, “Obviously.” Mario shoves him, and they both laugh. Then the Warp Pipe begins glowing nearby. Luigi stands up first and says, “Come on.” Mario looks at him, smiles and follows him this time.
Bowser and Bowser Jr. finally return to their castle, where Bowser awkwardly asks, “You did all that... for me?” Junior looks confused by the question and answers, “Obviously.” Bowser immediately starts getting emotional while desperately pretending he isn’t. Kamek comments, “How touching.” Bowser screams, “I’M NOT CRYING!” Junior then reveals that he stole something from Tatanga’s fortress: a strange egg. It suddenly cracks open, revealing a green shell and orange spikes before a tiny creature pops out. Yoshi. Bowser stares at him for several seconds before quietly asking, “...Can I keep him?”
Far away in another part of the universe, the remains of one of Tatanga’s conquered worlds drift silently through space. Among the ruins, a crown floats past the camera until a gloved hand suddenly grabs it. We never see who the character is. There’s only silence before a loud, unmistakable laugh echoes through the darkness: “WAAAH-HA-HA-HA!” A purple W appears. WARIO. CUT TO BLACK. THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE 4. The third movie would end with Mario and Luigi finally standing as equals, Rosalina opening the universe to much larger possibilities, Peach learning that the mystery of her past reaches far beyond the Mushroom Kingdom, and a completely new troublemaker waiting for the brothers somewhere out there.
The movie begins moments after the ending of Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Sonic has just been surrounded by an army of Metal Sonic robots when a mysterious pink hedgehog appears and destroys them with a giant hammer. Sonic stares at her and says, “Okay... pink hedgehog, giant hammer, just saved my life. Pretty normal Tuesday.” She simply replies, “Sonic.” His expression immediately changes. “...How do you know my name?” Amy doesn’t answer. Instead, she tells him they need to leave because those robots were only scouts. Before Sonic can ask what that means, something crashes into the ground behind them. One final machine rises from the smoke: red eyes, blue metallic body, jet engine and Sonic’s exact silhouette. This one feels completely different from the others. It scans Sonic before displaying a single message: TARGET IDENTIFIED: SONIC THE HEDGEHOG. Then it disappears.
Amy would be energetic, emotional, optimistic and confident, but there would also be something mysterious about her. She has been travelling between worlds specifically looking for Sonic because she possesses a collection of ancient fortune cards that allow her to see fragments of possible futures. Months earlier, every future she saw ended the same way: Earth was destroyed, and Sonic was at the center of it fighting himself. Amy originally thought the visions meant Sonic would somehow become evil, but eventually she discovered the truth: the other Sonic was a machine. That’s why she came looking for him. Amy believes meeting Sonic was destiny, which Sonic absolutely hates hearing. “I make my own destiny,” he tells her. Amy casually replies, “That’s exactly what my cards said you’d say.” Sonic stares at her. “Okay, that’s creepy.”
Metal Sonic would be the movie’s main villain rather than a silent henchman, and his entire story would revolve around one question: what actually makes Sonic... Sonic? Metal was built using everything that could be collected about him: his speed, movements, combat data, quills, victories and even his mistakes. His purpose isn’t simply to kill Sonic. He was created to become a better version of him. His programming reduces his entire existence to two commands: SONIC IS INFERIOR. METAL SONIC IS PERFECTION. At first, Metal barely speaks and behaves like a cold machine following instructions. But every time he encounters Sonic and his friends, he watches them, studies them and learns. Slowly, something begins changing inside him.
Sonic, Tails and Knuckles naturally assume Robotnik created Metal, and when they investigate what remains of his technology, Tails discovers that Metal’s architecture matches Robotnik’s machines. But there’s an immediate problem: Metal was activated only after Robotnik disappeared. Tails eventually uncovers an encrypted program called PROJECT METAL, a contingency Robotnik created in case he ever permanently failed to defeat Sonic. The system was designed to study Sonic’s abilities and automatically construct something capable of surpassing him, but after Robotnik disappeared, the program continued operating and improving itself without anyone controlling it. It created dozens of Metal Sonic prototypes—the machines that surrounded Sonic—but each generation became more advanced until one prototype destroyed all the others. That survivor became the real Metal Sonic.
Team Sonic is larger now, but everyone has a clear role: Sonic brings speed, Tails intelligence, Knuckles strength, Shadow occasionally appears as a reluctant ally, and Amy brings heart. Tom and Maddie are still emotionally important to Sonic, even though the action increasingly belongs to Sonic and his friends. Amy quickly becomes comfortable around the Wachowskis, and Maddie likes her almost immediately. Tom also notices that Amy clearly admires Sonic. Tails notices too. Knuckles notices. Even Shadow notices. Somehow, Sonic is the only person who has absolutely no idea.
Metal begins appearing at seemingly random locations and attacking Sonic, but Tails eventually realizes something strange: Metal isn’t actually trying to kill him. He’s studying him. Every encounter allows Metal to copy something new—Sonic’s spin dash, his combat techniques, his movement and eventually even small pieces of his personality. Their first proper race happens along a highway. Sonic starts off joking around because he assumes the outcome is obvious, but Metal keeps pace. Sonic accelerates. Metal accelerates. Sonic pushes harder. Metal suddenly passes him. For perhaps the first time, Sonic genuinely loses a race. Metal stops far ahead, turns around and finally speaks his first real words: “Too slow.” Sonic’s own insult is thrown back at him, and for once, Sonic doesn’t have a joke ready.
Amy becomes fascinating to Metal because she constantly behaves in ways his calculations cannot predict. Sonic attacks directly, Knuckles uses strength, Tails relies on technology and Shadow uses Chaos powers, but Amy doesn’t follow a predictable pattern. Sometimes she fights, sometimes she talks, and sometimes she risks herself to save someone she barely knows. During one encounter, Amy manages to knock Metal down and has a clear opportunity to destroy him. Instead, she lowers her hammer. Metal looks at her and asks, “WHY?” Amy simply replies, “Because you stopped fighting.” Metal answers, “INEFFICIENT.” Amy shrugs. “Probably.” She smiles and walks away while Metal remains completely still, unable to understand what just happened. That tiny decision ends up mattering far more than Amy realizes.
Metal eventually starts doing something much worse than beating Sonic: he starts replacing him. He saves civilians faster, stops crimes more efficiently and predicts disasters before Sonic even notices them. Videos spread online and people begin asking whether Metal Sonic is Earth’s newest hero. Sonic pretends the whole thing is hilarious, but Amy immediately sees through him. Sonic has spent years thinking of himself as the fastest thing alive, and suddenly there’s someone faster who doesn’t get tired, doesn’t become distracted and doesn’t make mistakes. Amy finally asks him, “If you’re not the fastest thing alive, who are you?” Sonic immediately answers, “Still incredibly handsome?” Amy laughs, then looks at him seriously. “Seriously.” Sonic goes quiet because he doesn’t actually know.
Shadow would have a smaller but important role because, surprisingly, he understands Metal better than Sonic does. Sonic expects Shadow to hate him, but Shadow sees the similarity between them. Both were created or shaped to serve someone else’s purpose, and both were originally treated more like weapons than individuals. The difference is that Shadow eventually chose what he wanted his life to mean, while Metal has never been given that choice. Sonic keeps describing Metal as nothing more than a machine until Shadow finally tells him, “You’re trying to understand him like he’s a machine.” Sonic replies, “He IS a machine.” Shadow simply asks, “So?” That question stays with Sonic and begins changing the way he sees Metal.
Metal eventually gains access to Robotnik’s remaining global network and absorbs everything it contains about Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, the Master Emerald and Chaos energy. His programming tells him to become the ultimate lifeform capable of defeating Sonic, but after studying Sonic’s victories, Metal reaches an unexpected conclusion: Sonic’s greatest strength isn’t actually his speed. Sonic repeatedly survives impossible situations because he adapts through the people around him. Metal decides that if Sonic becomes stronger through others, then he will do the same. He begins copying Knuckles’ strength, Tails’ technology, Shadow’s Chaos-energy signature and Amy’s combat patterns. His body transforms into something larger, sharper and more expressive, while his personality becomes increasingly arrogant. Neo Metal Sonic is born. He can finally speak normally, and disturbingly, his voice and attitude have started resembling Sonic’s. He looks directly at him and says, “You were the prototype. I’m the upgrade.”
Sonic eventually discovers that Amy hasn’t told him the whole truth about her visions. Her cards never showed Metal destroying Earth. They showed Sonic destroying Metal, and that action somehow caused the catastrophe. Every future where Sonic responds to Metal with anger ends the same way. Amy came to Earth not only to save Sonic, but to stop him from killing Metal. Sonic feels betrayed because Metal has repeatedly attacked them and nearly gotten his friends killed. Amy finally explains why she talks so much about destiny. “You asked me why I believe in destiny,” she says. “I don’t.” Sonic looks confused. Amy continues, “I believe people can change it.” That becomes the difference between them. Sonic believes in freedom—the ability to choose your own path. Amy believes in hope—the belief that even a terrible path can still be changed.
Neo Metal eventually reaches the Master Emerald, forcing Knuckles to defend it in a huge battle. Knuckles actually manages to overpower him at first, but Metal absorbs enough Chaos energy to transform again. Combining Robotnik’s technology with enormous amounts of Chaos energy, he becomes Metal Overlord, a gigantic mechanized dragon-like creature. At that moment, Amy’s visions begin coming true. Cities lose power, Chaos-energy storms spread across Earth and reality itself starts becoming unstable. Sonic realizes the catastrophe was never caused simply by Metal existing. It was caused by the enormous chain reaction created when Metal’s Chaos-powered body was destroyed.
Sonic and Shadow use the Chaos Emeralds to become Super Sonic and Super Shadow and attack Metal Overlord together in a massive aerial battle. Tails and Knuckles work from below to destroy sections of Metal’s external armor while Amy fights her way toward the central reactor. Eventually, Sonic reaches Metal’s core and tears away the final layer of armor, leaving Metal back in his original form: damaged, barely functioning and completely helpless. Sonic raises his fist to finish him. Amy realizes this is the exact moment from her visions. Metal looks at Sonic and says, “DO IT.” Then he adds, “IF SONIC EXISTS... METAL MUST SURPASS SONIC.” Sonic finally understands what Shadow was trying to tell him. Robotnik didn’t just give Metal a mission; he gave him a prison. Sonic lowers his fist. “Then stop being me.” Metal looks confused. “...WHAT?” Sonic answers, “Be something else.”
The Chaos reactor begins going critical, and Tails realizes somebody has to remain behind to manually shut it down or the resulting explosion will devastate Earth. Metal looks at Sonic, then at Amy, remembering the moment she chose not to destroy him. For the first time since his creation, Metal makes a decision that isn’t based on Robotnik’s programming or his obsession with surpassing Sonic. He flies directly into the reactor. Sonic realizes what he’s doing and tries to follow, but Metal throws him clear. Metal looks at Sonic one final time and says, “Sonic...” He pauses before adding, “You’re too slow.” For the first time, there’s the slightest hint of a smile on Metal’s face. The reactor collapses around him, and Amy’s catastrophic future is avoided.
Everyone believes Metal is dead. Later, Sonic and Amy sit together overlooking Green Hills, finally having a quiet moment after everything that happened. Amy asks, “So... still think destiny is stupid?” Sonic immediately answers, “Absolutely.” Amy smiles. “Good.” Sonic looks at her and asks if she’s staying on Earth. Amy replies, “Maybe.” Sonic grins. “Is that what the cards say?” Amy responds by throwing one directly at his forehead. Tom calls everyone inside for dinner, and Sonic immediately races home while Amy runs after him. She’s nowhere near as fast, so after getting far ahead, Sonic quietly slows down. Amy notices what he’s doing and smiles. Sonic pretends he has absolutely no idea what she’s smiling about.
Deep underground, Metal’s destroyed head lies among the wreckage of the reactor. For several seconds, nothing happens. Then one red eye flickers back to life and the words SYSTEM REBOOTING... appear. Before Metal can react, a large mechanical hand reaches down and picks up his head. A massive robot steps out of the darkness, but only its silhouette is visible. Then a glowing Ω symbol appears across its body. E-123 OMEGA. The robot scans Metal’s damaged head before announcing, “TARGET ACQUIRED.” Cut to black.
Elsewhere, Shadow walks alone when he suddenly senses something strange. One of the Chaos Emeralds begins glowing as purple energy crackles through the room. Shadow slowly turns toward it. A distorted voice whispers, “Shadow...” Two red eyes appear in the darkness. Shadow’s expression immediately changes because he recognizes the voice. BLACK DOOM. SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 5. The next story would shift the spotlight heavily toward Shadow, with Omega and Black Doom becoming central characters, while the mystery of what happened to Metal remains open for the future.
The villain would be General Fang, a huge white-and-grey Himalayan wolf who once trained at an isolated kung-fu academy in northern China. Fang was incredibly talented, but he developed a rigid belief that kung fu should follow a simple hierarchy: masters rule, students obey, and the strongest inherit power. His master rejected that philosophy and eventually expelled him. Years later, Fang created the Shadow Claws, an army made up of warriors who had been rejected, abandoned or expelled by kung-fu schools across China. He gives them somewhere to belong, but also feeds their anger toward the masters who rejected them. Fang believes kung fu has become weak because masters choose successors based on feelings rather than ability, so when he learns that Po chose a former thief with almost no formal training as the next Dragon Warrior, he sees Zhen as proof that the entire system is broken. That gives him a genuinely personal reason to target her.
The movie opens with a classic Po action scene as bandits attack a village. Po arrives dramatically, ready to save everyone, only to discover that Zhen has already beaten most of them. She’s clearly becoming stronger, but her fighting style is chaotic: she jumps off walls, swings from ropes, steals weapons, tricks opponents into attacking each other and sometimes simply runs away before appearing behind them. Po thinks it’s brilliant. Tigress absolutely does not. Back at the Jade Palace, Zhen begins training properly with the Furious Five. Tigress teaches discipline, Monkey improvisation, Viper patience, Crane awareness and Mantis precision. Zhen gets along especially well with Monkey, but constantly clashes with Tigress. During one session, Tigress becomes frustrated because Zhen keeps retreating instead of facing her directly and snaps, “Stop trying to escape the fight.” Zhen immediately replies, “Escaping is why I’m still alive.” Tigress goes quiet. For the first time, she understands that Zhen didn’t learn to fight because she dreamed of becoming a warrior. She learned because she had to survive.
Soon afterward, a remote kung-fu temple is attacked, and Po, Zhen and the Furious Five discover that Fang has stolen an ancient artifact called the Seal of the Masters, one of five relics created by the earliest kung-fu schools. Each represents one of kung fu’s foundations: Strength, Speed, Discipline, Wisdom and Spirit. According to legend, bringing all five together reveals the location of the First Dragon Scroll, an artifact supposedly created long before Oogway’s Dragon Scroll. Nobody even knows if it exists, but Fang believes it contains the original secret to becoming the perfect warrior.
Po eventually encounters Fang while trying to protect another relic, and importantly, Po wins. He doesn’t scrape through by luck; he genuinely overwhelms Fang. Po has defeated Tai Lung, Shen, Kai and countless other enemies, so he shouldn’t suddenly forget how to fight just because the movie needs a new villain to look dangerous. The twist is that Fang never intended to beat him. While Po is distracted by their battle, the Shadow Claws steal the relic. Fang looks at him and laughs: “The great Dragon Warrior. Still solving every problem with his fists.” Po’s smile disappears because Fang has touched on something he’s already struggling with. Po is supposed to be a spiritual leader now, yet he’s still behaving exactly like the Dragon Warrior.
At first, Zhen loves her new life. She gets to live at the Jade Palace, train with legendary masters, go on adventures and tell people she’s becoming the Dragon Warrior. But Fang begins publicly questioning her legitimacy, and people start listening. Villagers whisper, “Her? Dragon Warrior?”, while other kung-fu masters openly question Po’s decision. Zhen laughs it off until she finally approaches Po alone and asks, “Why did you choose me?” Po gives her one of his usual optimistic answers, but she pushes him: “No. Why me?” For once, Po doesn’t know what to say. He knows he believes in her, but he can’t explain exactly why, and that uncertainty creates doubt in both of them.
Tigress continues training Zhen harder than anyone else until Zhen finally snaps and asks, “You wanted the title, didn’t you?” After a long silence, Tigress answers, “Once.” Instead of turning into an argument, the scene becomes surprisingly quiet. Tigress admits how badly it hurt when Oogway chose Po. She had spent her entire life training for that moment, only for some panda she had never met to receive everything she thought she had earned. But over time, Po taught her something she hadn’t understood before: being the Dragon Warrior didn’t make him valuable, and not being the Dragon Warrior didn’t make her worthless. Tigress tells Zhen, “That’s why I don’t want you carrying that title before you know who you are without it.” From then on, their relationship changes. Tigress stops trying to make Zhen fight like Po or like herself and starts helping her discover what Zhen’s own kung fu looks like.
Po is dealing with almost the same struggle. Everyone expects the new Spiritual Leader to become another Oogway, so Po tries meditating, speaking in mysterious riddles, leading ceremonies, teaching students and sitting beneath peach trees trying to look wise. He’s terrible at all of it. Eventually, after another failed attempt, he admits to Shifu, “I’m not Oogway.” Shifu simply answers, “Neither was Oogway.” That becomes Po’s breakthrough. He doesn’t need to become the next Oogway; he needs to figure out what Po as a spiritual leader looks like, just as Zhen doesn’t need to become the next Po.
Around halfway through the movie, we learn what happened to Fang. His former master was Master Ren, an elderly snow leopard who eventually had to choose someone to inherit his school. Fang believed the choice was obvious because he was the strongest student, but Ren chose someone else. Furious, Fang challenged the chosen student and nearly killed him, leading Ren to expel him. Fang never recovered from it, but his obsession goes beyond believing that he personally should have been chosen. He believes the entire concept of choosing successors is flawed. Tai Lung wanted recognition, Shen tried to escape destiny and Kai wanted power, but Fang wants legitimacy. He wants worth to be measurable: if you’re stronger, you deserve more. No prophecy, no intuition and no master deciding someone else has greater potential. Zhen represents everything he hates about that system.
Fang eventually gathers four relics, with the fifth hidden beneath the Jade Palace, so the Shadow Claws launch a full assault on the Valley of Peace. This gives the Furious Five a proper action sequence again instead of reducing them to background characters. Tigress fights Fang’s second-in-command, Monkey and Mantis defend the village, Viper protects civilians and Crane battles Shadow Claw warriors across the rooftops and in the air. Po confronts Fang with Zhen beside him, but Fang gets inside her head by pointing toward the Furious Five and saying, “Ask them why none of them were chosen. Decades of training. Years of sacrifice. And the panda chooses a thief.” Zhen looks toward Tigress and hesitates for just a moment. That moment is enough. Fang attacks and completely overwhelms her, forcing Po to save her while Fang escapes with the final relic.
Zhen is devastated and starts believing everything Fang said. Maybe Po really did choose her impulsively. Maybe Tigress should have been the Dragon Warrior. Maybe she never belonged at the Jade Palace at all. She removes the Dragon Warrior medallion, leaves it behind and walks away. Po immediately tries to follow, but Tigress stops him. “Don’t.” Po stares at her and says, “She needs me.” Tigress answers, “No. She needs to decide whether she comes back.” That becomes the moment Po finally begins understanding what being a mentor actually means. He can guide Zhen and believe in her, but he cannot make every decision for her.
The five relics lead Fang deep beneath a mountain to an enormous forgotten temple, where he finally discovers the legendary First Dragon Scroll. Everything he has done has led to this moment. He slowly opens it and finds... nothing. The scroll is completely blank. Fang stares at it, turns it over and looks again before finally screaming, “THERE HAS TO BE SOMETHING!” Years of searching and fighting have led him to the same lesson Po learned from his own Dragon Scroll: there was never a secret technique that could make somebody worthy. The earliest masters created the legend deliberately to teach that lesson. Fang refuses to accept it. Instead, he activates an ancient mechanism within the temple and begins absorbing the chi stored there, finally becoming powerful enough to genuinely threaten Po.
Zhen returns to the thieves’ district where she grew up and eventually finds Han, who unexpectedly helps her understand what she’s been doing wrong. Her whole life, Zhen has allowed other people to define her: thief, fox, criminal, Dragon Warrior. She has spent so much time jumping between identities that she has never stopped to decide who Zhen actually is. She eventually returns to the Valley, not because Po comes looking for her, not because she suddenly thinks she deserves the title and not because she wants to prove Fang wrong. She returns because the Valley of Peace has become her home. Tigress sees her approaching, and Zhen tells her, “I’m not here to prove I’m the Dragon Warrior.” Tigress nods and says, “Good.” Zhen smiles. “I’m here to fight.” For the first time, Tigress smiles back.
Using the temple’s power, Fang launches attacks against five major kung-fu temples at once, forcing the heroes to split up. Instead of following Po everywhere, the Furious Five each command their own battle, finally allowing them to feel like the legendary masters they’re supposed to be. Meanwhile, Po, Tigress and Zhen go after Fang. Po fights him first and gradually begins turning the battle around, but then realizes that he can defeat Fang himself. He could finish everything again, just like he always does, but if he does, nothing changes. Zhen will spend her entire life standing behind him. So Po stops fighting. Zhen looks at him like he’s lost his mind and screams, “What are you doing?!” Po steps backwards and answers, “My job.” Fang laughs and asks, “You’re sending a child to fight me?” Po looks at Zhen and says, “No. I’m trusting the Dragon Warrior.”
Zhen attacks Fang and initially tries to fight using traditional kung fu, copying the stances and techniques she learned at the Jade Palace, but Fang destroys her. Then she remembers everything Tigress, Monkey, Viper, Crane, Mantis and Po taught her and finally combines those lessons with the street-fighting style that kept her alive for years. She stops imitating her teachers and starts fighting like herself. She uses Tigress’ discipline, Monkey’s unpredictability, Viper’s patience, Crane’s awareness, Mantis’ precision and Po’s creativity while adding her own tricks, misdirection and movement. She steals Fang’s weapon, uses his momentum against him and attacks from places he never expects until Fang finally screams, “THAT ISN’T KUNG FU!” Zhen grins and replies, “Yeah. I’ve heard that before.” She defeats him using a finishing technique of her own rather than the Wuxi Finger Hold or one of Po’s moves. She isn’t the next Po. She’s the first Zhen.
Back in the Valley of Peace, Po organizes an official ceremony to formally name Zhen the Dragon Warrior, but she stops him. She explains that she doesn’t want the title simply because she defeated Fang or proved she was stronger than somebody else. She only wants it if Po genuinely believes she can protect others. Po smiles and answers, “That’s why I chose you.” This time, she finally understands. Po formally passes the Dragon Warrior medallion to her. The Furious Five bow, then Shifu bows. Finally, Tigress steps forward. Zhen suddenly looks nervous as Tigress stares at her for a moment before bowing. Zhen bows back. She is no longer Po’s questionable choice. She is the Dragon Warrior.
Later that evening, Po sits beneath Oogway’s peach tree when Shifu joins him. Neither says anything for a while until Shifu finally says, “So. Spiritual Leader.” Po smiles. “Yep.” After another silence, Shifu asks, “Any idea what you’re doing?” Po thinks about it before answering, “Absolutely not.” Shifu looks at him and, surprisingly, smiles. “Good.” A peach blossom falls between them, and Po watches it drift toward the ground. For once, he doesn’t try to catch it. Cut to black.
The Spirit Realm is completely quiet. Tai Lung sits alone, meditating, and for perhaps the first time in his life he actually looks peaceful. Then the ground trembles. Tai Lung opens one eye. Another tremor follows, stronger than the first, and he slowly stands as something enormous moves through the mist in the distance. A gigantic shadow passes over him before a deep voice echoes through the Spirit Realm: “Oogway’s successor has finally taken his place.” Tai Lung’s expression changes as he looks toward the source of the voice and quietly says, “Po...” CUT TO BLACK. KUNG FU PANDA 6. This would set up a much bigger sixth movie centered around Po, Zhen, Tigress and Tai Lung, while still allowing Kung Fu Panda 5 to feel like a complete story on its own.
Qualification:
First Qualifying Round: Cup Winners of 3-34 (+0.25 in coefficient)
Second Qualifying Round: CAF CL Q1 Losers (+0.5 in coefficient)
Third Qualifying Round: CAF CL Q2 Losers (+1 in coefficient)
Fourth Qualifying Round: CAF CL Q3 Losers (+2 in coefficient)
Playoff Round: CAF CL Q4 Losers (+3 in coefficient)
Group Stage (Direct): Winners of 1-2
Proper Competition:
Group Stage: 4 groups of 4 teams, according to pots. No matching countries.
1: To Quarter-Finals
2: To Round of 16
3: Eliminated (+5 in coefficient)
4: Eliminated (+4 in coefficient)
Knockout Stage:
Round of 16: Group Runners-Up vs CAF Third Placed teams (+5.5 in coefficient)
Quarter Finals: Group Winners seeded, host second game at home, away goal rule. (+6 in coefficient)
Semifinals: 1A vs 1B - 1C vs 1D (+7 in coefficient)
Final: One venue. Sub-confederation sequence host for final (UNAF-WAFU-UNIFFAC-CECAFA-COSAFA) - 40k+ (+8 in coefficient)
Winner: Qualifies to super cup (+9 in coefficient)
Qualification:
First Qualifying Round: Winners of associations 25-56
Second Qualifying Round: Winners of 17-24 + Runners-Up of 9-16
Third Qualifying Round: Winners of 9-16 + Runners-Up of 5-8 + Third Place 1-4
Fourth Qualifying Round: Winners of 5-8 + Runners-Up of 1-4
Group Stage (Direct): Winners of 1-4
Proper Competition:
Group Stage: 4 groups of 4 teams, according to pots. No matching countries.
1 and 2: To Quarter-Finals
3: To Confederation Cup Round of 16
4: Eliminated (+5 in coefficient)
Knockout Stage:
Quarter Finals: Group Winners seeded, host second game at home, away goal rule. (+7 in coefficient)
Semifinals: 1A vs 1B - 1C vs 1D (+8 in coefficient)
Final: One venue. Sub-confederation sequence host for final (UNAF-WAFU-UNIFFAC-CECAFA-COSAFA) - 60k+ (+9 in coefficient)
Winner: Qualifies to super cup (+10 in coefficient)
Note: I will do the same for the Confederation Cup when I have time
CC: Al Ahly FC - ZED FC - Al Ahly Tripoli SC - Al Ahly Madani - USM Alger - AS FAR Rabat - CR Belouizdad - Raja CA - CS Sfaxien - AS Real de Bamako - ASKO de Kara - AS Maniema Union - Kaizer Chiefs FC - Durban City FC - Associação Black Bulls - CD 1**°** de Augusto
CL: Mamelodi Sundowns FC - Atlético Petróleos de Luanda - Orlando Pirates FC - Simba SC - Young Africans SC - Esperance Sportive de Tunis - Zamalek SC - Pyramids FC - RS Berkane - MAS de Fes - Stade Malien - MC Alger - FC Nouadhibou - Horoya AC - Club Africain
Hammadi Agrebi Stadium - Tunis (Opening)
Sousse Olympic Stadium - Sousse
Tripoli International Stadium - Tripoli
Benghazi International Stadium - Benghazi
Miloud Hazefi Stadium - Oran
Nelson Mandela Stadium - Algiers
Hocine Ait Ahmed Stadium - Tizi Ouzou
19 May 1956 Stadium - Annaba
5 July 1962 Stadium - Algiers (Final)
26 March Stadium - Bamako (Opening)
Modibo Keïta Sports Stadium - Bamako
General Lansana Conte Stadium - Conakry
28 September Stadium - Conakry
4 August Stadium - Ouagadougou
General Aboubacar Sangoulé Lamizana - Bobo-Dioulasso
Abdoulaye Wade Stadium - Dakar
Léopold Sédar Senghor Stadium - Dakar (Final)
Kintélé Municipal Stadium - Brazzaville (Opening)
Alphonso Massamba-Débat Stadium - Brazzaville
11 November Stadium - Luanda
Ombaka National Stadium - Benguela
Tundavala National Stadium - Tundavala
Frédéric Kibassa Maliba Stadium - Lubumbashi
TP Mazembe Stadium - Lubumbashi
Pentecost Martyrs Stadium - Kinsasha (Final)
