Checkers, also known as Experiment 029, is an illegal genetic experiment created by Jumba Jookiba and a character in the Lilo & Stitch franchise. He is designed to give his wearer the power of command over all living creatures, with the exception of other experiments as well as the blind and nearsighted; his hypnotic effects vanish instantly as soon as he leaves his wearer's head.
Background
Personality
Checkers hasn't shown much emotion or individuality, other than once while running from Gantu. He mostly attaches himself to a person and stays there, almost as if he was an inanimate object.
Physical appearance
Checkers is a yellow-and-purple crown-shaped, centipede-like experiment with black eyes, a dark pink nose, and four pairs of legs that sits curled up like a crown on people's heads.
Powers and abilities
Checkers can hypnotize those around his current wearer to worship the aforesaid wearer like royalty. His eyes flash purple when causing the hypnosis, and his effects are undone as soon as he leaves his wearer's head.
Weaknesses
Only the experiments created after Checkers are immune to his hypnotic effect. Humans that are rendered blind or have nearsighted vision are also immune to Checkers' hypnosis.
Appearances
Lilo & Stitch: The Series
Experiment 029 was the 29th genetic experiment created by Jumba with Hämsterviel's funding. He was designed to make his wearer a king or queen by hypnotizing those around them to worship them as royalty. 029 and the other first 624 experiments were deactivated and smuggled to Earth by Jumba during his mission to capture Experiment 626.
All of the experiment pods were released and scattered across the island of Kauai.
Experiment 029 was activated off-screen and then chased throughout Kokaua Town by Gantu, who had been informed about the experiment, but not before making a vain attempt to kill Experiment 625's pet cockroach named Jimmy. 029 was eventually rescued by Lilo and Stitch and taken home.
After Lilo discovered 029's powers, the former named him Checkers and donned him, thus becoming a queen. She then started making silly decrees and bossed Nani and other individuals around, even Jumba. She also made Mertle and the hula girls her bodyguards.
Before long, Mertle and the hula girls arrested many "troublemakers" for defying their queen (including Pleakley), so Lilo decided to step down by removing Checkers. However, before she could figure out his one true place, Gantu arrived and grabbed Checkers. After putting the latter on his head, thus becoming a king, Gantu made his victims his servants.
Fortunately, Stitch and Reuben were immune to Checkers' hypnotic effect, and both cousins rallied an army of other experiments that attacked Gantu and were able to remove Checkers from his head, overthrowing him. As a result, Gantu's ex-servants revolted against him. After the rebellion, Lilo thought about Checkers' one true place, though it was never revealed.
Later, Checkers and the other experiments, along with Jumba and Pleakley, watched Nani as she participated in the Coconut Queen Festival parade (since the original Coconut Queen called in sick) by riding atop a parade float that Lilo, the hula girls, and Stitch's cousins had modified sometime earlier.
The Origin of Stitch
Checkers was one of the experiments that were gliding on the screen, but he is 553 instead of 029.
Leroy & Stitch
The first 624 experiments, including Checkers, were rounded up by Leroy and taken to a stadium to be destroyed. However, Lilo, Stitch, Jumba, Pleakley, Reuben, and Gantu arrived before the experiments could be destroyed.
Checkers participated in the following battle between the experiments and the Leroy clones, but it is unknown what he did. However, it is presumed that he wouldn't have been able to be very effective, due to the fact that his powers are deemed useless.
The Leroys soon gained the upper hand in the battle, but were defeated when Lilo, Stitch, Reuben, and several other experiments performed the song "Aloha ʻOe", which caused the Leroy army to shut down due to the original Leroy's fail-safe.
Stitch!
Checkers has appeared on multiple occasions in the Stitch! anime. It is also revealed that he will jump off of his host if he eats intolerably spicy foods. He premiered in "Princess Penny", where Reuben used Checkers to temporarily rule over Gantu and Hämsterviel before taking him on a shopping trip and then asking Stitch and Yuna to watch him while Reuben bought some supplies. Also, when Checkers was being worn on the head of Penny, he ate some of her spicy sandwich and a hot pepper, causing him to leap off his host.
Checkers reappeared in "King Meega!", intended to be used by Hämsterviel to command the inhabitants to capture Stitch, but had escaped on his own to Yuna's school, where everyone intended to use his powers for themselves. Stitch once captured Checkers and wore him on his head, but his hypnotic powers did not work on anyone else. Jumba recalls that Checkers' powers do not work on Stitch, as he himself is immune to Checkers' effects. (This actually contradicts what happened in "Princess Penny", as Reuben had used Checkers himself without any problems.)
Checkers also appeared in the special Stitch and the Planet of Sand.
Gallery
Trivia
- Checkers was activated off-screen.
- The Experiment Pod Container describes Checkers as: "Experiment 029. Primary function: King maker. Gives his wearer power of command over all living creatures."
- Checkers is one of the few experiments to not have his one true place revealed.
- In the Stitch! anime, Checkers has a tendency to say "Check!" repeatedly when he moves.
- Although Dave Wittenberg voices Checkers in the English dub of both of the experiment's anime episodes, he is only credited in "Princess Penny" and isn't credited for "King Meega!"
