Wing Commander

In September 1990, the game Wing Commander was released by Origin Systems, Inc. And then it exploded.

Throughout The Nineties, it was rare to have a year without a Wing Commander release, whether an Expansion Pack or a new game, culminating in the online release of Wing Commander Secret Ops in 1998.

The series has been so influential on the entire space sim genre, even years after the last release (Wing Commander Arena, an Xbox Live Arcade game) and a dozen years after the last major game release (Wing Commander Secret Ops), many articles reviewing a game that involves space flight or involving storylines as an integral part of the gameplay will reference the Wing Commander series.

Along with the games, Origin (and later Electronic Arts, who purchased Origin in 1993) licensed works in other media to contribute to the WC universe, all of which counts towards Canon.

The media in which Wing Commander has had a presence, in approximate order of the initial release:
 * The games.
 * The novels.
 * The 1996 cartoon show on USA Network.
 * The 1998 theatrical release.

For character related tropes covering all Wing Commander related media, please see the characters page.