- "Yup! I licked it! I licked the base!"
- —Iowa in The "Mission"
Freelancer Agent Iowa, real name Mike, was an agent of the Special Operations program Project Freelancer. Despite being an elite soldier, he was one of the worst Freelancers along with Idaho and Ohio. The three of them were nicknamed "The Triplets". He was also involved in a training incident where his suit stopped providing him oxygen for 20 minutes, which seemed to result in minor brain damage, and thus vocal and cognitive difficulties.
Role in Plot
Finding a Purpose
During his time at Project Freelancer, Iowa, alongside Idaho and Ohio, was constantly mocked by the other Freelancers for his extremely low rank, with Agents Georgia and South Dakota giving him the most grief. After Washington and C.T. try to cheer them up, Iowa, Ohio, and Idaho attempt to prove themselves during a training session but only further embarrass themselves.
The triplets are later flown to a snowy area on an "assignment", given to them by the Counselor. Unfortunately, the three quickly realize they were most likely dumped there as cannon fodder. However, when Iowa locates a large fortress nearby, the triplets infiltrate the base and encounter three soldiers of Charon Industries, who were also dumped in the area by their superiors. With the two groups mutually connecting over their organizations mistreating them, they decide to fight each other, the Triplets satisfied that they've finally found a purpose.
Epsilon's Post-Chorus Simulations
In another timeline, Washington time travels to his Freelancer days, hoping to discover where Carolina hid after her supposed death. His lack of success leads him to vent to the Triplets as a last resort. Iowa then questions why Wash didn't just go to the future, where he and Carolina were friends and he can ask her where she went himself. A stunned Wash does so, and discovering how easy it is, screams at himself for not having thought of such an utterly simple solution.
Trivia
- Iowa is an homage to Shannon McCormick's home state. The other two "Triplets" are named for states Iowa is often mistaken for.
- Iowa suffers from arachnophobia (Fear of arachnids).
- Iowa's armor consists of the default Mark VI helmet, and EVA chest and shoulder pads.
- Iowa's speech and erratic behavior was similar to Zed from Police Academy. His sneeze that was apparently strong enough to blow up 7 mongooses is similar to Zed's powerful scream that is capable of blowing down a door.
- Iowa shares many similarities to Caboose.
- Both wear blue armor.
- Both have relatively low intelligence.
- Both lost oxygen while in their suits, which likely caused brain damage, hence the low intelligence.
- Both inadvertently destroy vehicles.
- Iowa's real first name is Mike, a short form of Caboose's first name, Michael.
- Apparently, both Iowa and Idaho play Dungeons & Dragons, where latter takes the role of a dungeon master.
- Iowa is Donut's home state.
- Shannon McCormick named Iowa after his Uncle Mike, who is from Iowa.
- Iowa's voice and mannerisms are also a possible homage to Bobcat Goldthwait's mannerisms in his comedic routines although its just an assumption.
- Iowa, along with Ohio and Idaho, appears in a cameo appearance as an attendee of the Retro Convention during Restoration.