Fulton Reed is a character in the The Mighty Ducks trilogy. He is portrayed by Elden Henson.
Biography[]
He is initially an outsider in The Mighty Ducks and first meets the team when the Hawks corner the Ducks in an alleyway and threaten them. He beats up the three players from the Hawks and leaves after the Ducks thank him. He continues to sit in the stands and watch the games as the team continues to lose. Later, he is recruited by Bombay when Fulton accidentally hits a slapshot at the window of Bombay's van Louis and Bombay reverse and go back and Gordon gets out and Fulton tries to get away but Bombay grabs him in the process but instead of being upset about the window, he asks Fulton to perform the powerful slapshot once more. Despite Fulton's protests about the shot being inaccurate (1 out of 5 are successful) and his excuse that he cannot ice skate, Bombay pushes him to join District 5 Ducks. Later he is taken back by Dean Portman's ruthless behavior on the ice in D2 and got into verbal argument with him, complete with pushing and shoving before Coach Bombay stops them and the other members. However, later on, he quickly bonds with Portman over talking to pretty girls and a love of heavy metal music. He is close friends with Dean Portman and became known as the "Bash Brothers". The two enforcers often have fun together just bashing players down during matches to make life easier for the Ducks as well as some fun entertainment. During the rematch against Iceland, he and Portman are so thoroughly impressed of Kenny Wu after he beats up the goaltender upon scoring. So much so that both Fulton and Dean immediately make Kenny as a fellow "Bash Brother". Reed is shy and reserved, but shows his loyalty by standing up for the Ducks when the Hawks bully them. He is especially fiercely loyal to Charlie Conway. Like Charlie, he has trouble adapting to Coach Orion at the outset of D3. Reed is the other half of the "Bash Brothers" and the only player on the team to have his or her first name on the back of the jersey. His jersey number he wears is 44 and is often rotated between forward or a powerhouse enforcer positions especially when paired with Portman.
The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers[]
Fulton later became a construction worker and was re-united with his old coach when he ironically smashed one of Bombay's car windows with cement while working as a construction worker. Fulton invited Gordon to Twin City Slice where he said the old Ducks would be gathering and asked if he got an invite to the Spirit of the Ducks gala.
After reminiscing about the past with his friends, Fulton was put off by Gordon's dismissive attitude about the old team and the gala. When he went to the gala, he discovered through Evan Morrow that Bombay was not invited and that the committee was embarrassed by him. With the old Ducks with him, he went to get Bombay to take him back to the gala, where he interrupted Stephanie's speech about Coach T to talk about how great of a coach Bombay was.
He is seen later on playing a hockey game with the Don't Bothers at the Ice Palace. During the game, he checked Adam Banks into one of the benches.
He again reappears in Season 2 with Dean Portman after both were asked to help fix up the Ice Palace by Bombay.
Playing Style[]
Fulton's size and strength are huge assets to the Ducks' overall play, offensively and defensively. His strength not only poses a threat when playing defense, but allows him amazing velocity and height on his slapshot, which often sends opposing players cowering out of the way of it. Fulton's physical presence is often the Duck's only line of physical defense. Therefore his role is most suited as an enforcer or defenseman though he can also play as a forward. For the third film, he's shown to be one of the only players to offer any sort of physical play against Varsity, until he is joined by Dean Portman and Greg Goldberg.
While a tremendous physical player, Fulton does lack skill in his skating, often shown to be slower and more off-balance than his teammates. His skating is at its weakest in the first film, but is much improved in the second and third, albeit still not quite on par with his teammates.
The lack of agility and speed however does not hide the fact that Fulton is still an extremely formidable player to play against, especially when his Bash Brother Dean Portman plays alongside him which thanks to their synergy, makes playing against him even more problematic.
Trivia[]
- Fulton initially disapproved of Dean Portman, when he first met him. But they became friends fast.
- Fulton will re-appear in The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers. Portman reappears in the first episode of Season 2.
- Smashing windows is Fulton's favorite thing to do.
- Fulton Reed is known for his incredibly powerful slapshot, which is clocked at over 100 miles per hour in the Mighty Ducks films. Despite its strength, his shot is often wildly inaccurate, adding an unpredictable element to his play.
- He primarily plays as a defenseman, relying on his size and toughness to protect his zone and intimidate opposing players.
- Fulton is the physical enforcer of the Ducks, often stepping in to defend teammates and bring a strong, intimidating presence to the ice.
- Early in the series, Fulton struggles with skating and stickhandling, but through training and perseverance, he becomes a more reliable two-way player.
- His playstyle is similar to real-life NHL player,s like Shea Weber, Al McInnis, and Zdeno Chara, all three known for their booming slapshots and physical defensive play.
- Along with Dean Portman, Fulton forms one half of the "Bash Brothers," a duo famous for their aggressive and comedic on-ice antics.
- Fulton Reed's physical, hard-hitting style and powerful slapshot are a hallmark of his play throughout The Mighty Ducks series. His character reflects real-life NHL players who grew up playing multiple sports; many professional hockey players, like Jarome Iginla, Eric Lindros, and Dustin Byfuglien, played football before focusing on hockey, blending toughness and athleticism into their game just like Fulton does on the ice.
Behind the scenes[]
Elden Henson was only 13 when The Mighty Ducks was filmed, and was considerably tall for his age. He was already taller than co-star Emilio Estevez, who is 5'7". Because of his then height, he was expected to be much taller for the sequels, but would not grow much more as he got older, standing at approximately 5'10" by the third film.
For the third film, different camera angles would have to be used to make Elden look as tall as co-star Joshua Jackson (Charlie), as he was 6'0" by the time of the third film.
Henson does considerably more of his own hockey playing than his co-stars in the second and third film. He was only replaced by a stunt double when his character was taking big hits or if it was a second unit shot.
Gallery[]
