CAPTAIN OBVIOUS THE SPACE KNIGHT

I used to think that Rom from Marvel Comics was the talkiest space knight ever.



I was wrong.

-Signing off.

That Other Rom Again

I don't know more than a smattering of information about Machine Robo, the Japanese counterpart to the '80s Challenge of the Gobots (sort of), but I do know that for some reason, most clips I find of it crack me up.



Yes, this is an anime martial arts fight between giant robots. With terrible perspective and proportions.

-Signing off.

Super Robots Enjoy Messing Guys Up

Here's Vaikanfu/Baikanfu, a super robot from one of Japan's Machine Robo (i.e. Gobots) anime.



Things that aren't clear from this clip alone:
-The robot's "pilot" is actually an android, and so is that chick who nearly falls into a crevasse, and so is the pilot's father (the spectral image who talks to him). For that matter, the cyborg dragon monster thing is probably a robot too.
-The hero's name is apparently Rom. (Obviously, no, not that Rom.)
-The "attack" that let Vaikanfu/Baikanfu rip out the heart of his enemy is actually a simple (albeit absurdly powerful) "martial arts move" instead of, well, something else, and Rom learned it from his father.

It's interesting to note that the earlier super robot, Gold Raitan Lightan used a similar "finishing move" and that the later and considerably more famous super robot, GaoGaiGar, would also use a variation on the idea (this time with two hands) to finish off its enemies.

The key difference with GaoGaiGar, and one that I think is brilliant, is that GaoGaiGar's "finisher" was actually what one might call extremely brutal (but still ultimately beneficial) intervention. How could ripping out an enemy's heart be helpful?

Because the enemy's heart (or core, in this case) is actually an innocent human being who needs to be rescued. (It's a bit of a long story. Short version: Innocent human beings get corrupted by magic metal from space, which transforms them into monsters called Zonders, who build bodies for themselves out of local machinery and structures. And the only way to stop these Zonders is with giant robots that tear their hearts out.) I even find that kind of touching, honestly.

-Signing off.

ROM, Spaceknight: The Commercial

(I just figured out my 700th post was Spider Plus Mummy. Fitting.

Also, I don't know what butthead designed this keyboard, but why did the Insert key get moved up out of reach of my fingers? I use that key a lot.)

This commercial is totally rad. (Wait, since when do I use the word rad?)



That is all. (Unless you want to look at my past "space knight" posts. Just click the label. You know you want to...)

-Signing off.

Space Knights vs. Sequels

I've talked a fair amount about space knights as a concept in the past; now, with Siskoid drawing near the end of his Spaceknight Saturdays, this seems as good a time as any to revisit the notion briefly.

As observed in this post, it is interesting to note that the "sequel" Galadorian spaceknights (within the context of continuity, the third generation of spaceknights) are able to transform back and forth much as their Japanese cousins from the Tekkaman series do. (In Siskoid's words, "I guess Rom didn't want anyone to lose their humanity ever again. Those things are so easily mislaid, stolen or destroyed." Yes, it was a plot point of sorts.) Considering there appears to be a moderately significant anime influence on the art, it is possible that this was intentional; it could also just be the influence of series like Power Rangers. There's no way to know for sure.

Anyway, the 2000 Spaceknights series was generally considered to be a bomb of a series. It didn't do well, and the writer admitted the only reason he was involved in the project was because he wanted money to spend on his boat. As it happens, there was a similar issue (sequel fatigue, that is) with Tekkaman/Teknoman.

I should clarify-Tekkaman Blade/Teknoman was not a sequel to the original; it was more of a remake/spiritual successor. It certainly wasn't even close to being "in continuity" with its predecessor. No, we're talking about Tekkaman Blade's sequel, which was reasonably popular in Japan, but which most Western fans hated with a passion.

Here is a passage from Wikipedia, of all supposedly neutral places, which has remained unaltered for at least half a year, probably more, on the subject of Tekkaman Blade II.

He also appears to be less charismatic and less experienced in martial arts combat th[a]n he was in original Tekkaman Blade w[h]ere he defeats many elite fully-fledged Tekkamen including: "Tekkaman Axe" his Master Martial Artist instructor, "Tekkaman Lance" a Super Human Tekkaman, "Tekkaman Evil" his twin brother, and Tekkaman Omega his eldest brother who is a "Tekkaman Warlord". In this he is seen struggling to keep up with "Dead End" an enraged Transvestite who steals a Radam Tekkaplant and becomes a Tekkaman, he does not display the ability to become a Blaster Tekkaman anymore, but his former 30 minute time limit seems to have also expired.

If you can't detect the poorly concealed fanboy rage (bolded text added for some emphasis) in the above paragraph, you have no subtlety. It should also be noted that not one or even several of the various protagonists introduced within the OVA were able to defeat Dead End, and it ultimately still fell to D-Boy/Slade/Blade (the character the above passage is referring to) to win the battle. Not only that, but Dead End had a cheaty hax power: He could absorb Voltekkers/Teknobombs and use them to power up his own Voltekkers; this is a big deal, as the Tekkaman Blade Voltekkers are devastating. Furthermore, the trick didn't work twice; the next time Dead End used it on him, he copied the maneuver somehow, and totally blasted him with it.

It is rather interesting to note that, in both sequels, the problems they suffer seem to have much to do with disconnects between the "source" material and their own contents. (That, and in the case of Tekkaman Blade II, the weird obsession with sex, which when you consider the magical naked transformations and the high female proportion of the cast, was apparently inevitable.) Neither series had exhausted its idea potential (at least not completely); someone had just stopped caring in the board rooms.

-Signing off.

High Concept: Space Knights

The concept of the Space Knight is one that is inherently intriguing. If you're wondering what I'm talking about, there are two kinds of Space Knights: The Japanese kind, and the American kind. (Also, I'd be very cruel not to mention that Siskoid has done an excellent job of writing up reviews of the ROM comic, and it's a very informative read.) Both versions are essentially identical with only minor twists between them.

The central "Space Knight" concept is that a human(oid) either dons or is merged with some kind of super-high tech armor, and then becomes a tiny flying warship, capable of walking the street as easily as blasting space invaders whilst in space. The mind boggles-only the thought of shaking hands with Superman can really be scarier than shaking hands with a tiny interstellar warship, and the problem with the warship is that it's scary looking. Never mind that Superman could crush your hand into coal, at least he can smile at you while he's doing it.

Both Tekkaman/Teknoman and ROM are essentially exactly this concept. The only differences are in little niggling details such as:

• ROM uses space guns and space mitten-fists. Teknoman uses space swords and space whips and giant mega space shoulder blasters. (Win: Teknoman.)
• ROM kills (sort of not really) Dire Wraiths and Skrulls the whole way, leaving piles of ash throughout his travels, and leads Galactus to destroy his enemies' homeworld. Teknoman kills his friends and family because they've been brainwashed into Teknomen. (Win: ROM, if only for style points.)
• ROM comes from outer space. Teknoman comes from Earth, but was part of an exploration mission to the outer solar system. (Win: ROM.)
• ROM is able to journey across the entire universe, sometimes with help from others but apparently usually under his own power. Teknoman usually has to ride a rocket just to get into orbit, though once he's in space he can usually move pretty well. (Win: ROM.)
• ROM can fight space warships hand to hand. Teknoman can fight space warships hand to hand, and also fights space monsters in space hand to hand (ROM only really seemed to fight space monsters on the ground). (Win: Teknoman.)
• ROM must, if he ever wishes to become human again, undergo surgery which will more or less place his brain back in his body. Teknoman takes all of fifteen seconds of transformation sequence to go back and forth at will. (Win: Eh, take your pick.)
• ROM's world made many Space Knights, and he usually had them as allies, although he sometimes was forced to fight them. Teknoman's creators were the alien invaders and created many Teknomen, and he was usually forced to fight them (despite the majority of them being his family members). (Win: Teknoman.)

The thing that makes the Space Knights intriguing yet highly unsettling in both settings is still the fact that they're simply tiny warships in human shape with giant warship power. These guys split big battleships in half for the heck of it, and sometimes they break into enemy warships and go hand to hand with the pilots, apparently mostly for the heck of it. I know I'd get the heck out of any military, no matter how strong, that had to fight a few dozen Space Knights. Too much risk I'd get mitten-chopped/saber-chopped by some boarder, and that's assuming no explosive decompression.

Of course, the question one must always ask when faced with the Space Knight is: How can they be powerful enough to fight warships? And further, if the Space Knight can be that powerful, why don't they just put that technology into far bigger warships than a tiny person-thing?

Questioning it, though, is pointless (especially in the ROM setting, where ROM coexisted with the Hulk, and occasionally sparred with him). Space Knights are great fun, and they need to have more written about them.

-Signing off.

Police Brutality

(If anyone notes a sudden drastic change in typical post time, it's not actually a change; it's just that, despite my settings, the blog was set to Pacific time [and I just corrected it]. WHAT THE HECK BLOGGER.)

No, I'm not talking about any incidents that were in the news. Forget Rodney King.

Behold the worst case of police brutality I've ever seen.



I have this suspicion that one difficulty people had watching the first Tekkaman series has mostly to do with scenes like this one. Subject A, "George" (apparently that was his Italian dub name or something), breaks into an enemy warship and then starts smashing stuff. This is horribly cruel. He could easily have cut the warship in half from outside, and then the guys inside would have been resigned to a quick decompression death or vaporization depending on what exploded.

But no, he had to kill them to their faces.

Et tu, ROM?

-Signing off.