Started: 6/18/2001 Updated: 05/21/2006
Mighty Orbots was one of my favorite shows of the 1980's. It was one of the better Transformer-themed shows. The six Orbots --Bo, Boo, Bort, Crunch, Tor, and Oh-No-- had individual personalities that made them as human as their creator, Rob Simmons. The first five could form together into a giant robot called Mighty Orbots. TMS Entertainment released this show.
Bo (Sherry Alberoni):
A pretty, orange female robot who had power over the elements and a little over the weather. She was somewhat flirty (with boy robots), and always pulling pranks. (She once removed Crunch's appetite chip, causing him to be unable to eat. He had eaten an experimental device that Rob and Oh-No had been working all day on.) Bo forms the left arm of Mighty Orbots.
Boo (Julie Bennett):
A yellow female robot, also pretty, who could create illusions, including invisibility. She also could teleport. She is Bo's twin sister, and is the sweet, shy girl of the team. Boo usually ends up getting involved in Bo's schemes. She forms the right arm of Mighty Orbots.
Bort (Jim MacGeorge):
A skinny, blue, male robot, who could change into any machine that was needed. He was very indecisive and insecure. He formed the right leg of Mighty Orbots.
Crunch (Don Messick):
A fat, purple male robot who ate a lot (too much, sometimes), usually metal. Although each Orbot could eat metal and other materials and convert their "food" into energy, Crunch could do so in large quantities, and then transfer this extra energy to the other Orbots. This has saved the team quite a few times. Compared with the other Orbots, Crunch has low intelligence and is a bit slow, but he is still very loveable. He formed the left leg of Mighty Orbots.
Tor (Bill Martin):
A large, red, male robot, Tor's power is simply brute strength. He was quite arrogant and brash, but a nice guy under all that metal-muscle. He formed the body of Mighty Orbots. There was a different head for the giant robot.
Oh-No (Noelle North):
Oh-No is the smallest Orbot, and the first one built. She is Rob's helper, as well as co-pilot of the Beamcar. Although she looks and sounds like a young child, Oh-No (who is so named because she often yells out, "Oh, no!" when trouble happens) is quite capiable of handling even Tor. She "mothers" everyone on the team --even Rob! She is also the "key" to Mighty Orbots. She sits with Rob in the Beamcar, and is with him when the Orbots form Mighty Orbots. When Rob commands, "Oh-No: Ignition!", a connecter comes out of Oh-No's chest, which plugs into the controls inside Mighty Orbots, activating the huge robot. Without Oh-No, there is no Mighty Orbots!
Rob Simmons/Orbots' Commander (Barry Gordon):
A young robotics engineer who secretly created the Orbots. He wears (or his clothes all have a special circuit in them) an omni-suit (maybe it's his entire wardrobe...) that he uses to transform into the Orbots' Commander. As Rob, he wears glasses and regular clothes (ususally with a lab coat over them). As the Orbots' Commander, Rob doesn't wear glasses (which leads me to believe that it's part of the disguise and he doesn't really need them), and he wears a white and --dark pink?!?-- Galactic Patrol uniform. (The pink may come from Oh-No, who also wears pink. She may have made Rob's uniform and wanted him to match her.) As Rob, he is mild-mannered, shy, and somewhat unlucky with Dia. As the Orbots' Commander, Rob is more confident of himself, and thus, more outgoing. Just about every woman in the galaxy wants him --including Dia!
Dia (Jennifer Darling):
The beautiful daughter of Rondu and the love of Rob's life, both as Rob Simmons and as the Orbots' Commander. Dia is an officer of unkown rank in the Galactic Patrol, but I think she's at least a commander. She's a no-nonsence woman that's just as capiable an officer as Rob is. She has often repeatedly --but gently-- turned Rob's requests for a date down, but would jump at the chance should the Orbot's Commander ever make such a request. The Clark Kent-Lois Lane-Superman love triangle.
Rondu (Don Messick):
The Commander of the Galatic Patrol and father of Dia. A member of an elf-like race --although the series never makes it clear if he's an alien or some race of Earth elves-- Rondu has incredible mental powers. He is the only person that knows about Rob's other identity and the truth about Mighty Orbots.
Umbra (Bill Martin): The bio-computer that runs the criminal organization, Shadow. He lives in the Shadow Fortress, a structure the size of a continant, located on the Shadow Star. The Shadow Star is a planet so huge, that it has its own inner sun to warm it. Umbra appears as a red, circular mass with five eyes and a mouth. He has many agents to do his bidding. Beware, though, should you decide to become his ally: To him, you are expendable. He never keeps his promices.
Other Voices:
Gary Owns: Narriator
Bob Ridgely: Unknown.
Fanfic Characters:
Robin Simmons/Tobor's Pilot:
Robin is the product of Belladonna's rape on Rob (see The Shadow Mirror Saga, in fanfics, below, for details). Named Hoshi Me (Star Eye) when he was born, Robin was kidnapped by Shadow agents, age-accelerated to 17, and trained to operate Tobor. Delfor, the Shadow agent who "raised" him, named the boy, Kage Kagami (Shaodow Mirror). After being rescued by Rob and the Orbots, Hoshi returned to Earth, where he lives with the reformed Belladonna in a secret part of GPHQ part of the time, and with Rob and Dia the rest of the time. At Rob's house --and to the Simmons family-- he is Robin Simmons. The age accelleration aged only his body and mind; he is emotionally still a baby. Because of this, Robin sometimes uses a child's speech pattern, making him seem lower in intelligence than he actually is. He has one power --although if it's inheirited from Belladonna or was given to him by Delfor is unknown --, the ability to generate and create things out of Darkness (Darkforce Generation, for those of you who are familuer with the Marvel Role-Playing Game.). He can channal this power through Tobor, giving the giant robot weapons --like a giant, ebony-bladed sword-- and other items. But doing so drains Robin's energy, and he can't keep it up for long. Small-to-medium things can be made permenant. Robin can also reabsorb anything he has made back into himself. Robin looks excactly like Rob, except that his hair is black, and he has blue eyes with "cat's pupils". There is a blue starburst on the left eye, thus "Star Eye". His uniform also matches Rob's, but is purple, where on Rob's uniform (the sleeves and the collar area) is magenta. Under the supervision of a robot that Rob builds, Robin will join his father and the Orbots on missions (never alone, though. He's too young. MUCH too young...).
Mighty Orbots Fans: The new Mighty Orbots Forum! Talk about Mighty Orbots, and even play in the Mighty Orbots universe in a Mighty Orbots RPG!
Images:
Fanart:
| Date | Title | Brief Discription |
|---|---|---|
| 03/18/2002 | Father & Daughter | Rob & Ohno from "Father & Daughter". Traced from hand-drawn picture onto plastic, and then to screen and colored in Paint Shop Pro. |
Fanfics Library. Go here for Mighty Orbots Fanfics.
Mighty Orbots Links
Ark North's Mighty Orbots site. He has a link to a Transformers site that has a Mighty Orbots/Transformers Crossover fic, titled, Mistaken Identities.
The Mighty Orbots site at Arioch's Well of Souls site
Fanfiction.net: There is a great Mighty Orbots/Sailor Moon Crossover here. Go to Crossovers. The title is: Hearts of Steel/Hearts of Gold : Part 1" By: StephenRS You can also do a search by Title or Author. You can write a review. Bug him to finish it! ^_^
