I thought I posted this one back when Hulu allowed embeds of their videos. I miss those days. That’s ad revenue they lost and I lost the ability to post a number of shows. Luckily official YouTube channels are now a thing.
The Big Guy And Rusty The Boy Robot is a 1995 comic book published by Dark Horse comics, and I have not had the chance to read it. Written by Frank Miller and drawn by Geof Darrow, the character first appeared in Madman Comics before being joined by Rusty in their own miniseries. Being Frank Miller, I’m betting there was some commentary in the All-American speech patterns of the Big Guy, but in the cartoon it’s more parody, a tribute either way to old science fiction tales.
The BGY-11, otherwise known as “The Big Guy”, was intended to be our nation’s defender against evil robots, threats from space, and various mutations. However, the goal of not endangering humans by using AI didn’t quite work out. Instead, chief mechanic Dwayne Hunter is secretly the robot’s pilot, a secret known only to the committee and presumable Quark Industries’ former owner. The new owner has no idea, and given that he’s still a caricature of a greedy businessman (again, Frank Miller) that’s probably a good thing. The new advanced robot is Rusty, with a fully working AI, nucleoprotonic powers, no pain receptors, and being a chibi robot kid is probably good for merchandising. Surprisingly, the show doesn’t make a habit of noting that last part, but the “no pain receptors” thing is a running gag as it gets bounced around by monsters.
Clearly not yet a replacement for the Big Guy, Dwayne must resume his role as the country’s protector, keeping Rusty in the dark while the boy robot idolises his predecessor and wants to be his sidekick. Together they face all kind of threats. Tonight I’m bringing you two episodes from season one that set up the show’s dynamic. Enjoy.
I’m skipping episode 2, an introduction of the Legion Ex Machina, a recurring threat in the show. All it sets up is that nucleoprotons…exist. It’s episode 3 that finishes the team dynamic as one more person learns of Big Guy’s secret just when it’s most needed to stop a brain draining spider creature.
[NOTE: As of this writing I’m not using Throwback Toon on YouTube, Sony’s official channel for their animated library both for kids and adults, because the video they have is missing the first five or so minutes of the episode. I’ll fix it when they do. I’m not sure the channel I’m using is official anything but it certainly tries to look official.]
The show would air for two seasons, not ending on a cliffhanger but with threats still out there. The comic past the Madman appearances only went for two issues and I hope to read it someday. I really enjoyed this show and wouldn’t mind if people who knew what they were doing and cared about making a good continuation or reboot (sadly this currently doesn’t exist in Hollywood) returned to New Tronic City in the future.
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