The Mighty Orbots
Encyclopedia
is an American
/Japan
ese Super robot
animated series created in a joint collaboration of TMS Entertainment and Intermedia Entertainment
in association with MGM/UA Television
. It was directed by veteran anime director Osamu Dezaki
and features character designs by Akio Sugino. The series aired from September 8, 1984 to December 15, 1984 on Saturday mornings in the United States
on ABC
and later on in Japan
by Animax
, totaling up to 13 episodes.
, possibly in response to the popularity of other robot-related properties such as Hasbro
and Sunbow's
Transformers. The original six minute "pilot" featured a slightly different version of Might Orbots called Broots . Rob and Ono looked similar to their 'finished' selves, though definitively more late 70s-like. The Orbots, while having the same names as in the finished product, are subtly different, and obviously unfinished. Even their combined form aka "Super-Broots" would go through some more developmental evolution before becoming Mighty Orbots. It was produced by Tokyo Movie Shinsha
and Intermedia Entertainment in association with MGM/UA Television for both the United States
for the television broadcast and Japan
via home video
. Unlike many other shows of its kind, Mighty Orbots was not simply a translated Japanese import. The series was directed by anime industry veteran Osamu Dezaki
with storyboard work by Dezaki's brother Satoshi Desaki, character designs by Akio Sugino, and animation by Shingo Araki
.
The series lasted only a single season of thirteen episodes, mostly due to a lawsuit between the show's creators and toymaker Tonka
, who accused them of basing the cartoon on their GoBots
franchise (which was adapted from Bandai
's Machine Robo
line). The robot depicted in the show was virtually identical to the robot in the anime for Bandai's Godmars
toy, although the colors were changed. However, the Godmars toy was not among the Bandai figures utilized by the GoBots line. The episodes aired on ABC
and although some episodes were available on VHS, the series has yet to be released on DVD. Despite its short run, the series has a dedicated fan base today.
The series got its first commercial broadcasting in Japan
via Animax
.
is a time of robots and aliens
. The people of Earth
have banded together along with several other peaceful alien races to promote peace throughout the galaxy, forming the United Planets. As part of the United Planets, the Galactic Patrol — a body of law-enforcers — works to maintain order, under the leadership of Commander Rondu.
However, a powerful criminal organization called SHADOW is out to destroy both the Galactic Patrol and the U.P. Led by Umbra, a massive cyborg
-computer
, SHADOW employs sinister agents and incredible schemes to attack and someday rule over all corners of the known-galaxy.
There is one thing that helps to fight against SHADOW: ingenious inventor Rob Simmons — secretly a member of the Galactic Patrol — creates six special robots who can use their unique powers to battle against the forces of Umbra. Together, these robots can unite to form a giant robot called Mighty Orbots, to fight for truth, justice and peace for all.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
/Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese Super robot
Super Robot
is a term used in manga and anime to describe a giant robot or mecha, with an arsenal of fantastic super-powered weapons, extreme resistance to damage unless the plot calls for it, sometimes transformable or combined from two or more robots and/or vehicles usually piloted by young, daring heroes,...
animated series created in a joint collaboration of TMS Entertainment and Intermedia Entertainment
Fred Silverman
Fred Silverman is an American television executive and producer. He worked as an executive at the CBS, ABC and NBC networks, and was responsible for bringing to television such programs as the series Scooby-Doo , All in the Family , The Waltons , and Charlie's Angels , as well as the...
in association with MGM/UA Television
MGM Television
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television is an American television production/distribution launched in 1955 and a subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc....
. It was directed by veteran anime director Osamu Dezaki
Osamu Dezaki
, also known as , , or , was a Japanese director of anime born on November 18, 1943, in Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan. His older brother, Satoshi Dezaki, is also an anime director....
and features character designs by Akio Sugino. The series aired from September 8, 1984 to December 15, 1984 on Saturday mornings in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
and later on in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
by Animax
Animax
is a Japanese anime satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. A subsidiary of Japanese media conglomerate Sony, it is headquartered in in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, with its co-founders and shareholders including Sony Pictures Entertainment and the noted anime studios...
, totaling up to 13 episodes.
Series history
Mighty Orbots was developed from an idea pitched by Fred SilvermanFred Silverman
Fred Silverman is an American television executive and producer. He worked as an executive at the CBS, ABC and NBC networks, and was responsible for bringing to television such programs as the series Scooby-Doo , All in the Family , The Waltons , and Charlie's Angels , as well as the...
, possibly in response to the popularity of other robot-related properties such as Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
and Sunbow's
Sunbow Productions
Sunbow Entertainment was an animation studio, founded in 1980 and owned up until 1998 by Griffin-Bacal Advertising in New York. The first animation efforts by Griffin-Bacal were producing the animated commercials for Hasbro's G.I...
Transformers. The original six minute "pilot" featured a slightly different version of Might Orbots called Broots . Rob and Ono looked similar to their 'finished' selves, though definitively more late 70s-like. The Orbots, while having the same names as in the finished product, are subtly different, and obviously unfinished. Even their combined form aka "Super-Broots" would go through some more developmental evolution before becoming Mighty Orbots. It was produced by Tokyo Movie Shinsha
Tokyo Movie Shinsha
, formerly known as , is a Japanese animation studio, founded on October 1946. One of the oldest and most prominent anime studios in Japan, it has also produced numerous animated series airing in other countries such as France, the United States, and Italy. The company currently uses "TMS...
and Intermedia Entertainment in association with MGM/UA Television for both the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
for the television broadcast and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
via home video
Home video
Home video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or rented/hired for home cinema entertainment. The term originates from the VHS/Betamax era but has carried over into current optical disc formats like DVD and Blu-ray Disc and, to a lesser extent, into methods of digital...
. Unlike many other shows of its kind, Mighty Orbots was not simply a translated Japanese import. The series was directed by anime industry veteran Osamu Dezaki
Osamu Dezaki
, also known as , , or , was a Japanese director of anime born on November 18, 1943, in Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan. His older brother, Satoshi Dezaki, is also an anime director....
with storyboard work by Dezaki's brother Satoshi Desaki, character designs by Akio Sugino, and animation by Shingo Araki
Shingo Araki
was a Japanese animation artist and character designer. He developed an interest for drawing at age five. He graduated in Aichi Prefecture. In 1955, at age eighteen, he debuted as a cartoonist in the "Machi" magazine. He then joined Mushi Production as animator in 1965 and later founded Studio...
.
The series lasted only a single season of thirteen episodes, mostly due to a lawsuit between the show's creators and toymaker Tonka
Tonka
Tonka is an American toy company most known for its signature toy trucks and construction equipment.-History:On September 18, 1946 Mound Metalcraft was created in Mound, Minnesota with three men as partners, Lynn Everett Baker , Avery F. Crounse, and Alvin F. Tesch. The first products produced by...
, who accused them of basing the cartoon on their GoBots
Challenge of the GoBots
Challenge of the GoBots is an American animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera, based on the Gobots toy-line released from Tonka. Most of the toys were imported from the Japanese Machine Robo toy line. The show originally debuted in animated form as a five-part miniseries, which aired in...
franchise (which was adapted from Bandai
Bandai
is a Japanese toy making and video game company, as well as the producer of a large number of plastic model kits. It is the world's third-largest producer of toys . Some ex-Bandai group companies produce anime and tokusatsu programs...
's Machine Robo
Machine Robo
is a Japanese transforming robot toyline first released in 1982 by Popy, a division of Bandai, then later by Bandai proper. The franchise was marketed as Robo Machine in Europe, and Machine Men in Australia...
line). The robot depicted in the show was virtually identical to the robot in the anime for Bandai's Godmars
Six God Combination Godmars
is a popular anime series that aired from 1981 to 1982 in Japan, Hong Kong, and Italy with 64 episodes. Other loosely translated names are "Hexademon Symbiote God Mars", "Six God Union God Mars", and "Six Gods United As One Being"; sometimes spelling the title mecha as Godmars-Original story:In...
toy, although the colors were changed. However, the Godmars toy was not among the Bandai figures utilized by the GoBots line. The episodes aired on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
and although some episodes were available on VHS, the series has yet to be released on DVD. Despite its short run, the series has a dedicated fan base today.
The series got its first commercial broadcasting in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
via Animax
Animax
is a Japanese anime satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. A subsidiary of Japanese media conglomerate Sony, it is headquartered in in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, with its co-founders and shareholders including Sony Pictures Entertainment and the noted anime studios...
.
Series plot
The 23rd Century, the futureFuture
The future is the indefinite time period after the present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the nature of the reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently exists and will exist is temporary and will come...
is a time of robots and aliens
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
. The people of Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
have banded together along with several other peaceful alien races to promote peace throughout the galaxy, forming the United Planets. As part of the United Planets, the Galactic Patrol — a body of law-enforcers — works to maintain order, under the leadership of Commander Rondu.
However, a powerful criminal organization called SHADOW is out to destroy both the Galactic Patrol and the U.P. Led by Umbra, a massive cyborg
Cyborg
A cyborg is a being with both biological and artificial parts. The term was coined in 1960 when Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space. D. S...
-computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
, SHADOW employs sinister agents and incredible schemes to attack and someday rule over all corners of the known-galaxy.
There is one thing that helps to fight against SHADOW: ingenious inventor Rob Simmons — secretly a member of the Galactic Patrol — creates six special robots who can use their unique powers to battle against the forces of Umbra. Together, these robots can unite to form a giant robot called Mighty Orbots, to fight for truth, justice and peace for all.
Hero characters
- Rob Simmons – A brilliant inventor and scientist, he is the creator of Mighty Orbots and as such is also a secret member of the Galactic Patrol. In general, he poses as a mild-mannered roboticsRoboticsRobotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots...
engineerEngineerAn engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
and tinkers in his own laboratory complex (in some unnamed location) on Earth, but when needed, he uses a transformation matrix to change his regular lab clothes – called an Omni-Suit – into the uniform and helmet of his alter-ego, the Orbots' Commander. It is by this alternate persona that the rest of the Galactic Patrol knows of him publicly, including Dia. Only Commander Rondu knows that the bespectacled Rob and the heroic Orbots' Commander are the same.
- Rob has curly blond hair and blue eyes. He can summon the Orbots from their recharge chambers with a remote signal from a device he wears on his wrist. He pilots the Beam Car; a special vehicle that acts as a "command center" when linked up within Mighty Orbots' core body. From there, he and Ohno can operate Mighty Orbots with maximum effectiveness in battle.
- Voiced by Barry GordonBarry GordonBarry Gordon is an American film, television and voice actor and political talk show host and producer. He was the longest-serving president of the Screen Actors Guild, having served from 1988 to 1995.-Biography:...
(English) and Yū MizushimaYu Mizushimais a Japanese voice actor. He is the Japanese voice-over for Sammo Hung, and is the Japanese voice of Wakko.-Notable roles:* .hack//Intermezzo as Male Heavyblade* Black Cat as Doctor * Black Jack* Black Magic M-66 as Leakey...
(Japanese)
- Commander Rondu – The primary leader of the Galactic Patrol, Rondu is of a race of alien humanoids that somewhat resemble Earth humans (save he has slanted eyes and pointed ears, similar to archetypal fantasy elves). Rondu is a calm, wise leader and – as it appears throughout the series – has been in charge of the Galactic Patrol for many years. He serves along with his daughter, Dia, who serves as a senior officer. Only Rondu knows about the Orbots' Commander's secret identity, as well as the six robots (who are apparently also have a dual identity as well).
- Rondu has long silver-white hair and facial hair, and grey-white eyes. He exhibits formidable psionic powers; something that must be key to his race (since a space pirate named Shrike wanted to use his "unique life-force" to power a super-weapon in the episode "Raid on the Stellar Queen").
- Voiced by Don MessickDon MessickDonald Earl "Don" Messick was an American voice actor best known for his work for Hanna-Barbera. Perhaps his most well-known voice creations include Scooby-Doo, Papa Smurf, and Dr. Benton Quest....
- Dia – A senior officer and agent of the Galactic Patrol, Dia serves under her father's command, and is considered one of the "top" agents on the force. She is a good starship pilot and warrior, but occasionally finds herself in jeopardy, needing to be rescued by Mighty Orbots. She has a fascination and apparent love-interest in the Orbots' Commander, but doesn't see his alter ego, Rob, as anything more than a good friend and fellow supporter for peace (she is unaware of the fact Rob and the Orbots' Commander are the same).
- Dia has long, silver-white hair and dark eyes. Aside from being highly skilled in fighting, acrobatics and flying ships, Dia often captures agents of SHADOW in a force-field projector stored in a wrist band on her left arm. It is never said if she possesses the same psionic powers her father does. It is hinted at in "Operation: Eclipse", however, when she volunteers to aid her father in mental battle with Dreneon, who is a member of the same race working for Shadow.
- Voiced by Jennifer DarlingJennifer DarlingJennifer Darling is an American actress and voice actress. While her body of work as a voiceover artist greatly eclipses that of her on-stage career, she is, perhaps, nevertheless known best to most people as Peggy Callahan, the secretary to Oscar Goldman in the television series The Six Million...
The Orbots
- Tor – A boastful, burly brute-sized male robot with a voice like Link HogthrobLink HogthrobLink Hogthrob was a fictional character, a Muppet pig on The Muppet Show, performed by Jim Henson. The character was that of a stereotypical leading man, with wavy blond hair, a manly cleft chin, and a high opinion of himself, but not much between the ears....
, he is the strongest of the five team members. Although quite often portrayed as being a bit slow and with a very high opinion of himself, Tor had the ability to think on his feet during battles with SHADOW monsters and henchmen. Kind and supportive towards his friends although often with a good-naturedly egotistical machoMachismoMachismo, or machoism, is a word of Spanish and Portuguese origin that describes prominently exhibited or excessive masculinity. As an attitude, machismo ranges from a personal sense of virility to a more extreme male chauvinism...
attitude that annoys his female team mates, Tor sometimes is the de factoDe factoDe facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
leader (when Rob – as the Orbots Commander – isn't leading them directly at the time), but he will take cues from the others when the situation merits it.
- Tor's primary colors are silver, red and blue. When forming the gestalt form of Mighty Orbots, Tor retracts his arms and legs into himself to form the central body and head.
- Voiced by Bill MartinBill MartinBill Martin is a Scottish songwriter, music publisher and impresario.-Biography:...
- Bort – A gaunt-thin male robot with a nervous personality and a voice like Lou CostelloLou CostelloLouis Francis "Lou" Costello was an American actor and comedian best known as half of the comedy team of Abbott and Costello, with Bud Abbott...
, he is the one member of the team that is the most handy due having been built with quick-changeQuick-changeQuick-change is a performance style in which a performer or magician changes quickly within seconds from one costume into another costume in front of the audience.-Modern Quick-Change Artists:...
circuits and other abilities that allow Bort to reconfigure himself into literally any machine or device he can think of. Often showing a lack of confidence in himself, Bort is portrayed as being clumsy, indecisive and self-depressive. Yet, when the chips are down, Bort always comes through in the clutch for his team.
- Bort's primary colors are silver and blue. When forming the gestalt form of Mighty Orbots, he retracts into a boxy unit that forms the lower right leg. While connected, he can use his quick-change circuits to modify the hands of Mighty Orbots into a variety of offensive and defensive weapons.
- Voiced by Jim MacGeorgeJim MacGeorgeJim MacGeorge is an actor and voice actor.He is probably best known for his voice roles as Beany Boy, Crowy and Uncle Captain Horatio K. Huffenpuff in Beany and Cecil, Oliver Hardy in the Laurel and Hardy cartoon series, Crazy Claws in The Kwicky Koala Show, Bort in The Mighty Orbots, Wimper in...
- Bo – One of the three female robot team members she is most outgoing, assertive and confident female on the team. Sometimes she likes to play practical jokes, but at times they can backfire (like when she removed Crunch's appetite chip, only to have it broken when they needed it in the episode "Trapped on The Prehistoric Planet"). She is a caring soul and will do what she can to support her fellow team mates. She has the ability to manipulate the elements – fire, water, wind, etc. – to use in a myriad of offensive and defensive effects (whirlwinds, waterWaterWater is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
geysers, etc.).
- Bo's primary colors are pale yellow and orange. When forming the gestalt form of Mighty Orbots, she transforms in the left arm, which forms a hand after it is connected to the main body. Through her connection, she can channel her elemental powers throughout the body of Mighty Orbots.
- Voiced by Sherry AlberoniSherry AlberoniSherry Alberoni is an American actress and voice artist. Alberoni got her start as a Mouseketeer on the weekday ABC television program The Mickey Mouse Club. As an adult, she became a voice artist for Hanna-Barbera Productions...
(English) and Akari HibinoAkari Hibinois a Japanese voice actress. She married Captain Tsubasa creator Yōichi Takahashi.-As Yōko Ogai:* Sonic Soldier Borgman as Shinji* Captain Tsubasa as Tsubasa Oozora* Captain Tsubasa J as Tsubasa Oozora...
(Japanese)
- Boo – The second female team member and twin sister to Bo, she is the shyest member of the team, yet she can prove to be as brave as her twin in combat, even standing up for herself and others (especially when Bo's pranks go too far). Boo has the ability to create and manipulate effects on light and energy that would appear to be "magic"; she can turn herself and others invisible, create force fields, levitate objects and even teleportTeleportationTeleportation is the fictional or imagined process by which matter is instantaneously transferred from one place to another.Teleportation may also refer to:*Quantum teleportation, a method of transmitting quantum data...
. She can also channel energy to form optical illusions and holograms.
- Boo's primary colors are white and yellow. When forming the gestalt form of Mighty Orbots, she transforms into the right arm of the giant robot. Like Bo, she can channel her defensive abilities throughout the larger body, allowing it to benefit from all of her "magic" effects.
- Voiced by Julie Bennett (English) and Hitomi Oikawa (Japanese)
- Crunch – A stoutly robust (sic "chubby") male robot who's personality seems to be focused on one thing; simply put, Crunch loves to eat. His prime ability – coupled with his steel trap-like jaws and teeth – allows him to consume ANY materials available (metal, stone, glass, circuits, garbage, etc.) and digest it so it can be converted into energy. Often he's a subject of comic-relief due to his eating habits. Crunch seems simple-minded, but he does prove to have some brains, and is a good friend and a steadfast supportive personality.
- Crunch's primary colors are purple and black. When forming the gestalt form of Mighty Orbots, Crunch forms a boxy unit that forms the lower left leg. While connected, Crunch also serves as the back-up power source for the giant robot, and at times will detach so he can "chow down" on any available items to give his team mates a much-needed power boost.
- Voiced by Don MessickDon MessickDonald Earl "Don" Messick was an American voice actor best known for his work for Hanna-Barbera. Perhaps his most well-known voice creations include Scooby-Doo, Papa Smurf, and Dr. Benton Quest....
- Ohno – The sixth robot of the team, so named for her propensity to exclaim "Oh no!" and quite possibly the most important of them all, Ohno resembles a small, female child in size and demeanor with the "mother hen" personality of a bossy little sister that can often get on the nerves of Rob and the others. Feisty, yet supportive in her role as Rob's assistant, Ohno helps keep the lab running and the rest of the team in line. At times she feels neglected and unappreciated, but through thick and thin she's always there to lend the team a hand (and a nag when needed).
- Ohno's primary colors are pink, red and white. When Mighty Orbots forms its gestalt form, it's Ohno that completes the final circuit "link" that allows the full power of the giant robot form to come online. Without this vital piece, Mighty Orbots cannot become fully functional (a flaw that was exploited once by Umbra, under the machinations of the Shadow Agent called Plasmus, in the episode "The Wishworld"). If necessary, Ohno can operate the controls alone for basic functions, but combat is simply too demanding without the Commander on board. Ohno also carries the repair tools and recharge kit needed should the Orbots be caught off-world away from their base recharge chambers.
- Voiced by Noelle North
Villain characters
- Umbra – The leader of SHADOW, Umbra is a massive, bio-mechanical computer the size of a planet's core; often depicted as a large globe with a mouth, a vestigial nose and five eyes. It is through his efforts, organizing through his minions and agents, that Umbra strives to conquer the galaxy. Operating from inside a massive base called the Shadow Star, which is essentially a Dyson sphereDyson sphereA Dyson sphere is a hypothetical megastructure originally described by Freeman Dyson. Such a "sphere" would be a system of orbiting solar power satellites meant to completely encompass a star and capture most or all of its energy output...
, or a shell around a star that can capture all of the available light, his network of informants and spies keep him abreast of any developments within the United Planets. The weaponry and defensive systems of the Shadow Star are so ominous that a direct assault by Galactic Patrol forces is considered to be out of the question. The Shadow Star can generate so much power that it is able to move under Umbra's direction, and any sector of space it occupies will be totally under Shadow control.
- Umbra himself has no real means of directly fighting his enemies, so he employs massive monsters, sinister aliens and elaborate plans to combat the threat of the Galactic Patrol and Mighty Orbots.
- Draconis – An agent of SHADOW, who works with Umbra in a diabolical plan to discredit and defeat the Orbots. He works with a duplicate, giant robot impostor, named Tobor, who resembles the assembled gestalt form of Mighty Orbots. Together, they first attack the peaceful peoples of the galaxy to make the Galactic Patrol believe that the Orbots have turned evil. Then, after the Orbots are put on trial and sentenced to 'life' on the Great Prison Planet, Draconis – who had managed to infiltrate the prison and put himself as the chief warden – would put the Orbots through grueling, demeaning and deadly tasks that would have destroyed them. However, Draconis and Tobor were exposed, and eventually defeated by Dia and the Orbots.
- Capt. Shrike – The leader of a gang of space pirates, Captain ShrikeShrikeShrikes are passerine birds of the family Laniidae. The family is composed of thirty-one species in three genera. The family name, and that of the largest genus, Lanius, is derived from the Latin word for "butcher", and some shrikes were also known as "butcher birds" because of their feeding habits...
lashes out against unsuspecting ships and travelers from within the SargassoSargasso SeaThe Sargasso Sea is a region in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by ocean currents. It is bounded on the west by the Gulf Stream; on the north, by the North Atlantic Current; on the east, by the Canary Current; and on the south, by the North Atlantic Equatorial Current. This...
Star Cluster; wherein lies his secret base. He battled Mighty Orbots after he hijacked a starliner, the Stellar-Queen, to use her hyperdrive engine along with the life-force of Commander Rondu to create a super weapon.
- Shrike uses a cybernetic eye to control his Master Computer, as well as stun his foes with a stasis-ray. Using his Master Computer, Shrike used Rondu's life-force to create a creature called a Titan (which looked like a Japanese Oni), to battle Mighty Orbots.
- Shrike was the only villain who was not a member of SHADOW.
- Plasmus – An alien shape-shifter, Plasmus was ordered by Umbra to find a weakness in Mighty Orbots so SHADOW could destroy them. Plasmus discovered that Ohno was a key to Mighty Orbots power, after he tricked her into traveling to the Wish World, where she was turned into a human girl. Plasmus later battled Mighty Orbots in the Emerald Nebula, in an attempt to defeat them, but was shoved into a hyper-warp and was never seen again.
- Plasmus could change his shape to resemble any type of non-robotic life form. He mostly traveled as a mass of gaseous, green/white vapor, which is what appeared as he transformed. As well, he could draw upon energy and matter to enlarge his strength and mass exponentially.
Episode list
- Magnetic Menace (8 September 1984)
- The Wish World (15 September 1984)
- Trapped on the Prehistoric Planet (22 September 1984)
- The Dremloks (29 September 1984)
- Devil's Asteroid (6 October 1984)
- Raid on the Stellar Queen (13 October 1984)
- The Jewel of Targon (20 October 1984)
- The Phoenix Factor (27 October 1984)
- Leviathan (3 November 1984)
- The Cosmic Circus (17 November 1984)
- A Tale of Two Thieves (24 November 1984)
- Operation Eclipse (1 December 1984)
- The Invasion of the Shadow Star (15 December 1984)