Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!
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| Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! | |
|---|---|
 Chiro and the five monkeys: Sparx, Nova, Gibson, Antauri, and Otto. |
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| Genre | Animated series |
| Running time | 30 minutes (with commercials) |
| Creator(s) | Ciro Nieli |
| Starring | Greg Cipes Kevin Michael Richardson Tom Kenny Kari Wahlgren Clancy Brown Corey Feldman Mark Hamill Ashley Johnson James Hong |
| Country of origin | USA |
| Original channel | ABC Family Toon Disney |
| Original run | September 1, 2004–present |
| No. of episodes | 52 |
| IMDb profile | |
Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! (commonly known by its initialism, SRMTHFG) is an American animated television series that currently airs on Toon Disney. It also used to air on the ABC Family Channel until the Jetix programming block was taken off the channel in August 2006. It is the story of five robotic monkeys and a human boy named Chiro as they struggle against the evil forces of the Skeleton King, their nemesis. The group lives on the fictional planet of Shuggazoom. As is obvious from the visual appearance of the show, supported by former writer, Greg Weisman, there is a significant anime influence present, including limited animation, and mouth motions that do not fit the shape of the words spoken, despite being produced for American television. It also has Star Trek and Star Wars influence. The show is currently on its fourth and currently final season.[1]
The show contains various references to pop culture, a notable example being the episode Season of the Skull which is an obvious parody of the 1970s thriller The Wicker Man.
Each episode runs for 30 minutes, with commercials. The first series consisted of 14 episodes, the second was of 11 episodes, and the third 15 episodes.
The show was created by Ciro Nieli, one of the producers of Teen Titans. Its theme song is performed by Japanese rock band Polysics.
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[edit] Plot
Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! is set in Shuggazoom, a city that takes up a good portion of its planet (also named Shuggazoom) the rest called "The Zone of Wasted Years". The main character is a teenager named Chiro. When he was exploring the outskirts of Shugazoom, he discovered a giant abandoned super robot and decided to see if he could salvage any spare parts from it. However, once inside, he pulls the 'on' switch, awakening the 5 robotic monkeys that form the Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce and fusing himself with the Power Primate, which allows him to transform into a brave fighter and bold leader with the aid of the five robot monkeys: Antauri, Gibson, Sprx-77 (Sparx for short), Otto, and Nova. Their mission is to save Shuggazoom City from the evil Skeleton King.
By virtue of the fact that Chiro was not a superhero from birth, the five robot monkeys must train him, which ultimately results in him leading the team. The five robot monkeys continue to train Chiro, as he fulfills his destiny as the protector of the universe.
When fighting the larger enemies, the Hyperforce uses the Super Robot (hence the show's name), which can split into six separate vehicles in true Japanese Super Sentai fashion ( i.e. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers). Its main attack when in one piece is Lazatron Fury, which is an energy beam fired from its chest. Chiro and the monkeys also live in the robot.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Heroes
- Chiro: The bold leader of the Monkey Team, Chiro is a quiet 13 year old kid with black hair and blue eyes and a science geek, until he absorbs the energy of the "Power Primate." He works with the Monkey Team to become a brave hero who stops the antagonist's evil plans, to save Shuggazoom. Chiro is the only person who can understand the Robot Monkeys (anyone else will just hear regular monkey noises) until Season 2's "The Skeleton King Threat". He loves the show 'The Sun Riders' and video-games. He pilots the Torso Tank Driver 1. In battle, he fights using martial arts and electric attacks. His special attacks include Thunder Punch, a powerful punch charged with electricity; Lightning Kick, a powerful kick charged with electricity; Chiro Spearo, where he creates one or more lightning javelins in his hands and throws them; and Monkey Fu, a burst of green energy which either explodes all around him or is concentrated into a wide beam. In the season one finale, he gained the ability to "unleash his inner primate", creating a large green monkey-shaped energy field around himself that mimics his motions. Near the beginning of season three, his body temporarily contained Antauri's spirit before Antauri was transferred into the silver monkey's body. In the episode "Antauri's Masters" he showed that he can also use Antuari's Monkey Mind Scream. Also during Season 1, it is revealed that Chiro is the "Chosen One", though for what and by whom is not known. He is voiced by Greg Cipes, who played as Beast Boy in Teen Titans. As a side note, Chiro's physical appearance and personality are very similar to Beast Boy's, at least as he is seen in the animated series.
- Antauri: Antauri is the black monkey in the 1st 2 seasons of the series and the powerful silver monkey in the current 3rd season, and second in command. He teaches Chiro in how to control the Power Primate while giving spiritual advice to the rest of his team. Spends most of his time meditating or patrolling Shugazoom for Skeleton King activity. He dislikes video-games. Antauri's arms can change into large, glowing purple claws which can phase through objects. He pilots the Brain Scrambler Pilot 2. His special attacks include Claw Disruptor, where he sends his claw into a target and damages it from the inside; and Monkey Mind Scream, an attack common to users of the Power Primate which is a green energy blast fired from the mouth. In season two's cliffhanger finale "I, Chiro", Antauri's physical body is destroyed by Mandarin, but his spiritual self survives and stores itself into Chiro. In the third season opener "The Savage Lands", Antauri is reborn through the body of the seventh monkey, colored silver (more specifically, it is an exact color inversion of Antauri's original form). Chiro then rebuilt Antauri according to the recording left in the laboratory where it was found, the silver monkey is the strongest fighting monkey, but was ultimately deemed a failure and never put together, because it was fully robotic and could not wield the Power Primate. When Antauri's spirit was transferred from Chiro to the monkey's body, Antauri reactivated himself. In his new form, Antauri's entire body can phase shift to pass through solid matter, similar to the way the claws of his original body worked, in addition to powers of telekinesis. He also retained all of his control over the Power Primate, as shown when he unleashed the Monkey Mind Scream. Antauri is the 1st wielder of the Monkey Mind Scream, but seemingly passed it unto Chiro as well while he was teaching him the ways of the power primate. He is voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson.
- Sprx-77: Sprx-77, known simply as Sprx, (pronounced Sparks, Sparx) is the red monkey, and the team's best pilot. He's very much the comedian and has quite the ego. He's in love with Nova, (though he never admits it, and always gets interrupted (by Nova herself at times) when he's about to) but isn't afraid to hit on other females as well, much to Nova's dismay. Never calls Chiro anything but 'kid' (possibly as a pet name). His hands turn into magnets in battle. His special attacks include Magno-Ball Blazer, a sphere of electricity which is launched as a projectile, and Magna-Tingler Blast, electrical streams which can go in multiple directions, and Mangna-Bolt Beam Splitter, a barrage of magnetic energy bolts. Pilots the Fist Rocket 3. He is voiced by Corey Feldman.
- Gibson: Gibson is the blue monkey, and the team's scientist. Full name is Mr. Hal Gibson, but is usually just called Gibson. Often starts long winded explanations when he finds something of interest, and has trouble deciding if Otto is a genius. He also despises bugs. His hands turn into drills which can fire various material and energy projectiles. His projectiles include, but are not limited to, the Photon Scalpel, a laser beam which he sweeps across a target to cut it; Biostatic Energy Amplification Darts, which are small electrical blasts (this attack is called Spin Shocker, as suggested by Otto, because Biostatic Energy Amplification Darts takes too long to say); tranquilizer darts (he never uses these, but mentions that he has them); a tracer, and insulation foam. He pilots the Fist Rocket 4. He is voiced by Tom Kenny.
- Otto: Otto is the green monkey, and the team's mechanic. Although his talent with machines is unmatched, he's also pretty dumb in everything else, and loves to name the monsters that the team encounters. As the monkeys are robotic themselves, it's, on a surprising note, usually up to Otto to repair any damages. His hands turn into saws made of green energy, and he pilots the Foot Crusher Cruiser 5. His main attacks are Whirling Destructo-Saws, Energy Thrust and Vertical Razor Chariot. Otto has had a dream of being in a circus, and more specifically being a trapeze artist. In "Circus of Ooze", he got that wish. Otto has a soft spot for anything young or smaller than him. It shows in "The Stranded Seven" when he becomes fast friends with the young kitten in the village. Throughout the episode, Otto treats the kitten as a pet, feeding it from his own plate, using his tail as a toy for the kitten, and when he has to leave at the end of the episode, he takes a part of his tail off to give to the kitten, presumably as a toy or to remind the kitten of Otto. He is voiced by Clancy Brown.
- Nova: Nova is the yellow monkey with pink eyes, and the only female in the group (until Jinmay becomes an honorary member). She's the team's main fighter and has quite the temper. Has a love/hate relationship with Sprx, hates the cold (due to a past incident with Mandarin), and had a loving bond with her creator, the Skeleton King when he was human (he called her "Dearest Nova"). Her hands become much larger in battle and she pilots the Foot Crusher Cruiser 6. Her main attack is Lady Tomahawk (she pounds her hands to the ground or on an enemy, such an a Formless), but she also uses the Boom Boom Wake Up (a greatly powered up punch) and the Knuckle Duster (faking a punch to trick the enemy, then attacking by quickly extending her knuckles when their guard is down) and Flame Fist Fury. She recently became the team's third-in-command. She is voiced by Kari Wahlgren.
[edit] Villains
- Skeleton King: The Skeleton King resides in the Citadel of Bone in space, and is determined to rule Shugazoom. He uses the Formless (skeleton-like creatures made from ooze) and various monsters to fight the Monkey Team. He is very interested in just what makes Chiro so special. In the season one finale, it is revealed that Skeleton King is in possession of a large amount of toys Chiro played with when he was small. This had led to speculation that S.K. is Chiro's father, although it is not yet confirmed, this would prove to be a fitting irony given S.K. is voiced by Mark Hamill, whose portrayal of Luke Skywalker, son of Anakin, aka Darth Vader, defines the role of science fiction hero with a corrupted parent. During the of Season 2, it is revealed that Skeleton King was the one who created the Robot Monkeys, and near the end of Season 3, it is revealed that he also assisted in the construction of the Super Robot, though he disappeared shortly after its completion, taking it with him. He was once a human alchemist who fused life, science and magic. He also loved the Robot Monkeys, especially Nova. He was, however, corrupted by "The Dark One", leading him to becoming Skeleton King. At the end of Season 2, he is knocked by Chiro into the pool from which the Dark One is born, and he fuses with the Dark One, its antenna attaching to his head and possessing him, feeding off his evil energy (though the rest of his body became trapped beneath Shugazoom's surface). He maintains this form throughout Season 3, as he and the worm use their evil to corrupt entire planets. At the season's end, his head is detached from the worm by Antauri, killing him, but it is relocated by Mandarin. Velina tried to get it to resurrect him, but it broke and underneath was a chrome skull. His head is the first piece of a puzzle to resurrect him.
- Mandarin: Mandarin is the infamous 'sixth' monkey, who was the original leader of the team. At some point before the show begins, he decided that he was too powerful to merely protect Shuggazoom, and decided he should rule it instead. The other monkeys defeated him and sent him into space, but he returns during the story, and later joins the Skeleton King. When he returns to Shuggazoom after his second defeat, he was rebuilt into a muscular robot, made to destroy Chiro. He was the orange monkey (which is why all of Chiro's weapons, costume, and transport tube colors are orange) and the original pilot of the Torso Tank. His weapons were a pair of gauntlets which produced an energy blade and shield. During Season 2, he is replaced by a smaller, younger clone of himself after a failed attempt to clone Chiro, the fate of the real Mandarin is unknown. At the end of Season 2. This clone is defeated by Chiro and eaten by the Dark One, but returns in a zombie-like state at the end of Season 3. He is currently in possession of Skeleton King's decapitated head and TV Monster's remains. He took Velina to the skull, but it cracked into a chrome under-skull. They are working together to resurrect Skeleton King. He is obviously named after both the Mandarin orange and the Mandarin dialect of Chinese. He is possibly intended to parody the Sentai/Power Rangers tradition of the sixth Ranger (usually added halfway through the season) being evil or at least a lone wolf at first. He is voiced by Chinese-American actor James Hong.
- Teleport Monster: This is a psychic being, which serves the Skeleton King. It lures people into an elevator in the episode "Pit of Doom". It looks like an old man, but it can combine itself with the elevator. Its teleporting ability gave it an advantage against the Monkey team for a while, until Sparks finally defeated the monster with his Magna-Tingler Blast.
- Gyrus Krinkle: A sad, lonely man who grew up with a robotic mother. He is a fan of the Hyper Force which soon turned into an obsession. Krinkle was originally part of the cleanup crew that cleaned the city after the team's monster fights. But he was fired because he was cleaning the super robot instead of the city. His boss said that his obsession with the team was unhealthy. Krinkle is a technical genius and mastermind but he is also mentally unstable. He attempted to join the team but they said no, thinking he was just a fan. Enraged, Gyrus snuck into the super robot in a Chiro costume, brainwashed the monkeys into fighting Chiro, and almost won until Chiro was able to free the monkey team and trick Krinkle into thinking he was a part of the team. When he was captured he was sent to a mental facility on Shuggazoom's moon. He wasn't seen again until Season 4, when he had taken over the facility and had captured Chiro in his mind using a device he invented. In it he had a deformed version of Shuggazoom with his face everywhere. In it he could do anything, have any powers, and do whatever he wanted. He then sent the monkey team into his mind, where they then discovered that they needed to attack cracks that appeared when he got angry. Soon his mind was scrambled. They were sent back to the facility and Krinkle disappeared when his machine exploded. Whether or not Krinkle is alive or if he is stuck in his own mind is unknown. His personality [insane, lonely old man who takes orders from a robot that resembles his mother] was probably created in parody of the character Norman Bates from the Alfred Hitchcock film, Psycho.
- Formless: black skeleton creatures that are made from some kind of ooze. They are perhaps an homage to the enemy foot soldiers of Power Rangers and Super Sentai, especially the ooze beings from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie.
- TV Monster / Skeleton King Droid: A black and bulky looking, yet powerful robot made to serve Skeleton King forever. In the first season, Skeleton King could not leave the Citadel of Bone, so TV Monster did his work, carrying his essence wherever it needed to go. It had a large television in its center, which Skeleton King was seen through. It never spoke, except for Skeleton King talking. It was defeated at the end of season 1, and was not seen until late season 2, where it was it blown away from the Citadel of Bone, but apparently not destroyed. It returned in early season 3, abducted by a deceased robot mind who was bent on destroying everything that ever had contact with Skeleton King. It could no longer take Skeleton King's essence around, so fused itself with Skeleton King's essence, becoming the Skeleton King Droid. All its attacks were upgraded, and it became undefeatable. It could take out lasers from every part of itself, transform into a ball, and fly at incredible speeds. At the end of season 3, it was destroyed by the super robot. Mandarin recovered it, and now uses it as a ship. It is unknown if he will rebuild it.
- Professor Maezono: A now disembodied brain, Prof. Maezono was a human that was a builder of the super robot. He secretly built many varying models of the Super Robots for his own evil needs. When the Prometheus Five (Slingshot) was created as the last generation on Super Robots, he tried to fuse his conciousness with the robot. When his "friend" Dr. Takeuchi tried to stop him, the Professor's brain triggered an explosion that destroyed his lab and Dr. Takeuchi. From then on, he was locked in combat with Slingshot, who vowed to avenge Dr. Takeuchi's death. When the Monkey Team came to the planet, Maezono tricked them into trying to destroy Slingshot. Slingshot soon turned them right, but Prof. Maezono escaped. Slingshot is now chasing him across the galaxy trying to destroy him. He is voiced by Dee Bradley Baker.
- Sakko: Sakko is a tiny, girly looking monkey. He may be cute, but he is actually a spy for Skeleton King. He was the first agent of Skeleton King seen in the show, but was soon "taken away." He returned at the end of season 1, partnered up with Mandarin. After he and Mandarin abandoned Skeleton King, he was not seen again until the dream episode. He was not seen again until season 4, where it was revealed that he currently resides in the prison on Ranger 7.
- Scrapperton: A once mortal man that replaced every part of his body with a mechanical part. Scrapperton is a kindly-seeming robo-man, but he works for Skeleton King. He collects useless junk mostly, but his collecting habits can get in the way of his mind. He lured the monkeys to his lair by capturing Sprx, and soon stole all of their hand attachments. He later made robot apes that worshipped the monkeys to trick them into joining him. He returned in the dream episode, as did most villains from the show. His fate is unknown, though Skeleton King probably destroyed him. He is voiced by Eric Idle
- Velina: Velina was once a member of the Skeletal Circle, a secret group of Shuggazoomians who worshipped the Skeleton King. The leaders, Ma and Pa Shanco, were her parents and chose her to accept Skeleton King's power. Skeleton King's influence saw her fit to rule the savage lands, particularly a large, hidden jungle which lied in a series of caves beneath the surface of Shuggazoom. She was an evil and powerful sorceress, with the ability to summon the Dark One. She could create bubbles, teleport, and hurl deadly energy blasts. When the Monkey Team and Jinmay attempted to rescue Chiro from the Skeleton King's jungle hidden beneath the badlands, Velina attempted to kidnap Jinmay, and the rescued Chiro and the rest of the Monkey Team chased after her. She then summoned the Dark One in an attempt to destroy the Monkey Team. When the Dark One was injured by Antauri, she lost her power, and was defeated by Chiro. She was tossed into a vat of formless ooze as the savage lands and the jungle beneth it were destroyed. She returned early in Season 4 only to wind up trapped in a medallion which comes under Mandarin's posession in the same episode. When Mandarin abused her power to create the monkey team's worst fears, she trapped him and wanted to use the Skeleton King's head to resurrect him. She is voiced by Hynden Walch.
[edit] Other characters
- Jinmay: In the first episode, Chiro had a crush on Jinmay, unaware that she was a robot and under the control of the Skeleton King. She tried to destroy the monkey team, but remembered all the good memories of Chiro and his friends, and fought Skeleton King's control. She left Shugazoom shortly afterwards. She returns at the end of season 1, with a surprise— a mecha modeled after herself. After Antauri's return as the silver monkey in season 3, she became an honorary member of the team — the second female. She was left with the duty of protecting Shuggazoom City while the HyperForce set off to defeat the Dark One Worm. But unfortunately, a new threat called the Wraiths arrived on Shuggazoom and she required the help of the Hyperforce. But when worse came to worse, she pulled through and ended saving the day and the Hyperforce. Also, after seeing the pictures from "http://www.hyperforce.ultranet.hu/" one could predict that she might leave and go to join the Sun Riders for some reason. Also, Chiro's feelings for her are mutual for Jinmay, since they both kissed once. She is voiced by Ashley Johnson.
- The Sun Riders: The Sun Riders are Super Quasier, Aurora Six and Johnny Sunspot. They have their television series of which Chiro is an avid fan. However, they wanted to stop "acting" their parts, and joining Skeleton King, promised to destroy Chiro and the monkey team in return for actual power. They later return in Season 2, in the Episode "The Sun Riders Return", apparently reformed, although why is unclear. Aurora Six appeared as an aspect of the dream world in a later episode. Also, after seeing the pictures from "http://www.hyperforce.ultranet.hu/" one could predict that Jinmay might leave Shuggazoom and go to help the Sun Riders for some reason.
- Slingshot: Also known as Prometheus Five, the fifth and most recent in a series of robots of which the Super Robot is the first. As his name implies, beyond standard flight abilities, Slingshot can create energy balls from his hands and use them to propel himself forward at high speed, causing him to move fast enough that he can pierce even the toughest of metals. Shortly after Slingshot was completed, one of his creators, Prof. Maezono, attempted to transplant his brain into Slingshot's robotic shell as a means of becoming the ultimate death machine. However, his partner, Dr. Takauchi, removed the power cord during the process as a means of stopping him. The resulting overload caused a massive explosion, killing Dr. Takauchi and reducing Prof. Maezono to a disembodied brain. Slingshot blames Maezono for Takauchi's death, and has been battling the mad professor, who wants to see him destroyed, ever since. Unlike the Super Robot, Slingshot is capable of using human speech (though he hears, understands and translates the Super Robot's silent speech). He is voiced by Scott Menville.
- Planetoid Q: A living planetesimal who was ordered by the Skeleton King to collide with Shuggazoom. Later, it is convinced by Chiro to make its own decisions and do what it wants instead of listening to the Skeleton King's commands. Planetoid Q appears to be a parody of the moon from the Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask video game, as it is virtually identical to the moon, possessing a jack o' lantern-esque face, and it attempts to collide with the planet just as the moon does.
- The Circus Crew: While this traveling circus was cruising the galaxy, they had a run-in with the Citadel of Bone. It shot formless ooze into the train, which put the members under Skeleton King's control. The members include the ringmaster, the jungle girl, and the clown(s). They turned for Shuggazoom, and attempted to use the ooze to turn all of Shuggazoom City's people into clown slaves, and that included Chiro, who was scared of clowns. They tried to make the monkeys part of the circus, but Otto had no use. When the ringmaster became a giant carousel, Otto did the trapeze and used his saws to cut down the carousel. They gave Otto the starring role in the next show. It is unknown where they are now.
- Thingy: This tiny little furball comes from an unknown planet. It was rescued by the team on Ranger 7, but was a trap set by Skeleton King. It can transform into a giant monster, but it is not evil. Its lick is a repellant from Skeleton King's virus. Its fur can also be used in sandwiches. He is voiced by Frank Welker.
[edit] Shuggazoom
Shuggazoom is the fictional planet on which Chiro lives. It is set in an alternate dimension to that of planet Earth, and has one city, also named Shuggazoom, which takes up only a portion of the planet, with the rest of the planet being known as an area called "The Zone of Wasted Years". Shuggazoom is under constant attack from the Skeleton King, an evil entity who was once a kind alchemist, corrupted and possessed by "The Dark One", a worm that travels the universes, corrupting whole worlds with its presence.
It is shown that Shuggazoom is an alternate reality of Earth in the episode entitled "Wormhole", where the Skeleton King Worm, a fusion of the Skeleton King and The Dark One, opens a portal to another dimension and attempts to destroy Earth with an energy blast. People from Paris, Tokyo, Philadelphia, etc. were seen briefly as the Skeleton King Worm invaded their reality. Shuggazoom is filled with futuristic scenes, such as a city resembling something from The Jetsons. The entire planet seems to be covered by desert and wasteland, apart from its capital, Shuggazoom City, and a large lake which surrounds the city. The lake may be the only usable source of water on the planet, the rest being desert.
[edit] Cancellation
Currently, Disney is not planning to renew the fifth and final season of the show. A campaign has begun in hopes of changing this decision.
[edit] Episode list
[edit] Season 1
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[edit] Season 2
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[edit] Season 3
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[edit] Season 4
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[edit] References
- Official Site - Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! disney.go.com
- 'Characters of Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!' disney.go.com
- 'Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!', Intenet Movie Database
- 'Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!', TV.com.
- 'Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!', Freewebs.com
- Online petition to save the show from cancellation
- Hyperforce.net
- 'Episode Screen Shots',WARNING! Major Spoilers and screen shots.
![[1]](http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue386/kidssuperrobot.jpg){kind=link}