Over in the cartoon theme thread I posted the opening of an obscure cartoon from the early 80's that was called "Mighty Orbots."

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qiFRD0NLzY[/youtube]

It was an attempt to capitalize on the 80's Japanese-designed robot craze (which featured properties such as Transformers and Voltron). Produced for ABC, it was an American show animated by a Japanese animation studio and there was no corresponding version of the show in Japan. The "male" robots all looked very Hanna-Barbara inspired, but when they combined into the big guy, they looked very Japanese. Anyway, the show appeared to be an amalgamation of the Metal Men and Voltron... this has kinda gotten my gears turning.

Years after Orbots came and went, Alex Ross seemed to (either intentionally or unintentionally) give the Metal Men a bit of the Orbots concept by having the Metal Men able to combine into a giant "metal man" called Alloy.

Okay, now that you know where I'm coming from... I have a question(s) for those who have liked the Metal Men comics.*

Why do you like them? What makes them good characters and how do you feel they should be portrayed in comics (serious, totally ridiculous... etc)?

* I would appreciate it if those people who don't like the Metal Men or are indifferent to the Metal Men did not chime in just to say they don't like the Metal Men or are indifferent to the Metal Men. Nothing stopping you from doing so, of course (and I realize some of you may see this as an invitation to do so) but I'd really rather hear from Metal Men fans.

I HATE the Metal Men.

Just kidding.

I think they work best as a somewhat silly group. Just imagine a grim and gritty Metal Men series. Ewwww. I think a lot of fun could be generated from dealing more with them in day to day life. But I haven't read a lot of their adventures so maybe that's already been done.

I don't hate the Metal Men; I'm indifferent to them though.

I guess I shouldn't reply then.

Oops.

I think that the Metal Men work better as a serious title with occasional laughs (the original intent).

I've been saying for years that they're ready-made to become an animated series. They predate Gatchaman and the team concept animated series that followed (Thundercats, Silverhawks, etc.). No idea why Warner hasn't explored that.

Their name appeared in this week's musical Brave and the Bold episode (as the name of a band).

Yes, they would be a great animated series. The characters seem perfect for it.

Doc Magnus is a jerk.

Metal Men and Doom Patrol as a nice series together. 30 minute episodes. Half of it the Metal Men and the other half Doom Patrol.

Also ..

I like them a lot, but I prefer it when they're portrayed as a serious team with the odd comedic moment thrown in for good measure. It's such an irresistible concept, and could be done in a serious, traditional "superheroic" way. I think that'd work out well.

I think what makes them work is the idea that they're like the ultimate outsiders; they're not even human - yet they're also capable of being emotive and so on, and wanting to help others. They also have that whole air about them of being a family, like the early Fantastic Four was.

I too think they would be perfect for animation. Hopefully they will make an appearance on Batman: The Brave and The Bold soon.

Okay, I've changed this thread to "Fixing The Metal Men."

How would you do it? How would you make this concept a top seller?

Fixed.

Quadmire is a great choice there with his nose.

The writers of Metal Men have to be careful not to lose the human qualities of the characters, including Doc Magnus. Instead of Magnus always threatening to shut them down, he should be the guy fighting to keep them active because he sees them as sentient.

It might be interesting if they had volatile memory, and every time they were shutdown, they'd
lose knowledge of what was what, and have to be retrained. This could happen during fights,
power outages, whatever. Occasionally they could be captured and retrained for evil.

But, then give them some more permanent memory later on after we tired of this.

Give them to my dad. Dad can fix ANYTHING mechanical!

I prefer the ProtoTYKES. Or was that PROTOtykes?

I like the current version pretty well. Tina is the key to a successful (or failed) interpretation.