SilverHawks


SilverHawks is an American superhero animated television series developed by Rankin/Bass Productions and distributed by Lorimar-Telepictures in 1986. The animation was provided by Japanese studio Pacific Animation Corporation. In total, 65 episodes were made. It was created as a space-based equivalent of their previous series ThunderCats.
As was the case with ThunderCats, there was also a SilverHawks comic book series published by Marvel Comics under the imprint Star Comics.

Plot

The series is set in the 29th century, in the fictional Limbo Galaxy. A bionic space enforcer called Commander Stargazer recruited the SilverHawks, heroes who are "partly metal, partly real", to fight the evil Mon*Star, an escaped alien crime boss who transforms into an enormous armor-plated creature with the help of Limbo's Moonstar. Joining Mon*Star in his villainy is an intergalactic mob consisting of Yes-Man, Buzz-Saw, Mumbo-Jumbo, Windhammer, Mo-Lec-U-Lar, Poker-Face, Hardware, and "the musical madness of" Melodia.
Quicksilver leads the SilverHawks, with his metal bird companion Tally-Hawk at his side. Twins Emily and Will Hart became Steelheart and Steelwill, the SilverHawks's technician and strongman respectively. Country-singing Bluegrass piloted the team's ship, the Maraj. Rounding out the group is a youngster "from the planet of the mimes", named "The Copper Kidd" and usually called "Kidd" for short, a mathematical genius who spoke in whistles and computerized tones. Their bionic bodies are covered by a full-body close-fitting metal armor that only exposes the face and an arm, the armor is equipped with a retractile protective mask, retractable under-arm wings, thrusters on their heels, and laser-weapons in their shoulders.

Characters

Silverhawks

Main Silverhawks

  • Commander Stargazer is a tough and grizzled old police officer with bionic capabilities, he captured Mon*Star several years ago prior to the start of the series and had him imprisoned. Older than the other SilverHawks, he longs to return to Earth for either a vacation or for retirement. Stargazer chiefly serves as the SilverHawks "eyes and ears", keeping them apprised of their current situation. His first name is apparently Burt. In the SilverHawks' first adventure, Stargazer is depicted as the keeper of Tally-Hawk who subsequently was teamed with Quicksilver. His armor is gold, covering the upper left portion of his head as well as his body, and his left eye has been replaced by a telescopic lens. Stargazer wears a white button up shirt, loosened necktie, suspenders and slacks, making him resemble a stereotypical plainclothes police officer.
  • Quicksilver / Captain Jonathan Quick was the former head of Interplanetary Force H and is the field leader of the SilverHawks. Known for his quick reflexes, Quicksilver is an accomplished tactician and athlete. His armor is silver in color.
  • Bluegrass is second-in-command of the SilverHawks and the chief pilot of the group as well as a cowboy at heart. Bluegrass is the only active SilverHawk who cannot fly, but he is the one that pilots the team's vehicle the "Maraj". He uses his weapon/instrument and his lasso. Bluegrass has an interface with the Maraj's piloting system, which he has affectionately dubbed "Hot Licks". His armor has a blue-silver shade, and he wears a red bandana around his neck and a cowboy hat.
  • Steelheart/Sergeant Emily Hart and Steelwill/Sergeant Will Hart are fraternal twin siblings. They became Steelheart and Steelwill respectively when they joined the SilverHawks. Steelheart and Steelwill had artificial hearts implanted during their transformation. Their armors are both a dark steel color. Steelheart and Steelwill are the "gearheads" of the team. Due to an empathic bond, when one sibling feels something, the other feels it as well. Physically, they are the strongest members of the team.
  • The Copper Kidd is the youngest member of the SilverHawks and the only one not from Earth. A mathematical genius from the Planet of the Mimes, he "speaks" in tones and whistles. The Copper Kid's skin is blue except for white markings on his face that resemble the makeup of a mime. His armor is copper-colored but the wings have a silver-like appearance similar to those his teammates. A natural acrobat, the Copper Kidd has two razor-edged discs which he throws like Frisbees. At the end of each episode, he was quizzed in astronomy lessons by Bluegrass as training to become the reserve Maraj pilot.

    Minor Silverhawks

  • Hotwing is a gold SilverHawk who was added mid-season. He is a magician and skilled illusionist. Hotwing received his powers from a mystical energy force that "chose" him to bear the powers to fight against injustice. He has to recharge these powers every 14 years, otherwise he will die. One notable time was when Zeek the Beak tricked the mystic force into giving him these powers which would have resulted in Hotwing's death.
  • Flashback is a green time-traveling Silverhawk from the far future. When he meets the 'much older' Stargazer who tells him of the fateful day the SilverHawks died, Flashback travels back in time to save them from an exploding sun. He also traveled back in time to stop Hardware from destroying the SilverHawks.
  • Moon Stryker is a turquoise Silverhawk. He can propel himself through space by a powerful cyclone generated from propellers that emerge from his waist. He is cocky but an expert marksman, as demonstrated when he shot a pen out of Stargazer's hand when they first met in the episode "Battle Cruiser".
  • Condor - An old ally of Stargazer whom Condor calls "Gaze". Condor left the SilverHawks to become a private investigator before the series, but eventually returned. Instead of wings, he has a jetpack and his main weapon is an energy whip.

    SilverHawk's Fighting Hawks

The Fighting Hawks are hawk-like partners of the SilverHawks who have different abilities that help them in their fight against the Mob and other villains.
  • Tally-Hawk is Quicksilver's Fighting Hawk who is partly metal and partly real. Its beak can tear through metal and can shoot lasers.
  • Side Man is Bluegrass's Fighting Hawk who plays music and fires lasers.
  • Rayzor is Steelwill's Fighting Hawk whose wings can cut through metal.
  • Stronghold is Steelheart's Fighting Hawk who can lift anything that is heavy.
  • May-Day is Copper Kidd's Fighting Hawk with sonic-based abilities.
  • Sly-Bird is Stargazer's Fighting Hawk who can photograph and record anything.
  • Gyro is Hotwing's Fighting Hawk with spinning abilities.
  • Backlash is Flashback's Fighting Hawk who can also travel through time.
  • Tail-Spin is Moon Stryker's Fighting Hawk.
  • Jet Stream is Condor's Fighting Hawk.

    Supporting characters

  • Seymour is the television show's comic relief. Seymour is a space cabbie who frequently says "Y'know what I mean?" He might be inspired by Space Cabbie, a 1950s science fiction character.
  • * Zeek the Beak is Seymour's pal. Zeek the Beak is a green bird-like alien who often accompanies Seymour on cab rides. His catch phrases are "You wanna buy a fish?" and the interjection "Zeek!"
  • Harry is a robot that works as a bartender at a bar on the planet Fence. He appears in many episodes usually serving drinks.
  • Professor Power is a lightbulb-headed scientist who works in the Artificial Sun and controls it. He is friendly with the SilverHawks and often helps them.
  • Sanders is the governor in Bedlama, a planet similar to the Earth.
  • Monotone is the computer that rules the planet Automata.
  • Grodd the Informer is an informant. He appears in episode 32 when he informs the mob of a rock that is supposed to be worth a fortune, the Savior Stone.
  • Lord Cash is in charge of Dolar planet where there is plenty of money and is friendly to SilverHawks.
  • * Gotbucks is Dolar's security chief.
  • Warden Lockup is a prison warden who is in charge of the Penal Planet 10 where Limbo's criminals are kept. His face looks like a bird. Warden Lockup likes gambling because he is seen betting in Mon*star's Great Meteor Race.
  • * Cell Guard #1 is an unnamed rhinoceros-like creature that works for Warden Lockup as a prison officer and controls the corridors of the Penal planet.
  • * Cell Guard #2 is an unnamed one-wheeled robot that works for Warden Lockup as a prison officer and controls the corridors of the Penal planet. He is extremely weak enough for even laser beams to destroy him and is usually seen with Cell Guard #1.

    Federal Interplanetary Force

The Federal Interplanetary Force is an interplanetary organization that have their headquarters on Earth. They are responsible for the creation of the Silverhawks and have helped out whenever Stargazer contacts them for help.
  • General Rawlings is the leader of the Federal Interplanetary Force
  • Professor Ghemakain is an unspecified alien that is responsible for making the weapons for the Silverhawks.
  • * Nurse Mabis is a nurse who works for the Federal Interplanetary Force and is the assistant of Professor Ghemakain.
  • Brigadier Brightlight is a high-ranking member of the Federal Interplanetary Force.

    Villains

The Mob

The Mob is an organized crime group and the primary antagonists of the series that commits crimes throughout Limbo and operate from Brim*Star. They travel in three open-cab spacecraft called the Zoomer, Road Star, and Limbo Limo.
  • Mon*Star is the quintillionaire alien crime boss and "Planet Master" who escaped from his cell on Penal Planet 10. He appears as a feline muscular humanoid with dark hair streaked with red over all the body, a voluminous red mane and beard, and an eyepatch covering his left eye. Whenever he utilizes beams from Limbo's Moon*Star and the use of his Transformation Chamber, Mon*Star's body becomes encased on spiked armor-plating as he recites "Moon*Star of Limbo, give me the might, the muscle, the menace, of MON*STAR!". In this state, he temporarily regains his left eye with it able to fire the crimson Light Star beam which has various effects, destructive and stunning. Mon*Star has some bad blood with Stargazer due to their past conflicts and extends that animosity to the SilverHawks. Mon*Star appears in all but two episodes where Hardware and the Bounty Hunter are the villains respectively.
  • * Sky-Runner - A giant "space-squid" that serves as Mon*Star's mode of transportation. One of Mon*Star's beams is responsible for making rideable armor appear on Sky-Runner.
  • Yes-Man is Mon*Star's all-purpose lackey, thrall, sycophant, or some combination thereof. As his name suggests, he is Mon*Star's half-human half-snake sidekick who only ever agrees with Mon*Star. As a member of Mon*Star's Mob, Yes-Man operates the Transformation Chamber. Yes-Man once used the powers of the Moon*Star alongside Mon*Star but did not change form. The Moon*Star primarily gave him increased mental abilities and ambition. This led to a feud between himself and his boss until the powers faded.
  • Hardware is the weapons specialist for Mon*Star's Mob. He is an extremely intelligent, short but bulky, light, purple-skinned pink-haired creature who carries an oversized rucksack full of self-engineered weapons and equipment called a Roll-Up Bag. Mon*Star considers Hardware his most dangerous minion because of his talent for invention. On one occasion when Mon*Star was recaptured, he had to use the Moon*Star to empower a box that would enable Mon*Star to escape from Penal Planet 10.
  • Melodia is a musical mistress who serves as a nemesis and counterpart to the SilverHawks' Bluegrass, Melodia is the only female member of Mon*Star's Mob. Melodia is usually seen cruising around in the Limbo Limo, causing havoc and assorted acts of terror as diversions. Melodia almost always carries a musical synthesizer as a weapon. She is usually dressed in an exaggerated rock-singer outfit: two-shaded green hair; a short black dress; red belt with plug-up battery pack for "Sound Smasher"; long red fingerless gloves; half dark purple, half light pink tights; and dark blue glasses with a red 'music note' frame.
  • Windhammer is an eco-terrorist member of Mon*Star's Mob with a large tuning fork that enables him to manipulate or generate destructive weather patterns either on a planet or in space. Examples of the weather that he has manipulated have included lightning and tornadoes. He is a muscular humanoid with azurine skin, long blonde hair, and large elf-like ears.
  • Mo-Lec-U-Lar is a molecule-themed shapeshifter whose primary form is a humanoid body composed of many spheres in various copper shades. He serves as the master of disguise and leading hitman of Mon*Star's Mob. Besides shapeshifting, Mo-Lec-U-Lar once became invisible in order to infiltrate the SilverHawks' base.
  • Buzz-Saw is a sentient war machine of a light copper-shade. Buzz-Saw has razor-sharp circular saw-cutting blades over his body that can be used as projectile weapons. He speaks with a high-pitched metallic voice.
  • Poker-Face is the robotic sunglasses-wearing money man of Mon*Star's mob who has slot machines for eyes and carries a cane decorated with playing card suits. He is the owner of the Starship Casino. Poker-Face always charges Mon*Star billions for new inventive ideas against the SilverHawks.
  • Mumbo-Jumbo is a copper-skinned robotic Minotaur who is the muscle for Mon*Star's Mob. He is aided by his ability to "bulk up", growing larger and more muscular, increasing his strength by doing so. He speaks in metallic grunts which his associates seem to understand and appears to be on the low scale of the intellectual spectrum. His signature attack is a quadrupedal charge at an opponent. Mumbo-Jumbo is the sworn enemy of Steelheart because of Steelheart's strength and skill which takes him down easily.
  • Timestopper is a cocky 14-year-old juvenile delinquent nyctophobe with a chest device that has the ability to suspend all ambient motion and kinetic energy around him for one Limbo-Minute. He is often in the services of Mon*Star, but has no qualms about getting in his way if he isn't paid for the job. His nyctophobia is most likely from the fact his chest device is light-powered.
  • Zero the Memory Thief is a long-nosed shady character who steals memories using a cattle prod-like weapon and records them on cassettes. He occasionally did business with Mon*Star's gang when the opportunity suited him. While he can steal memories, he cannot the memorized data the way his victims can.
  • Smiley is a mummified boxer robot that is brought back to life by Poker-Face. He was once stopped by Commander Stargazer. Smiley is the heavyweight champion of Limbo. He is operated by remote control. In the Starship Casino, Smiley easily defeats both Mumbo-Jumbo and Buzz-Saw, but later, he could not beat the SilverHawks.
  • Darkbird is an evil duplicate of Quicksilver who was created by Hardware.