Astro Boy (character)

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Astro Boy
Astro Boy character
Astro Boy by Osamu Tezuka
First appearance	Captain Atom (April 1951)
Created by	Osamu Tezuka
Voiced by	Mari Shimizu Makoto Tsumura (2003 TV series)
Profile
Nicknames	Astro
Aliases	Atom
Gender	Male
Species	Robot
Date of birth	7 April 2003
Occupation	Hero
Known relatives	Doctor Tenma (Creator)

Astro Boy (アトム, Atomu^?) is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the same name franchise. Created by Osamu Tezuka, the character is introduced in the 1951 Captain Atom manga. Astro Boy has appeared in animated television series and feature film adaptations of its eponymous manga and other works by Tezuka.

On 7 April 2003, the City of Niiza registered the character as an actual resident.^[1] He was also inducted into the Robot Hall of Fame in 2004.

1 Overview
2 Appearances
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Overview

Created by Doctor Tenma, Astro Boy was meant to be a replacement for his deceased son: Tobio. However, because Astro was not able to grow and age like a normal human child, Doctor Tenma abandoned him to a Robot Circus led by the cruel Ham Egg. At the circus, Astro was found by Professor Ochanomizu and adopted. Professor Ochanomizu gave Astro a family with a robotic mother, father, sister (Uran), and brother (Cobalt). As head of the Ministry of Science, Professor Ochanomizu often calls on Astro to help resolve situations involving humans, robots, and on occasion, extraterrestrials.

Astro has seven powers to help him in his adventures:

The ability to translate more than 60 languages
Strength equivalent to 100,000 horsepower (75 MW)
The ability to fly using jets in his legs
Magnification of his hearing up to one thousand times
Guns deployed from his posterior
An electro-heart that can discern people's criminal intentions
Bright eye-lamps to assist his vision

Despite his abilities and work for good, Astro is often ostracized by the human race for what he is: a robot. Since he is not officially considered a citizen, he often has to deal with the prejudice of humans against robots. Ultimately, Astro has to find a way to bring peace between humans and robots.

[edit] Appearances

As part of the Osamu Tezuka's Star System, Astro has appeared in several of the artist's works, though not always identified as "Astro Boy." Following is a chronogical list of Astro's appearances, along with the name the character is identified with (if available).