020 – The Robot Bombs [Astro Boy] (Manga)

Astro Boy (1952-68), Chapter 020 ‘The Robot Bombs’ (ロボット爆弾), was originally serialized on a monthly schedule from December 1956 to August 1957 in Shonen.

What it’s about?

First serialized from December 1956 to August 1957 in Shonen magazine.

This is like two stories in one. Astro has two adventures one after the other relating to the same event.

In part one a mysterious robot attacks Astro’s school and infects Astro with a bacteria oxidizes or eats away slowly at his body. While Professor Ochanomizu tries to control and contain the disease, Mr. Mustachio is given an antidote by a strange man completely disguised by thick, heavy clothing and dark glasses. Mustachio takes the antidote to Astro but as soon as he drinks it they realize that the same robot has attacked the Ministry of Science at Ochanomizu’s office. Astro saves the Professor and the robot flies away.

Ochanomizu tells Astro and Mustachio that he recognized it as a Robot Bomb. They were designed to blow up targets they walked to. They were banned ten years ago. Later they capture the robot and reading its mind electronically learn that when all the existing Robot Bombs were dumped into the ocean they all started manufacturing and reproducing themselves and built their own undersea empire.

Later other Robot Bombs rescue their comrade and capture Astro and one of his school friends, Tamao and take them to their undersea base. Tamao is placed in a special vinyl bag to keep him alive and is placed with the only other human captive. An old sea captain. Meanwhile Astro is presented to the Robot Bomb Emperor who explains that they want Astro to help them invade and subdue the humans on the dry land. Astro protests that they don’t know what they’re thinking and they are deeply offended. Astro challenges one of them to a combat and they all gather in their public arena to watch. Astro pulls off the safety mechanism on the top of his opponent’s head. When he hears a ticking sound inside him Astro cries out that he is a bomb and will explode unless Astro puts what he took back in place. He doesn’t want to believe Astro but begs him to stop the noise and Astro complies.

The Emperor declares this all madness and tells his subjects that Astro has no proof that they’re all bombs and defiantly snaps off his own mechanism. As he floats overhead to address everybody he blows up. Astro tells the horrified community that there is absolute proof that they’re bombs originally built by humans. Humbled they all listen and free Tamao and the captain promising to return to the surface with them and learn to get along with humans. Astro tells them that Professor Ochanomizu will gladly arrange to have them modified so they’ll no longer be explosive.

Unfortunately in part two a passing ship full of scoundrels is alerted to the explosion of the Emperor. They rescue Tamao and the captain but when told about the Robot Bombs the greedy captain of the ship named Mason shows his true colours and forces the old man to tell all the Robots to obey Captain Mason. When Astro catches up with them Mason warns him that if he interferes he will command the robots to kill his friend Tamao. Astro retreats but secretly forces the ship to go to Japan to the amazement of Mason and his crew. It takes almost all of Astro’s energy but he grabs hold of the boat and drags it towards Japan’s dock with all his might.

He struggles onto the pier covered in barnacles and collapses. He is found and cleaned up by Boone Marukubi who reveals himself to be an ex-henchman of Captain Mason. When he hears about the Robot Bombs he offers his assistance in opposing his former boss. He takes Astro to Mason’s headquarters in Japan to confront him. Mason is an eccentric villain. They find him relaxing in a huge swimming pool full of stolen gold coins and he also even has a shower set up to rain coins down on him. He stubbornly refuses to release his hostages and tells Boone and Astro they’d better go now if they know what’s good for them.

The police attempt a raid on Mason but are no match for the robots. Boone has an idea and disguises Astro as a solid gold Buddha statue. An undercover policeman sells Astro to two of Mason’s henchmen disguised as a peddler and Astro is able to infiltrate Mason’s home and locate Tamao and the captain. While they all escape Mason suddenly becomes sick. His men send for a doctor who tells him he has sustained gold poisoning from bathing in his coins all the time. He won’t listen to the doctor however and continues to lie on top of his gold in the pool in spite of how it makes him feel. Then he overhears over the intercom some of his men talking about how he’s sure to die soon while they play cards. They reckon they may as well share the gold among themselves when the boss is no more and he is furious. He orders the Robot Bombs to fly off to Manila with all his gold stowed inside their chest cavities.

Next he sends one big Robot Bomb to bash all his men to death. But when he tells the robot to follow him to his chagrin it tells him that it has had enough. It won’t obey him anymore because he is not human. Mason has no human compassion so it flies away leaving him fuming.

As he leaves he is captured by Boone and the captain but he notices a woman and her daughter preparing to get into a nearby car. He seizes the little girl and takes her hostage in the car. As they drive off Astro shows up. He sneaks up behind the car, smashes through the back and out the front rescuing the child from the passenger seat. Mason is frustrated and in despair realizing he’s been defeated. He drives the car over the railing into the water either losing control in his mental anguish or else simply just trying to suicide. Astro just manages to save him in time. Mason is humbled that Astro would do that for even a bad guy like him and gives himself up.

Finally Astro sees all the Robot Bombs flying out to sea. He asks one of them where they’re going and it says they’re returning to the ocean depths. They may come back one day providing that the humans ever learn how to be better creatures.

What you should know

Robot Bombs is the very first manga appearance of Tezuka’s star character Boone and he was modeled upon Lino Ventura, a famous movie star in France.

The mysterious man who gives Mustachio the antidote to save Astro is undoubtedly his own creator, Dr. Tenma. In another scene shortly afterwards Tenma can be seen still disguised watching Astro secretly in a hidden corner while the first Robot Bomb is captured with Astro’s help. Apart from these couple of cameos Tenma has nothing at all to do with the rest of the events that follow.

Who’s in it?

Mason / Mason