Astro's abilities

[dannavy85]

You think now ( 2015) he might have new things like WI-FI, GPS, encryption, EMP protection, internet and laser targeting.

[Tetsuwan Penguin]

I know I've included a few of those in my own personal "head canon". The GPS for sure and the internet connection (He opens his chest panel and there inside is a Cat-6 connector!).

Yeah I left out the EMP shielding only because that would ruin a good plot device. Actually I have Astro sorta EMP shielded in that it won't fry his electronics, the blast will only knock him out for a while and he wakes up with a bad headache!

[pfm2001]

Throughout the various versions of the Manga and Animes, Astro's abilities have varied quite a bit. I've also imagined some other abilities that he ought to have, (some of which Tezuka might have included if the technology had been known to him at the time), and I've included them in a few of my own stories. Anyway, here is my list, feel free to add to it...

Power: Astro is usually quoted as having 100,000 HP. In the Manga he was upgraded by Dr. Tenma to 1,000,000 HP just prior to his encounter with Pluto. In the 1980 and 2003 Anime this never happened, but I'm not sure about the 1963 version (That was among the missing '89). I don't think his power rating was ever mentioned in the movie.

Rockets and Jets: Astro has air breathing Jet engines in his arms and legs that can also operate in rocket mode (not needing any external oxidizer). I don't think the arm jets were present in the 2003 Anime or the Movie, they were shown in the Manga and the 1963 and 1980 versions of the Anime (though they never appeared in any of the episodes translated by Ladd). In actuality Astro's body could not contain a large enough fuel tank to support his flying ability, but we can grant Tezuka an artist's license on this and assume that some new super fuel was developed for him.

Fanny guns: Tezuka could never seem to make up his mind exactly what kind of weapons Astro had buried in his rear end. Most of the time they were machine guns that shot some kind of armor piercing shells, but sometimes they appeared to be lasers or lighting guns. This reminds me of one Star Trek episode where the special effects crew goofed and showed the Enterprise's Phasers shooting Photon Torpedoes!

Finger Lasers: These were added in the 1980 anime, I don't remember if they were also present in the 2003 version or in the Movie.

Arm Canon: This was added in the 2003 anime and also appeared in the movie. I think he only had the arm cannon in his left arm in the anime, they were in both arms in the movie.

Electro-Shock: Astro had the ability to zap bad guys by delivering them a shock. He did that though his teeth in at least one episode of the 1963 anime (the last one), and though his hands in several of the latter 'missing 89'.

Search Light eyes: These were present in all of the various Astro media from the Manga though all of the Animes and the movie.

Image Projector: Astro had the ability to project an image of his thoughts onto a wall or blank screen in the 2003 episode "Eternal Boy".

Radio: Tezuka often had Astro carry a small microwave transceiver to communicate with Ochanomizu or Tawashi. Sometimes he had a microphone hidden inside his chest and would extract it to communicate. In one episode of the missing '89 (I don't remember which one) he even had a pair of headphones hidden in there and was using both while flying. I imagine him as having a built in software defined radio that can operate on ANY frequency using ANY mode of modulation. This radio is internally connected to his electronic brain so he doesn't need an external microphone or headset to use it, and doesn't even need to speak, just THINK what he wants to send. (Why would you build a robot any other way?).

Computer Network: In some of my stories I had Astro physically connect himself to a computer, or computer network via a built in Ethernet connection to his electronic brain. He'd open his chest panel to access the built in socket, perhaps even have a length of cable stowed in there. (Cobalt and Uran would have the same ability). Look out, they are the world's greatest hackers!

Thermal Power: In the 1963 Anime story 'Don Tay's Inferno" Astro was given Ferno's (Atlas) thermal power module that enabled him to glow white hot. While he gave the gizmo back to Don Tay in the story, I imagined that he kept it (it might come in handy some day, and once it did!).

ESP: In one story I gave Astro the ability to sort of read minds, and be able to meld his consciousness with a human, much like Mr. Spock's mind meld technique. This was a logical extension of Astro's ability to tell if a person was good or evil.

Lightning Bolts: Astro never did this, but Cobalt had the ability to deliver lighting bolts through his hair spikes in some of the missing '89 episodes.

For the Computer Networking power, Astro has used this power in the 2003 series, in the episode "Geo Raider" where he was connected to the Geo Raider.

And I believe in another episode he used them to connect with a tree ("Deep City").

[pfm2001]

I can also add that in the French pocket books, Astro has the following additional powers:

• Radio communication with other robots. He could even tell robots of limited AI what to do
• Magnets in his hands, for wall-gripping as a safety device
• Sensing materials (like chemical composition) through sensors in his fingers
• Running speed

There's probably a bunch more that I've yet to see in the other four books in the series. In the book series canon, Astro was developed by Tenma as a superweapon for taking over the world, and Ochanomizu/O'Shay modified his powers to be used for good and at a level suitable for a 9 year old boy.

In the NOW! Comics series, Astro had a special super mode when he was angry, and became pretty aggressive and strong during this. He also receives from Boynton/Tenma a super battery boost that can only be used for thirty seconds; any use after that will cause it to explode (which it does.)

Knowing what magnets can do to electronic devices/machines, I find it just a tad bit hard to believe they accepted that power.