You definitely got it wrong if you think that human augmentation is a thing of today. There is a classic cartoon that follows the adventures of a family of machine-enhanced human beings possessing special abilities.
Bionic Six, produced by Studios USA and MCA Television (later renamed NBC/Universal Television), is an American/Japanese animated television series from the 1980s.
As a chief supervising director, renowned Japanese animation Director Osamu Dezaki was the chief supervising director of the series. Up next we’re going to tell you more about cartoon classic Bionic Six.
Plot
CIA agent Jack Bennett and his family are taking a vacation in the Himalayas when he is called upon to investigate strange magnetic readings in the region,
He discovers Bertonium, a mineral with the properties to improve the bionic abilities of an individual, and grant them eternal life. He also meets a group of aliens seeking to acquire a new mineral.
Jack’s family is stuck under radioactive snow in the process and slips into a coma. Jack, finding no other means to save them, makes Professor Amadeus Sharp with bionic implants to work on his family.
Jack (Bionic-1), his wife Helen (Mother-1), and their children Eric (Sports-1), J.D. (I.Q.), Meg (Rock-1), and Bunji (Karate-1) become the Bionic Six. Using their new abilities, they protect mankind from the evil organization Scarab.
Characters
Here are the main characters of the cartoon classic.
Professor Dr. Amadeus Sharp
He is the brilliant scientist who instilled bionics into the Bionic Six squad. All of his research is funded by the government, and the technology of Sharp must be tested annually by government agency Q10.
He lives in his private museum alone as it houses his underground Special Projects Lab, the Bionic Six’s hidden base. In the disciplines of aeronautics, animatronics, archaeology, bionics, and neurology, Sharp excels.
Jack Bennett
He is an engineer, a skilled test pilot, and the only “Bionic-One” —secret agent known worldwide. His powers are mainly linked to his bionic eyes and augmented hearing.
His family was initially oblivious of his secret bionic identity until they had their own powers. The character was voiced by John Stephenson.
Helen Bennett
Jack’s wife is Helen Bennett, aka Mother-1. She is a marine biologist and an accomplished oceanographer.
Mother-1 has different ESP powers. She is also an experienced fighter, having defeated Madame-O, Dr. Scarab’s henchwoman, on occasions when the two clashed one-on-one physically.
Eric Bennett
Eric Bennett, or Sport-1, is the blond, athletic son of Jack and Helen. Eric is a shortstop on the Einstein Atoms baseball team at the local Albert Einstein High School.
In his dialogue, he regularly uses baseball slang. Like Sport-1, he affects electromagnetic forces with immense force to attract or repel metallic objects, meld them together or even tear them apart.
Meg Bennett
Meg Bennett, aka Rock-1, is the daughter of Jack and Helen and is the younger sister of Eric. Meg is an entertaining, and somewhat sentimental, music-loving teenager.
As Rock-1, she can release sonic beams from blaster units placed on her shoulders. Only when she activates “bionic mode” are the blaster units noticeable.
Although all the Six can sprint at superhuman speed, Meg is by a significant margin the fastest among them.
James Dwight “J.D.” Corey
He is known as IQ, the amazingly intelligent, adopted African-American son of Jack and Helen. While he is not especially good at it, he loves amateur boxing.
In addition, though all the Six have superhuman strength, J.D. by a wide margin is the strongest among them. He was the only member of the team whose bionic code name did not contain the number ‘1’ suffix.
Bunjiro “Bunji” Tsukahara
Known as Karate-1, he is the Japanese foster son of Jack and Helen. After his own father vanished somewhere in the East 10 years earlier, he was put under their guardianship.
An avid karate enthusiast, Bunji is. His already powerful martial arts prowess, as Karate-1, is strengthened by his bionics. Among the six, he is the most versatile, and his super-sharp reflexes are only exceeded by those of Rock-
Conclusion
Bionic Six is sure to give everyone that nostalgia. Unfortunately, streaming, renting, or buying the series is not currently possible but may be in the future.
While you’re waiting for it to become available, there are plenty of other sci-fi cartoon series you can watch like Trigun and Reboot.