AstroBoy Online Forums

The question has been raised many times as to what purpose Astro's hair spikes serve. While it is usually accepted that this feature is a robotic copy of Tobio's cowlicks, the fact that Astro's hair is a 'sharper'' feature makes people think that there is a purpose to them.

Do they house antennas? Are they electric shock guns (Cobalt's spikes seem to serve that purpose!).

Well, I was doing some thinking about a story line involving Astro's ability to fly. He is a living flying machine, and in that sense has much in common with birds. That is, flying is in his 'DNA'. I recalled some of the aircraft designed by Burt Rutan, and then it hit me.
Astro's hair spikes are 'rudders'! They interact with the air in his slipstream and act as his vertical stabilizer in flight. Like a bird, he controls his yaw axis by turning his head (although he can also use differential thrust on his jets).

Anyway, that's my pilot's take on it.

Okay, that is just awesome thinking. You are hereby cited as the ABOL Geek of the Month!!

Depending on which version you consult, they seem to be just cosmetic (apparently, just like the rest of his head...); I've seen images where there's an antenna hidden in the top spike, though. The 2009 movie seems to have this feature, as well, although that one seems to be retractable- pay attention to when they're uploading the memories, and you'll see (and hear) it slide out of the top of his head.

The 2003 iteration has these curious knobs, that actually don't look like they would even fit in the spikes, when you compare the CGI model of his endoskeleton to his hand-drawn external appearance. I have no idea what these are for, other than to lend shape and form to the spikes- these probably wouldn't be so easy to bend, as in the previous iterations. (The older series' have his head get banged up quite a lot...)