The REAL Reason he's Astro Boy and not Atom!!

[AprilSeven]

I had heard/read about Fred Ladd's comments, and they certainly sound credible, but considering that Reddy Kilowatt really was an American "icon" in the 50s-60s, it makes sense the power companies would use him as their mascot to introduce "atomic energy"

I tend to think FL and co. would have taken Reddy's existence into consideration and figured TWO characters named "Mighty Atom" could be very confusing (Reddy was there first, and very established). It's very logical they wouldn't even consider naming a new character the same thing (never mind that they most likely would have been legally restricted from doing so).

I can also see a "child of the future" in the US at that time would have a name like ASTRO Boy instead of Atom, because so many of us were fixated on the "space race" as opposed to atomic/nuclear power. (His name sounds like "astronaut")

That does bring up another question, though:

If Astro [original version] runs on atomic energy -- why does he have to recharge so often? And he seems to "reload" from electronic power sources, with the occasional shot of jet fuel. hmmmmm. . . .

[Novacain]

In the 'Now" comics it was because he was afraid he would explode and hurt someone, so he insisted on being battery powered... I think....
Been awhile since I've read those

[Astro Forever]

If Astro [original version] runs on atomic energy -- why does he have to recharge so often? And he seems to "reload" from electronic power sources, with the occasional shot of jet fuel. hmmmmm. . . .

And if he runs on a battery, why can't he just always have another one ready in him just in case? Might make many episodes less interesting though...

[Dragonrider1227]

I found him on youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PznxZ3zmL00
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDnge_tbcNM

[I-Am-Atom's-Sister]

wow o_o
and I would've prefered 'Mighty Atom'
X3

[Gotta Love ASTRO BOY]

Eep that puppet one looks creapy

[jeffbert]

I just remembered ATOM ANT, though he originated in 1965, so is irrelevant.

[Mizrael]

I still prefer Astro myself.

[Androids101]

For me, Atom sounds better, but I've gotten used to Astro, so yeah.