Biker Mice? Primer Who's Who Where...? Gadgets and Gizmos BM Voice Cast Modo's Bionic Arm I Vinnie's Expanding Flares I Throttle's Nuke Knucks Martian Tanglesprings I Laser Weaponry MODO'S BIOINC ARM As Seen In: Every friggin episode One of the first things you notice about Modo when you first look at him is that he's very large. The second thing you probably pick up on is that his right arm isn't made of flesh and blood, but rather, of metal. The limb is a robotic replacement for the one he lost during the Plutarkian War. Dr. Karbunkle, working to create an army of bionic slaves for Plutark, grafted the arm onto an unwilling Modo in his lab. This turned out to be the undoing of the scheme, however--Modo awoke before the second phase of the project--a thorough brainwashing--could be implemented, and used the arm's double-barreled laser cannon to free himself and the other captured Freedom Fighters. The arm is a fine piece of engineering, if you can say nothing else nice about it. While it is boxy and a bit on the unattractive side (or so Modo thinks), it's also much more versatile than any artificial limb human science has come up with. It can move in all directions, bends easily, and the hand moves and flexes just as a normal one would do. Additionally, it increases Modo's physical strength (increasing Modo's strength in the first place is a noteworthy achievement). And then there's the double-barreled laser cannon I mentioned, probably the arm's best feature (hey, don't tell me you never wanted an arm cannon of your very own!). This piece of built-in weaponry is extremely powerful, with the ability to fire a pair of potent lasers with every shot, in rapid succession. These lasers are strong enough to blast right through most substances, although, like most guns, it can't go through Plutarkian steel. The power of the lasers may be adjustable; it was never really shown during the show. An additional armament seen only in "Pitfall" is a small catapult-like device that can be popped out of the arm, which can fling a small explosive several hundred yards. VINNIE'S EXPANDING FLARES As Seen In: Every friggin' episode Probably the most unique weapons in the series are Vinnie's expanding flares. Concocted by the Freedom Fighter mechanic Harley (a gift to her longtime admirer--nothing says "I love you" like personalized weaponry), these are Vinnie's signature armaments. After removing one from his bandoleers, Vinnie (somehow) causes it to expand to about twice its normal size (and there's absolutely nothing Freudian about that), then strikes it against something to ignite it (they can also be ignited if they hit something hard enough. The flares burn white-hot, with a flame intense enough to melt through most metals (the exception, as always, is Plutarkian Steel or Plutarkian Glass-Steel). On one occasion, one of Vinnie's flares lodged into a pistol and melted it into slag from the inside ("Once Upon a Time on Mars Part One"). Generally, Vinnie uses them to cut through ropes or other thin objects. Their small size, even when expanded, makes them ideal for throwing. THROTTLE'S NUKE KNUCKS As Seen In: Every friggin episode; first used to full power in the second season Another of Harley's inventions (that girl must have been busy!), this is the glove that Throttle wears on his right hand. While it appears to be a totally normal piece of apparel, the three greenish ovals on the back of the glove, when turned on, increase Throttle's already formidable punches' power a hundred-fold. They can also, on occasion, fire off small bursts of laser-like energy, although Throttle has rarely used this ability. Interestingly, supervillain The Pulverizer also has one of these "power fists". While this has been brought up, the two of them have never been in such a situation where we would find out which one is more powerful. The odds are on Throttle, but then again, if The Pulverizer was as handsome as Throttle, he'd probably be the favorite to win. MARTIAN TANGLESPRINGS As Seen In: "Back to Mars Part Two", "Once Upon a Time On Mars Part One" Tanglesprings, as their name suggests, are essentially just big giant springs. However, they're one of the best weapons the Freedom Fighters have at their disposal. When launched from a motorcycle or dropped from above on an enemy vehicle, the springs wrap around its tires, until it's thoroughly entangled. The enemy, stopped dead in their tracks, is then left vulnerable and open to attack. Although these work well against wheeled vehicles, the Freedom Fighters' tendency not to use them against the giant Stilt-Walkers of the Sand Raiders suggest that a conveyance that moves with legs may not be as susceptible to Tanglesprings. LASER WEAPONRY As Seen In: Every friggin' episode I heard somewhere once that FCC regulations keep children's shows from using guns with bullets. I've also heard that these guys say that an animated character can only bleed from one part of the body at a time, so by that logic, the first statement sounds about right. Whatever the case, the arms we see in "Biker Mice, from the smallest of hand-held pistols to the giant Plutarkian Planetary Pulverizer, are all lasers. While no exact technology is given or explained, they involve "laser crystals." Your guess is as good as mine as to whether these are fuel sources or what. All I know is that they work. Most of the time, the color of the lasers follows the traditional pattern of cartoons: the good guys have blue lasers, and the bad guys have red ones. Main basic information episodes in-depth fun MAIN