Throttle- Leader of the Pack
Name: Throttle
Age: 21
Hair Color: Tan
Fur Color: Tan
Eye Color: Red
Bike: Black classic Harley style
Mother: Jewel (deceased)
Father: Alkali
Siblings: Rush (brother)
Other Family: None known
Likes: motorcycles (obviously), leather, sunglasses, Herbal
Essences commercials, hot dogs, root beer, Detroit, rock n’ roll, long walks on the
beach
Dislikes: Plutarkians, cheese, yuppies, vain airheads, people
who call him “four eyes”
What do you get when you mix Clint Eastwood, Snake Plisken, Brad Pitt, James
Dean, Captian America, and Indiana Jones?
Most times, a big bloody mix. Never put celebrities in a blender, even an
industrial size one. The results are rarely worth the clean-up time.
But, if you’re lucky, you’ll end up with Throttle.
Handsome, debonair, and all-around dashing, Throttle is the leader of the Biker
Mice from Mars. Throttle’s personality is sort of a compromise between Vinnie and
Modo--he’s not as hyperactive as his younger, white-furred bro, but isn’t as laid-back as
Modo can be. (Of course, this doesn’t take Bingo into account at all, but hey, what ya
gonna do?). Throttle is the paragon of biker-hood, with sort of lone wolf cool. He’s the
deep, strong, silent one (although he does seem to get his fair share of the lines). He’s
the guy that sets the hearts of young schoolgirls aflutter with just a dipping-down of his
mirrorshades.
Growing up, however, Throttle was actually very close in terms of his personality to Vinnie--wilder, and more rambunctious. His quiet, conservative parents, Jewel and Alkali, lavished attention upon him for the first several years of his life, nearly to the point of spoiling him.
Not that he minded.
But after the birth of his brother, Rush, this constant attention disappeared. Rush was often sick, and his parents had little time for their eldest son. As a result, Throttle became more reclusive and more quiet. Perhaps even a little bitter.
His personality changed even more radically after the death of his mother, Jewel, which Throttle still feels a great deal of
guilt about today, during the early days of the Plutarkian War. Much of the youthful spunk he had been posessed of beforehand
disappeared, and the future leader of the Biker Mice became more somber, a tad more fatalistic. He also grew more distant from Alkali, who also become more withdrawn. Throttle has not seen his father since he officially joined the Freedom Fighters six years ago, and does not know whether he is alive or dead.
Of course, that little voice in his head also had a great impact, too, but let’s not
get into that (see “Biker Mice ON Mars”).
Throttle is also the most intelligent of the Biker Mice. Although Modo is older
and hence has had more schooling, Throttle has retained more of his education. This, of
course, helps him to be a more efficient leader. Throttle devised most of the Biker
Mice’s famed manuvers--the rest, he copied from Stoker.
It is as if Throttle was destined to be leader. As mentioned above, during his
youth and adolesence, Throttle was plagued by a voice in his head urging him to be
responsible, careful, and sometimes, corageous. Although he couldn’t stand it (it stopped
him from losing his virginity during his second meeting with Carbine), this voice aided
Throttle as he led his bros from a government Shelter to their hometown of Hellfire and
back, even managing to get the Freedom Fighters to let a couple of kids (Modo then the
eldest at eighteen) join up. In addition, Stoker groomed the young mouse to be leader of
the Freedom Fighters in the event that something happened to the him. Stoker bestowed
upon Throttle all the wisdom of his years as leader.
Of course, history shows that the Biker Mice were forced to leave Mars before the
end of the war, and Carbine, not Throttle, became leader of the Freedom Fighters and the
entirity of the Martian resistance. So all Stoker’s hard work with Throttle amounts to
nothing, except for the fact that there is no finer leader in the entire cosmos and his pupil
is one of the four greatest threats to Plutark (his bros are the other three).
None of this is to say, however, that Throttle can not fool around. When he and
his bros are mopping up the floor with Limburger’s goons, Throttle joins in the fray with
as many one-liners as the next mouse. He can be a ham at times, though he is rarely
given to just letting go entirely and being a goof. The one exception? During “Once
Upon a Time On Mars Part Two”, in which he (and Vinnie) are still shaking off the
effects of an anesthetic adminstered by Karbunkle. Throttle makes bad jokes the caliber
of which he never exceeds (including the infamous “Osmon in a snow-storm” joke).
Throttle is, obviously, in outstanding physical shape and is a superb athlete, which
is puzzling, considering his exclusive diet of hot dogs and root beer. Like Modo and
Vinnie (and Bingo if she wasn’t so damn self-concious about her chest), Throttle eschews
shirts (a major plus for female Biker Mice fans) and favors tight jeans and leather
(another plus). His well-toned body is in perfect condition, save for one
easily-overlooked fact--he’s blind. Well, most of the time. During the Battle of
Brimstone in the middle of the Plutarkian War, Throttle and his bros were struck by a
powerful missile. Although they all survived, the explosion took Modo’s right arm,
Vinnie’s face....and Throttle’s eyes (seen hemoraging out at the beginning of “Once
Upon A Time On Mars Part Two” (for some reason, this wasn’t seen in “Once Upon A
Time On Mars Part One”, when it actually took place. Damned censors)).
The Biker Mice, their mentor, Stoker, and a bunch of extras were taken back to
Dr. Karbunkle’s lab in Stilton’s castle, where the mad doctor proceeded to replace
Throttle’s eyes with a pair of bionic ones. Apparently, however, the bad doctor’s work
left something to be desired: the eyes failed to work, and apparently are still rather
unpredictable. To that end, Throttle is forced to constantly wear his mirrorshades
(Stoker’s field-specs, a gift at the end of “Once Upon a Time On Mars Part Three”) or his
helmet. It is assumed that, on occasion, the eyes do work. However, given the fact that
Throttle rarely takes his glasses off, it’s safe to say these times are few and far
between.
Throttle is obviously, despite Vinnie’s claims, the real looker among the Biker
Mice. With his muscular body and great hair (often lengthened in FanArt, for some
reason), Throttle catches the eyes of women wherever he goes (see “Stalkers”). Throttle
is a sex symbol, a sort of Martian Marilyn Monroe (his breathy voice kinda goes along
with that, though Throttle was never involved with any U.S. President).
Despite his looks, however, Throttle has had only one great love in his
life--Carbine. The former Martian Army General captured Throttle’s heart in two short
afternoons two years apart. To say their affair has been passionate is probably an
understatement. However, their love has met with one minor obstacle--he’s on Earth,
she’s on Mars. Thirty-million miles difference. It’s the ultimate long-distance
relationship. Even a phone call is a tricky thing. You don’t even wanna know how much
it would cost, even with 10-10-321. And there’s a definite trust issue. Just before the
Biker Mice tried to return to Mars recently (“Back to Mars” trilogy), Napoleon Brie,
Lawrence Limburger’s arch-rival residing in Detroit, broadcast a phony film which
implied that the Biker Mice were in Limburger’s employ. Obviously, it was a lie.
Carbine, however, believed it, a fact which riled Throttle to no end. It was one of the few
times when fans of the series saw him genuinely mad. Not just annoyed by a supervillain
or Limburger, but really, seriously pissed.
Even though the Biker Mice were able to save Mars on that occasion and prove
that they were not, in fact, working for Limburger, some of the animosity remained
between Throttle and Carbine. Although they both care very much for each other, there
is friction between them. Carbine, because of her position as leader of the Freedom
Fighters, has to be professional around those under her command, which leaves little time
for romance. One of the key points on which they are seperate is how the Freedom
Fighters are run. Throttle supports the loose, unstructured policy implemented by Stoker,
while Carbine, ever the professional soldier, has created a more ordered, Army-like
resistance. Even when they have time alone, they fight. Whether their relationship can
last with so much distance between them, physically and mentally, is unknown.
The encounter between Throttle and Carbine mentioned in “Back to Mars”
reveals an interesting, if often unnoticed, nuance of Throttle’s: he will remove his
sunglasses to prove sincerity. During the above-mentioned incident, Throttle tries his
damnedest to convince Carbine that he and his bros are innocent. During this time, the
tan-furred mouse has removed his sunglasses to look through a telescope. But, while he
tries to convince Carbine of his innocence, he leaves the glasses off. When he finishes
his short speech (one of the most moving moments in all the Biker Mice series), he puts
the glasses back on, hiding his eyes once again. It is at this point that he knows he can’t
convince Carbine.
Then, in “Once Upon a Time On Mars Part One”, Throttle has been making fun
of Carbine for being in the Army and adhering to its uptight procedures. The following
morning, he dips his shades down and asks her, honestly, for a truce.
Does anybody else see what I’m getting at? In this way, his sunglasses represent a
sort of wall he puts up to hide his emotions from the world. Throttle, after all, doesn’t
show much emotion. Viewers rarely see him get overly excited, angry, or panicked.
When the glasses are off, he is at his most honest, and most sincere. Is it because, when
he is without his sunglasses, he more often than not becomes blind and at the mercy of
whoever is with him, making the gesture not unlike a wolf showing throat to a superior?
Is it a way of showing his trust for another? Or is it simply because, as the poets and
bards noted for years, the eyes are the window to the soul? Who knows?
Well, the Biker Mice writers, probably.....
Although Throttle is proficient with most kinds of weaponry, his signature pieces
are his Nuke Knucks, a trio of small ovals on his right hand’s fingerless glove which,
when turned on with a single swat, give Throttle’s already strong punches amazing force.
On occasion, they can also be used to fire off short bursts of energy (I honestly can’t
remember the episode, but I know I saw it).
Throttle’s goals in life include stopping Limburger and all Plutarkians with
designs on Earth and Mars, returning to the planet of his birth, re-reading Zen and
the Art of Motorcycle Repair, killing the little twerp who came up with the
concept of “Sailor Mouse”, doing that “dancing in your underwear” thing from “Risky
Business”, going to Detroit to engage Brie once again (with the intent of stopping him
this time), and possibly settling down with Carbine. If he can not settle down with her,
then he at least intends to sleep with her. Often.
Throttle’s Heroes: Snake Plisken, Stoker, Clint Eastwood
Throttle’s Advice: “Don’t hesitate--in love or in life. When you’re older, you’ll regret what you didn’t say or do more than what you did.”
Quotes: “I’d rather be rescued by you than the bravest mouse on Mars....which would happen to be me.” -to Stoker in “Once Upon A Time On Mars Part Two” (while high on an anastethic)
Animation Voice: Voice whore Rob Paulsen, sounding exactly 239427383 times more macho than just about every other character he’s ever voiced (and
there’s about umpteen-thousand of those), including The Tick’s Arthur and The Mask’s
Stanley Ipkis. That’s how I first figured out who Rob Paulsen was. During “Diet of
Worms”, just before the cliffhanger when Throttle shouts, “Modo! That’s a bus full of
kids!”, I shouted, “Hey! That’s Stanley Ipkis! Well, I mean, it’s Throttle doing the
yelling, but that’s Stanley Ipkis’s voice, too!” Suddenly, I was able to connect Throttle,
Rob Paulsen, Stanely Ipkis, Rapheal, etc. Now I can pick out his voice at ten-thousand
yards. Really!
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