MarketRambo: The Force of Freedom
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Rambo: The Force of Freedom

Rambo: The Force of Freedom is a 1986 American animated series based on the character of John Rambo from David Morrell's book First Blood and the subsequent films First Blood (1982) and Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985). Though both the book and films were targeted strictly towards adults and featured extreme violence, Rambo: The Force of Freedom was targeted towards children. It was the first animated series to be adapted from an R-rated film series. This series was adapted for television by story editor/head writer Michael Chain and also spawned a toy line.

Plot
On Colonel Trautman's request, John Rambo leads a special unit called "The Force of Freedom" all over the globe with their goal being protecting the world against the paramilitary terrorist organization S.A.V.A.G.E. (Specialist-Administrators of Vengeance, Anarchy and Global Extortion) led by the nefarious General Warhawk. ==Characters==
Characters
The Force of Freedom The Force of Freedom is a team commanded by Colonel Trautman and led by Rambo that goes around the world fighting the forces of S.A.V.A.G.E. Among the core members of the Force of Freedom are: • John Rambo - The protagonist of the series. He leads the Force of Freedom in fighting S.A.V.A.G.E. when called in by Colonel Samuel Trautman. When not on missions, Rambo enjoys tending to animals and helping kids with their survival training. • Colonel Samuel "Sam" Trautman - He serves as the group's commanding officer. He often calls in Rambo during his break time. Colonel Trautman sometimes accompanies Rambo on his missions. • Edward "Turbo" Hayes - An African-American mechanical engineer and race car driver. According to his toy bio, Turbo is also a First Lieutenant who graduated from the US Air Force Academy. • Katherine Anne "K.A.T." Taylor - An Asian-American military woman who is a master of disguises, gymnastics, and martial arts. K.A.T. seems to have a crush on Rambo. K.A.T.'s toy bio says she grew up as an army brat who hit her first bullseye at 100 yards when she was 10 years old. • White Dragon - A heroic ninja who is Black Dragon's twin brother. According to his toy bio, White Dragon was raised by mystical mountain warriors and had also developed a ninja training program for the U.S. military forces. • T.D. "Touchdown" Jackson - A former football player and ally of Rambo. He joined the Force of Freedom at the time when Mad Dog's gang forces elderly couples out of their homes as part of General Warhawk's plot to dig into a military base and steal a top secret new supertank in "Blockbuster". T.D.'s toy bio also revealed that he is an expert discus thrower and wielded an M77 Disc Launcher that Turbo created for him. • Chief - A Native American ally of Rambo. He joined the Force of Freedom after he rescued his friends in the swamp and from S.A.V.A.G.E. following the plane crash. He helps prevent General Warhawk from burying the gold in the sacred grounds on Spirit Island (where the graves of Chief's forefathers are located) in "Skyjacked Gold". Chief's toy bio states that he is an expert at commando tactics who is strong as a grizzly bear enough to wrestle a mountain lion with is bare hands, silent as an eagle, clever as a fox, and fast as a mountain wind. S.A.V.A.G.E. (Specialist-Administrators of Vengeance, Anarchy and Global Extortion) S.A.V.A.G.E. are the main antagonists of the show consisting of international criminals and outcasts. Their goal of world domination leads them into conflict with the Force of Freedom, especially Rambo. In addition to a substantial number of soldiers and other like-minded allies, among the core members of S.A.V.A.G.E. are: • General Warhawk - The leader of S.A.V.A.G.E. Wearing reflective sunglasses, he serves as the primary villain. General Warhawk was previously a European army captain (possibly West Germany) who was convicted of selling state secrets and exiled for his coup. He then organized and built S.A.V.A.G.E. • Sergeant Havoc - General Warhawk's second-in-command and top enforcer. He has strength that rivals Rambo's strength. Sergeant Havoc's toy bio states that he was previously a drill sergeant for the free world. After being court-martialed for espionage, he joined up with S.A.V.A.G.E. • Gripper - A European mercenary and member of S.A.V.A.G.E with a metal right hand (hence the name) that wears an eyepatch. His toy bio mentions that Gripper was a former member of the French Foreign Legion until he was dismissed after failing to recognize the surrender flag and joined S.A.V.A.G.E. • Nomad - A burnoose-wearing Middle-Eastern member of S.A.V.A.G.E. He was a wandering nomadic warrior that calls no country his home. Nomad leads a group of outcasts which consists of cutthroats and thieves that are familiar with the deserts. Like Mad Dog in one episode "The Taking of Tierra Libre", he was called "Omar" by Rambo. In all subsequent episodes, he was renamed Nomad. • S.A.V.A.G.E. Street Bikers - A biker gang that is loyal to S.A.V.A.G.E. They get their name from their leader's toy bio. • Mad Dog - The leader of the S.A.V.A.G.E Street Bikers who sports a mohawk and a S.A.V.A.G.E. logo tattoo on his chest. He is first called "Spike" in the episode "Battlefield Bronx," but renamed Mad Dog in all subsequent episodes. According to his toy bio, Mad Dog was found unfit for military services and has an extended criminal record for theft, reckless driving, and arson. • Animal - A member of the S.A.V.A.G.E. Street Bikers who sports a white mohawk. • Jerkface - A crafty member of the S.A.V.A.G.E. Street Bikers who sports a black mohawk and a blue paint over his right eye. • Razor - An overconfident member of the S.A.V.A.G.E. Street Bikers who sports spiky brown hair. • Black Dragon - A rogue ninja who is the twin brother of White Dragon. He was raised by mystical mountain warriors and is known as the greatest assassin that ever lived. Black Dragon would sell his service to any group that would pay his fee with his recurring clients being S.A.V.A.G.E. He sometimes has other ninjas under his command when assisting S.A.V.A.G.E. in some of their plots. Although Black Dragon's ultimate goal is to kill White Dragon, he also considers Rambo as a worthy opponent. • Snakebite - A member of S.A.V.A.G.E. who was raised in the Okeefenokee Swamp and likes wild animals like venomous snakes, insects, and black rats which he carries in his Beast Pack. • Dr. Hyde - A cybernetic mad scientist, thief, spy, and member of S.A.V.A.G.E. whose head is in a dome-shaped helmet. According to General Warhawk in the episode "Robot Raid", he and X-Ray were thought to be long dead, but became mad geniuses. • X-Ray - Dr. Hyde's cybernetic henchman. Along with Dr. Hyde, he was also thought to be long dead and became a mad genius in his own right. • Max - Dr. Hyde's android henchman and enforcer who was created by Dr. Hyde and X-Ray. There are two villains were members of S.A.V.A.G.E. and appeared twice: • Admiral Nomak - An admiral who assists General Warhawk. First, he helps General Warhawk in "Raise the Yamato" in a plot to raise the Yamato Battleship in order to take over Tierra Libre. He then appears in "Pirate Peril" along with Captain Scar, assisting General Warhawk in a plot to raise the French submarine Liberte off the coast of Hong Kong. Afterwards, both he and Captain Scar are captured by Rambo, yet the former was later arrested for conspiring with S.A.V.A.G.E. and for treason. • Count - A descendant of Vlad III the Impaler who works with General Warhawk. He captures Nobel Prize–winning physicist Herbert Kengsington in "Deadly Keep". He helps General Warhawk in a plot to capture the President of the United States in "Return of the Count". He is locked up in a closet and captured by Rambo. There are also some one-shot characters who were members of S.A.V.A.G.E. However, only three of their allies managed to escape custody with them while the others were captured by the Force of Freedom, especially, Rambo. The following are listed in order of appearance: • Rama - The leader of the Cult of the Cobra. He appears in "Cult of the Cobra", where he and his group help General Warhawk halt food shipments to the Indian Province of Assam in a plot to force the people of Assam to make General Warhawk their dictator. • Pandora - A female panther trainer working for General Warhawk. She appears in "Raid on Las Vegas" where she assists in a plot to rob the Las Vegas casinos. She, along with Pandora, is arrested and captured by the authorities for conspiring with S.A.V.A.G.E under the supervision of Rambo and the Force of Freedom. • Sheik Hassat - A sheik who blindly assists General Warhawk in a plot to blow up the shipping businesses on the Suez Canal. After the debacle with the "Phantom Pyramid" to which the cannon that was used by S.A.V.A.G.E, to destroy the shipping businesses, he and his men were all captured and arrested by the authorities for conspiring with S.A.V.A.G.E. • Mike Flynn - An old friend of Rambo's who steals the XK-7 fighter jet along with his men, Terc, Mace and Grenade, and uses it to assist General Warhawk in enslaving the Zimboli people to mine diamonds for him. He and the others are later court-martialed for treason by conspiring with S.A.V.A.G.E. • Varinia - A female operative of S.A.V.A.G.E. Only appearing in "Fire in the Sky", she assists General Warhawk, Sergeant Havoc, Gripper, and Nomad in stealing a nuclear-armed submarine called the USS Typhoon and plans to auction it to any terrorist that is interested in it. • Captain Scar - A pirate captain who assists General Warhawk and Admiral Nomak in a plot to raise the French submarine Liberte off the coast of Hong Kong. He, along with Nomak, is captured by Rambo for conspiring with S.A.V.A.G.E. • Mephisto - A magician who assists General Warhawk in a plot to steal the Washington Monument. He is captured for conspiring with S.A.V.A.G.E when Rambo figures out Mephisto's illusion trick. • Mombo Igthayan - A Haitian Voodoo magician who assists General Warhawk in a plot to enslave the Haitians and mine the island. • Dr. Blackburn - A scientist who assists General Warhawk in a plot to use a mind-control electro box on a killer whale named Korac and attack the NORAD Bases. After Rambo freed Korac from the mind-control elcctro box, he later is arrested and captured by the authorities for conspiring with S.A.V.A.G.E. • Iron Mask - A criminal in an iron mask who assists General Warhawk in a plot to locate an old war plane containing a fortune of gold. He is later revealed by Rambo and Hors to be the crooked Major Murphy on behalf of General Warhawk, who took over the Bergdorf Military Base in Munich during the Oktoberfest. Like Mike Flynn, he too is later court-martialed for treason and conspiring with S.A.V.A.G.E. • Professor Larson - A S.A.V.A.G.E. scientist who was responsible for brainwashing Dr. Paulsen, Dr. James, and Kat's old friend Lisa to steal the parts of the Laser in the episode, "Mind Control". After being rounded up by Rambo to reveal the whereabouts of the laser in the Himalayan Mountains after being forced to reverse the process he used to brainwash the other three scientists, he later is arrested and captured by the authorities for conspiring with S.A.V.A.G.E. • Dr. Jamal - An Egyptian scientist who created the Supertrooper. He was recruited by S.A.V.A.G.E. to make Supertroopers that will obey General Warhawk's every command. During Rambo's fight with the Supertrooper, General Warhawk and Sergeant Slaughter had Dr. Jamal stay behind to make sure the Supertrooper wins leading to Dr. Jamal getting apprehended by White Dragon for conspiring with S.A.V.A.G.E. • Supertrooper - A human-shaped super soldier who was created from combining the cell samples of German soldiers and vicious animals like baboons, bears, and lions. It was activated from its containment pod which was hidden in Spain to fight Rambo and was defeated when Rambo found a way to beat it. The Supertrooper's containment pod was placed in the U.S. government's custody. • Al-Rasheed - A wealthy Arabian merchant with a grudge in the episode, "Freedom Dancer". He was furious that his own horse, Moussaka, lost to the fastest horse in the Derby and in the world, Freedom Dancer, and conspires with General Warhawk to remove it from the competition in return for the fighter Jets. After Trautman's friend, Winslow's daughter, Sara, with the help of the Force of Freedom and Rambo uncovered the camouflage paint on Freedom Dancer from black to white and concealing the name "Samson" in London in the Hampton Court, he was later captured by Rambo for conspiring with S.A.V.A.G.E. ==Episodes==
Episodes
Miniseries Regular series ==Cast and crew==
Cast and crew
Principal castNeil Ross - John J. Rambo • Michael Ansara - General Warhawk • James Avery - Edward "Turbo" Hayes, X-Ray • Peter Cullen - Sergeant Havoc, Razor, Captain Scar (in "Pirate Peril"), Dr. Blackburn (in "Terror Beneath the Sea"), Uncle George (in "Horror in the Highlands") • George DiCenzo - T.D. "Touchdown" Jackson (uncredited) • Edmund Gilbert - Nomad, Jerkface, Dr. Hyde, President Ramón ("Tierra Libre" miniseries), Major Gómez (in "The Taking of Tierra Libre") • Robert Ito - Black Dragon, White Dragon, Dr. David Taylor (in "The Halley Microbe") • Mona Marshall - Katherine "K.A.T." Taylor, Estrella ("Tierra Libre" miniseries), Pandora (in "Raid on Las Vegas"), Varinia (in "Fire in the Sky"), Mombo Igthayan (in "Night of the Voodoo Moon") • Alan Oppenheimer - Colonel Samuel Trautman, Chief, Count (in "Deadly Keep," "Return of the Count"), Mike Flynn (in "The Doomsday Machine") • Lennie Weinrib - Gripper, Max, Admiral Nomak (in "Raise the Yamato," "Pirate Peril"), Sheik Hassat (in "Guns over the Suez"), General Stedring (in "Mephisto's Magic," "Alphas, Arms and Ambush") • Frank Welker - Mad Dog, Animal, Mephisto (in "Mephisto's Magic"), Supertrooper (in "Supertrooper") Additional voicesMichael Bell - General Ranjid (in "The Lost City of Acra") • Dale Ishimoto - Rama (in "Cult of the Cobra"), Major Sing (in "Cult of the Cobra") • Russi Taylor - Bobby (in "Exercise in Terror"), Teacher (in "Exercise in Terror) The rest of the additional voices were all uncredited: • Susan Blu - Stacy (in "Blind Luck") • Phil Clarke - Professor Ivanovich (in "Quarterback Sneak") • Dick Gautier - Tommy (in "Quarterback Sneak"), Premier Motoff (in "Quarterback Sneak") • Dana Hill - Johnny (in "Just Say No") • Keye Luke - President Wang (in "Vote of Terror") • Robert Ridgely - Alpha Leader (in "Alphas, Arms and Ambush") • Stanley Ralph Ross - Snakebite, Dr. Monk (in "Mirage") • John Stephenson - Doctor (in "Crash") • Janet Waldo - Danny (in "Return of the Count"), Cathy (in "Return of the Count") Crew • Jack Bornoff - Assistant Story Editor • Michael Chain - Head Writer • Michael Hack - Voice Director • David Morrell - Creator, Writer ==Production==
Production
Rambo: The Force of Freedom was produced by Ruby-Spears Enterprises. Reviewers have said that Rambo: The Force of Freedom was obviously inspired by the success of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (1983–86), Sergio Pereira of Comic Book Resources noting the similarities between S.A.V.A.G.E. and COBRA, and between Colonel Trautman and General Hawk. According to a 1987 interview with Doug Thompson of the Toy Manufactures of America, the Coleco company spent $15 million on the show. While some have alleged that the show used child psychologists who recommended that the cartoon not make any references to Vietnam, POWs, or Rambo's experiences in 1982's First Blood and 1985's Rambo: First Blood Part II, the show's head writer, Michael Chain, denies this and instead states that his previous experience in producing children's programming led him to make sure that Rambo would not "have an adverse effect on the psyche of children". Chain was chosen for the series in part because of his background in martial arts and weapons, and except when promoting a specific toy, he always used real weapons in the show's stories. ==Music==
Music
Jerry Goldsmith's scores for First Blood and Rambo: First Blood Part II were licensed for use in the series and tracked throughout (mostly from Rambo: First Blood Part II), with his music for the film's trailer for Rambo: First Blood Part II, used as the opening and closing themes. It was supplemented by original music composed by Haim Saban and Shuki Levy, who received an "additional music by" credit. ==Release==
Release
Broadcast Rambo: The Force of Freedom debuted on April 15, 1986, as a five-part miniseries, and returned that September as a daily cartoon. Home media Lionsgate Home Entertainment (which also owns the DVD rights to the Rambo films) and StudioCanal (the current owner of the Rambo franchise) has released the entire series on DVD in Region 1 in 6 volume sets. ==Other media==
Other media
Toys A Rambo action figure line was produced Coleco as a tie-in to the animated series. The first series released in 1986 consisted of eleven 6.25" figures (including two Rambo figures), plus a few playsets and vehicles. The second series, released in 1987, consisted of seven additional figures and a few more playsets, was only partially released in the United States. Books There has been literature based on Rambo: The Force of Freedom and book adaptations of select episodes from the series. A book and tape set adapting the original five-part episode miniseries titled Rambo: The Rescue was published by Kid Stuff Records in 1987. Another full series of five book and tape sets were published by Rainbow Communications Ltd. from 1985 to 1986, as part of its "Rainbow Theatre" product line; the four books adapted the episodes "Guns Over the Suez", "The Lost City of Arca", "Pirates Peril" and "Alphas, Arms and Ambush". Two more book series were published in the United Kingdom through World Distributors from 1986 to 1987; the "Little Owl Superstars" series consisted of four installments "The Wolves of Daemon", "Nightstrike", "Sea of Flames" and "The Mask of Mardar" while the "Mini World" line also ran for four stories "Operation Suicide", "Sergeant Havoc's Challenge", "Skyjack" and "Curse of Karmoun". Two annuals, one for 1987 and another for 1988, a mini coloring book and an activity book around the World Distributors product range. Four volumes of coloring and activity books also based on the series were published by Modern Publishing in 1986. ==References==
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