Coby plays an
alter ego, "Labman", a scientist who performs amazing deeds. Labman works for a fictional company, "LabCo", with the slogan "Smarter Than You". Labman was earlier featured as a
comic book character made up by Coby as a child and also made into a publicity pamphlet. Since doing the TV shows, Coby published several comics featuring the enigmatic hero. Coby's 'four legs' act is said to have inspired the director of the French film,
Delicatessen (film), to include a multi-legged hero in the film after reportedly seeing him on Patrick Sebastien's early show, "Sebastien, c'est Fou!". Coby also contributed sections of "Labman" material to
Gladiators 2000, a children's version of
American Gladiators, in 1995. Coby's TV specials and live performances often feature several characters, including his robotic female assistant, Nikki Terminator, his sidekick, Atom, and others. Two TV specials were filmed, in 1995 and 1996.
Rudy Coby: The Coolest Magician on Earth (1995) This TV special was first screened in the USA on 21 May 1995. Coby's first show begins with a general display of magic, timed to music. Rudy then performs several tricks, some with audience participation, before "accidentally" cutting his assistant Nikki Terminator in half with a chainsaw. A lengthy plot ensues, in which Rudy, as Labman, searches for replacement legs for Nikki and a way to reattach them. He then attempts to "dethrone
Harry Houdini" by performing "The World's Most Dangerous Card Trick". The trick is ultimately a joke, hyped up to humorous levels. Coby selects a child from the audience, gets him to select a card at random, and wires himself up to a cardboard bomb (telling the volunteer not to be "fooled by its cheesy cardboard-like appearance"). He tells the volunteer to detonate the bomb at an appropriate time, and after deliberately fudging up the times, gets set on fire but eventually produces the correct card, proving himself to be "The Coolest Magician on Earth".
Rudy Coby: Ridiculously Dangerous (1996) This TV special was first screened in the USA on May 6, 1996. The show's highlights are Labman's superheroic struggles with crime. The show introduces a number of supervillains, including 'The Hourglass' – who turns out to be Labman's ex-girlfriend! Others include "Magic Dave", a thinly disguised parody of
David Copperfield. Rudy deals with each of the supervillains by besting them in a magic trick. == Notable illusions ==