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Computer Warriors was a toy line made by
Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...
from 1989 to 1990. The storyline behind the toys involves a top-secret
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government ...
computer which unleashes evil
Virus A virus is a wikt:submicroscopic, submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living Cell (biology), cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and ...
troops. These troops, led by Megahert, hide in everyday
household A household consists of two or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is im ...
objects and have the goal of world domination by taking control of computers. The government computer then produces antiviruses, the Computer Warriors, led by Romm to battle the Virus troops. The Computer Warriors
tagline In entertainment, a tagline (alternatively spelled tag line) is a short text which serves to clarify a thought for, or is designed with a form of, dramatic effect. Many tagline slogans are reiterated phrases associated with an individual, s ...
ran "Expect the unexpected!" Unlike many toylines of the time, Computer Warriors did not feature a tie-in animated series. There was only a single
pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other dist ...
, ''Computer Warriors: The Adventure Begins'', which was syndicated on September 23, 1990, and later released on VHS. Directed by Bill Kroyer (who also co-wrote with
Carl Macek Carl Frank Macek (September 21, 1951 – April 17, 2010) was an American screenwriter, script editor, producer and voice actor on numerous English language adaptations of anime during the 1980s and 1990s. His work is considered by many to hav ...
) it featured his signature style of integrating wireframe CGI with traditional hand-drawn animation. Both the toyline and the series-pilot bore the alternate title "Computer Force" in Europe and the UK.https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0402935/


''Computer Warriors: The Adventure Begins''

At a government facility named Parallax, a massive supercomputer core suffers a power surge due to “human error” of one its operators. The surge triggers a core dump, which unleashes four A.I. programs that are transformed into dangerous Viruses, which are ejected into the Bitstream (an analog for the Internet). These Viruses are Megahert, the leader and dominant A.I.; Indexx, his advisor who has access to information data; Null, a dimwitted lackey who follows Megahert without question; Minus, an unstable minion who thirsts for power. These four seek to return to Parallax to use its systems to seize the Bitstream and use it to take over all the world's computers. In response, the Parallax Core Processing Unit generates four unique “anti-viral” programs, to stop the Viruses before they can do any damage. These "Computer Warriors" are Romm, the command program and leader; Skannar, who can track the Viruses trail through the Bitstream; Gridd, a diagnostic program with skills to keep himself and the others operating, and Micronn, a statistical program which has access to the data banks at Parallax, to aid their mission. Riding on Circuit Gliders, the Computer Warriors chase the Viruses down, but the Viruses manage to escape by use of a Telecom Port; which explodes after they damage it. Romm believes them neutralized, but the Viruses survived by being transported into the physical world outside of computers: in a suburban family's home. The Telecom Port is repaired by Parallax—after the CPU detects Indexx accessing one of its data banks—and the Warriors head back to transfer through it, ending up in the same house. Both the Viruses and Warriors soon learn they can scan and adapt camouflage shells that look like ordinary, everyday objects; which allow them to continue their battle to either capture or destroy the other side. Eventually, after some skirmishes, Romm uses the home computer's disc drive to capture the Viruses on CD-Rom discs. But, before the Warriors can return them to the Bitstream, a young boy who owns the computer finds the discs, and decides to take them to a friend's house; as his friend has a better computer to use for his homework. Discovering the location of this computer, the Warriors head back into the Bitstream in an attempt to reach it first.


Toy line

The toy line consisted of 12 different sets belonging to 3 price ranges: 4 basic/individual sets, 6 transforming vehicle sets, and 2 larger "headquarters" playsets. The basic sets were the lowest price point and the most widely available. Each included a circuit board that unfolds into a futuristic glider, and featured either the "Romm", "Megahert", "Debugg", or "Asynk", figures. The vehicles and headquarters playsets were as follows: *
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can which transforms into "hyper hoverjet". Includes "Gridd" hero figure. * Soccer trophy ("MVP") which transforms into "radar rover". Includes "Null" villain figure. * Functioning
calculator An electronic calculator is typically a portable electronic device used to perform calculations, ranging from basic arithmetic to complex mathematics. The first solid-state electronic calculator was created in the early 1960s. Pocket-size ...
("AdAll") which transforms into "techno-tank". Includes "Dekodar" hero figure. * Functioning digital clock ("Timeltel") which transforms into "syncro-blaster". Includes "Micronn" hero figure. * Functioning
pencil sharpener A pencil sharpener (also referred to as pencil pointer or in Ireland as a parer or topper) is a tool for sharpening a pencil's writing point by shaving away its worn surface. Pencil sharpeners may be operated manually or by an electric motor. ...
("LeadHead") which transforms into "techno-jet". Includes "Minus" villain figure. * Functioning
flashlight A flashlight ( US, Canada) or torch ( UK, Australia) is a portable hand-held electric lamp. Formerly, the light source typically was a miniature incandescent light bulb, but these have been displaced by light-emitting diodes (LEDs) since th ...
("Beamer") which transforms into "flash craft". Includes "Skannar" hero figure. *
Book A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this phys ...
(entitled ''Invasion of the Viruses'') which opens to reveal the villains' "evil rocket base". Includes "Indexx" villain figure. *
Desktop computer A desktop computer (often abbreviated desktop) is a personal computer designed for regular use at a single location on or near a desk due to its size and power requirements. The most common configuration has a case that houses the power supply ...
("Parallax") which transforms into the heroes' "strategic weapons base". Includes both "Chip" hero and "Cursor" villain figures. The
figures Figure may refer to: General *A shape, drawing, depiction, or geometric configuration *Figure (wood), wood appearance *Figure (music), distinguished from musical motif * Noise figure, in telecommunication * Dance figure, an elementary dance patt ...
featured four points of articulation – two in the hips and two in the shoulders. Their posteriors were sculpted and painted to resemble
printed circuit board A printed circuit board (PCB; also printed wiring board or PWB) is a medium used in electrical and electronic engineering to connect electronic components to one another in a controlled manner. It takes the form of a laminated sandwich str ...
s. The 7 hero figures had human faces whereas the 6 Viruses had distorted,
asymmetrical Asymmetry is the absence of, or a violation of, symmetry (the property of an object being invariant to a transformation, such as reflection). Symmetry is an important property of both physical and abstract systems and it may be displayed in pr ...
facial features. The vehicle and headquarters sets featured hinged, fold-out parts that revealed a micro vehicle cockpit or
command center A command center (often called a war room) is any place that is used to provide centralized command for some purpose. While frequently considered to be a military facility, these can be used in many other cases by governments or businesses. ...
inside with
decals A decal (, , ) or transfer is a plastic, cloth, paper, or ceramic substrate that has printed on it a pattern or image that can be moved to another surface upon contact, usually with the aid of heat or water. The word is short for '' decalco ...
covering the inner walls and at least one chair for the characters to sit in. While substantially small, these sets offered a commendable amount of detail in both the figure sculpts and interior decals.


References


Parry Game Preserve


External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0402935 Mattel Products introduced in 1989 1980s toys Action figures Transforming toys Films based on toys 1989 films Films directed by Bill Kroyer