Review by Woodrow Phoenix
On a future Earth where fully autonomous, intelligent robots serve humanity, a mysterious and extremely powerful force has destroyed the heroic and world-famous robot hero Mont Blanc in the mountains of Switzerland. The equally heroic robot known as North#2 has been ripped to pieces in England. In Germany and Japan, two man who were prominent campaigners for robot rights have been violently murdered. The heads of all victims have been anointed with makeshift horns. As seen in Vol. 1, The international police agency Europol assigns a detective named Gesicht to this case, and he determines that no human could have committed these serial murders, a terrible portent for humanity vs. the capabilities of artificial intelligence. Written and illustrated by Naoki Urasawa, the author of 20th Century Boys, with co-writer Takashi Nagasaki, Pluto also has input from Macoto Tezuka, a filmmaker and the son of Osamu Tezuka, on this extended reworking of an original Astro Boy adventure called The Greatest Robot on Earth.
Volume two of eight begins with Gesicht in Japan to meet the famous boy robot Atom (Astro Boy’s original Japanese name is Mighty Atom) and warn him that he is in danger. Urasawa designs the main characters as sensitively drawn people who appear completely human, but they are either augmented with technology or can transform into more obviously robotic forms. Their beautifully observed idiosyncrasies and lots of variety in bodies and faces make them highly expressive, distinct individuals, increasing the emotional power and making you empathise with them, hoping against hope for them to survive their encounters with the deadly force bent on their destruction. The elfin boy Atom is a thoughtful, sweet and friendly 9-year old barely five feet tall, an affecting mix of pure bravado and naivety and very clearly no match for what is coming. He and Gesicht form an intense connection almost immediately as they recognise each other’s strong innate senses of decency and duty.
Across the globe in Turkey is Brando, the famous undefeated champion winner of an incredible 936 matches of a form of ultimate robot wrestling called Eskkkr. In this world where robots not only look like humans but form emotional attachments, marry each other and even have families, Brando has a wife and five adopted children who love him fiercely. Visited by Gesicht in Vol. 1, Brando decides not to wait for death to arrive but to take the fight to his enemy, and the result sends signals that Atom, Gesicht and Brando’s colleague and rival Hercules can all read in a brilliantly choreographed sequence of action and destruction. As the link between the robot and human victims is revealed, it becomes clear there are seven targets, and three of them are now destroyed. But who or what could be formidable enough to destroy the world’s seven most powerful robots? And if this force can murder humans too, what can anyone do to stop it?
Urasawa’s intricate and brilliant story continues in Pluto Vol. 3.
