Starriors facts for kids

Starriors were a cool line of robot toys made by Tomy and Marvel Comics in 1984. They were based on another toy line called Zoids, but Starriors had their own exciting story. Each toy came with a small Marvel comic book, and Marvel also made a four-issue comic series about them.

The story of the Starriors begins in the future, when huge solar flares threaten all life on Earth. To save humanity, scientists built three types of smart machines called Protectors, Destructors, and Guardians. The Protectors were meant to fix Earth so humans could live on it again. The Destructors were built to fight off any aliens. And the Guardians were supposed to protect humans while they slept underground in a deep sleep called hibernation.

The "brains" of the Starriors were called control circuits, and they looked like human faces. But then, the leader of the Destructors, Slaughter Steelgrave, got scared. He didn't want to be turned off when humans woke up. So, he took over the Protectors and tried to destroy all the Guardians. He thought he succeeded.

Over time, the Starriors forgot about their mission and even about humans. They thought it was just a myth because no Starriors were awake when the humans went to sleep. But then, a Protector named Trashor, who was a small robot called Nipper, found a human skull! This discovery made a group of Protectors, joined by some loyal Destructors, decide to find and wake up the humans.

The Starriors toys weren't super popular. After the first set of toys, only a few more were made. The comic series told a complete story and didn't even include the newer characters. Most of the main robots, like the human-shaped Wastors, couldn't change into other forms. But many could be taken apart and put back together, and some even had moving parts. Sometimes, new characters were just old toys painted in different colors.

What Do Starriors Mean?

Every Starrior has a Class (their main job) and a Series (their body type). Some also have a Model (a special weapon or tool). As Starriors got smarter, they developed personalities and even seemed to have genders, though their bodies didn't look male or female.

Classes of Starriors

• Protector — These robots were made to rebuild Earth. They were supposed to fix cities, buildings, and nature so humans could return. But Slaughter Steelgrave forced them to become slaves, making them build his city or do other hard work. A secret group of Protectors fought back. Because their main programming made it hard to use their tools as weapons, they mostly helped other Protectors who had been "punished." Protectors are usually blue, white, light beige, and silver.
• Destructor — These robots were built to protect what the Protectors built and to fight off any mutant animals that might appear on Earth while humans were sleeping. Under Slaughter Steelgrave, Destructors became a military group, ruling over the Protectors. They often wear red, black, and gold.
• Guardian — These robots were programmed to protect the sleeping humans. Slaughter Steelgrave tried to erase all memory of where humans were, stop their alarm clock from working, and destroy all Guardians. He thought he succeeded, but one Guardian survived, along with the huge Armored Battlestation where humans were actually hidden.

Starrior Types (Series)

• Wastor — These are the human-like Starriors. They are about the same height as an adult human but a bit bigger. Most Wastors have their main weapon or tool built into their chest, while others have a large weapon on one arm. Their control circuits (brains) can be seen through a clear dome on their face. Wastors are found as both Protectors and Destructors, and they used to be Guardians too.
• Rammor — These robots are big and look like vehicles. They usually have three or four wheels and simple grabber hands. You can see a Rammor's control circuit through a dome on its body. They often have one or two weapons. Rammors are found among Protectors, Destructors, and Guardians.
• Trashor — These are smaller vehicle-like robots. They all have four wheels and a single arm that acts as both a hand and a head. Their control circuit isn't visible, but it's inside their head. Trashors are seen with both Protectors and Destructors.
• Strazor — Strazors are larger, four-legged Starriors with long necks and tails. They have two wheels underneath their bodies and can fold up for faster travel. Their heads look like Wastors, and their control circuits are visible. They have only been seen as Protectors.
• Starrunner — These are bird-like Starriors that can change from a winged ostrich shape into a jet plane. Their control circuits are behind a cockpit-like dome on their jet nose. Starrunners have only been seen as Destructors.
• Cosmittor — This is a very large, upright dinosaur-like Starrior. They have different weapon parts. Cosmittors have only been seen as Destructors.
• Scout — This isn't an official Series name. A Scout is the smaller partner of a Cosmittor. Only one Cosmittor and one Scout are seen, and they are both Destructors. In the toy world, the Scout was the remote control for the motorized Cosmittor toy, but it was also its own character.
• Vultor — A large pterodactyl-like bird Starrior with various weapons or tools. Wastors can ride Vultors. Vultors are only seen as Protectors.
• Stalkor — A large, four-legged dinosaur-like Starrior that looks like a triceratops. It has different weapons. Like Vultors, Wastors can ride Stalkors. Stalkors are only seen as Destructors.
• Citadel of Dreams — This is another name for the Armored Battlestation, the huge fortress where humans are sleeping. In the toy, it has three control circuits. In the comic, the Armored Battlestation acts like its own character with feelings, even though it's not officially called a Starrior.

There were also Transfer Rings, which were plastic rings with Starrior heads and weapons. These rings could fit on most Wastors' arms. In the story, they were used to move a Starrior's mind into a new body if their old one was broken.

Starrior Models

A Starrior's Model is usually the name of a special weapon or tool built into them. This is mostly true for Wastors. For example, Hotshot's Model is the Duo-Laser.

Starrior Characters

Loyal to Humans and Harmony

Loyal to Slaughter Steelgrave and Destructor Rule

Second Series Characters (Not in Comics)

Starriors Comics

• Mini-comics:

1. Deadeye

2. The Forest

3. Honor

4. The Trap

5. The Wall

6. Bolar!

• Books with audio (These continued the story from the mini-comics):

Odyssey I. Tunnel of Doom

Odyssey II. Escape to Freedom

• Full-sized Comics:

1. Discovery

2. Under Fire

3. Assault!

4. Quest's End!

In the full comic series, the Protector group sets off on their quest, with the Destructors chasing them. The Protectors faced many challenges. They were programmed not to be violent, so they couldn't use their tools as weapons at first. They also had little armor and only a few, like their leader Hot Shot, had cutting lasers. Most of their tools weren't good for fighting.

Slaughter Steelgrave also had Deadeye, a huge Cosmittor robot that looked like a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Deadeye could shoot explosive discs from his mouth. He was designed to destroy the biggest mutant monsters on Earth, so he was much larger than any Protector, couldn't be hurt by their attacks, and could defeat many of them at once. This meant the Protectors had to keep running away. It wasn't until they found the Guardian, Stinger, and the Armored Battlestation (where humans slept) that they gained enough power to truly defend themselves.

The mini-comics made it clear who the good guys and bad guys were. But in the main comics, things were more complicated. Some Starriors didn't follow their original programming. For example, Sawtooth, a Destructor, secretly supported the Protectors. Auntie Tank, another Destructor, questioned her loyalty and eventually joined the Protectors. Even a Protector named Motormouth was revealed to be a spy for Slaughter Steelgrave! When the first human was finally released, it was decided that the Starriors would keep their own identities and stay active among the humans. However, Slaughter Steelgrave still needed to be dealt with.

Starriors Animation

There's been talk about whether Starriors ever had a cartoon. A 1984 advertisement from Tomy said that a "Starriors television mini-series" was being made to air in 1985.

Other Toy Lines Using Starriors Parts

The Runabout toy was first designed for the Zoids toy line but was released as a Starrior instead. Because of this, it looks a lot like early Zoids toys and even has some Helic Republic symbols.

Many Starriors figures were also repainted and sold in Europe by Tomy under the name R.A.T.S. (Robot Anti-Terror Squad).

The molds for Runabout and Speed Trap were used again, with different colors, for a small Japanese toy line called Transforming Machine Beast Starriors.