When Marvel Anime debuted in 2010, I actually enjoyed most of the series they produced under that banner. I'd say my order of preference was:
1. Iron Man
2. X-Men
3. Blade
4. Wolverine
(In case you're wondering, I didn't see Rise of Technovore or Avengers Confidential.)
Of the four, Iron Man is probably the one that was the most fitting of the medium, given that the Iron Man mythos and Japan's long fascination with all things mecha go well hand-in-hand. And lately, I've been doing a lot of thinking about crossovers--not the kind between rival comic companies, mind you, but something bigger, a crossover that has yet to be attempted on a wider scale: western comic characters and Japanese manga/anime characters. In 2014 we were treated to probably the first of this kind with Attack on Avengers, a one-shot that saw Earth's Mightiest Heroes face off with the titular giants from Attack on Titan.
http://attackontitan.wikia.com/wiki/Attack_on_Avengers
It was then that about a month ago I became acquainted with a classic of the cyberpunk anime genre, one that is probably the best set of concepts and characters that Iron Man, of all superheroes, could best cross over with: Bubblegum Crisis. (And it appears, based on a bit of web-searching, that I'm not the only one.)
A bit of background on the series:
Bubblegum Crisis ran from 1987 to 1991 as a cyberpunk OVA series about a group of female mercenaries called the Knight Sabers, who don powered armors to take on different threats, mostly in the form of rogue Boomers (robots and gynoids built to handle manual labor and most service-related tasks). Taking place in the year 2032, in a futuristic Tokyo, Japan, seven years after the Second Great Kanto earthquake has split Tokyo geographically and culturally in two. Genom, the mega-corporation that created and mass-produces the Boomers, aims to dominate the planet through the increased reliance on Boomer labor. While the AD Police is tasked with dealing with Boomer-based crimes, they are stymied by all manner of political infighting, red tape, and budgetary concerns, leaving the Knight Sabers--who act as an unsanctioned response to rogue Boomers--to essentially do the AD Police's job, much to the department's chagrin.
The title of the series, according to original producer Toshimichi Suzuki, stemmed from this line of thought among the creators: "We originally named the series 'bubblegum' to reflect a world in crisis, like a chewing-gum bubble that's about to burst." The series was influenced by, among other sci-fi classics, Blade Runner (1982), The Terminator (1984), a hint of Robocop (1987), and, oddly enough, Streets of Fire (1984).
The original series spawned a short-lived sequel, Bubblegum Crash, and three spin-off series, most of which focus on the AD Police. In 1994, Dark Horse Comics published a miniseries based on the show titled Bubblegum Crisis: Grand Mal, written and drawn by Adam Warren (creator of Empowered, who also wrote and drew a Dark Horse miniseries based on another anime/manga classic, The Dirty Pair).
The original OVA series and its world AREN'T what I'm focusing on here, or what I'm crossing over with Iron Man. That honor is going to the Crisis incarnation that I'm much, much more familiar with--Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040.
Debuting in 1998, Tokyo 2040 is a 26-episode reboot of the original OVA, offering more substantive storytelling, a serialized saga, and better characterization and voice acting all around. (This review gives a much better elaboration on why: http://www.syfy.com/syfywire/forgotten-anime-spotlight-bubblegum-crisis-tokyo-2040.)
The plot of the series is similar to the original, with a few differences:
"The story takes place in Tokyo in the year 2040 where much of the manual labor is done by robots called Boomers, which are manufactured by the mega-corporation Genom. Linna Yamazaki, a new office worker, observes a Boomer that has “gone rogue”, causing destruction and attacking people. Although the AD Police are called in to stop the rogue Boomers, a renegade group called the Knight Sabers dressed in cybernetic, armored hardsuits appear and save the day. Yamazaki joins the group which consists of: Priss, a rock star; Sylia, a boutique store owner and the group’s leader; and Nene, a computer whiz who also works within the AD Police as a dispatch operator."
Compared to the original OVA's, Tokyo 2040 is a much better show in my opinion, and it's this version of the Bubblegum-verse that I'll be sending Marvel's Golden Avenger into, in a hypothetical animated movie simply called:
Buckle up, folks.
+Plot
Tony Stark is called upon by SHIELD to advise an experiment being conducted by Project PEGASUS involving siphoning surrounding energies from the Reality Stone (one of the Infinity Gems) for study into possible alternate energy sources. Stark is accompanied by fellow Avengers the Vision and Jocasta for extra computing power that acts as a second set of eyes, while Forge and Dazzler of the X-Men are also brought in for additional support; Forge constructs a proper containment unit for the energy, while Dazzler is along as his SHIELD liaison (given her prior experience with the organization). Things go wrong when Ultron attacks the facility and steals the container, and uses a portion of the energy within to open a portal to another universe. Iron Man, Vision, Jocasta, Forge, and Dazzler pursue him, and wind up in that world's Hokkaido, Japan, a sprawling futuristic megacity. Vision and Jocasta are astonished by a key feature of this world in the form of Boomers, robots that handle most of the manual labor. Their presence is discovered by the Knight Sabers, an independent team of female armored vigilantes who mistake Stark, Vision, and Jocasta for rogue Boomers, a problem which they believed to have finally dealt with a year ago [as depicted in the events of Tokyo 2040]. Meanwhile, Ultron appears in the ruins of MegaTokyo, specifically the site of the former Genom Tower, once owned by the company that created the Boomers. There, he comes upon a humanoid life form embedded in one of the tower's outer walls--the human-machine hybrid that was once Brian J. Mason [a primary antagonist of the original Tokyo 2040 series]. Sensing that he still functions, Ultron unleashes a nanite swarm that rebuilds Mason from the inside-out, freeing him. Mason agrees to aid his benefactor while vowing vengeance on Sylia and the Knight Sabers and doing what he set out to accomplish before: bringing about a machine-dominated world order. After an initial fight and misunderstanding, Stark and co. and the Sabers call a truce and head to their HQ of Saber Security Solutions to compare notes. Midway into a discussion between Tony and the Sabers' leader Sylia, Ultron and Mason--now going by the moniker 'Pygmalion'--appear on screens across the city, informing the populace of the coming mechanized takeover, all thanks to a return of the 'Boomer Plague', the same malfunction that led to the Rogue Boomer crisis of a year prior. Tony, Viz, Jocasta and the Sabers attempt to take out some of Ultron and Mason's forces, only for their suits to nearly succumb to the Plague, forcing the Sabers to abandon their suits and destroy them. Tony, Forge and Nigel then get the idea to build a quartet of new suits based on Starktech, and equipped with a built-in 'immune system' based on Vision and Jocasta's programming, in order to gain an advantage over Ultron and Pygmalion's minions and take the fight to the big bots themselves.
#Voice Cast
*Note: All italicized paragraphs are my additions to the canon of the series.
+From the Marvel Universe...
-Josh Radnor as the voice of Iron Man/Tony Stark
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1102140/?ref_=nv_sr_1
Tony finds a kindred spirit in Sylia over their rocky family histories and love/hate relationship with technology. He even remarks, at one point, that Sylia reminds him of a good version of his corporate rival Sunset Bain [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunset_Bain].
The How I Met Your Mother alum and current star of Rise could be seen as an unusual choice for Stark, but I think he's got the right voice for the character. Plus, his HIMYM co-stars Cobie Smulders and Neil Patrick Harris have lent their talents to characters on both sides of the Big Two fence, so why not let him join the party?
*When he helps construct the Knight Sabers' Starktech hardsuits, the sequence of him and the others doing so would be done as a homage to the second season opening sequence of the 1994 Iron Man animated series:
-Amanda C. Miller as the voice of F.R.I.D.A.Y.
http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Amanda-Celine-Miller/
The onboard AI of Tony's armor, a 'descendant' of sorts of his earlier attempts in P.L.A.T.O., H.O.M.E.R., and J.A.R.V.I.S., built during a period where he didn't want to hire another secretary. F.R.I.D.A.Y finds herself amused by Nene geeking out over her. She contributes to the creation of the Knight Sabers' Starktech hardsuits by assisting with the development of their onboard 'immune systems'. She also is found to be resistant to the strain of Boomer Plague unleashed by Pygmalion and Ultron.
Anime regular Miller has dabbled a bit in the Marvel Universe, having voiced the Kate Bishop version of Hawkeye for the Marvel Heroes video game in 2013.
-David Kaye as the voice of the Vision/'Victor Shade'
http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/David-Kaye/
Vision finds himself fascinated by the Boomer population of the Knight Sabers' universe, due to what he sees as similarities to his own synthezoid composition, though he is disheartened by their lot in life despite possessing near-sentience.
An easy reprisal for anime dub veteran Kaye, who voices the character on Avengers Assemble (or whatever the heck it's called these days).
*Vision would be depicted in his early 1990's coloring, since that hasn't graced most Marvel media for a while, and it lends itself fine to an anime production.
-Laura Bailey as the voice of Jocasta
http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Laura-Bailey/
Jocasta adapts to the group's new surroundings well, with a few exceptions. A recurring gag throughout the story is her being mistaken for a female Boomer while in her image-inducer disguise, since that type of Boomer mostly fills the service roles of this world (maids, waitresses, clerks, etc.). While coldly and curtly reminding those who make that assumption that she's otherwise none of the above, her actions, seen by the actual Boomers nearby, begin inspiring a movement to develop among them...
Bailey, both an anime dub vet and also an Avengers Assemble cast member, would do well to channel some of Jeri Ryan's Seven-of-Nine from Star Trek: Voyager when voicing the other android Avenger.
-Gregg Rainwater as the voice of Forge/Jonathan Silvercloud
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0707174/?ref_=nv_sr_1
Forge, throughout the story, is astonished and fascinated by the technological advancements of the Sabers' universe. He befriends Nigel over their shared engineering interests and skills.
To date, we've heard him in a couple of DC projects, so a Marvel one would be a decent box to check and 'balance the scales' a bit. Plus, it'd be interesting to hear the tech-banter between him and Radnor's Tony Stark.
-Erica Lindbeck as the voice of Dazzler/Allison Blaire
http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Erica-Lindbeck/
Dazzler acts as Forge's SHIELD liaison, having worked with the organization before [inspired by her joining the organization during Brian Michael Bendis' X-Men run]. She bonds with fellow musician Priss, even volunteering to fill in for her band's keyboardist when they're out with the flu. Allison's powers further add to the band's performance during the gig they play.
Having recently dabbled in the Avengers corner of the Marvel Universe as Jane Foster/Thunderstrike (in the recent season finale of Assemble), I'd like to see how she does with the resident songstress of the X-Men's neck of the woods.
*Dazzler's look for this movie would be based on the one she sported in the 2003 New Excalibur comic series.
+From MegaTokyo 2040...
-Juliana Harkavy as the voice of Sylia Stingray
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3952890/?ref_=nv_sr_1
An enigmatic billionaire, and the founder of the Knight Sabers, Sylia is the daughter of Dr. Katsuhito Stingray, the man who invented the Boomers. Implants in her brain were used to create both Galatea [another primary antagonist of the Tokyo 2040 series] and Mackie, and her brain patterns were used in the creation of Boomers; thus, she is strongly 'related' to Boomers, but she sees them as an abomination as her mother did. She acts as ground support for the Knight Sabers. She is in love with Nigel Kirkland, a sullen mechanic who was an engineer on the Boomer project who helped her design and build the hard suits. Sylia owns and operates, among other business ventures, an upscale clothing boutique called Silky Doll, which also serves as a front for the Knight Sabers HQ. Sylia suffers from a form of PTSD; most of the flashbacks she experiences stem from her extremely complicated and disturbing childhood involving her mother's death and the cruel experiments her father conducted on her. She rarely dons her hardsuit or enters combat.
A year after the events of the original series, Sylia has relocated to Hokkaido, where in addition to reopening Silky Doll she founded Saber Security Solutions, a private security and investigation firm, as a way to bring the Knight Sabers into the public eye under better terms. She and Nigel have also been making a slow go at a relationship. Sylia decides to step into the field with the rest of the team when they go after Ultron and Pygmalion. At the end of the adventure, as Stark and his team head home via a return portal, he quickly gives Sylia a gift via digital upload, which he calls a bit of 'light reading': an e-book copy of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Phillip K. Dick.
A role like this sees Harkavy go from Dinah Drake to Tokyo 2040's answer to Bruce Wayne, which would make for an interesting performance from her, given the character's backstory.
*Sylia's Starktech suit design would be an homage to the Samurai Armor from the 1994 Iron Man animated series and toyline, but with her old suit's colors; this matches with her previous hardsuit having primary weapons in the form of deployable twin arm-mounted blades.*
-Katie Cassidy as the voice of Priscilla 'Priss' Asagiri
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1556320/?ref_=nv_sr_1
Priss is the strongest member of the Knight Sabers, specializing in heavy assault. The vocalist of an underground rock band, she lives in the slums of the town in a trailer truck and is a distrustful loner who is rarely seen with her fellow Knight Sabers. AD Policeman Leon McNichol is attracted to her, but she initially mocks him. As the series progresses, her view changes as they both encounter each other in various dangerous situations and they help each other. She also begins to become more friendly with her fellow team mates, though she always retains some distance with them and is very protective of her privacy.
A year after the events of the original series, Priss and Leon have started dating and her band's profile has gone up. Priss also acts as a part-time field operative for Saber Security Solutions. At one point, when her keyboardist is unable to join the rest of the band for a gig, she reluctantly accepts Dazzler's help when she volunteers to fill in. A conversation between the two reveals that Priss's musical heroes are Stevie Nicks, Joan Jett, Patti Smith, and Dolores O'Riordan, while her musical guilty pleasure is the songs of Juice Newton.
Bring in a bit of Black Siren's bad attitude and, given Cassidy's little-heard (for me at least) vocal talent, she'd nail the part of the Knight Sabers' Wolverine.
*Priss's Starktech suit design would be based on the Power Assault armor from Hasbro's action figure line based on Iron Man 2, in the colors of her old suit.*
-Marisha Ray as the voice of Linna Yamazaki
http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Marisha-Ray/
Farm girl Linna traveled to MegaTokyo to become a Knight Saber and to get away from her overbearing family. An office lady for the Hugh-Geit Corporation's sales division, she is constantly harassed by her bosses but continues to be a positive, friendly, and outgoing person who dreams of helping others. It was her confrontational tendencies and sense for justice which eventually got her admitted to the Knight Sabers. After joining the team, she forms a close sisterly relationship with Nene.
A year after the events of the original series, Linna acts as PR head for Saber Security Solutions, having been invited by Sylia to take on the position (she originally graduated from college with a marketing degree); she also acts as a secret field operative for the firm. During the 'downtime' for both teams, Linna takes Vision and Jocasta (disguised via built-in image inducers) on a tour of the city, filling them in on the events leading up to the MegaTokyo Boomer Uprising.
*Linna's Starktech suit design would be based on the Iron Man armor from Toy Biz's short-lived "Marvel Legends Unleashed" action figure line, in the colors of her old suit.*
-Brianna Knickerbocker as the voice of Nene Romanova
http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Brianna-Knickerbocker/
An 18-year-old perky and naïve hacker who is employed as an operator for the AD Police, Nene is a genius with computers and routinely hacks into military networks. She is recruited for the Knight Sabers after she hacks Sylia's computer trying to learn more about them. She primarily works on sensor ops, battlefield communications, ECM and ECCM. As the series progresses, Mackie develops a crush on her, despite the fact that she is three years older than him. The two eventually become good friends, although their relationship remains platonic.
A year after the events of the original series, Nene is recruited by Sylia to be the head of IT for Saber Security Solutions, often acting as the cybersecurity specialist for the firm's clients while also being a covert field operative. She is shown to be incredibly fascinated by the programming that makes up Vision, Jocasta, and Stark's onboard AI Friday, which at the end of the movie inspires her and Mackie to create an AI of their own [one that homages PLATO/HOMER from the 1994 Force Works comic book].
*Nene's Starktech suit design would be based on the Hypervelocity armor concept art used for Hasbro's Iron Man 2 action figure line, in her old suit's colors.*
-Bryce Papenbrook as the voice of Mackie Stingray
http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Bryce-Papenbrook/
Mackie was initially introduced as Sylia's younger brother; however, he's actually a male doppelganger version of Sylia. Created by Sylia's father, in his quest for advancing artificiality, Mackie is neither fully human nor boomer; he's a prototype that was deemed too human and considered a failure. However, he wasn't discarded and was kept around to be a false little brother to Sylia and she accepted Mackie as such. Mackie is depicted as being a naïve, inquisitive and awkward young man who loves machinery and computers; due to his artificial nature, he can never age and remains forever in his mid-teens form. After surviving the infamous earthquake, Mackie reunited with Sylia and accidentally walked right into her Knight Saber operation. Although reluctant at Mackie's infatuation with machinery and getting involved in her affairs, she eventually accepted it and allowed him to tag along with the Knight Sabers and he eventually formed a good relationship with Nene and Nigel. As the series progresses, his origins was revealed as well as his connection with Galatea.
A year after the events of the original series, it is shown that Mackie received a 'parting gift' from the dying Galatea that allows him to age, but at a slow rate. He works with Nigel at the latter's new larger-scale motorcycle repair shop, while working towards an engineering degree. He bonds with Forge after becoming intrigued by his mutant ability, while Vision theorizes that given Mackie's origins, he might be this world's equivalent of a synthezoid like himself. Mackie aids in the design and construction of the Knight Sabers' Starktech suits, helping Nene create the digital 'immune system' for each based on Vision and Jocasta's programming.
-Jim Ward as the voice of Meisio Henderson
http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Jim-Ward/
Meisio is Sylia's faithful butler, akin to Batman's Alfred Pennyworth in more ways than one. He loyally stood by Sylia even when the rest of MegaTokyo's human population evacuated the city towards the end of the series.
A year after the events of the series, Henderson still serves Sylia, glad that she seems to have put her lifelong trauma behind her.
-Jamieson Price as the voice of Nigel Kirkland
http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Jamieson-Price/
A former engineer, Nigel worked on the Boomer Project with Sylia's father and Brian J. Mason, then later helped Sylia design and build the Knight Sabers' original hardsuits. While now a mechanic, he helps maintain the hardsuits. He is romantically involved with Sylia, but because of his quiet, sullen nature he is called the "man of a thousand grunts" by other characters and his true feelings for Sylia are unknown. Mackie becomes his protege and one of the few people Nigel seems to consider a friend. At the beginning of the series, Priss appears to be infatuated with him, though he does not react to her flirtations. However, he later creates a "Motoslave" (motorcycle that can transform into an exoskeleton for Priss's hardsuit) specifically for her that, using Nigel's voice, says it wishes to protect Priss. Both Priss and Sylia are attracted to Nigel, however, Nigel never showed preference for either one. However, Sylia was more emotionally desperate to have Nigel and Priss gave up on Nigel since she has Leon. Nigel would later build more advanced hardsuits for the ladies in their battle against the mad boomers and eventually Galatea.
A year after the events of the original series, Nigel and Sylia have made a go at a serious relationship. He's taken on Mackie as a partner for a new custom garage that he opened, and occasionally serves as a mechanical consultant for Saber Security Solutions, such as the new 'Boomer-less' hardsuits he and Mackie built for Priss, Linna and Nene. He forms a friendship with Forge over their shared engineering interests and is fascinated by some of Tony's inventions, leading him to, among other things, develop (as seen in the end credits montage) plans for a repulsor-powered Motoslave.
-Travis Willingham as the voice of Leon McNicol
http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Travis-Willingham/
Leon is a frustrated but dedicated cop for the AD Police, with a tendency to rush in without thinking. Having worked his way up from the normal police, Leon sees himself as the protector of the local citizens and initially dislikes the vigilante nature of the Knight Sabers. He meets and becomes a big brother figure for Nene and falls in love with Priss. He is unaware of her being a Knight Saber until later in the series, but when he learns the truth he keeps it to himself. At the end of the series, Priss returns his feelings.
A year after the events of the original series, Leon, in the wake of the dissolution of the AD Police at the hands of Genom, takes up Sylia's offer to become a field agent for Saber Security Solutions. He and Priss also begin dating.
-Greg Chun as the voice of Daley Wong
http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Greg-Chun/
Daley is Leon's partner, and a highly skilled investigator who actively questions the contradictory nature of the AD department's relationship with the Knight Sabers. Towards the end of the series, he disappears without explanation, although it is likely that he chose to evacuate the city after he helps ensure that the boomer menace cannot spread any further.
A year after the events of the original series, Daley is invited by Leon to join up with him at Saber Security Solutions as an investigator, which he accepts.
+Villains
-Fred Tatasciore as the voice of Ultron
http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Fred-Tatasciore/
Ultron learned of the Knight Sabers' universe and seeks to venture there to 'salvage' the deactivated Boomers in the wreckage of MegaTokyo and turn them into his personal army. Coming upon the humanoid formerly Brian J. Mason, he sees potential for a partner in his endeavor and rebuilds Mason, stoking his desire for vengeance and for Boomers to supplant the human race.
*Ultron's character design would be based on his model for Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite.*
-Michael Emerson as the voice of Brian Mason/'Pygmalion'
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0256237/?ref_=nv_sr_1
A ruthless corporate shark who works against the wishes of Genom CEO Quincy Rosencreutz, Mason believes the human race should go away and that Boomers should become the new dominant species, and uses Genom's spaceborne solar generator and earthborne energy storage project to search for the underground laboratory that housed the Sotai project (Galatea). He once worked on that boomer project with Sylia's father and Nigel Kirkland. Because of his traumatizing past, he is a bitter man. He adopted Galatea in hopes of using her. To fulfill his wish, in a manner he does not want, she changes him into Boomer-human hybrid, then fuses him into a wall to be hung up high above MegaTokyo so that he can observe Galatea's plans for Tokyo and the world.
A year after the events of the original series, he is found by Ultron, who uses a nanite swarm to free Mason and rebuild him from the inside-out. Seeing Ultron as an opportunity to get his revenge on Sylia and the Knight Sabers, while also bringing about a machine-dominated age, he agrees to work with the robot. He also takes on the moniker of 'Pygmalion' (given that he tried to mold a 'Galatea'), seeing himself as the sculptor that will create the world's new machine-based order.
I could picture Emerson giving Mason a portrayal that's like a cross between HAL-9000 and American Psycho's Patrick Bateman.
*Mason's rebuilt design would be inspired by the look of 'Ultron Pym' from a number of recent Marvel comics.*
+The end of the movie sees Priss and her band at a gig, having just finished a song. Giving a nod, she and the band then launch into a rendition of Scandal's "Goodbye to You", which plays over the end credits amid a montage of where the characters end up at story's end.
+As a nod to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a post-credits scene depicts Tony in his office, where he answers a call from Pepper Potts on the intercom.
Tony: Something I miss, Pep?
Pepper: The new hire just arrived for your 11:30 interview. Graduated MIT with a robotics degree.
Tony: Remind me--what's the name?
Pepper: Sylia Stingray.
At which point Tony's eyes grow wide with surprise.
Next time, on my docket of East-Meets-West crossovers:
1. "Blue Beetle and Booster Gold Meet Tiger & Bunny"
2. "Firefly/Cowboy Bebop"
3. "Harley and Ivy Meet the Dirty Pair"
4. "Jonah Hex/Ruroni Kenshin"
And now, please give it up for PATTY SMYTH and SCANDAL: