Robo Force (also rendered as RoboForce) is a toy line originally released by the Ideal Toy Company in the year 1984. The line was revived in 2013 by new rights holder Toyfinity. The line was sold from Toyfinity to The Nacelle Company in 2021.
Contents
Characters
ROBO Force
Maxx Steele: The Leader/Maxx Zero - Maxx Steele is one of the toughest robots and almost invulnerable. Armed with a pair of laser hand weapons stored in his backpack and a back-mounted, swiveling, double-barreled attack gun, he is hard to beat when against Hun-Dred's army of evil robots. His motto "Any mission, any time, any place" shows his team that he is determined to win the fight against Hun-Dred no matter what stands in his way. He was renamed Maxx Zero when the toy line was revived.
Blazer: The Ignitor - Very powerful and very crazy is what describes Blazer. His weapons are not only unique but his way of using them are amazing. On both of his arms, he has nozzles that can shoot out boiling hot plasma which can melt the hardest of steel and on his head is a cryogenic water cannon that can extinguish the flames he creates so his fire doesn't burn and destroy everything in sight.
Coptor: The Enforcer - Speed and agility are qualities that Coptor never lacks! He is the team's acrobat always zooming by using the propeller on his head. Weapons he carries are two laser guns and a communicator that can contact Max Steele or any of the other robots from anyplace far away. Digging is even possible with the aid of his propeller. Coptor is the oldest of the good robots and was built by Dr. Fury.
Sentinel: The Protector - Sentinel is always ready to hop into combat. With a permanent laser gun in his head that he can use anytime, he never runs out of weapons. He also stores two other weapons in his backpack just in case the battle gets tough. Putting the Command Patroller through moves no one had ever seen before he was made the team driver.
Wrecker: The Demolisher - Wrecker is a construction worker in his civilian life but in Maxx Steele's army he is the team's demolitionist. A fortress would easily crumble if Wrecker was sent to destroy it. His weapons are an atomic jackhammer and a laser drill. He also stores a metal-alloy wrecking hook.
S.O.T.A.: The Creator - S.O.T.A is a professor when he's not on Robo Force missions. But when he is serving Max Steele he is a calm and always in control senior councilor. His name stands for State of the art which gives a clue about his superior intellect. He has an information-collection dish on his backpack which gives him radar, sonar, and extended hearing along with infra-red, microscopic, and telescopic vision. He also carries a drill which can be used for crafting and battle while an accurate laser targeting weapon is stored in his head.
Cult of Dred
Hun-Dred: The Conqueror - The worst enemy that threatens Maxx Steele's team, Hun-Dred leads the evil robot empire. His weapons include laser guns, crushers instead of hands, twin hand-held attack weapons, and laser shooters that he uses for artillery. He also has the ability to sense fear in any being and destroys anyone or anything that stands in his way.
Enemy: The Dictator - A terrible and vicious robot enemy would destroy anything that got in his way as long as Robo Force falls. Orders say to hold position? Enemy attacks. Orders say to destroy a city? Enemy destroys the whole planet. And so on. His favorite weapon is a rear-mounted retro-fire assault-gun; which can reduce an entire world to atoms with one shot; he also mounts twin laser weapons in his chest-compartment.
Cruel: The Detonator - The equal of any two robots in combat, Cruel uses his terrifying crusher-grapplers to destroy anything which opposes him. Practically indestructible, his quiet demeanor belies his heinous acts. He has twin communication antennae on either side of his head; this keeps him in touch with others over long distances.
Vulgar: The Destroyer - Vulgar is charged with evil dark forces that make up his body and puts his sinister abilities to use. His amazing strength was made from a mixture of science and wickedness. He is a gray, black, and red being with a large rotating head and villainous-looking eyes. He wields many weapons including a drill bit located permanently in the back of his head which is sharp and dangerous to Max Steele's army of good robots. Vulgar also carries a deadly loaded mace blaster that he can hit targets with amazing accuracy.
Nazgar the Invincible - Nazgar was an evil dictator that conquered the planet Zeton 2,000 years prior. His brain was preserved by the Cult of Dred. Hun-Dred kidnaps Dr. Fury, an expert in cyborg technology, to construct a robotic body for Nazgar.
Battlestar: The Guardian - A new member of the Cult of Dred introduced in 2014. The guardian of Celestia, he protects Nazgar and Hun-Dred from the Robo Force!
Toys
Ideal Toy Company
The original toy line featured robot action figures with suction cup bases and "crusher arm" action. In addition, each figure, which basically resembled a customized Dalek, also included another gimmick or two such as a hook or extendable guns. Besides action figures, there was also an Electronic Maxx Steele Programmable Robot and a Maxx Steele Erector Set released.
Robo Force
Maxx Steele - The Leader
Blazer - The Ignitor
Coptor - The Enforcer
Sentinel - The Protector
Wrecker - The Demolisher
S.O.T.A. - The Creator
Cult of Dred
Hun-Dred - The Conqueror
Enemy - The Dictator
Cruel - The Detonator
Vulgar - The Destroyer
Robocruiser Robot Defender Vehicle
Dred Crawler Robot Attack Vehicle
Command Patroller
Fortress of Steele playset
In 1984, Ideal released a Robo Force board game, labeled a "SuperPopomatic 3-D Action Game".
While the figures were developed up to the product catalog photo stage, they were not released before the original line came to an end. A few early production Tiltor sample figures have pop up over the years and gotten into the hands of collectors.
Toyfinity
The rights to Robo Force (until 2021) - along with former Ideal lines Rocks & Bugs & Things, Zeroids, and Manglor - are held by production company Toyfinity. The Robo Force line specifically was sold to Nacelle in 2021 while the other former Ideal lines were retained by Toyfinity. Compatible with the Glyos System Series designed by Onell Design, the Robo Force kits feature 41 or more pieces a figure which can be arranged and re-arranged in any way the user sees fit. The new line was launched at New York Comic Con with a limited run Maxx Zero: Genesis Edition figure. Some figures receive more than one edition to go along with the developing story line featured in the new Robo Force comic book. By 2018 two additional Robo Force kits had been introduced offering additional parts to create Zeroids and more members of the original Robo Force line-up.
In original Toyfinity Robo Force mold was released in 2013 as Maxx Zero Genesis Edition. It contained 41 parts inspired by Enemy, Hun-Dred, Maxx Zero and Sentinel. It could be assembled in a variety of configurations which included articulated legs and tank treads. Paint and additional parts were used to create numerous other characters.
A completely new Robo Force mold was released in 2018 as Zetonian Proto Enforcer. Made up of 26 parts inspired by Coptor and S.O.T.A. among others. This design featured a round body and a suction-cup-like base.
Robo Force
Maxx Zero: The Leader
Genesis Edition - Dark grey with minimal black paint applications. Released at NYCC 2013.
Glyaxia Disguise - Yellow and extra blue parts with blue and black paint applications. Can also be used to make Protector-Class Glyaxia Drones and Elite Drones. Cost $20 each. Limited to 5 per customer. Released online July 18, 2014.
Blank Edition - Light grey with no paint for customization. Offered for pre-order October 12-25th, 2014.
Classic Edition - Light grey with paint details to match the vintage toy. Offered for pre-order October 12-25th, 2014.
Robo Force: The Revenge of Nazgar
In 1984, Ruby-Spears Productions released an American animated adaptation of the series in the form of a one-shot special called Robo Force: The Revenge of Nazgar. Michael Hack provided Voice Direction with Flint Dille writing and Ron Jones composing the music.
Synopsis
A scientist named Dr. Fury and his family are in his house with Coptor. Suddenly, the evil robots led by Hun-Dred blast their way into his house. Coptor fires on the evil robots, but is defeated. The scientist is abducted by the evil robots for his research on putting human brains into robots. Hun-Dred and his crew would like Dr. Fury to do this for the evil Nazgar, who created trouble for the scientist's planet nearly two-thousand years ago.
Ten years later, a repaired Coptor and Dr. Fury's son (Mark Fury) along with new robots like Maxx Steele created by Mark go on a mission to find his father.
The final battle occurs in Nazgar's headquarters. Nazgar (whose brain is now in a robot body) seemingly escapes, Hun-Dred and a laser gun meant to wreak havoc on the planet are destroyed by Maxx Steele and Dr. Fury is saved.
Cast
Michael Bell - Cruel
Rodger Bumpass - Mark Fury
Arthur Burghardt - Nazgar, Sentinel
Peter Cullen - Coptor, Vulgar
Ron Feinberg - Hun-Dred
David Mendenhall - Jason Fury
Robert Ridgely - Maxx Steele, Councilman Frost
Neil Ross - Blazer
John Stephenson - Dr. Richard Fury
B.J. Ward - Deena Strong
Alan Young - S.O.T.A.
DVD release
The animated Robo Force adaptation was released by Warner Archive as a special feature for the volume 2 DVD release of Challenge of the GoBots on March 10, 2015. This is its first home video release.
The Nacelle Company ownership, animated television series
In 2021, The Nacelle Company announced that it would acquire the rights to the Robo Force toy line from Toyfinity and plans for the animated television series based on the toy line are in development, and in January 2023, it was given the straight-to-series order. The series was released on April 12, 2025, on Tubi.
RoboForce: The Animated Series
Bryan W. Adams - Mr. Destruction
Russ Akin - Comm Operator
Dave Beynon - Wrecker
Kelly Bingham - Silas Duke
Jack Chisholm - Nima Tannhauser
Kris Cipriani - Blazer
Chris Coculuzzi - Maxx 89
Dan Eardley - Injured SkySend Employee
Benjamin J. Frost - SkySend Elevator Operator
Jordan Q. Hammer - Flight Attendant
Gavin Hignight - Detonator
Callum Hollett - Utopia Aegis 101 Bots
Heather Jansma - S.O.T.A. 89, S.O.T.A. 64
Jaime Eliezer Karas - SkySend Elevator Automated Voice, Submarine Autopilot, U.U.A Enforcer Autopilot
Matt Kravitsky - Broken U.U.A. Enforcer Console
Dan Larson - Mr. Blatz
Colleen MacIsaac - Utopia Aegis 101 Bots
Rory McCormick - Coptor
Andre Meadows - Dad with Children
Keith Morrison - Big Loo
Katherine Norris - Sentinel
Comic books
In 1984, three mini-comics were given away with Robo Force toys - Robo Force: Assault on the Fortress of Steele!, Robo Force: Menace of the Heat Ray, and Robo Force: Showdown in Space!
RoboForce has been featured in the NacelleVerse line of comics published by Oni Press beginning in 2024. The first NacelleVerse comic to center on RoboForce was a three-issue RoboForce miniseries released in 2024.