A.J. Foster

Allison Janmoria "A.J." Foster is one of the Guardians' human allies. She quickly became fast friends with Turbo and regularly drove him during their adventures, while also showing concern when his complete lack of any fear or common sense led to the rough-and-ready Guardian getting injured. Which happened a lot.

Fiction

Challenge of the GoBots cartoon

Voice actor: Candy Brown (mini-series), Leslie Speights (regular series)

Along with fellow cadet Nick Burns and senior astronaut Matt Hunter, A.J. was onboard the NASA shuttle Intrepid, on a mission to repair the Argos satellite in Earth orbit. While A.J. and Nick completed the work moments later a UFO appeared out of nowhere and destroyed the satellite before carrying on to the planet below. As the ship didn't show up on NASA's systems Matt decided to take the Intrepid after it in order to corroborate their story; however, when they followed it down to the desert its' crew - the Renegades Cy-Kill], Cop-Tur and Crasher attacked them, wanting to kill the witnesses. Intrepid was destroyed and the trio were only saved by the arrival of the Guardian Command Center. While the Renegades were driven off, the Guardian Turbo was badly damaged and his comrades Leader-1 and Scooter withdrew to repair him, leaving A.J. and her friends to be arrested by NASA security troops. With no proof of their wild story - not to mention one member of the disciplinary board, Doctor Braxis, having long held a grudge against Matt, the trio were suspended. They met up at Matt's house to discuss their next move, where they were found by Leader-1 - who offered to help clear their names in return for help repairing Turbo. A.J. happily agreed. Battle for GoBotron After Scooter and Nick had recovered vital components from a NASA facility - also discovering that Braxis was actually working with the Renegades - A.J. was delighted when Turbo pulled through the repairs, having already taken a shine to the gung-ho Guardian. The pair then worked together to save Matt from a police dragnet after he phoned NASA to warn them of Braxis' treachery and was once again disbelieved. She joined the Guardians on their trip to Stolbovoy Island, joining Turbo in battle - only for them to be trapped in a mountain cave by Zod, along with Leader-1, Matt, Crasher, Anya Turgenova and an unstable sorium crystal. Target Earth Leader-1 was able to use his forcefield to save their lives but the Renegades used the sorium to power Braxis' pulsar generator, enabling them to take over the entire human race - even the determined A.J. Conquest of Earth Turbo and Scooter were able to escape, though Leader-1 was captured covering their escape. The pair of fugitive Guardians proved to be a thorn in Cy-Kill's side, regularly evading the entire planet, so he dispatched Crasher and Cop-Tur to use A.J. and Nick to draw them out. However the Guardians turned the tables on them and were able to get their human friends back, fitting the pair with Scooter's frequency neutralizers. A subsequent escapade in New York saw the group return Matt and Anya to their usual selves. Turbo and Matt then prepared a distraction to allow A.J., Scooter and Nick to board the Renegade-held Command Center and rescue Leader-1; however, they were unable to do so before the Guardian was dropped into a scrapyard as a titbit for Zod. Earthbound They were able to get a message to Turbo, who provided enough of a distraction for Leader-1 to temporarily disable Zod. A.J. later joined Nick in pretending to be a prisoner of Cy-Kill, who Scooter imitated to get past the security at Cheyenne Mountain. They were able to gain access to the NORAD base, though a nervous Scooter soon gave himself away to Braxis, but A.J. and Nick were able to disarm the traitor. They then helped hold off the controlled US Army troops before A.J. and Nick managed to get in a tank, using the vehicle's firepower to subdue Cop-Tur and Crasher. The Renegades' control over the home race was soon undone, and A.J. joined Matt, Nick and Anya in enthusiastically taking up the Guardians' offer to join them on the Command Center in the hunt for the escaped Cy-Kill. The Final Conflict

At some point afterwards Cy-Kill was indeed captured while A.J. and her friends were cleared of the accusations around the loss of the Intrepid. She followed Matt and Nick, as well as General Newcastle, in transferring across from NASA to the newly-formed UNECOM, which allied with the Guardians. Due to their experience with GoBots, A.J., Nick and Matt were appointed as ambassadors to GoBotron. As such she was a frequent presence on the Command Center on Earth, GoBotron and beyond. Among her first missions in this capacity was to travel to GoBotron's Prison Moon to represent UNECOM during the forthcoming trial of Cy-Kill; however, as they arrived the Renegade leader had engineered a mass break-out along with Fitor. Instead she would join Small Foot and Rest-Q in recovering the injured guards Blaster and Flip Top. After returning with them to the Command Center she then manned the bridge despite being worried about Turbo (who had got injured again), and was able to pick up a distress call from the missing Scooter and Nick, who had been transported to the Moon of Knowledge. She then joined Leader-1, Small Foot and Matt in locating the pair, who were in the base of a statue of the Last Engineer. Cy-Kill's Escape The Guardians decided to track down the Last Engineer in order to help Turbo, and A.J. was happy to go along to Antares III to find him, though she remained on the Command Center watching her seriously injured friend while he was seemingly found. However, while the GoBeing they found did indeed repair Turbo on the way back to GoBotron he revealed himself to in fact be the Master Renegade. Quest for the Creator After Small Foot was struck by the villain's Transgressor, A.J. joined Rest-Q and Matt in watching her be restored by Professor Von Joy using the Modifier. She then joined Small Foot when the Guardians scrambled in response to Roguestar and a fleet of Thrusters appeared above GoBotron, though the group were plunged underground when they were nearly hit by a Renegade barrage. This turned out to be fortuitous, as it led them to the suspended form of the real Last Engineer. It was doubly lucky as the combination of Cy-Kill's fleet and the Master Renegade's technological skill saw the battle go badly for the Guardians - Leader-1 was shot down and captured again, while the Command Center defence ships took heavy losses, as A.J. and the rest of the party found when they linked back up with Rest-Q in the Guardians' emergency field headquarters. However, Sparky offered to lead a team to the Prison Moon in order to rescue Leader-1, with A.J. part of the operation. While they were unable to prevent him being Disassembled they were able to recover Leader-1's parts and, after a raid on a Modifier, reactivate him before they were found by Fitor and Crasher. The Fall of GoBotron The Last Engineer was forced to use his converting workshop to transfer her, Matt, Nick and Leader-1 to Earth, with Turbo staying behind to cover their escape. There they reported the dire situation to General Newcastle. Flight to Earth There, the Last Engineer was given the resources to complete his Power Warrior system. Turbo arrived soon afterwards with a damaged Command Center full of freed Guardian prisoners and the allies planned a counter-attack on Roguestar. Along with Matt and Nick, A.J. volunteered to crew the repaired Command Center and when the Guardians' Power Suits were unable to pierce the Renegade ship's defences she sent out an SOS to UNECOM, resulting in the Last Engineer arriving. This allowed the Guardians to form Courageous and sent the Renegades into a full retreat, sparing Earth from invasion and liberating GoBotron. Return to GoBotron

After Leader-1, Turbo, Scooter, Matt and Nick were unable to prevent the Renegades from using Professor Ling's Chronos Time Transporter to change Earth's history - resulting in Cy-Kill being elected governor of America, A.J. joined Path Finder in travelling to Ancient Rome in 217 B.C. They didn't really do a huge amount once they got there but thanks to the aid of Marcus the Guardians were largely able to restore history to its' correct course, give or take the odd statue of Scooter doing a Nazi salute. Time Wars She later joined the Guardians on a mission to investigate a Renegade mining operation on a planet in the Vega system. However, the mission was compromised due to the presence of the spy Snoop in the Guardian ranks; A.J., Matt and Nick were captured along with Leader-1, Small Foot and Turbo before being put to work mining varium. She fainted from the heat, though the incident did show the similarly-enslaved aliens were kind and helpful. This meant that when Scooter, who had evaded capture as he was believed dead, freed the humans, who then worked with the Guardians and other workers to rise up against the Renegades, allowing everyone to escape. Cy-Kill's Cataclysmic Trap As part of her ambassadorial duties she was part of the GoBotron Security Council when it convened to discuss Braxis' new Nova Beam weapon. Nova Beam It also landed her with the duty of putting Danny Mobius to bed when he stayed in UNECOM custody during his father's brief alliance with the Renegades. Genius and Son A less pleasurable interaction came when a search for the missing Scooter led her and Turbo into contact with sleazy loser Clive, who immediately attempted to hit on A.J., which she took with about as much cool grace as the freak deserved. It's the Thought that Counts

Along with Nick, she attempted to get inside Trident's Caribbean hideout in order to find the kidnapped Matt, though the pair were soon taken prisoner. Thankfully the Guardians soon arrived to free them, and Trident was easily defeated. Trident's Triple Threat A.J. was less than impressed when General Newcastle prioritised the recovery of military information on the Renegades' new base when Scooter and Nick went missing. Dawn World She was later onboard the Command Center when it was trapped on a dangerous unexplored planet, which the Guardians had to make a short-lived truce with the Renegades to escape. Forced Alliance When Exor and the Insectoids overran UNECOM Headquarters A.J. and Matt were able to remain free, and after a brief moment of confusion when they inadvertently trapped Leader-1 and Small Foot were able to aid in the defeat of the other-dimensional invaders. Invasion from the 21st Level, Part II Along with Matt and Nick, she was part of the Earth delegation sent to GoBotron for talks to form a multi-species alliance against the Renegades. However, when an eager Scooter took them off to visit his hometown GoBana they were spotted and the humans were kidnapped by Fly Trap and Gorn. While they were able to escape, the trio of humans were then lost in Old GoBotron, where they were instead captured by Wrecks. The old GoBot placed A.J. and Nick in his freak show while Matt was forced to fight for his life. However, when Cy-Kill and his mooks came looking for them Wrecks had an improbable complete change of personality and let them escape to take their place in the conference. Lost on GoBotron A.J. later played a part in preventing the Guardians being replaced by Renegade robot doubles Doppelganger and joined their mission to help the people of Tri-Ceti. Renegade Rampage, Part I She was later part of a scheme to regain control of the Tramulet from Cy-Kill, wearing a purposefully shoddy disguise in order to provide a distraction to allow the Guardians past the device's forcefield.The Renegades' Rampage, Part II

A.J. took some much-deserved vacation time and planned to visit her Uncle William and Aunt Katherine in Waldron. However, when she arrived she was captured by Crasher and BuggyMan, soon finding out the people of the town had been enslaved by the Renegades to build Ultra Zod. The Renegades put her in with the town's kids but A.J. was able to get free. She bumped into William and told him she would bring back help before effortlessly vaulting a fence. BuggyMan gave chase but she ran into Turbo and Nick, who soon saw the Renegade off. Leader-1, Rest-Q and the Command Center soon joined them, and Courageous was able to destroy Ultra Zod as they freed the townspeople. A.J. was then able to finally introduce her friends to her aunt and uncle, though Nick teased her about providing advanced warning of her next holiday destination.Ultra Zod She later took part in the Guardian response to the insane genocidal robot Sentinel Sentinel and Robert Frost's Climatizer Cold Spell A.J. was one of the few members of UNECOM staff to avoid Murchison's army of crime, along with Matt and Flip Top. Crime Wave She later helped Turbo investigate thefts of metal from Detroit, though the pair had to survive being chased through the city's sewers by Vamp. Auto Madic A.J. and Nick went to watch a stunt car rally, being especially interested in the daring dynamic Dolby Danger. However, the pair were then targeted by a Renegade kidnap attempt, which Small Foot was able to frustrate until Leader-1 and Turbo arrived with the Guardians' Power Suits. Scooter Enhanced After the Guardians were framed by the Renegades' Holographic Image Inducers, A.J. and Nick insisted they hear their friends' protestations out and helped them clear their name and have their exile from Earth reversed. Tarnished Image She later joined Scooter and Nick in travelling to Ecuador in order to investigate ancient GoBot artefacts discovered by Doctor Cunningham, which ultimately let them to a close call with the Evil One's Dark Heart. In Search of Ancient GoBonauts

During all of this she continued to study, and was soon able to read complex star charts, even if lessons kept getting interrupted by aliens hell-bent on using GoBots in gladiatorial battles. Gameworld Not that this was the only source of threats to A.J.'s personal safety, as she also had to go on a vital convoy with only Scooter and Nick as part of Leader-1's byzantine attempt to improve Guardian security. Despite Scooter briefly disguising A.J. as a camel-riding ballerina the trio were unsurprisingly tackled by Renegades and lost the nucleonic power pack they were transporting. Wolf in the Fold In keeping with the Guardians' deep care for their human friends, A.J. and Nick were chosen over a whole fleet full of trained sailors for the task of sneaking onboard the Renegades' new subaquatic Starfish base, where they were able to help deactivate the base's Stealth Device so Dive-Dive could attack it. Depth Charge A.J. also found herself on the front lines when the defence of Earth briefly fell to Turbo alone after Leader-1 and Scooter were shunted into a parallel universe. Transfer Point She and Nick later piloted the Command Center when the Guardians mounted a rescue for Scooter and his friend Billy The GoBot Who Cried Renegade and was later part of the rescue attempt to free the psychic Sean Roberts from the Renegades. The Seer She was later assigned to help security at the Vienna peace talks between the Guardians and the Renegades, though she was nearly killed by an avalanche Crasher was unable to resist causing. A.J. later helped Turbo expose the Renegades' duplicity. Pacific Overtures UNECOM's usual strict safety regulations saw A.J. and Nick given the job of investigating a mysterious gas without any safety gear whatsoever; unsurprisingly the pair were both overcome and were lucky that it did little more than knock them out for eight hours. Destroy All Guardians

A.J., Matt and Nick visited a new UNECOM Surveillance Station overseen by Anya, helping to repel a Renegade raid on the facility led by Fitor. Fitor was captured in the battle and taken into Guardian custody while the humans cleaned up the base with Scooter. However, no-one bothered fixing the radio and when Cy-Kill arrived to grab hostages to trade for his lieutenant the group were easily rounded up. Despite the Renegades' attempts to set a trap at the handover the group were freed. Fitor to the Finish She was then shrunk down to a tiny size by Doctor Aeolis' demonstration of his hermetic condenser. She was returned to full-size - though they had a narrow escape when Scooter nearly dropped the globe containing the miniaturised humans - and was able to avoid being caught in the device when it fell into Renegade hands. Clutch of Doom When Zero captured Turbo and arranged a suspect handover on Dengon Beta; A.J. badgered Scooter into following Leader-1 down, which turned out to be for the best as Cy-Kill was also there believing he was retrieving Crasher from his rogue former follower. The deposed Renegade had also brought Tank along and only Scooter's holo-projector saved Leader-1 until Dozer arrived. The real Turbo was eventually able to get free and rejoin his friends, helping foil Zero's plans. The Third Column After the Renegades took control of Leader-1 with an exosuit built on Fabricon, A.J. helped the Guardians' attempts to return him to his normal self. Together with Nick and Matt she later overwhelmed Dr. Go so Scooter could wipe military secrets he had taken from Guardian files. A New Suit for Leader-1

A.J. was later able to report vital intelligence to Leader-1 regarding there being a carnival in town, which was about the only intelligence involved in Cy-Kill's latest scheme and Leader-1's response to it, with a cascade of stupidity somehow resulting in the psychic Mira Shaw escaping from an ad-hoc Renegade/carny alliance. Renegade Carnival While she was not to be meddled with, A.J. also had considerable compassion, and it was her grief at the severe injuries suffered by Matt that finally convinced the powerful but gullible alien Alaric that the Guardians were the good guys. The Gift Along with Nick and Scooter she was briefly captured by the Renegades near a series of primitive cave-dwellings only to be saved by the shaman Tinotchka, though she was fortunate enough to avoid having to talk to the tiresome sorcerer for very long. The Last Magic Man A.J. later got used as bait along with Turbo, Scooter and Nick, trying to draw Roguestar into range of a new Guardian weapon. Even worse, the weapon was the result of a collaboration of Braxis, who has gone mad from his encounters with the GoBots, and Professor Von Joy, who made Braxis look like General Newcastle. Amazingly they survived. Braxis Gone Bonkers She was later stationed at a secret UNECOM base on a small island, where Element X was due for further development. However, the base came under attack from Astral, who had "done an Alaric" and fallen for Cy-Kill's cheesy 'evil Guardians' pitch. Astral called off her attack after witnessing Small Foot's willingness to protect Leader-1, even at the cost of her own life. Element of Danger By this stage A.J. and Nick's experience was such that they were given instructor roles at the Guardian Academy, where A.J. showed off her shooting skills. It led them to Tri-Trak, who had been disabled by the Red Team of cadets after discovering they were the Renegade Dread Launchers undercover. Thanks to them, the cadet was able to expose a Renegade plan to kidnap Zeemon.Guardian Academy

She was later selected for the UNECOM/Guardian expedition to the rediscovered city of Atlantis. While the expedition leader, Doctor Janus, turned out to be a Renegade spy it gave A.J. a chance to show off her Boomer piloting skills, even managing to knock out a dragon by firing a block of ice into its' mouth. Terror in Atlantis She was later told the story of Cy-Kill's defection from the Guardians to the Renegades by Scooter. "Et Tu, Cy-Kill" A.J. showed her resourcefulness once again when an expedition to Halley's Comet was hijacked by the Renegades in order to gain access to the Star Fortress; she and Nick escaped their attentions and A.J. used a grenade to take out Pincher and Sky-Jack. The pair later prevented the Renegades escaping the base with the captured quantumite from the Fortress, though she had obviously fallen behind on her star charts as she didn't know that Halley's Comet wouldn't return for another '80' years. The Secret of Halley's Comet A.J. later worked on convoys harvesting materials for the construction of GoBotron. Mission: GoBotron When Solitaire, a visitor from Quartex, was captured by the Renegades in a raid on GoBotron, Small Foot, A.J. and Nick were also captured and imprisoned onboard Roguestar. However, the two humans were able to escape and free Small Foot; the trio caused absolute chaos on the Renegade ship in orbit above Quartex before stealing a Space Hawk and travelling down to the surface, soon being reunited with Leader-1 and Turbo. Battle of the Rock Lords

Mini World Books

A.J. was an officer in the ASC, working closely with Matt Hunter and selected GoBots. Together with Scooter they rumbled a scheme by Doctor Braxis and Cy-Kill by setting a trap at a plastikice game by using power beams hidden in the Lixil Lions' hockey sticks. Matt figured it out and biffed Braxis, however. Champions of Lixil Another Renegades scheme was sewing the Weeds of Calcheron around the Command Center; they provided impervious to the efforts of Matt and Leader-1 to drop acid on them but Cy-Kill had accelerated the plants' life-cycle and they died within a short while later anyway. The Weeds of Calcheron Later Cy-Kill and Braxis tried to use the Wagner Sirens to destroy the ASC. Matt and A.J. were able to muffle the circuits of Turbo and Road Ranger so they could get close enough to take out the Renegades. She then tormented Matt with her awful singing. The Wagner Sirens

GoBots Magazine

Nick designed a "Super-Duper-Ice-Cream-Scooper" birthday cake for A.J. shaped like a spaceship before setting off with Scooter to buy ingredients. However, the pair were kidnapped by Pincher on the way to the shops and used as bait to get Leader-1 into the range of Braxis' new Phoron gun; Matt quickly realised the planned handover was a trap but Leader-1 felt he had no choice but to comply. Thankfully Scooter was able to trick the evil scientist with his hologram projector, allowing Leader-1 to get them both to safety, and they were able to get the take ready in time for A.J.'s party - though she felt the best present was having her friends safe. The Blast of Doom! She was present when the Guardians caught the Renegades stealing ultium from Sarkofony. The Wrath of the Mountain

Go-Bots comic

A.J. Foster was a freshman college student, attending Professor Braxis' Introduction to Gobotics course at Hammermill Hall. She owned the Go-Bot Scooter as her personal transport and had a close friendship with him, though she encouraged Scooter to find ride-sharing fares to offset the cost. Braxis used Scooter as a visual aid in his lecture. As his brightest pupil, Braxis invited A.J. around for dinner and offered her the role of teaching assistant but then locked her in his cellar with his menacing personal Go-Bot Vamp. She was saved by Scooter and Braxis tried to pass the incident off as a joke but A.J. and her Go-Bot left, walking straight into the Renegade uprising. A.J. was briefly worried that Scooter might join the rebellion Issue 1 but instead he reaffirmed his loyalty to her, instead driving her clear. They soon met up with race driver Matt Hunter and his Go-Bot Turbo, who had also stayed loyal. She managed to persuade them to join her and Scooter in making for the Tonka Building for help. A close call with some police Go-Bots showed how dire the situation was, and the sole engineer Tonka still on duty offered little encouragement. A.J, Matt, Turbo and Scooter realised no help was coming, so they improvised some petrol bombs. They then came across the dying T. Coriander Banks, who confessed his tinkering with the Go-Bots' G-chips had been the catalyst for the uprising. As Banks died from the wounds Stretch had given him the band were set upon by the Renegades. Stretch took out Turbo while the other Renegades tormented Scooter - until A.J. threw a petrol bomb at Cy-Kill. Soon afterwards Leader-1 arrived on the scene, backed by an army. He defeated Cy-Kill and then had to make a decision - whether to lead the Go-Bots on the capitol or whether to return them to obeying humans.Issue 2

AJ-47

What exactly happened to A.J. afterwards is unknown and controversial. According to Turbo, she fought alongside the Guardians into old age but also became an outspoken critic of Leader-1, particularly his ultimate plans for humanity - with good reason, to be fair. However, Leader-1 ordered Scooter to kill her. He complied, but was wracked with guilt and asked to have his mind wiped. Turbo, already furious over the murder of A.J., interrupted the process, accidentally lobotomising his friend. He then took Scooter and left the Guardians, and his decision to act as the protector of what remained of the human race was partly inspired by A.J. Issue 4 Once the future of the Go-Bot race was in the less-psychotic hands of Road Ranger, with Earth and the humans being cut loose from Gobotron, Turbo decided to shut down for some "rest", thinking fondly of Matt and A.J. as he did so.Issue 5

Notes

• Candy Brown voiced A.J. in the initial five-part "Battle for GoBotron" mini-series, but Leslie Speights took over when the series was picked up for regular broadcast.
• As with Nick and Matt, very few personal details about A.J. are made known in the series. Aside from Uncle William and Aunt Katherine no other family is mentioned, such as parents (though this is still more information than we get for her two friends). Her age is similarly mysterious; she acts slightly older than Nick, though he's clearly meant to be a little naïve, while she is considered old enough to go into space on a NASA mission, even if space travel in the Challenge universe is clearly a lot more routine even before the GoBots overtly contact Earth. She's also old enough to travel to Waldron on her own and seemingly to drive. A.J. also gets hit on by Clive, though considering what he's like this doesn't necessarily suggest she's an adult - though one would hope the lack of Turbo subsequently snapping him in half like a dry twig does. The Robo Machine featuring the Challenge of the GoBots Annual 1986's introduction to the Guardian's Earth friends only hazards that she is in her teens. Finally her nationality isn't confirmed, though like Matt and Nick she has an American accent and seems to live in the country.
• A.J. appears in 54 of the 65 Challenge of the GoBots episodes - she is not featured in "Renegade Alliance", "Invasion from the 21st Level, Part I", "Speed Is of the Essence", "Cy-Kill's Shrinking Ray", "Steamer's Defection", "Whiz Kid", "Ring of Fire", "Escape from Elba", "Inside Job", "The GoBots That Time Forgot" or "Quest for New Earth".
• For the French cartoon Revenge of the GoBots the character of Leina Stol was renamed Agi (A.J.'s name in the French dub of Challenge of the GoBots) and voiced by Régine Teyssot, who had also voiced the character in Les Defi des GoBots. Beyond the name and actor no other connection was drawn between the two characters, who were in fact opposite in almost every imaginable way.
• Due to poor reference material and/or World Distributors not giving a single shit, A.J. was caucasian in the company's Mini World storybooks and also seemed closer in age to Matt.