Matt Hunter

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Matt Hunter is one of the Guardians' human allies, and just the sort of guy cartoon writers hurtling towards a mid-life crisis like to live through. He's a rebellious astronaut with a non-regulation haircut, an expert pilot, a crack shot, an expert mechanic, can learn any type of weapon from Roman Gladius to floating gladiator combat platform in mere moments, his junior cadets Nick and A.J. think he's a total badass, women love him and he's a champion moustache grower.

Sadly the show was cancelled before we found out he was also a rule-breaking archaeologist, guitar legend, lion tamer, stunt car driver, cowboy and raptor trainer.

Fiction[edit | edit source]

Challenge of the GoBots cartoon[edit | edit source]

Voice actor: Morgan Paull
"Does this mustache make me look like Tom Selleck?"

Matt Hunter was an experienced NASA astronaut, and was charged with taking the shuttle Intrepid up to repair a satellite with the help of cadets Nick Burns and A.J. Foster. However the shuttle was destroyed by the Renegades' Thruster suddenly appearing in Earth orbit.Battle for GoBotron Their story wasn't believed by anyone else at NASA and the trio were suspended. They were later contacted by the Guardians Leader-1 and Scooter, who needed their help to repair damaged comrade Turbo. As a result they were drawn into the war between the two factions, with Matt rapidly striking up a rapport with Leader-1 - who he often piloted into battle later on. They soon found out that the antagonistic NASA scientist Professor Braxis was working with the Renegades to conquer Earth. He aided the Guardians in finding the Eastern bloc scientist Anya Turgenova, who he soon developed a squabbling relationship with, but they were trapped under an avalanche by Cy-Kill and Cop-TurTarget Earth. After being freed, Matt and Anya tried to warn the staff at Cheyenne Mountain of the forthcoming invasion but was instead captured by Cy-Kill and put under the Renegade's control by Braxis' new pulsar generator. Conquest of Earth. Under Renegade control he then led a huge task force after Turbo and Scooter, attacking them in New York. However they were able to get a neutraliser built by Scooter onto him and return him to his usual self. Earthbound. The group then reunite with Leader-1 and are able to retake Cheyenne Mountain, defeating the Renegades. The Final Conflict

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Matt was reinstated and stayed with the service when it was revamped as UNECOM, taking a key liaison role in their alliance with the Guardians. Along with A.J. and Nick, he was picked as a representative of Earth at the forthcoming trial of the Renegades on GoBotron. He was onboard the Command Centre when it arrived at the planet's Prison Moon to collect Cy-Kill for trial, only to find the Renegade leader had escaped along with Fitor. Matt piloted Leader-1 during the search for the fugitives. Though they were unsuccessfully they did find the injured Turbo - with Leader-1 wisely keeping Matt inside his cockpit even after converting, knowing the discomfort for the human was better than exposure to the moon's freezing temperatures. Along with Leader-1 and A.J. he later helped Small Foot track the missing Scooter and Nick to a chamber under a statue of the Last Engineer on GoBotron's Moon of Knowledge. Cy-Kill's Escape On their arrival on Antares III, the Last Engineer's reported location, he again investigated with Leader-1. They tracked strange signals to a volcano which became active as they checked it out and only quick thinking from Leader-1 spared Matt from incineration. The pair soon found a chamber containing a sleeping figure but were attacked by the guarding Monster GoBots Vamp and Scorp, who knocked them both out and threw them in a cell. However a Guardian search party put the two mutants into retreat and Leader-1 was able to knock their guards out. Matt was present as the apparent Last Engineer repaired Turbo and ate a meal with the man onboard the Command Center. However the visitor soon revealed himself to be the Master Renegade and paralysed Small Foot. Matt tried to rush the Master Renegade but was blasted by beams from the GoBeing's cybernetic eye. Quest for the Creator He recovered and once the hostage situation was resolved by Turbo he visited the injured Small Foot. At his suggestion Rest-Q and Professor Von Joy put her through the Modifier for the second time. Matt, A.J. and Nick were delighted when this restored her converting abilities. Moments later Roguestar appeared over GoBotron and Small Foot took the three humans in her vehicle mode as they headed towards her post. They met up with Turbo and Scooter but the whole group then crashed through a hole, landing next to and reviving the real Last Engineer. Matt was later part of the team that attempted to stop Leader-1 from being disassembled and, when that failed, recovered his parts and saw him repaired at the Last Engineer's secret workshop. The Fall of GoBotron The Renegades found the group but the Last Engineer was able to convert the workshop into the ship Courageous, allowing the group to escape to Earth. There they reported the fall of GoBotron to General Newcastle, with Matt recommending that UNECOM put their resources to helping the Last Engineer finish the Power Suit system, something the General agreed with readily. Flight to Earth Along with Nick and A.J. he then helped pilot the Command Center in the Guardians' ultimately successfully counter-attack on Roguestar and subsequent recapturing of GoBotron.Return to GoBotron

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Along with Leader-1, Turbo, Nick and Scooter he travelled back to 217 B.C. via Professor Ling's Chronos Time Transporter to prevent the Renegades altering history. Matt ended up becoming a gladiator, successfully beating a seasoned opponent, including taking out a panther with a bola, and using the resultant adulation to persuade Marcus to allow their Renegade "gods" battle the Guardians, ultimately leading to their exposure and history more-or-less being fixed. Time Wars He piloted Leader-1 in a race with the arrogant Snoop and Nick, winning out. However, Snoop was actually a Renegade spy, and her intel allowed Leader-1 and Matt to be split from the others and shot down by Zods. They were captured and Matt, A.J. and Nick were put to work mining varium by the Renegades but eventually led an uprising with help from Scooter, allowing them all to escape. Cy-Kill's Cataclysmic Trap He was joyously reunited with Braxis after the scientist was sprung from prison by the Renegades, forced to create the Nova Beam and then deposited back on the doomed planet. Thankfully the Guardians were able to avert Earth's destruction. Nova Beam He was a briefly blinked out of existence by Doctor Mobius' inverta-ray but got better. Genius and Son Matt was later present at a UNECOM base in Utah when Professor Von Joy showed off his latest inventions. It's the Thought that Counts Along with Small Foot he provided security for UNECOM's new disrupter as it was transported by train, but they were overwhelmed by Crasher, Cop-Tur and Loco. Matt was captured along with General Orlando by the Renegades and their ally, the cyborg mercenary Trident. When he was freed by the Guardians and fought Trident, overcoming the fearsome robo-villain by wedging his drill attachment into a wall.Trident's Triple Threat

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Matt later helped organise the Guardian/UNECOM response to Scooter and Nick crashing on a primitive world. Dawn World Matt got to experience the stranded-on-an-alien-planet experience himself shortly afterwards when both the Command Center and Thruster were trapped on a planet full of mechanical spiders. Forced to work with the Renegades, he took Dozer, Cop-Tur and Pincher to create a flood to buy both groups time to carry out repairs. Scooter was able to get the necessary crystals to counteract the planet's magnetic field so the Guardians and their allies could escape. Forced Alliance When Cy-Kill brought Exor and her army of Insectoids to invade Earth, UNECOM Headquarters was overrun. Matt and A.J. managed to stay free and attempted to catch some of the troopers but instead only snared Leader-1 and Small Foot. The humans were then able to get to the base's Astrobeam and summon reinforcements from GoBotron in the form of Heat Seeker, who helped turn the tide.Invasion from the 21st Level, Part II Matt, A.J. and Nick were later assigned to represent UNECOM at a crucial peace conference on GoBotron but on a pre-talks visit to GoBana with Scooter the humans were captured by Cy-Kill, Fly Trap and the huge alien Gorn, who took them to Old GoBotron. Matt was able to knock Gorn into Fly Trap with a gnarly flying kick and the trio escaped, only to fall into the clutches of underworld GoBot Wrecks. He forced Matt to participate in his gladiatorial games in return for their freedom. Matt reluctantly agreed, promptly killing Tung the Ruthless by dropping him into lava. Wreck initially seemed set to welch on the deal before Cy-Kill and his goons arrived, after which the old GoBot showed a kindlier side. With the help of Wrecks' urchin followers they were able to knock out the Renegades, which Matt knocking Gorn to a fiery death for old times' sake. The humans then set back out for the peace conference. Lost on GoBotron

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Matt later helped Small Foot expose a Renegade plan to replace numerous Guardians with robot duplicates. Doppelganger He also contributed to the Guardians' attempt to find and destroy Roguestar. The Quest for Roguestar The Guardians later took the humans to Tri-Ceti but the planet's powerful Tramulet fell into Renegade hands. Renegade Rampage, Part I Matt and his friends were able to escape Tri-Ceti's destruction but Cy-Kill used the Tramulet to take over Earth. He helped the Guardians sneak into the Renegade-controlled UNECOM Headquarters and personally snatched two-thirds of the Tramulet from the Renegade leader. After the Renegades were pushed into retreat and the rest of the Tramulet was recovered their friends Trevor and Troilene were able to reform Tri-Ceti and return home. The Renegades' Rampage, Part II He later helped destroy the Renegades' new Ultra Zod in Waldron Ultra Zod, battle the genocidal robot Sentinel Sentinel and foil Doctor Robert Frost's Climatizer. Cold Spell

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When Cy-Kill linked up with crime-lord Murchison the Guardians needed to find out the full extent of the fiends' plans. As UNECOM's staff seemed to comprise four people Matt was the ideal candidate to go undercover as leader of a Hell's Angels biker gang who wanted to work for Murchison; while he found out they were planning to use a forcefield generator to make their army invulnerable Matt was sadly one of the tiny handful of humans Crasher recognised and he was imprisoned. Flip Top, A.J. and Nick were able to free him. Matt was again able to completely change his appearance by putting a white lab coat over the same clothes he had worn since his NASA days, enabling him to sneak past Doctor Go and activate the overload switch the Renegade scientist had inexplicably built into the forcefield generator. Crime Wave Sadly his disguise skills were not needed when UNECOM called in the Guardians when the Monster GoBots were stealing material to build Puzzler. Auto Madic

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After the Renegades used Doctor Go's image inducers to discredit the Guardians and get them banished from Earth, Turbo visited Matt's house, where A.J. and Nick persuaded him to hear the GoBot out. Matt then spotted that Scooter was using blasters in footage of the attacks and helped the Guardians clear their names. Tarnished Image Matt was later able to recognise part of a message left by the Evil One denoting his last resting place as the Nazca Lines. In Search of Ancient GoBonauts He was onboard the Command Center when it and Thruster were abducted by the alien B'oosa, who delivered them to Kolob where Crespas forced the GoBots to fight in gladiatorial games. While they fought each other Matt and Nick were able to build a device that bypassed Crespas' restraints, allowing the Guardians and Renegades to get free. Gameworld Matt was later at a demonstration of a new Guardian sonic drill; however, as Bad Boy was disguised as Heat Seeker and leaking information to the Renegades, Cop-Tur was able to destroy the device. Wolf in the Fold Along with A.J. and Nick, he masqueraded as a crewman onboard a ship intended as bait to allow the Guardians access to the the Renegades' undersea Starfish base. He shut down the base's stealth device, allowing Dive-Dive to locate the base. The trio then evacuated the captured crews of previous Renegade prizes. Depth Charge Matt then led a squadron of UNECOM jets to try and destroy the Renegades' Proton Destructor but the assault was unsuccessful and he was shot down by Crasher but rescued by Turbo. With Leader-1 and Scooter missing presumed dead Matt's sniping skills were used to back Turbo up in a second attempt, again with little success. Thankfully Leader-1 and Scooter return from an unscheduled trip to a parallel universe in time to help. Transfer Point Along with Leader-1 and Turbo he was later captured by Cy-Kill, needing rescue by Scooter and Billy. The GoBot Who Cried Renegade

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Matt was later part of UNECOM's operations with the psychic Sean Roberts, though they were betrayed by Major Benedict and the Guardians needed to save the boy from the Renegades. The Seer He later piloted the shuttle Resolute into orbit to allow the testing of Nick's new railgun. Ring of Fire Along with Turbo, Nick and A.J. he discovered that the Renegades' proposed peace talks in Vienna were merely a sham to entrap the Guardians and UNECOM, helping foil the planned attack. Pacific Overtures Matt attended Doctor Hyashi's demonstration of her cloned dinosaurs. He later suggested using sleeping gas serendipitously discovered around the same time by Nick and A.J. as a solution to Eiji Tsuburaya's mutated versions of said dinosaurs going on a Renegade-controlled rampage around Tokyo. However, Tsuburaya delivered the gas himself in order to salvage his honour. Matt later delivered a pompous speech about respecting mother nature while standing six feet away from a cloned dinosaur. Destroy All Guardians

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The Guardians were able to capture Cy-Kill and imprison him on Elba, but he was able to sway Royal-T and Street Heat to his side once there. After the pair cut off an attempt by Heat Seeker and Van Guard to send a distress call a suspicious Leader-1 sent Turbo, Spay-C, Hans-Cuff and apparent defectors Fitor and Geeper-Creeper to check it out. Predictably Fitor and Geeper-Creeper turned on them once they reached Elba, with Hans-Cuff and Spay-C taken hostage and Turbo imprisoned on Elba with Van Guard and Heat Seeker. However, Matt had stayed hidden inside Turbo and released the trio, who were able to foil Cy-Kill's plans - though the Guardians' celebrations were cut short when Turbo belatedly realised he'd left Matt on Elba. Escape from Elba When Fitor led an attack on a UNECOM surveillance station with Bad Boy, Stinger and Stallion, Matt joined the kids and Anya in defending the base until the Guardians arrived. The defence was so successful that Fitor himself ended up captured, though the Renegades then kidnapped the humans in response, leading to an exchange of prisoners Fitor to the Finish Along with A.J., Matt was shrunk by Doctor Aeolis as part of the demonstration of his condenser, though he escaped a similar fate when the rest of Earth's population was captured when the Renegades used the device. Instead Matt, Nick, A.J. and Aeolis were able to stay at large in the Command Center and eventually overthrow Cy-Kill, who had used the hostages to set himself up as Overlord of GoBotron. Clutch of Doom

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When Zero usurped command of the Renegades he targeted Matt, Nick and A.J. and sent Stretch to capture them; they were able to evade the Renegade so Zero settled for taking Turbo prisoner instead. The trio attended the subsequent handover on Dengon Beta, where Leader-1 had to head down by himself while Cy-Kill was doing the same for Crasher. After Scooter and A.J. followed Leader-1 down and realised Tank was also present, Dozer and Matt went down to help. The Third Column He tried to help the Guardians and UNECOM counter the evil Leader-1 after Cy-Kill switched his Power Suit with a controlling exo-suit, helping capture the rogue Guardian and later assisting Scooter and the kids in overpowering Doctor Go before wiping military secrets from the scientist's mind. A New Suit for Leader-1 When the psychic Mira Shaw was working with UNECOM Matt became protective of her, though he was unable to stop Block Head from kidnapping her and taking her to the Renegades' carnival base. There he was knocked out by their ally Wheeling and captured. However, Scooter was able to cause a distraction, allowing Matt to take Wheeling out and help free Mira. Renegade Carnival Matt was attending a security conference when his friends first encountered the alien Alaric. Cy-Kill had taken the visitor's staff and Matt regained it, exposing himself to one of Cy-Kill's blasts in the process. His wounds seemed mortal but the compassion shown by his friends convinced Alaric to use some of his remaining powers to save Matt's life. The Gift He was later present at UNECOM's Deep Sea Platform when it was attacked by Tinotchka. The Last Magic Man

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When Roguestar continued to give the Guardians trouble Matt suggested they free Braxis from a mental hospital to devise a way to counter the Renegade flagship. Matt collected him personally, and even though Braxis was considerably more unstable than most had anticipated the plan was initially successful. However, the plan was complicated when Matt and Professor Von Joy lost track of him, nearly leading to Braxis destroying UNECOM Headquarters with an energy transducer before everyone admitted it was probably return Braxis to his institution. Braxis Gone Bonkers Matt was then stationed at a secret UNECOM facility awaiting the delivery of the Professor's Element X when they came under attack from the misinformed Princess Astral, who believed the Guardians were hoarding crylinium at the lab; thankfully Small Foot and Leader-1 were able to persuade her otherwise. Element of Danger Matt later accompanied Doctor Janus and Lois Ransom on a preliminary expedition to Atlantis. While Matt and Lois soon hit it off famously, he noted Janus was acting strangely - the doctor was in fact working with the Renegades, hoping to use the Amulet of Power to open the Crypt of Dreams and unleash numerous monsters. One of these buried Matt, Nick, A.J., Lois, Turbo and Leader-1 under rock and ice until Scooter and Tork were able to free them and the Renegades were driven off. When Janus saw the error of his way Matt said he could lead a full UNECOM expedition to Atlantis, prompting Lois to grapple with Matt in delight. Terror in Atlantis He later piloted a shuttle to the new joint UNECOM/Guardian Star Fortress. However, they were captured by Cy-Kill and a mesmerised Matt was forced to feed false information to the Guardians onboard, then left him for dead on the shuttle. Turbo revived him just in time; while the station was terminally damaged by loose quantumite Matt was able to successfully evacuate all the personnel. The Secret of Halley's Comet Matt was at the GoBotron Fortress when Solitaire and Nuggit arrived from Cordax; when the Renegades infiltrated the Fortress he went for help on Scooter and later travelled to Cordax to help defeat Magmar's plan to get hold of the Ultra-Scepter. Battle of the Rock Lords

Mini World Books[edit | edit source]

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Matt was a high-ranking officer in the ASC, working closely with A.J. Foster 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 He was out on patrol in Dumper and thus able to prevent Crasher running over several scientists. The Renegades then tried to divert Halley's Comet into colliding with Earth, but Matt was able to fly up in Spay-C and return it to its' normal course. Collision Course Comet The Renegades' next 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 After Matt and Turbo thwarted a raid on a power station by Geeper-Creeper, Cy-Kill and Braxis tried to use the Wagner Sirens to destroy the ASC. Matt was able to muffle the circuits of Turbo and Road Ranger so they could get close enough to take out the Renegades. The Wagner Sirens

Robo Machine featuring Challenge of the GoBots annuals[edit | edit source]

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Matt and Nick were transporting sorium in Road Ranger when Braxis and the Renegades tried to trap them on a bridge. However, they were actually the bait in a Guardian trap and the Renegades should be attacked by the Command Centre - though the Guardian ship has unfortunately been sent back in time. Matt and Road Ranger were then forced to keep the bad guys busy until their comrades finally arrived. The Rescue of Road Ranger He later helped thwart Cy-Kill's plans to use magna worms to destroy the Guardians, The Rumbling Jungle and thwarted an attempt to kidnap Anya The Aliens Steal a Scientist He was abducted to GoBotron along with Nick and A.J., where Baron Von Joy and Psycho were going to frame them as killers of key Guardians, but they were rescued by Turbo. By Astrobeam to GoBotron Matt later helped find a reversal key to counter Braxis' reversal key Battle of the Beams and prevent the Renegades from releasing Exploding Toads all over Earth. The Exploding Toads of Primus During a large battle with the Renegades, Matt helped Nick fix up Guardian casualties but the group were captured by the Renegades before an overcharged, gigantic Scooter chased the bad guys away. Scooter Strides Out

Matt, Nick and A.J. were on their way back from seeing Oklahoma Smith and the Temple of Gloom at the cinema when they saw a bank robbery. Matt and Nick tried to intervene but were stopped by a forcefield; the robbers were using tech supplied by Braxis and the Renegades. Behind all this is a plan to purchase Silvermoon Mine, but by the time the full Guardian force was assembled the Renegades had abandoned the base. The Secret of Silvermoon Mine He later helped Hans-Cuff search the nearby area The Monsters and Mister Grogan} and worked to prevent capture of the freighter Global Trader. Captain Clegg's Dream Along with Scooter, Matt travelled to GoBotron on Spay-C to pick up the new Battle Suit, designed by Professor Von Joy. On the way back they were ambushed by Cy-Kill and the Enemy Invaders, but Matt used the new weapon to help them escape. The Professor's New Baby Later he helped in the rescue of Anya and Brigadier Boris Bulkanikov The Capture of Comrade Boris and in helping break the Renegades' hold on an ungrateful Walter Wilson. Walter Wilson's Millions He then helped co-ordinate the Guardian response to Cy-Kill's huge Renegade army on Mauna Mauna, which the Guardians ultimately defeated. The Battle at the End of the Earth

GoBots Magazine[edit | edit source]

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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! He was present after Scooter used a giant magnet to repulse the Renegades into space Scooter's Mighty Magnet and when the Guardians caught the Renegades stealing ultium from Sarkofony. The Wrath of the Mountain

Go-Bots comic[edit | edit source]

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Matt Hunter was one of the leading stars of Go-Bot racing, though his partner Turbo seemed to think that he deserved most of the credit. As Go-Bot racing was a huge sport he lived a playboy lifestyle and was something of a celebrity. Matt's fame was such that he was head-hunted by T. Coriander Banks to join his GoBot fighting sport, which he believed was the future of sport. Matt and Turbo watched Cy-Kill brutally dispatch an opponent and walked away disgusted. However, Cy-Kill tried to prevent them leaving; Turbo intervened, holding the rogue Go-Bot off before escaping with Matt. When they returned with the police the next day they found evidence that both Go-Bots and humans had been killed at Banks' arena. However, before they could investigate further Cy-Kill led his Renegade Go-Bots in an uprising against humanity.Issue 1 Turbo stuck with Matt and the pair soon met Scooter and A.J. The two humans discussed their next move but Matt felt they should leave it to the authorities. However, they were then chased by a pair of police Go-Bots; while they were able to trick them into driving off a bridge it showed Matt that the uprising was much more widespread than he thought. The group went to Tonka to see if the Go-Bot company could help but the only man they met was of little help. Instead Matt began improvising Molotov cocktails to fight the rogue Go-Bots. They then found Banks, left hanging on power cables with mortal injuries by Stretch; before he dies he confesses his part in the uprising, tweaking the aggression levels of Cy-Kill and his other fighters. They then tried to fight Stretch and the other Renegades; however, Turbo was pummelled into the ground, with Matt and A.J. forced to watch Crasher and Cy-Kill bully Scooter. The pair of humans then ran for cover as the military Go-Bot Leader-1 arrived with an army of his own followers to face Cy-Kill. Leader-1 and Cy-Kill fought bitterly, with the former winning out. Matt and Turbo watched as Leader-1 was asked whether his next move would be to restore the old order or lead the Go-Bots on to the capitol.Issue 2 What precisely happened to Matt after this is unknown. However, after Zod had been defeated and Turbo was satisfied that both the human and Go-Bot races were in good hands and he could finally get some rest he thought fondly of Matt and A.J.Issue 5

Notes[edit | edit source]

  • The original mini-series seemed to set Anya up as both a regular and a romantic foil for Matt but she only made a handful of appearances in the regular series, with her relationship to Matt not referenced again.
  • The introduction to the 1986 annual describes Matt as being "in his thirties", which given the nature of the book is likely taken from the series bible.