- NOTE: This article is about Voltes V: Legacy character. For the original character from the 1977 anime, see Kenichi Goh
| “ | Eva...you better be telling the truth. | „ |
| ~ Steve when Eva denies trying to murder Jamie |
Steve Armstrong is the main protagonist of GMA Network's action science fantasy series Voltes V: Legacy. He is based on Kenichi Goh from the original anime. However, his characterization differs widely from his 70's counterpart.
He was portrayed by Miguel Tanfelix.
Biography[]
Steve, Bert and Jon are the children of Ned and Mary Ann Collins Armstrong. Unbeknowst the three boys, Ned was harbouring a dark secret. Ned's real name was Hrothgar, and he was actually an alien from the Planet Boazan.
Ned was born as the son of the Emperor's little brother, but he was born without horns, which were considered an anomly in Boazania. Only those with horns were allowed to be nobles, while those without them were subject to extreme cruelty and treated as slaves. To make sure he didn't live a life of slavery, Hrothgar's parents fashioned for him a pair of fake horns. Hrothgar lived amongst the nobled, and because of his skill in technology and invention, the Emperor chose Hrothgar as his succesor.
On the day of his coronation, Hrothgar was exposed hornless by his jealous and ambitious cousin Zambojil. Zambojil's minions had tortured doctor that delivered him into admitting his Hornless status. Hrothgar was booed by the crowd, and then forced to work as a slave. Branded a traitor, he was told by Zambojil that his wife, Rozalia, and their newborn child were dead. In actuality, Rozalia died in childbirth, while the newborn child, Zardoz, was raised by Zambojil.
Hrothgar managed to escape to Earth, with the knowledge that Emperor Zambojil will set his sights to Earth. His ship crashed and he was found by Mary Ann Collins Armstrong. She learned of his story and fell in love with him. He adopted the name "Ned Armstrong" on Earth. While many people didn't believe Ned Armstrong's warning, Dr. Richard Smith, Mary Ann and General Robinson did, and together they set up Camp Big Falcon.
Ned/Hrothgar and Mary would go on to have three children, Steve, Bert and John. Hrothgar created the robot Voltes V because he knew the Boazanians would invade, and wanted a way for Earth to defend itself. He returned to Boazania to convince Zambojil not to invade the planet. This didn't work, but he managed to escape arrest and flee to Earth where he would manage the Mechanical Eagle. Mary and Richard believed Ned/Hrothgar was dead as he never came back, so they began training pilots at Camp Big Falcon to join the Voltes team. Apart from training Steve and Bert, Dr. Smith also oversaw the training of other pilots including Mark Gordon, Jamie Robinson, Eva Sanchez, PJ Santiago, Ally Chan and Tomas del Rosario. Jon Armstrong wanted to join them, but due to his age, he was rejected as a potential candidate.
When the Boazanians inevitably invaded, with Hrothgar/Ned's son Zardoz leading the invasion, Steve, Bert, Jon, Mark and Jamie were the only available pilots and working together, managed to repel their Beast Fighter from the Earth. As a result they became permanent members of the Voltes team.
Shortly after he became a pilot, Mary Ann died protecting the Voltes team from Baizanga. This broke the hearts of the three boys even further, with their father missing and their mother killed in front of them.
In combat, each member of the Voltes team was assigned a different unit - Steve piloted the Volt Cruiser, Bert piloted the Volt Panzer, Jamie piloted the Volt Lander, Jon piloted the Volt Frigate and Mark piloted the Volt Bomber. These vehicles would combine to form Voltes V. Dr. Richard Smith would guide them in battle, instructing them on how to defeat the Boazanian's Beast Fighters. Unfortunately, he died when the Boazanians sent a fake robot Ned to Camp Big Falcon, who choked Smith by the neck and stabbed him. Steve mourned the loss of Dr. Smith.
After he died, he was replaced by Dr. Hook as Camp Big Falcon's lead scientist, though his style was radically different from Smith's.
Zardoz hosts multiple plots to defeat Voltes V through beast fighters, but all these plans fail, and as a result he is frequently mocked by his uncle and members of his court. He often takes his frustrations out on his aides, Zandra, Draco and Zuhl. While Draco and Zuhl are punished, Zardoz doesn't punish Zandra, because he is in love with her and they even sleep together.
Zardoz at one point tries to find out the identities of the Voltes V pilots through a spy named Judalah; unfortunately she betrays him for the Voltes team after falling in love with Bert Armstrong. She tries to unsuccessfully assassinate Zardoz before escaping his ship.
Many Big Falcon cadets notice that Steve is starting to show signs of a crush on Jamie Robinson. This made Steve's ex girlfriend Eva Sanchez jealous, and as a result she decided to make Jamie's life on Big Falcon hell, from occasionally bullying her to going to extreme lengths and destroying her room and everything in it. Mark and Steve helped clean it up. When Jamie confronted Eva, the two had a fight before it was broken up by Mark.
Eva attempted to have Jamie killed by convincing Apable to assassinate her (threatening to out Apable as a spy for a Defense Contract Supplier if he didn't). Apable managed to spike a drink and have Jamie rendered unconscious, but before he could kill her, Steve and Mark managed to save her. Though her father, Commander Oscar Robinson, swore revenge on whoever set it up, no one found out that Eva was behind this plot.
Mark also has a crush on Jamie and makes it known many times. He frequently flirts with her (like his anime counterpart, Ippei) and brings her gifts, and even plans elaborate proposals for her. He learned Japanese cooking because he knows Jamie loves Japanese dishes, surprising her with it. Steve walks in Jamie's room and sees this, which makes him feel awkward and he apologizes and leaves. Mark and Jamie later become a couple, which breaks Steve's heart.
Zardoz then decides to send himself as a spy under the name "Manuel Nobaz" to Big Falcon and presents himself as a victim of drowning on the coast of Big Falcon island. Jon discovers him and takes him to Big Falcon's hospital quarters. Jon, Steve and Bert show concern for Zardoz, and Zardoz reacts by acting sweet and befriending Jon, while secretly planning to sabotage the entire base. Thanks to taking samples from human DNA, the Polseras device ensures that Big Falcon's scanners don't recognize him as a Boazanian.
He works on gaining the brothers' trust, playing with them and giving Steve advice, though Steve rejects it. After gaining sufficient knowledge, Zardoz announces that he must now go home. The brothers are hurt to see him go and tell him they will miss him. As he is leaving, Bert puts an arm on his shoulder, and Steve shakes his hand. Jon pulls Zardoz in a tight hug and gifts him a toy battleship as a token of their friendship, as ships are a personal passion of his. Zardoz accepts the gift and leaves the base. Due to the the threat of Boazanian beast fighters, Zardoz is accompanied by a few Big Falcon personnel as he walks home for safety purposes.
When Zardoz reaches Skullrook, he snaps the neck of a Big Falcon personnel and has his men shoot the remaining ones. After he sheds his disguise as Manuel, he crows about the stupidity of humans and how easy it was to trick them. He also mocks the members of Big Falcon for being "vulnerable", and out of spite, crushes the toy battleship Jon gifted him with his foot. Once again berated by his uncle for failing to stop Voltes V, Zardoz promises to ruin them in his next attack.
Zuhl sets up a trick to have the Voltes team transported to the Skull Ship. Once Steve realizes Manuel was Zardoz all along, he is humiliated and filled with rage. While the team manage to eventually escape, from that day onwards Steve bears a burning hatred for Zardoz.
Zandra is hurt by the idea that Zardoz prefers Zambojil's new aide, Oslak to her and pilots a ship on her own, hoping to prove her worth to Zardoz. She discovers Steve, lands the ship, and tries to kill him. However, Steve has the upper hand in the fight and is about to kill her when Zardoz (who learned of Zandra's rogue behaviour) intervenes and challenges Steve to a fight. Steve and Zardoz duelled at a playground, and Steve proclaimed that he was going to kill him (while Kenichi told Heinel that he was carrying the will of millions of Earthlings) and stabbed him with the dagger Rozalia gifted him. Zardoz's guards then arrived and shot at Steve until he ran away. Back at the Skull Ship, Zardoz yells at Zandra for causing the situation.
One day, while Jamie is asleep, Steve finally confesses his love to her. Unbeknownst to him, Jamie was awake, and demands he explain himself. Steve, knowing he's been caught, tells her the truth - that he was in love with her but unwilling to act on it. He tells her he loves her, but Jamie says that she cannot be with someone unwilling to tell her he loves her and that she is with Mark now. Steve accepts this even though it hurts him. Steve admits he told Jamie he liked her. Enraged, Mark punches Steve and the two brawl back and forth until Big Bert breaks it up.
Realizing that Jamie still has feelings for Steve, Mark breaks up with her. Not wanting his heart to be broken again, he tells her they are now teammates working professionally. Jamie is ashamed for using Mark to spite Eva since she only announced they were dating because Eva kept making her jealous by making moves on Steve.
Later, as Mark is walking down the halls of Big Falcon, Eva approches him and insists they should do a double date with her and Steve, joined by him and Jamie. Mark replies that him and Jamie have broken up and when Eva asks why, he tells her to ask Steve. Eva then witnesses Jamie call Steve a coward for not being upfront about his feelings.
Oslak uses his mind control device on Jamie by leaving the ring on the beach while she's collecting seashells. Jamie, under his control, steals a rover and attacks several Big Falcon guards, while killing the ones protecting her father, Commander Oscar Robinson. She tries to kill her father but he has her in lock and removes the ring. Once Oslak finds out his plan failed, he shoots Commander Oscar Robinson. Jamie cries and begs for Steve to call an ambulance but Steve tells her it is hopeless since he doesn't have a pulse anymore. Jamie temporarily has to use a wheelchair, but is able to walk the next day, and read the letter her father prepared for her in case she died.
Steve hugging Jamie in the hospital
With Commander Robinson out of the way, Eva feels like she has a chance to finally get rid of Jamie once and for all. She disguises herself and ambushes Jamie, shooting her. Jamie survives and is taken to the hospital quarters of Camp Big Falcon.
Jamie is injured so badly she can no longer fight. Steve is heavily concerned for her sake and once he sees her awake on the hospital bed, he hugs her tightly. While she's passed out, Steve reiterates his love for her. Eva overhears this and becomes bitter, once again angry that Steve loves someone else.
Steve confronts Eva
Later, Steve apprehends Eva, suspecting that Eva attempted to kill Jamie. His usually-calm demeanor turns serious as he threatens her with consequences if she was the culprit behind Jamie's attempted murder. He brings up the fact that Eva hates Jamie, but Eva lies and says they are on good terms. Eva refuses to admit the truth, and re-affirms that she thinks that she belongs in the Voltes team. She insists that she should take Jamie's place, and then angrily yells at him for breaking her heart, amongst other things.
Due to Jamie needing to rest, Eva tries to replace Jamie alongside Steve, Mark and Bert (Jon is forcibly kidnapped by Takeo and Arisa). However, the team chooses Jamie over her, and they proceed to look for him. Steve, Mark, Bert and Jamie then fall into a trap set up by the Boazanians. The trap leads them to a stage constructed by Marquise Zaki. Bert realizes that the stage has a force field around it, meaning they can't escape. Feeling hopeless, Mark angrily insults Jon and blames him for being kidnapped. Steve angrily retorts that it isn't his fault, but Mark repeats his claim that the Armstrong brothers are magnets for misfortune. Steve then tries to hit Mark, but Jamie intervenes, only to get injured in the process by Steve, causing her to fall. Both boys are horrified and apologize to her, feeling ashamed. Jamie scolds them both, reminding them that she's just been discharged from the hospital and forced herself out of the ward to save Jon. The four then hear laughter, coming from none other than Marquise Zaki. She calls their fight entertaining.
The four begin attacking Zaki's guards, but when Steve turns a gun on Zaki, she threatens Jon by holding a knife to his neck. Steve, Bert and Jamie surrender and drop their weapons but Mark refuses. Mark loads his gun anyway, pointing it at Zaki despite her pressing the knife further, until Steve wrestles the gun out of his hands. Zaki then releases Jon and he reunites with the Voltes team.
Zaki and her guards then lead the four into another room, where they are observed by Horned Boazanian nobles. Zaki announces that they are to spar with Takeo and Arisa for their entertainment. The Voltes team underestimate the twins, with Bert saying they're not Beast Fighters so they don't stand a chance. Before the fight, Takeo and Arisa ask the Voltes team of the fate of General Watson. Steve tells them that he's dead and he gave his life for the good Boazanian rebels. Takeo is dumbstruck, whispering to Arisa "Our adoptive father is gone....". Arisa, however, is skeptic and calls Steve a liar. Marquise Zaki chides them for talking and says that they must send two fighters from their team to battle Takeo and Arisa one-on-one. Jamie says that she will fight Arisa, and Bert decides to fight Takeo.
Meanwhile, Prince Zardoz asks Zandra and Draco where Marquise Zaki has gone. They both say they don't have any idea. Zardoz expresses frustration at the fact that when his uncle sent him aides, both disappeared suddenly - first General Oslak, and now Marquise Zaki. However, Draco was suspicious of Zaki and had a soldier tail her before she left. The soldier reveals to Draco, Zandra and Zardoz that Marquise Zaki is having the Voltes team battle Takeo and Arisa, which is directly against what Zardoz ordered. Zardoz finally loses faith in his uncle and accuses him of trying to replace his position. Takeo and Arisa lose the fight. However the Voltes team refuse to kill them (even though it's the tradition of Boazan duels). This touches their hearts and they change sides, helping the Voltes team escape.
Differences[]
- Steve is Filipino, Kenichi is Japanese.
- Kenichi didn't have any love interest. He viewed Megumi as a friend, and showed no interest in romance at any point in the show. However, Steve likes Jamie and used to date Eva.
- Kenichi was actually planned to have a love interest in the original draft of the Voltes V anime,. However, this was scrapped later on.
- Bert accuses Steve of not allowing himself to love after their mother's death. In the original anime, Kenichi was still a cheerful and kind-hearted boy after the death of Mitsuyō, not letting it bar him from treating the Boazanians humanely.
- Kenichi is hot-blooded and ready to stand up for himself, in contrast to Steve who often shies away from Jamie when he sees her talking to Mark and usually never calls out Eva's bad behaviour.
- Steve is vengeful over Mary Ann's death and wants to kill Zardoz to avenge her, as well as every other person who has fallen at the hands of the Boazanians. Kenichi, on the other hand, believed that those who kill are no better than the enemies (unless it is self-defense, such as the case of fighting Beast Knights). He admonished Ippei for trying to kill Jangal and was horrified when Jangal committed seppuku.
- Kenichi and Heinel duelled at a tundra. Initially, Heinel had the upper hand when he knocked out Kenichi's sword. However, Kenichi remembered what Daijiro taught him and slid across the ice, knocking down Heinel and grabbing his horns. This drove Heinel in a rage, because Kenichi dared to touch the horns of a Boazanian, and he angrily charged at Kenichi. The two fought again, but after their swords met, they passed out and fell into the sea. Katherine retrieved Heinel's body and fled from the scene. Later, Megumi called Kenichi back to the base to fight the Beast Knight. In comparision, Steve and Zardoz duelled at a playground, and Steve proclaimed that he was going to kill him (while Kenichi told Heinel that he was carrying the will of millions of Earthlings) and stabbed him with the dagger Rozalia gifted him. Zardoz's guards then arrived and shot at Steve until he ran away.
- Kenichi and Ippei became friends after their rivarly. Steve and Mark still hate each other and this worsens when they realize they're both in love with Jamie, which builds up to a fistfight.
- Kenichi was respected by his teammates, but Steve is made fun of by Bert over his crush on Jamie and Mark frequently critisizes Steve's decision making.
- Kenichi often tells Heinel to stop the war, while Steve is ready to fight Zardoz.
Trivia[]
- In real life, Jamie's actress (Ortega) is dating Steve's actor (Tanfelix).
- Many fans heavily disliked Eva/Steve/Jamie's romance arc and openly criticized it. This caused one of the writers of Voltes V: Legacy, Suzette Doctolero, to snap back.[1][2]
Gallery[]
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Chōdenji Robo Combattler V Voltes V Tōshō Daimos Other Voltes V: Legacy | ||