Rambo: The Force of Freedom is an action, adventure, family animated television series produced by Ruby-Spears Enterprises. The animated television series was based on the character, John Rambo, from David Morrell’s 1972 fictional novel First Blood. The animated television series premiered on April 14, 1986. Initially, it was a five-part miniseries that later spun off to a full television series on September 15, 1986. Although the show was short-lived, 65 episodes make up its first and what turned out to be its only season. Michael Chain and Jack Bornoff wrote this exceptional cartoon. Meanwhile, John Kimball and Charles Nichols directed it.
What was the plot?
Rambo: The Force of Freedom depicts John Rambo as the leader of a covert special force unit called The Force of Freedom. They fight against the evil group, S.A.V.A.G.E., which stands for Specialist – Administrators of Vengeance, Anarchy, and Global Extortion. This group is set on world domination. The television series shows Rambo as a survival training instructor for children. Otherwise, he tends to animals in his free time until his commanding officer, Colonel Sam Trautman, summons him. In every episode, Colonel Sam Trautman comes with a new mission for John Rambo. So, his team thwarts the plans of General Warhawk and his S.A.V.A.G.E. team.
The protagonists of the show
The television series centers around the Force of Freedom, a covet special corps. This group consists of John Rambo as the leader of the unit. Then, there is Colonel Samuel “Sam” Trautman, the commanding officer of the group. Sometimes, he joins them on their missions. The group also consists of Edward “Turbo” Hayes, an African American mechanical engineer and fast cars driver. In addition, there is Katherine Anne “K.A.T.” Taylor, the master of disguises, martial arts, and gymnastics. She also has a huge crush on Rambo. There is also White Dragon, whose twin brother is a villain and a badass assassin with their notorious foe, S.A.V.A.G.E.
Moreover, the allies of Rambo who later join the Force of Freedom like T.D. “Touchdown” Jackson, a former football player. Another ally, Chief, a native American, had previously saved his friends from S.A.V.A.G.E. He also stopped them from burying stolen golds on his family burial ground.
Who were the antagonists?
The main antagonist of this television series is the group of villains called S.A.V.A.G.E. (Specialist – Administrator of Vengeance, Anarchy and Global Extortion.) This group’s primary goal is world domination and creating chaos. The group consists of General Warhawk, the fierce leader of S.A.V.A.G.E. with the charisma of Adolf Hitler. Then, there is Sergeant Havoc, General Warhawk’s second in command and top enforcer.
The group also consists of Gripper, a man characterized by an eyepatch and a metallic right hand. Nomad, the leader of a small group of thieves with no country to affiliate with, also is part of S.A.V.A.G.E. There is also Mad Dog, the leader of a biker gang with the logo of S.A.V.A.G.E. tattooed on his chest. Then, Black Dragon, the twin brother of Force of Freedom’s White Dragon is present. There is also Snakebite, a vicious human that keeps venomous snakes and insects as a pet, Dr. Hyde, a mad scientist whose weird helmet characterizes him. There are also one-shot members of S.A.V.A.G.E. like Admiral Nomak, Captain Scar, Count, Dr. Blackburn, Iron Mask, Mephisto, Mike Flynn, Mombo Igthayan, Pandora, and Rama.
Independence from the origins
Rambo: The Force of Freedom proved to be an almost independent work in some parts of its plot and storyline when compared to the original novel. Except for the last name, Rambo, the animated television series can boast of a complete overhaul of the storyline from the First Blood novel.
However, there are significant changes like Rambo being part of a group, unlike his notorious lone wolf act in the novel. Also, the cartoon completely averted his renowned Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (P.T.S.D.), making him seem like a normal super-soldier. Another noticeable difference was that the show never mentioned the Vietnam War, a pivotal setpiece of Rambo’s origin tale.
Finally, a noteworthy feature of the animated series was how he would only use violence as a last resort. Instead, he prides himself on his ability to outsmart his adversaries. John Rambo did not kill anybody, nor did he shoot anyone in this animated television series.
Similarities to other works
Cartoons from the ‘80s most usually have a habit of copying or replicating some parts of each other’s work. These similarities between works were also noticeable in Rambo: The Force of Freedom being in close resemblance to some parts of G.I Joe: A Real American Hero. First, there was Rambo’s team. While David Morrel’s novel depicted Rambo as a loner, the animated show now has a team of super-soldiers, who are also a covert government special force unit with the sole purpose of stopping a criminal organization, closely related to the G.I. Joes. There was also the evil group S.A.V.A.G.E. who wanted to conquer and dominate the world, in close resemblance to Cobra from the G.I Joe.
References to real-life issues and locations
It is not a new thing to see cartoons addressing real-life issues like war, bad governance, or even natural disasters. Some animated shows covertly depict this, while some shows express them as some comedic expression. Rambo: The Force of Freedom was an animated television series that touched real-life issues, and there were also references to real-life locations from the animated series. The show depicted the Rambo and the force of freedom fighting villains from fictional areas like Namboola, Tierra Libre, and Bagdinia. All these places could very much be related to real-life countries. There were also references to real-life cities like Las Vegas and Venice. Meanwhile, the show mentioned countries like England and Haiti.
The toys of The Force of Freedom
Much like most of the animated television series produced in the 80s, Rambo: The Force of Freedom spawned a phenomenally successful toy line. C.O.L.E.C.O. made the toy line, and it ran from 1986 to 1987, making it outlast the animated series it was based upon.
Coleco produced 6 and a half inches tall and fully articulated action figures of The Force of Freedom group ranging from John Rambo to Colonel Sam Trautman to K.A.T. to White Dragon and General Warhawk and his evil S.A.V.A.G.E. colleagues like Sergeant Havoc, Black Dragon, Gripper, Mad Dog, and Nomad. Also, Coleco produced replicas of weapons like 50 caliber anti-aircraft guns, twin-mounted 7.62mm machine guns, 20mm automatic cannons, 50 caliber machine guns, 81mm mortal, 106mm rifles, and tri-tracker heat-seeking missile launchers. Coleco also produced replicas of vehicles like the defender 6X6 assault vehicles, Skyfire assault copters, and skywolf assault jets. There were also playsets produced like the S.A.V.A.G.E. strike cycle and the S.A.V.A.G.E. strike headquarters, all based on Rambo: The Force of Freedom. The toys were remarkably successful, and many figures sold worldwide.
Controversies
The First Blood was a weird novel to be adapted for kids and early teenage animated series because of the violence contained in the work, but Rambo: The Force of Freedom was the first successful animated adaption of an R-rated for children’s television programming. Although the show toned down the violence, hand-to-hand combat and a lot of gunfire filled the run time. Still, nobody was seriously injured, and nobody died in the television show. All these changes occurred to achieve the standards of the Federation Communications Commission (F.C.C.) decency standards.
The animated television series also taught moral lessons in every episode, but all these guidelines proved abortive as Rambo: The Force of Freedom did not receive approval for a second season. Although Micheal Chain later denied it, there were talks that the crew consulted a child therapist during the production of Rambo: The Force of Freedom to help figure out the extents the animated series can go to make it suitable for children and early teenagers.
In conclusion
Rambo: The Force of Freedom had a short life span, running from the 15th of September to the 26th of December 1986. During that brief time, the animated television series managed to produce 65 episodes. Rambo: The Force of Freedom was an exceptional cartoon since it was successful as the first animated television series based on an R-rated movie and novel. The production team did amazing work in transforming the John Rambo character and in toning down the violence displayed in the television series. The animated show can also claim credits for the success of the Rambo: Force of Freedom toy line, which was an amazingly successful product that even outlived the animated series.
The 1986 Rambo: The Force of Freedom was a memorable cartoon for kids and early teenagers in the 80s, giving them their adaptation of 1972 David Morrell’s masterpiece creation and a wonderful toy line to go with it.
About the author
Author: Chris Ingledue
Contact: email
Bio: I am the founder and owner of Wheeljack’s Lab pop Culture and Toy Shop. My vision has always been to reunite customers with their favorite childhood toys and pop culture, triggering fond memories, and reigniting their imaginations. Every day, I work in the “lab” where it’s Christmas 365 days a year. I scour the internet, like when we had the Sears Catalog of yesteryear, for the next great treasure. Then, I await the arrival of the postman as if he were Santa Claus himself and helping collectors worldwide with their own versions of Christmas. Every day as a vintage toy buyer is an absolute joy!