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| Type | Two-player game |
|---|---|
| Invented by | Marvin Glass and Associates |
| Company | Louis Marx & Co. |
| Country | United States |
| Availability | 1964–present |
| Materials | Plastic |
Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots is a two-player actiontoy andgame designed byMarvin Glass and Associates and was first manufactured by theMarx toy company in 1964.[1] It features twoduelingrobotboxers, Red Rocker and Blue Bomber, mechanically manipulated by the players, and the game is won when one player knocks the opposing robot's head up and off the shoulders. The 2000s version of the game byMattel features physically smaller robots.
A film based on the game has been announced to be in development byUniversal Pictures.[2]
Each player takes control of one of the two robots: Red Rocker and Blue Bomber, both of which are standing on a platform molded in bright yellow high-impactpolystyrene plastic, representing aboxing ring. By pushing plunger buttons on a pair ofjoysticks at the base of the platform, players make their robot punch at their opponent's robot. If a robot'shead is hit with sufficient force at a suitable angle, the head will overextend away from the shoulders, signifying that the other player has won the round. The losing player then pushes the head back down to the shoulders to get ready for the next round.
From 1948, the International Mutoscope Corporation produced a coin-operatedarcade machine calledSilver Gloves featuring two players controlling the movement and arms of two boxing figures.[3][4] The boxing games appeared in arcades, using mannequins made of metal that would fall over if a player managed to hit the button on the chin of the opposing player's dummy.
Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots has enjoyed far-ranging success in the United States, selling in the hundreds of thousands and becoming something of a minor popular culture phenomenon. The game was developed for the Marx toy company by the renowned toy design firmMarvin Glass and Associates. After some development, Glass decided to cancel the project in 1963 following the death of boxerDavey Moore in the ring. Burt Meyer felt that the toy was too good to go to waste, and suggested that they "de-humanize" the characters, making them robots which fall apart, rather than humanoid figures who fall over.[5]
Text on the box suggested an outer-space backstory for the two robots. The red boxer is "the rollicking Red Rocker" from Soltarus II, and weighs in 375 pounds. The blue opponent, the "beautiful Blue Bomber, pride of Umgluck", weighs in at 382 pounds.[6]
The toy first became available to retailers during the 1964 season.[7] Marx produced the action set, virtually unchanged, for well over a decade, until the packaging and characters were updated for the 1977 sales season with a more overt outer-space theme to make it appeal more to buyers looking for space toys following the release of the movie blockbusterStar Wars.
The game was available in the United Kingdom during the 1970s, where it was sold under the nameRaving Bonkers. The two robots were renamed, with the "Blue Bomber" becoming "Basher Bonker" and the "Red Rocker" becoming "Biffer Bonker".
Marx Toys also released an updated version ofRock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots calledClash of the Cosmic Robots in 1977. It featured robots of a design more suitable for theSpace Age. The redesign was inspired by the success of the filmStar Wars, released that May. Instead of a red robot and a blue robot,Clash of the Cosmic Robots featured PROG-2, an orange robot with a head more like that ofRoboCop, and V-STYX, a white robot with a long, protruding mouth (but no eyes). The boxing ring was molded in black to give the game a look reminiscent ofouter space. Stickers and decals (for both the robots and the ring) were provided, following the same concept.
For a period of time in the mid-1990s the blue robot was changed to a darker shade of blue and given the old PROG-2 head. The red robot was changed to a grey color (though the instructions referred to him as "silver"), but retained his classic head. Their respective names were changed to "Bolt Crusher Bob" and "Gear Grinder Greg". As inClash of the Cosmic Robots, stickers and decals were provided for additional design. Aside from the cosmetic changes, the game remained the same.
There have been many variations of the toy, such as theTransformers version, in which the two robots areOptimus Prime andMegatron.
In 2000, a remake of the classic version was developed by Mattel—at approximately half the size of the original model. In addition, an action figure line, aPlayStation game, electronic handhelds, a head-to-head plug and play and bobble head dolls have been recently introduced. The PlayStation game wasRock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots Arena, published by Mattel Interactive, and was developed by Paradox Development using their successful game engine from the completed, but cancelled,Thrill Kill video game. The video game and action figure lines represented a newer, updated version of the robots, whereas the reissued game and licensed products were all based on the original Red Rocker and Blue Bomber characters.
A Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robotsplayset cameos in the 1999Disney/Pixaranimated filmToy Story 2, being owned by the film's main antagonistAl McWhiggin.Slinky Dog enquires with them if they've seen "a cowboy doll with a bad arm" (Woody), but when Blue Bomber responds Red Rocker starts arguing with him. Both fight until Blue Bomber defeats Red Rocker. The Blue Bomber is voiced by the film's director,John Lasseter, and the Red Rocker one of the co-directors,Lee Unkrich. They also appeared at the72nd Academy Awards alongside theToy Story cast presenting theAcademy Award for Best Animated Short Film.
They also appeared as acameo in the 2004 Disney/Pixar animated filmThe Incredibles, where the Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots appeared inMr. Incredible's room.
InRobots, a poster for a movie about the robots is displayed in a young Rodney's room.
The robots are used inCharlie and the Chocolate Factory during theOompa Loompas' musical number about Mike Teevee in the TV room atWilly Wonka's factory.
The robots appeared inThe Simpsons episode, "Simpson Tide"Homer Simpson imagines that he is playing with a Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots.
The robots appeared in theFuturama episode "A Fishful of Dollars", where they are among the 20th century items purchased byFry at an auction.Bender plays with them, initially thinking they are cute, but when Blue Bomber's head is knocked off, he freaks out.
They appeared as avideo game arcade in manyDave & Buster's locations when it debuted and opened on December 26, 2016.
In 2006,Full Fat developed aGame Boy Advance game based on the toy. In the video game, more robots were introduced, including the "Orange Oppressor", the "Yellow Yahoo", the "Green Grappler", the "Purple Pyro", the "Pink Pummeller", the "Brown Bully", the "Silver Stretcher" and the "Black Bruiser".
Near the end of the adventure video gameSpace Quest III, the player character Roger Wilco and the main antagonist Elmo Pug fight each other with gigantic Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots. Roger Wilco has a grey robot while Elmo Pug has a red one.
On April 19, 2021,Mattel Films teamed up withUniversal Pictures andVin Diesel'sOne Race Films for a live-action film adaptation of the 1966-launched toy of the same name; starring Diesel himself.[8][9][10]
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