New Astro Boy movie encourages stereotype of the celibate scientist

(Disclaimer—Other than a brief trailer, my only knowledge of Astro Boy comes from Freakazoid references, so much of the content of this post could be completely erroneous, but we’ll still have fun with it.)

It’s not like a big brain doesn’t attract the ladies, right? Looking at some of the modern prominent scientific personas in entertainment would suggest otherwise. From time to time the Simpsons’ Prof. Frink has his moments, but for the most part, clichéd scientists with all that neurological ammo can’t catch a break.

Catching a glimpse of a teaser trailer for the new Astro Boy movie, I was left with the impression that the man who creates Astro Boy does so in order that he may have some object, some person, NAY, some Astro Boy! to be the recipient of his affection. I have no problem with the sincerity shared between the two (artificial intelligence is another post for another time), but it seems that the scientist creates Astro Boy in order to fulfill a role in his life normally held by a wife. Why couldn’t he have a wife? Have the toils and musings of experimental endeavors introverted him to the proverbial point of no return?

Sugar, spice, and everything nice. These were the ingredients chosen to create the perfect little girls, but Prof. Utonium accidentally added an extra ingredient. No, it wasn’t an X chromosome. Prof. U was one of the many victims of my childhood that suffered from the single scientist syndrome. It’s not like he didn’t enjoy raising three wonderful little crime fighters, but all those slumber parties and pre-school dramas surely put a dent into his research (we can only assume it deal with some obscure branch of genetics).

Batman, G.I. Joe, Spiderman, and Kim Possible, among others, have provided us with the picture of the villainous, mad scientist. He has become overtaken by the desire to see the realization of his research. Much like Saruman tells Gandalf in the LOTR, the ends justifies the means by any cost. This mad pursuit could possibly be avoided by substituting the potential that the scientist seeks with something to bring his focus and satisfaction into the present. Maybe a snuggie.

Whatever the case is, speculation could offer valuable insight and prompt a reevaluation of the true nature of the “mad” scientist. Perhaps “mad” is synonymous with “lacks outlet for sensual tension”.