Rankin/Bass · 1986 · The SilverHawks sister show

SILVERHAWKS

Partly metal, partly real.

In the year 2839, in the far Galaxy of Limbo, a squad of cyborg lawmen is sent to stop the crime lord Mon*Star. This is the complete guide to Rankin/Bass's boldest swing after SilverHawks.

Watch the clips Meet the squad Encyclopedia
The SilverHawks team lined up: Bluegrass, Steelwill, Steelheart, Quicksilver and the Copper Kidd
The squad, from the show's title sequence

The Story

A galaxy that needed a new kind of law

Before the first SilverHawks episode had even aired, Jules Bass was already sketching its successor. The idea, fleshed out by SilverHawks story editor Peter Lawrence, traded swords and sorcery for chrome and stars: a team of humans from the Federal Interplanetary Force who volunteer to have parts of their bodies replaced with machine, so they can survive the long journey to a galaxy a hundred light-years from Earth.

That galaxy is Limbo, and it has a problem named Mon*Star. A feline-bodied crime boss, he breaks out of Penal Planet 10, frees the worst criminals in the system, and builds a mob. Drawing the light of Limbo's Moon*Star through a transformation chamber, he turns himself into a spiked, armored monster wielding the crimson Light Star, then rides out on his space-squid Sky-Runner to take the galaxy apart.

Against him stand the SilverHawks, working out of the orbital station Hawk Haven under the old bionic lawman Commander Stargazer. They are "partly metal, partly real," and each one flies with a robotic Fighting Hawk at their side.

Moving pictures from Limbo

Clips

Short scenes lifted from the broadcast. Press play.

The full opening titles: partly metal, partly real
Mon*Star's transformation and Melodia's betrayal
The Great Galaxy Race begins
The Blue Door: the SilverHawks give chase
Stargazer's refit, and Mo-Lec-U-Lar strikes
A dogfight over the Limbo galaxy

Partly metal, partly real

The SilverHawks

Quicksilver Quicksilver in SilverHawk armor

Quicksilver

Capt. Jonathan Quick

Steel-haired leader of the team and the show's emblem. Quick reflexes, a level head, and the Fighting Hawk Tally-Hawk riding his shoulder.

Role
Field leader and tactician
Fighting Hawk
Tally-Hawk
Voice
Peter Newman
Read the full Quicksilver profile
Steelheart Steelheart in SilverHawk armor

Steelheart

Sgt. Emily Hart

One half of the Hart twins. An artificial heart and an empathic bond with her brother Steelwill; the team's engineer and second set of eyes.

Role
Technician
Fighting Hawk
Rayzor
Voice
Maggie Wheeler
Read the full Steelheart profile
Steelwill Steelwill in SilverHawk armor

Steelwill

Sgt. Will Hart

The muscle. Twin to Steelheart, sharing the artificial heart and the empathic link. When one twin is hurt, the other feels it.

Role
Strongman
Fighting Hawk
Stronghold
Voice
Bob McFadden
Read the full Steelwill profile
Bluegrass Bluegrass in SilverHawk armor

Bluegrass

Bluegrass

A country-singing cowboy who flies the team ship Maraj. The only active SilverHawk who cannot fly on his own; he fights with a sonic guitar and a lasso. Voiced by Lion-O himself, Larry Kenney.

Role
Pilot and second-in-command
Fighting Hawk
Side Man
Voice
Larry Kenney
Read the full Bluegrass profile
The Copper Kidd The Copper Kidd in SilverHawk armor

The Copper Kidd

Copper Kidd

The youngest hawk and the only non-Earthling, from the Planet of the Mimes. He speaks only in whistles and tones, throws razor discs, and out-calculates the ship's computers.

Role
Navigator and math genius
Fighting Hawk
May-Day
Voice
Pete Cannarozzi (effects)
Read the full The Copper Kidd profile
Commander Stargazer

Commander Stargazer

Stargazer

The bionic veteran lawman who recruited the team and runs operations from Hawk Haven. He has chased Mon*Star across the galaxy for a lifetime.

Role
Commander
Fighting Hawk
Sly-Bird
Voice
Bob McFadden
Read the full Commander Stargazer profile

Reinforcements arrived mid-season to seed a second wave of toys:

  • Hotwing. Magician whose mystic powers recharge every 14 years. Bird: Gyro.
  • Flashback. A time-traveling SilverHawk from the far future. Bird: Backlash.
  • Moon Stryker. Cyclone propellers and a marksman's aim. Bird: Tail-Spin.
  • Condor. A retired ally turned private eye, with an energy whip. Bird: Jet Stream.

Character files

SilverHawks Encyclopedia

Full profiles: who they were before the conversion, their Fighting Hawk, their place on the team, and the figures that followed. More of the roster lands as we write it.

Airshock

Mumbo Jumbo's transforming weapon bird, which converts between bird and mallet form.

Ambassador Dritt

The Triangulon emissary sent to sign the first-ever peace treaty between his race and Earth, kidnapped by the Mob to sabotage it.

Backlash

Flashback’s green Fighting Hawk, the only bird that travels through time with its owner.

 Bluegrass

Bluegrass

The pilot of the SilverHawks and second-in-command, who flies the team ship Maraj and fights with a sonic guitar. The only active SilverHawk who cannot fly on his own. Voiced by Larry Kenney.

Brigadier Brightlight

A high-ranking officer attached to Bedlama's defenses, listed alongside the Governor as the planet's leadership.

Buzz-Saw

A copper-shaded robot henchman with circular saw blades on his head, shoulders and arms, used as Mob muscle.

 Commander Stargazer

Commander Stargazer

The bionic veteran lawman who recruited the SilverHawks and runs operations from Hawk Haven. He has chased Mon*Star across the Galaxy of Limbo for a lifetime. Voiced by Bob McFadden.

Condor

A retired first-generation SilverHawk working as a private detective, recalled for the final stretch of the run.

Darkbird

A dark duplicate of Quicksilver built by Hardware to frame him and take the bank planet Dolare.

Dirty Larry

The garbage hauler and scrapyard operator whose identity Mo-Lec-U-Lar steals to intercept Stargazer's replacement parts.

Flashback

An experimental SilverHawk from the future who travels back to stop the squadron being killed.

General Rawlings

The Earth-side general who selects SilverHawk candidates and dispatches reinforcements at Stargazer's request.

Gotbucks

A security robot hired to test and command the bank planet's defenses, promptly abducted by the Mob.

Gyro

Hotwing’s gold and red Fighting Hawk, which spins and scatters laser fire the way its owner does.

Hardware

The Mob's inventor and weapons expert, source of nearly every device the SilverHawks fight.

Harry

The robot bartender of the Sini*Star Diner, the neutral-ground saloon where informants and criminals mix.

Hotwing

A stage magician recruited as the first reinforcement SilverHawk, whose powers run off a rechargeable mystical orb.

Junk

Dirty Larry’s robot dog, kept as a pet and a guard on Asteroid Trash.

Lord Cash

The banking magnate who runs the treasury planet and repeatedly calls in the SilverHawks to defend it.

Mabis

Professor Ghemakain’s assistant and a nurse with the Federal Interplanetary Force on Earth.

Mass-Produced Sky-Shadows

Copies of Mon*Star’s bat turned out in bulk on Automata, and the reason the Steel twins built the Fighting Hawks.

Mayday

The Copper Kidd’s Fighting Hawk, a copper-coloured sonic tracker built for finding things rather than fighting.

Melodia

The Mob's keytar-wielding gunner and the series' only recurring female villain.

Mo-Lec-U-Lar

The Mob's shapeshifting spy, a humanoid built of spheres with an atom symbol on his chest.

Mon*Star

The armored crime boss of the Limbo galaxy and the series' fixed antagonist, who transforms by bathing in the rays of the Moon*Star.

Monotone

The supercomputer that rules and runs the manufacturing planet Automata.

Moon Stryker

A turquoise SilverHawk and marksman, introduced late in the run in the newest-model suit.

Mumbo Jumbo

The Mob's bull-headed enforcer, who bulks into a more muscular form for combat.

Poker-Face

The card-suit-themed, sunglasses-wearing operator of the Starship Casino, who pays Mon*Star a cut and fights with a laser cane.

Professor Ghemakain

The Earth scientist whose research produced the SilverHawks, and the man Stargazer calls when he needs something built.

Professor Power

The lightbulb-headed scientist who maintains the Artificial Sun that lights the entire Galaxy of Limbo.

Prowler

Hardware's personal transport bird, stored as a rod in his Roll-Up Bag until switched on.

 Quicksilver

Quicksilver

Captain Jonathan Quick, former head of Interplanetary Force H, field leader of the SilverHawks. Partly metal, partly real, with the weapon bird Tally-Hawk on his arm. Voiced by Peter Newman.

Rayzor

A Fighting Hawk built by the Steel twins whose wings fold into a spinning tomahawk blade.

Seymour

A diminutive space taxi driver who works the Limbo galaxy and carries whoever pays.

Shredator

Buzz-Saw's yellow saw-bladed weapon bird, which attacks by spinning through its target.

Sideman

Bluegrass’s Fighting Hawk, a white guitar that transforms into a laser-firing bird.

Sky-Runner

The giant armored space squid Mon*Star rides in his transformed state.

Sky-Shadow

Mon*Star's cyborg fighting hawk, built by Hardware from a red gargoyle creature as a counter to Tally-Hawk.

Sly-Bird

Stargazer’s gold surveillance bird, built for photography and reconnaissance and carrying no weapons at all.

Smiley

A heavyweight boxing robot with heat-wave attacks, activated by the Mob and set against Mumbo Jumbo at the Starship Casino.

 Steelheart

Steelheart

Sergeant Emily Hart, engineer of the SilverHawks, twin to Steelwill. A stainless steel heart, a psychic bond with her brother, and the weapon bird Rayzor. Voiced by Maggie Wheeler.

 Steelwill

Steelwill

Sergeant Will Hart, the strongman of the SilverHawks and twin to Steelheart. A stainless steel heart, an empathic link with his sister, and the weapon bird Stronghold. Voiced by Bob McFadden.

Stronghold

A Fighting Hawk built by the Steel twins for lifting and tearing, with heavy talons.

Tailspin

Moon Stryker’s turquoise Fighting Hawk, shown on screen exactly once.

Tally-Hawk

Quicksilver’s cyborg hawk, the squadron scout, and the emblem the series took its logo from.

The Bounty Hunter

A bulldog-faced monster who absorbs directed energy to grow larger and stronger, and Stargazer's oldest personal enemy.

 The Copper Kidd

The Copper Kidd

The navigator of the SilverHawks and the only non-Earthling on the team, from the Planet of the Mimes. He speaks in whistles and tones, throws razor discs, and out-calculates the ship computers.

The Governor of Bedlama

The civilian head of Bedlama, replaced by Mo-Lec-U-Lar so the Mob can turn the planet's military against the SilverHawks.

The High Ranking Officer

The unnamed Earth officer who tested the SilverHawks against a combat drone the day before they left.

The Penal Planet 10 Guards

The two guards who work Warden Lock-Up’s prison, and the only staff the galaxy’s single jail appears to have.

The Space Bandits

A recurring trio of low-level outlaws who haunt the planet Fence and the Starship Casino.

Timestopper

A fourteen-year-old delinquent who freezes time with a clock mounted on his chest.

Triangulon Commander

The Triangulon military leader who threatens to destroy Hawk Haven unless Dritt is returned within the deadline.

Uncle Rattler

A snake-like criminal armed with stun venom who robs the SilverHawks' payroll ahead of the Mob.

Volt-ure

Mo-Lec-U-Lar's laser-eyed weapon bird, which shares in his disguises.

Warden Lock-Up

The bird-faced warden of Penal Planet 10, the maximum-security prison the Mob keeps breaking out of.

Windhammer

The Mob's weather-controlling member, who generates storms with a giant tuning fork.

Yes-Man

Mon*Star's snake-like sycophantic lieutenant, whose fixed job is operating the transformation chamber.

Zeek the Beak

A green bird-like alien schemer who rides with Seymour and drags him into moneymaking plots.

Zero the Memory Thief

A long-nosed thief who drains victims' memories with a prod-like weapon and stores them on cassette tapes worn on his chest.

Brim*Star

Mon*Star's Mob

Mon*Star

Mon*Star

Crime lord of Limbo · Earl Hammond

The feline-bodied boss who broke out of Penal Planet 10. Channeling the light of the Moon*Star through his transformation chamber, he gains spiked armor, a restored eye, and the crimson Light Star. He rides the armored space-squid Sky-Runner. Voiced by Mumm-Ra's Earl Hammond.

Mo-Lec-U-Lar

Mo-Lec-U-Lar

Shapeshifting hitman · Doug Preis

A hitman who disassembles into gold spheres and reforms in any shape, the disc on his chest spinning as he reassembles. The mob's master of disguise.

Poker-Face

Poker-Face

Casino robot · Larry Kenney

Top hat, a card-suit cane, and the Starship Casino. He gambles with other people's lives.

Melodia

Melodia

Sound weapon · Maggie Wheeler

The mob's only woman, armed with the keytar-like Sound Smasher that fires destructive musical notes. The dark mirror of Bluegrass.

Mumbo-Jumbo

Mumbo-Jumbo

Robot minotaur · Peter Newman

A robotic minotaur who bulks up to crush his foes. Steelheart's recurring nemesis.

Windhammer

Windhammer

Weather terrorist · Doug Preis

Wields a tuning fork that bends the weather across whole planets, and even airless space.

Hardware

Hardware

Weapons-maker · Bob McFadden

The mob's inventor and armorer, with a bottomless Roll-Up Bag of gear. He built the Quicksilver clone, Darkbird.

Buzz-Saw

Buzz-Saw

War machine · Bob McFadden

A sentient war machine whose circular blades double as flying projectiles.

Yes-Man

Yes-Man

Mon*Star's toady · Bob McFadden

The snake-like sycophant who works the transformation chamber and never says no to the boss.

The sound of Limbo

Bernard Hoffer's score

The same composer who scored SilverHawks wrote a denser, more electronic palette for deep space. Audio lifted from the broadcast and the soundtrack.

Opening titles

The sung main theme, "Partly metal, partly real," with the Tally-Hawk call-out.

The Hoffer score

A suite of Bernard Hoffer's orchestral and synth cues from across the series.

Voices of Limbo

The voice cast

Almost the entire ThunderCats ensemble came back to play the galaxy.

Larry Kenney

Bluegrass, Poker-Face, Timestopper, Moon Stryker

Lion-O on ThunderCats

Peter Newman

Quicksilver, Mumbo-Jumbo, Flashback

Tygra and WilyKat on ThunderCats

Maggie Wheeler

Steelheart, Melodia, all female roles

Credited in 1986 as Maggie Jakobson; later Janice on Friends

Bob McFadden

Stargazer, Steelwill, Yes-Man, Buzz-Saw, Hardware, Condor

Snarf on ThunderCats

Earl Hammond

Mon*Star

Mumm-Ra and Jaga on ThunderCats

Doug Preis

Mo-Lec-U-Lar, Windhammer, Hotwing

Multiple roles across both shows

Then and now

Legacy

Toyline

Kenner, 1987. LJN (who made the ThunderCats figures) was set to produce SilverHawks but passed at the last minute. Each figure shipped with a companion Fighting Hawk. Several catalog items, a Copper Kidd figure and the Copper Racer among them, were never produced.

Comics

A seven-issue Marvel Star Comics tie-in ran 1987 to 1988. Decades later Dynamite revived the property and crossed it over with ThunderCats.

Music

Bernard Hoffer scored both ThunderCats and SilverHawks. The sung main title, "Partly metal, partly real," is one of the most recognizable hooks of the era. No official album of his original score was ever released.

Legacy

Remembered as "ThunderCats in space," SilverHawks never escaped its sibling's shadow but kept a devoted cult following for its villain designs, Hoffer's score, and the Mon*Star transformation. Mon*Star even cameos in the 2011 ThunderCats reboot.

Keep exploring

More SilverHawks on silverhawks.tv

Episode Guide

All 65 episodes, summarized.

Vintage Toys

The Kenner figures, vehicles and birds.

The toy line

Vintage Kenner and the modern collector releases.