Eighth Wonder

“Hey, do you remember Intercrime Island?”

I ran the question by my brother Peter to see if he could recall a key element from 8th Man, one of our favorite cartoons when we were growing up.

It was just another one of these strange memory flashes I have when something from my past pops into my head for no apparent reason and I can’t shake it out.

Of course, I didn’t get an answer since Peter died nearly a year ago, but I was feeling pretty low and a bit isolated, so I addressed my question to an empty chair on the other side of my kitchen table.

This is the first Easter without him, as the Curse of the First rolls along.

I’ve written before about chair work, a method of processing trauma, grief or personal tensions where you speak to an empty chair and imagine it’s someone from your life who is no longer here.

I’ve done this with my mother, and though I did a lot of sobbing, I found it to be quite helpful.

Usually, I make my chair work practice a solemn occasion and do a lot pf preparation, but this time I just fired out the question.

A little background: 8th Man is based on the Japanese comic strip and anime Eitoman, created in 1963 by science-fiction writer Kazumasa Hirai and manga artist Jiro Kuwata.

The show, dubbed in English, tells the story of Metro City Police Force officer Peter Brady, who is murdered by a hoodlum named Saucer Lips, but whose identity is downloaded into a super atomic-powered robot by a scientist appropriately named Professor Genius.

The cyborg, who debuted a generation before Robocop, was called 8th Man because the Professor’s first seven attempts fizzled out, which differs somewhat from the Japanese version of the story.

8th Man was “faster than a rocket and quicker than a jet,” according to his theme song, and he could fly, shapeshift and, judging by the show’s opening credits, he can pound the living bejesus out of a rampaging dinosaur.

He operates under the name Tobor — “Robot” spelled backwards — and takes on a slew of freaks such as Armored Man, Baron Stormy, Dr. Demon, the Satan Brothers, and a spy ring called Intercrime, who had their own island.

Tobor works for Chief Fumblethumbs — what’s with these names? — who knows our hero is a robot, and has a girlfriend named Jenny.

Art Ache

One of the weirdest things about 8th Man is that when his power is running low, he lights up a cigarette-like energy tab to boost his energy. Imagine how parents today would react to such a gimmick.

My favorite villain was Dr. Spectra, creator of the Ultra Micro Missiles that came shooting out of his cape, and Pounce, the robot tiger who caused 8th Man a lot of aggravation.

During our conversation, I also gave Peter a hard time about Denzel Washington’s action flick Man on Fire. Peter was very fond of this movie, which is a remake of a 1987 film starring Scott Glenn, and he liked to quote one of Christopher Walken’s lines from the flick.

“Death is his art,” he says of Denzel’s character. “And he’s about to paint his masterpiece.”

Yeah, it's a great line, but this movie ain’t no masterpiece. Denzel Washington is one of my favorite actors, but he has starred in several films that I thought were beneath his amazing talents.

Still, I’m sure he made a lot more money from The Equalizer franchise than he did from Fences or Macbeth.

I had no real interest in watching Man on Fire, but it’s scheduled to leave Netflix, so I decided I’d give it a look in my brother’s honor. And, for that matter, I’m happy I did.

“I would’ve thought that a movie starring Denzel Washington, Christopher Walken and Mickey Rourke would’ve been a lot better,” I groused to the empty chair.

I felt better after “speaking” with Peter and I’m sure I’ll be doing it again. Maybe I’ll reach out to my parents, or even my younger self.

Life is my art and I’m about to paint my masterpiece.

I think Professor Genius would approve.