Keaton, Blaster

Blaster Keaton (ブラスター・キートン), also known as Mecha-Keaton/Robo-Keaton (メカキートン) in his cyborg form, is an American fighter pilot who is a playable character in most Sonic Wings games.

Description[]

Keaton is considered by the game designers to be the main character of Sonic Wings.^[1] He was formerly a soldier in the United States Navy who fought in Operation Desert Storm before joining Project Blue. He sustains a major injury in Sonic Wings, leading Kowful to create a series of cyborg bodies for him. In subsequent games, Keaton appears in various mechanical bodies as well as in human form. His name may be a play on that of the American silent film star Buster Keaton.

Keaton has spiky, light brown hair worn combed back; vivid blue eyes; and a long, straight nose. In human form, he usually wears a brown leather bomber jacket. His cyborg bodies vary in appearance, and he has a mechanical apparatus in place of his right eye in cyborg form.

In most games, Keaton is cheerful and excitable. He has fun on his missions but also loves to fight. He can also be a bit of a flirt, although without much success. Amazingly, he loves his boxy robot bodies and doesn't mind that his only organic part is his head. Keaton gets along well with almost everyone, even the difficult characters no one else likes.

Keaton has a younger brother, Zapper, who is nearly identical to Blaster in appearance.

Sonic Wings[]

This 24-year-old American guy loves justice and won't abide evil. Of course, his favorite word is "JUSTICE." His personality is hard to forget. He says that in trouble, one should keep a "low profile," but. . . is he truly inconspicuous? He has a younger brother who looks just like him.

—Sonic Wings 3 Strategy Special guidebook

In the original game, Keaton is straight-laced, focused, and determined to complete his mission, in contrast to the zanier personality he exhibits in later games. He wears his military uniform, including a camouflage jacket.

In single-player mode, Keaton is supposedly killed when his aircraft collides with the final boss after its defeat. Blaster's identical younger brother Zapper vows to take over for him and becomes the playable character for the rest of the game. Fortunately, Keaton survives the collision to return as a cyborg in future games.

In two-player mode, Keaton is partnered with Keith Bishop. Keaton is definitely the straight-man of the duo; his serious statements are often met with facetious remarks from the older Keith. After the boss battle, both men survive and attempt to land on an aircraft carrier. However, Keith loses control of his plane, and they both crash, ending up bobbing in the ocean.

Sonic Wings 2[]

In the previous game, Blaster Keaton was blown into space, but he returned from certain death with a desperate effort. Because his entire body was terribly injured, he received a remodeling operation; his life was saved by his becoming a cyborg. However, his body is like those of robots from old science fiction. He seems to like it, though. He's a hot-blooded American guy who fights for justice.

—Sonic Wings 3 Strategy Special guidebook

Keaton is resurrected by Kowful as the cyborg Mecha-Keaton after his supposed death in the previous game. He tells Angela that he's been "away from the world for awhile," suggesting that he spent most of the intervening two years between games in recovery.

Keaton's head is all that remains of his human body, and his right eye has been replaced with a mechanical device. His body is boxy and silver, apparently cobbled together by Kowful from various spare parts such as an arcade machine. Instead of the solemn attitude Keaton had in Sonic Wings, he now is something of a smart aleck.

Unfortunately, Keaton's robot body gives him problems at times, as demonstrated when he ejects his head after the final boss battle in single-player mode. His head ends up stranded on the moon, which becomes a recurring problem for him.

In two-player mode, Keaton can be paired with any of the other pilots:

Arthur: Arthur thinks that Keaton is a toy, though he is respectful enough to the older pilot. Keaton is not quite so enthusiastic about Arthur, but he is impressed with the one-year-old's fighting skills. After they defeat the final boss, Keaton demands that Arthur "score him a meal." At Arthur's house, they are greeted by his father, William Sid Pride, and Keaton amazes them both by dumping an omelet into the chest of his mechanical body.
Angela: Angela is hurt that Keaton doesn't know who she, "the musical star," is, and he apologizes saying that he's been "away from the world for a while." He also asks if she's a man or a woman, to which she replies doesn't he know the phrase "男装の麗人" ("a beauty dressed as a man"). When she declares that she is fighting for love, Keaton is taken aback. Once they get past this initial awkwardness, they work well together, with Keaton on the offensive and Angela covering him. She warns him to be careful when he gets too enthusiastic about fighting, but she is also impressed with his bravery. In the English version, their dialogue is completely different, with Keaton at first skeptical of Steve's arrogant attitude and a little confused by him. However, they each end up deciding the other is "not so bad after all," and they admire each other's "coolness." In both versions, after successfully defeating the final boss, Angela's Rafale M crashes. Keaton is at first sympathetic, then shocked when Angela's torn jacket falls off, revealing the corset she's wearing underneath. Poor Keaton then gets punched by the embarrassed Angela, who wails for him not to look at her.
Cincia and Ellen: Most of the dialogue between Keaton and the girls involves his new robotic body, particularly his need for "WD-50" in the English version. In keeping with this theme, after the final boss battle, Keaton gets a tune-up from the mechanic Emma from Lethal Crash Race, who fills him up with a can of gasoline.
Hien: Keaton and Hien get along well enough, although Hien does seem a bit impatient with Keaton's lack of seriousness about the situation, particularly when Keaton's more interested in hula dancing in Hawaii than in defeating the boss there. Still, they work well together and show a genuine concern for one another. After the final boss battle, they both report to Gozen, Hien's master. Gozen is for some reason incensed that Hien received help from a robot, leaving his pupil speechless.
Mao Mao: Keaton thinks Mao Mao's cute and tries to flirt with her, but she'll have none of it. After they defeat the final boss, Mao Mao asks Keaton to come over to her house. Keaton thinks she likes him, but when he goes home with her, she takes his head off and plays Sonic Wings on his robot body.
Silver: Keaton isn't exactly respectful to Silver, calling him "old man" and commenting on his baldness, but Silver doesn't seem to mind too much. After the final boss battle, Keaton loses control of his plane and crashes; his body is destroyed, but Silver's parrot Flint saves Keaton's head. Silver brings Keaton to Kowful, who complains about Blaster losing his body again.
Whity: Keaton and Whity get along very well together since both possess a rather wacky sense of humor. After the final boss battle, Keaton decides to go swimming with the dolphin and transforms into "Aqua-Keaton," a finned version of his robot body. The two then enjoy an underwater race.

Sonic Wings 3[]

His bright red body is awesome! He's back, more powerful than ever.

He is always a cheerful and strong, hot-blooded guy (a hot-blooded cyborg?). He's a typical 26-year-old American who believes unquestionably in absolute justice. If you remember in Sonic Wings, he was just a pretty cool soldier... a human being. But in Sonic Wings 2, he transformed into a robot and appeared on the screen, shocking 120 million people nationwide (or so I thought).

As if that wasn't enough, in this game, Keaton has gotten even more powerful.... At this point, he's out of control and no one can stop him. His arms are drills, and his body is red, making for a pretty flashy look. The material of his torso is suspicious, but his body is three times more powerful than before. And, after all, Keaton's special weapon "Giant Keaton Rampage" is adorable!

I feel like I've already lost. But because of this, the popularity of the game is skyrocketing, or maybe not. But this was a shooting game, wasn't it?

—Sonic Wings 3 Strategy Special guidebook

Keaton appears in an upgraded, far more advanced red body called Version 2.00. Most notable are the built-in weapons he now controls: the Keaton Drill on his left hand, the sphere-shaped Keaton Hammer on his right, and the boosters on his back. Keaton's cheerful attitude remains the same, although he is more boastful of this body than his previous one.

In single-player mode, Keaton is more alert than many of the other pilots, figuring out that he is in a "fake world" where the enemy has staged World War II. Keaton fights with the Blazers (Glen, Gill, and Glenda) in two-player mode. They seem surprised at his appearance and aren't sure who he is at first. Keaton likes to boast that as a robot, he doesn't show the Blazers' human weaknesses; however, the trio doesn't envy his situation.

One-Player Mode Endings[]

US; JP Bermuda final stage: Keaton returns to headquarters where Kowful has prepared a humanoid body for him. Keaton changes into his new body, noting that a human body is ultimately better than a robot one. However, he discovers that Kowful has played a practical joke by giving Keaton's new body a giant drill in a sensitive area.
JP Mars final stage: Keaton uses his "Keaton Beam" to eradicate enemy survivors, along with the rest of the world.

Two-Player Mode Ending[]

Keaton's plane blows up, but he manages to escape by ejecting his head. The Blazers rescue him, but then their plane explodes too. Keaton also appears in several other characters' ending sequences.

Sonic Wings Special[]

Sonic Fighter Returning from the Gulf
A hot-blooded guy who doesn't tolerate evil and fights for justice. He was in the US Navy and participated in the Gulf War. He is a true American who doesn't tolerate anything that goes against his sense of justice. His twin brother is also a soldier.

—Sonic Wings Special manual

Keaton returns in human form for the first time since the original Sonic Wings. The player must first complete the game as human Keaton in order to unlock Mecha-Keaton. Keaton's appearance in both forms has received an upgrade. In human form, he now wears a brown leather jacket with "Justice" written across the back, along with the letter K. His cyborg form has also gotten a few new touches such as an antennae and piping on his head, a reference to the design of the RX-78-2 Gundam from Mobile Suit Gundam. In two-player mode, Keaton is partnered with Captain Silver. Silver finds Keaton to be a bit impulsive and wild, but they do get along well. Keaton often calls Silver "old man" (とっつぁん).

One-Player Mode Endings - Human Keaton[]

Battle in Orbit final stage: Keaton's plane is destroyed by the defeated boss, and Keaton's younger brother Zapper takes over the mission in Blaster's place.
Another World final stage: Keaton's plane floats off into space in an ending reminiscent of 2001: a space odyssey. Glenda and Lord River-n-White are monitoring Keaton's radio communications, but they lose contact with him.
Bermuda Triangle final stage: Keaton loses control of his plane. He radios Glenda and River-n-White that he completed the mission but will not be able to return to base. Glenda sends a rescue party after him but worries that they won't make it in time.

Two-Player Mode Ending - Human Keaton[]

No matter which boss is defeated, the same ending appears. Keaton discovers that some remnants of Fata Morgana remain. Suffering a head wound, he stays behind and tells Silver to "hang in there" and go on ahead. Silver hopes that Keaton will return.

One-Player Mode Endings - Mecha-Keaton[]

Battle in Orbit final stage: Keaton's plane is damaged, and he saves himself by ejecting his head from his body. However, his head ends up stranded on the moon.
Another World final stage: Keaton returns to Kowful to receive a new human body but finds that it has an added attachment.
Bermuda Triangle final stage: Keaton emerges from his plane, claiming that there are some remnants of the enemy left. He then deploys his Keaton Drill and blows up a city.

Two-Player Mode Endings - Mecha-Keaton[]

Battle in Orbit final stage: Keaton and Silver go to William Sid Pride's house for food, where Silver, William, and Arthur watch in amazement as Keaton shovels in the scrambled eggs.
Another World final stage: Keaton's plane goes down again, but Flint rescues his head. Kowful reveals that he's finished "fixing" Keaton's human body, and the game asks if Keaton can return to his old self.
Bermuda Triangle final stage: Silver and Keaton attempt to land on an aircraft carrier, but Keaton misses and sinks the ship.

"Mysterious Robot Set" featuring Lar and Mecha-Keaton. Lar is shown with two humanoid arms, though it only appears with one in the Sonic Wings series.
"USAGI set" featuring Rabio, Lepus, and Tenukie Chaudo. The names Aka ("red"), Midori ("green"), and Chaudo appear with them in romanji.
"Inufuku Abuse Set" featuring two poor Inufuku being tortured.

"Mysterious Robot Set" is the correct answer. If chosen, Minakata quotes Keaton's line, "A drill is a man's weapon."