| Robo-Vac
AKA Tom Hoover | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First Appearance: | Roomies! 20 January 1998 |
Robo-Vac is a fictional superhero in the Walkyverse and Dumbing of Age, created by Damond Villes. Formerly a Chicago Police detective named Tom Hoover, he was transformed by a lightning bolt into a half-man-half-vacuum cleaner dedicated to the cause of justice.
The Comics[]
Ordered to pursue the Dust Bunny, a clinically insane criminal in a rabbit suit, Tom Hoover took a break to vacuum his apartment during a lightning storm. Instead of killing him, the lightning bolt he was hit by fused him with his vacuum cleaner, transforming him into the mighty Robo-Vac. (Comic book, remember?) After dedicating his new existence to the "purging of crime, hatred, and the Spice Girls" (he was apparently successful with the last one), he went on to pursue and apprehend the Dust Bunny.
Later on, he, Scooby-Doo, and Daphne would free Bob Denver from Captain Enviro-Mental (secretly Big Brother in disguise). Immediately afterward, nuns arm-wrestled the Statue of Liberty. Yeah, the writer started taking narcotics during that issue. There was also a Clone Saga at some point in time.
The Movie[]
Rumblings of a Robo-Vac movie were first heard on the Internet in 2000. In January of 2004, the Robo-Vac movie premiered, starring Denzel Washington. Robo-Vac was almost entirely CGI, disappointing some fans who expected to see a more "real-looking" hero made with traditional costume and prop work.
Merchandise and Tie-Ins[]
Robo-Vac was popular enough to spawn his own line of breakfast cereals, including Robo-Vac Poofs and Robo-Vac's Double-Chocolate Diabetes-Bits. Robin DeSanto was a fan, for obvious reasons.
There's also an action figure line, because of course there is.
Trivia[]
- In Dumbing of Age, Danny is also a Robo-Vac fan, although he's a few issues behind on the comic.
- According to David Willis, Robo-Vac was a character he originally created out of LEGO bricks back when he was in middle school.
- He apparently drew up a full-fledged Robo-Vac comic in high school to win a contest at his local comic book store. "I recall buying a lot of Transformers: Generation 2 comics with my winnings."