Why Anyone in the Voltron Fandom Should Watch Motorcity
This is a longshot on my part but consider it the attempt from a very sad and very salty individual. Motorcity is an action animated series that was created and directed by Chris Prynoski and produced by Titmouse Inc. It premiered April 30, 2012 and ended on January 7th, 2013 due to Disney’s poor handling of the material and not seeming to care for the product.
Despite the mistakes on Disney’s part, the show itself is a glory of a piece and well worth any sort of watch even if it had only one season. It is a true crime that this show did not get the views and treatment it deserved due to Disney not seeming to understand what they had.
The show and VLD share some similarities that make it almost a guaranteed like by anyone in this fandom.
“ This show occurs in a fictitious futuristic Detroit, which is an elevated metropolis built over the old Detroit, classified as Detroit Deluxe. It is owned by evil billionaire Abraham Kane (Mark Hamill). Ruling the citizens under strict laws, and banning personal freedoms including automobile transportation, Kane now faces one last obstacle: a group of hot-rod wielding rebels who call themselves the Burners. Led by Mike Chilton (Reid Scott), the Burners rise to stop Kane from conquering Detroit’s last oasis of freedom—an underground refuge dubbed Motorcity.”
This show is basically Hot Wheels but with weapons in the cars and better characters. The story itself doesn’t seem like a new concept, a bunch of teens fighting an evil dictator. However, it’s done in such an interesting way that the trope itself does not matter. The story offers twists and turns and plenty of potential danger that could lead to the Burners losing their city or even their lives.
This story may have been done before in different ways but it’s done very well here.
Every character in this show is uniquely designed and given distinct personality and importance. The Burners themselves are a group that you grow to enjoy very easily and very quickly. Their camaraderie is obvious in everything they do and, even when there’s internal conflict and tension, it feels all the more genuine and you want to see them get through it.
At least two share similarities with a few of our Paladins.
Let’s start with the lead: Mike Chilton
Mike is a mixed race young man and the leader of the Burners. In an interesting turn of things, Mike used to be one of the Cadets in Deluxe. In fact, he was the best Cadet period and was favored by Kane, to the point that the man considered Mike to be like a son to him. The best way to describe Mike is to basically tell you that he’s a combination of these two:
Mike is reckless and tends to make light hearted humor about the situation but he knows when he needs to focus and when things need to be taken seriously. He cares immensely for his team and tries his best to make sure they feel validated and are essential to the group while also having fun with them. His past haunts and guilts him and is a strong point to his backstory. His relationship with Kane is a conflicting, betrayal filled one with both men despising someone they used to admire.
