Johnny Sokko and his Flying Robot: Episode 02 - Nucleon, The Magic Globe

After a humiliating defeat at the hands of Johnny Sokko and his flying robot, the Gargoyle Gang will stop at nothing to get that machine back in their possession. Unable to fight the robot directly, they stoop to a new low by planning to terrorize a town and ambush Johnny during the chaos. Will Gargoyle be able to get away with such a devious plot? Click 'Read More' to find out!


Overall Opinion: Recommended. They setup the premise very well and leave plenty of time for some good action. Once again, because the robot's actions are limited, they focus on Johnny and the Gargoyle Gang throughout the scenes. The robot-of-the-week got an adequate amount of screen time, but not enough was shown to make it the main highlight as it should be.

The episode starts with a large meteor falling to Earth. After being investigated by scientists, they determine the rock is composed of mineral elements not known to mankind. They quickly setup a camp to do further research on the space debris. Meanwhile at the Gargoyle Gang hideout, their leader known as Spider is instructed by Emperor Guillotine to use the new robot that landed on Earth as a decoy and to capture Johnny Sokko during the fight. Once Sokko is secured, it won't take long to mind control him and use the robot as they originally intended.

Nucleon in his ball form, smashing tanks like they were nothing.

At the headquarters of Unicorn, Johnny Sokko receives a warm welcome from the head of the secret police force. The headmaster, whose alias is U1 (short for Unicorn 1), invites Johnny to join their organization so he can help others as they try to fight the evils of the world like the Gargoyle Gang. As any boy probably would, he agrees to become a member and a short montage is shown of them testing the Flying Robot's limits to damage among other things. After debriefing what the robot is capable of, a distress call interrupts the good news and Johnny must head into action.

A town in Japan is under attack by the giant rock that fell onto Earth. Now mobilized by the Gargoyle Gang, the revealed machine is firing rockets and crushing buildings under it's weight. Johnny arrives and summons the Flying Robot. While issuing commands to the robot, Johnny is knocked out by a sleeping gas gun fired by Spider. The Flying Robot ceases to function and Johnny is hauled off to a car to be driven to the Gargoyle Gang's hideout.

U1 notices the Flying Robot is no longer moving and Johnny isn't responding. Utilizing the tracking device on every agent, he and the Unicorn agents setup an ambush of their own and have a shootout with the Gargoyle Gang. Johnny wakes up from the ruckus and orders the Flying Robot to kill the Gargoyle Gang members, which the robot does very well. With Spider dead, Nucleon ceases to function and the day is saved. THE END.

Spider and his merry gang, 10/11/1967 to 10/18/1967
Rest In Peace, you cool dudes.

I'm very surprised by this episode. In most modern(ish) TV series, the first villain is a reoccurring threat throughout the show or at least the first season and in this show the writers kill them off within the first two episodes. Granted, Emperor Guillotine is the true villain, but his gang are his henchman and usually get some plot immunity so they can remain a nuisance to the protagonist. I feel it is a positive plot twist to keep the viewer guessing what will happen next.

Besides that, the episode was paced very well with a mysterious start that is revealed to be a harbinger of doom, followed by seeing the capabilities of the robot and finally seeing Unicorn be competent. I assumed Jerry was going to be the only useful member of the Unicorn agency with the rest of the group being used for intelligence gathering and once again, I'm pleased to be wrong. The series is starting out strong and it makes me a little worried they wrote the best material for the first few episodes. Here is to hoping the episodes maintain this level of writing.