Any hero/villain that is a collection of electronics really seems to skyrocket in popularity. The Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman, The Terminator, Cable (Marvel), Robocop, The Borg, Transformers, Dark Angel, Ironman (and derivatives), and in this case, Inspector Gadget. All of these - successes.  

(I know I am missing quite a few others. What’s one I should have mentioned? Follow this link to the comment below.)

The inspiration here is this: what would my cat ask for if she had Inspector Gadget’s hat?

Inspector Gadget is unique among all cyborg & robotic characters; he’s always funny. I can’t think of a character in the children’s pantheon of media that is anything like this. It’s just my opinion, but I think Inspector Gadget resonates with the young, technical-engineer-minded child. If not Gadget, then his niece Penny and his dog, Brain. Both of which are also technologically augmented. Who didn’t want Penny’s book? 43 years later, we kind of have Penny’s book in the form of smartphones.

I wonder if there is a usable cosplay of Penny’s book out there. If not, I might have to make one.

(2 minutes later…)

Well, a quick search shows a commendable effort from Becky Stern on Digikey’s Maker.io site. Even so, I think I might have to build one too.

I’ll be completely honest; I never saw the live-action Inspector Gadget movies. So, can’t say if they are packed with tech-candy or not. But if I do sit through those, you know I’ll report back here. 😊

Go, Go, Gadget.. Next Article!

See the rest of my cartoons in the Engineering on Friday comic gallery.