Duke Fleed
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| Duke Fleed | |
|---|---|
| Grendizer character | |
 Daisuke Umon and Duke Fleed |
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| Created by | Go Nagai |
Duke Fleed is a fictional character featuring in the works of mangaka Go Nagai. He is the main character of Super Robot series UFO Robot Grendizer and pilots the title robot.
[edit] Fictional Biography
Duke is the Crown Prince and one of the few survivors of Planet Fleed, which was destroyed by the forces of King Vega. He has found a new home on planet Earth and vowed to protect his new homeland and take revenge on King Vega and his minions. With the super robot Grendizer at his command, Duke Fleed fights back invasion after invasion in the 74 episodes of the Ufo Robot Grendizer series, with the help of former Mazinger Z pilot Kouji Kabuto, who serves as his sidekick.
Duke Fleed's Earth name is Daisuke Umon. He purports to be a normal human and his cover is that of the son of Professor Umon, head of the Space Science Lab. He works as an employee of farmer Danbei Makiba. At first Makiba, his teenage daughter Hikaru and young son Goro know nothing of Daisuke's secret identity and nature as an alien prince. Makiba, a hot-tempered source of comic relief, just bullies Daisuke to get on with his work (which he frequently neglects in order to go and fight Vegans) and sees him as not good enough for his daughter who is enamoured with the young man. However, through incident and pressure, they soon become aware of who he really is.
Later on, it is revealed that Duke’s younger sister Maria Grace Fleed has also survived the planet's destruction and fled to Earth. She joins Duke's team in its fight against Vega.
In the show's last episodes, it is shown that Duke Fleed was engaged to King Vega’s daughter, Princess Rubina, prior to the attack on Fleed.
[edit] Personality
Daisuke Umon/Duke Fleed is a brilliant pilot and fighter. As an alien he has physical abilities superior to those of Earthlings. On one occasion, his employer, farmer Danbei Makiba, suggested that they play poker to decide who would clear the heavy snow from the road. Daisuke shuffled the cards in such a way that, when they were given out, he got four aces to Danbei's four kings.
In spite of his warlike qualities, he aspires to a quiet life. He loves the Earth, nature and music and will do all he can to protect them from the Vegans.
Although surrounded by friends who love him, Duke is a solitary character who generally keeps to himself. The only person he feels close to is his adoptive father Professor Umon. This does not make him a cold figure, rather very protective: at times he keeps trying to dissuade Kouji Kabuto from joining him in battle with the Vegans because he fears that he will be killed — though he acknowledges Kouji as a potential successor in the war should he himself die.
At one stage an old wound was re-opened on Duke's arm due to radioactivity let off by a Vegan weapon. The wound causes intensive pain whenever Duke feels radioactivity and also means that he might die soon. For Duke this meant that he simply had to get on with the job of driving the Vegans as far away from Earth as possible. Professor Umon was more upset at the thought of losing his son than the young man himself was of dying.
Hikaru Makiba, Danbei's daughter, is enamoured with Daisuke but he appears to be unaware of this, or prefers to keep their relationship strictly as friends. When she displays considerable abilities as a pilot (maybe as a result of a blood transfusion from Duke Fleed) she asks to be allowed to join the war against the Vegans. Even her father is in favour of this, but Duke shows a certain amount of male chauvinism (at least in the French version) and turns her down. He later accepts her onto the team and, when his sister Maria Grace turns up, he is quick to admit her into the anti-Vegan squad as well.
[edit] Outside Japan
- In the American version of Grendizer, Duke Fleed was called Orion Quest, while his human name was Johnny Valkonian.
- In the French version of the show, the character was called Actarus, both as his alien and earth name, except that he took the last name of Dr. Umon (Procyon). Other characters were named after stars: Kouji Kabuto became Alcor, Dr. Umon became Professeur Procyon etc. The show itself was known as Goldorak.
- In the Italian version, he was also called Actarus on Earth but retained Duke Fleed as his alien name. As a character, Duke was extremely popular among female viewers, thanks to the voice of Romano Malaspina, de facto the first italian seyuu.
- In the Arabic version, the character was called Daisuki Umon as his Earthly name, and Duke Fleed as his alien name, same as the Japanese version.
- Duke Fleed is considered an icon of animation in the Arab world and Europe.
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