Jet Link, also known as 002, is one of the nine protagonists in the 1980 animated film Cyborg 009 The Movie: Legend of the Super Galaxy.

Appearance

Jet is the second-tallest of the team, with a slightly athletic build and long, slim legs. He has windswept, red-orange hair that spikes out in the back, and a fringe that tends to fall over one of his eyes. He has wide blue eyes, and softer facial features in comparison to his then-recent 1979 anime incarnation, reflecting how Ishinomori had been drawing him in the manga at that period in 1980 (eg: shorter, softer nose, smaller chin and larger eyes).

He is usually seen in the classic red 00 uniform, with its large padded shoulders, oversized yellow buttons, and long yellow scarf. When not in the uniform, he is first seen wearing a black jacket and blue jeans, with an orange V-neck shirt and a gold necklace with charm (similar to one seen on the 1979 design). He also wears the beige "Gilmore Labs" jumpsuit at one point.

Abilities

As with other incarnations, Jet can fly up to high speeds of Mach 5, though his Accelerator device is not taken into account here.

He is also shown to be proficient at manning one of the mini one-man battle vehicles that eject from the Ishmael.

History

1. Background & Pre-Cyborg Nostalgia

• Origins in New York: Before becoming a cyborg, Jet Link was a youth growing up in New York.

• Battle Weariness: Throughout the film, Jet reflects on his former human life and confides his weary feelings to Albert Heinrich (004), lamenting how he has been turned into a fighting machine trapped in endless conflict.

2. Key Events in the Film

• Reunion & Initial Skirmish: Jet reunites with the rest of the 00 Cyborg team when psychic infant Ivan (001) detects the intergalactic threat posed by Emperor Zoa. When a hologram of Zoa's forces appears, Jet and Albert are the first to impulsively draw their Super Guns to attack.

• Yielding His Place to Françoise: Although Jet is initially scheduled to be part of the landing team on Zoa's base, Françoise (003) insists her detection abilities are better suited to finding the captured Ivan. Jet relents, letting her go in his place while lending her his heart regulator device for protection.

• Grief over Albert (004): When the team receives word that Albert was killed at Zoa's base, Jet breaks down into tears, angrily crying that he had not given Albert "permission to die before him." Fueled by grief, he strongly backs Joe's (009) plan to pursue Zoa to the Vortex.

• Rejection of a Replacement: At the conclusion of the battle, Dr. Cosmo suggests having Dr. Gilmore build a "new cyborg that looks like 004." Jet vehemently refuses, stating that the life of a cyborg is miserable and not something to inflict on anyone else.

• Resolution: Jet is overjoyed—yet deeply bewildered—when Albert unexpectedly returns alive.

Notes

• At least two light novels of the film (by Taku Sugiyama and Takashi Hayashi) are confirmed to have an additional sequence at the end of the plot, where after Albert's confession at wanting to be re-remodeled into a cyborg, he approaches Jet with the offer to go traveling to Canada. This is also seen in Sugar Sato's manga incarnation. This stems from a sequence that was present in the screenplay, but dropped before the storyboarding and animation process. However, in contrast to the film, Sato's manga artwork downplays the physical contact between the two men, opting to depict them holding hands instead of Jet hugging Albert and then grabbing his collar in frustration. Jet also keeps a distance from the cross, and does not embrace it.

• Another seemingly scrapped plot point that shows up in Sato's manga involves Jet and Albert coming to Joe and Francoise's aid, after the two discover Ivan and Dr. Cosmo have been abducted. Jet sees a spaceship leaving in the sky and attempts to fly up after it, only to wind up with a leg vaporized, in a call-back to the "Vietnam" arc. Jet is then left with a fried stump for a leg, but is repaired by the time the team board the Ishmael and leave for space.

• In the English dub by Frontier Enterprises, Jet (renamed Jedd) is given a Brooklyn accent by his actor Don Pomes; however, this is very inconsistent, and Pomes drops the accent at various points, in addition to the character's voice either being really deep or higher.