Jon Armstrong (Voltes V: Legacy)

:NOTE: This article is about Voltes V: Legacy character. For the original character from the 1977 anime, see Hiyoshi Goh.
Jon Armstrong is one of the main characters of the Filipino live-action series Voltes V: Legacy. He was portrayed by Raphael Landicho.
Jon is based on Hiyoshi Goh from the original anime.
==History==
Steve, Bert and Jon are the children of Ned and Mary Anne Armstrong. Unbeknowst the three boys, Ned was harbouring a dark secret. Ned's real name was Hrothgar, and he was actually an alien from the Planet Boazan.
Ned was born as the son of the Emperor's little brother, but he was born without horns, which were considered an anomly in Boazania. Only those with horns were allowed to be nobles, while those without them were subject to extreme cruelty and treated as slaves. To make sure he didn't live a life of slavery, Hrothgar's parents fashioned for him a pair of fake horns. Hrothgar lived amongst the nobled, and because of his skill in technology and invention, the Emperor chose Hrothgar as his succesor.
On the day of his coronation, Hrothgar was exposed hornless by his jealous and ambitious cousin Zambojil. Zambojil's minions had tortured doctor that delivered him into admitting his Hornless status. Hrothgar was booed by the crowd, and then forced to work as a slave. Branded a traitor, he was told by Zambojil that his wife, Rozalia, and their newborn child were dead. In actuality, Rozalia died in childbirth, while the newborn child, Zardoz, was raised by Zambojil.
Hrothgar managed to escape to Earth, with the knowledge that Emperor Zambojil will set his sights to Earth. His ship crashed and he was found by Mary Ann Collins Armstrong. She learned of his story and fell in love with him. He adopted the name "Ned Armstrong" on Earth. While many people didn't believe Ned Armstrong's warning, Dr. Richard Smith, Mary Ann and General Robinson did, and together they set up Camp Big Falcon.
Ned/Hrothgar and Mary would go on to have three children, Steve, Bert and John. Hrothgar created the robot Voltes V because he knew the Boazanians would invade, and wanted a way for Earth to defend itself. He returned to Boazania to convince Zambojil not to invade the planet. This didn't work, but he managed to escape arrest and flee to Earth where he would manage the Mechanical Eagle. Mary and Richard believed Ned/Hrothgar was dead as he never came back, so they began training pilots at Camp Big Falcon to join the Voltes team. Apart from training Steve and Bert, Dr. Smith also oversaw the training of other pilots including Mark Gordon, Jamie Robinson, Eva Sanchez, PJ Santiago, Ally Chan and Tomas del Rosario. Jon Armstrong wanted to join them, but due to his age, he was rejected as a potential candidate.
When the Boazanians inevitably invaded, with Hrothgar/Ned's son Zardoz leading the invasion, Steve, Bert, Jon, Mark and Jamie were the only available pilots and working together, managed to repel their Beast Fighter from the Earth. As a result they became permanent members of the Voltes team.
Shortly after he became a pilot, Mary Anne died protecting the Voltes team from Baizanga. This broke the hearts of the three boys even further, with their father missing and their mother killed in front of them. Dr. Smith, who was already close to Jon due to their shared love of robotics, became a parental figure to him and the rest of his brothers. He also encouraged Jon to continue his passion of machinery, hence the creation of Tako.
In combat, each member of the Voltes team was assigned a different unit - Steve piloted the Volt Cruiser, Bert piloted the Volt Panzer, Jamie piloted the Volt Lander, Jon piloted the Volt Frigate and Mark piloted the Volt Bomber. These vehicles would combine to form Voltes V. Dr. Richard Smith would guide them in battle, instructing them on how to defeat the Boazanian's Beast Fighters. Unfortunately, he died when the Boazanians sent a fake robot Ned to Camp Big Falcon, who choked Smith by the neck and stabbed him.
After he died, he was replaced by Dr. Hook as Camp Big Falcon's lead scientist, though his style was radically different from Smith's.
Zardoz hosts multiple plots to defeat Voltes V through beast fighters, but all these plans fail, and as a result he is frequently mocked by his uncle and members of his court. He often takes his frustrations out on his aides, Zandra, Draco and Zuhl. While Draco and Zuhl are punished, Zardoz doesn't punish Zandra, because he is in love with her and they even sleep together.
Zardoz at one point tries to find out the identities of the Voltes V pilots through a spy named Judalah; unfortunately she betrays him for the Voltes team after falling in love with Bert Armstrong. She tries to unsuccessfully assassinate Zardoz before escaping his ship.
With Commander Robinson's death, Eva attempts to assassinate Jamie by shooting her twice in the stomach while disguised. She kicks Jamie's limp body after doing the deed and exits the gymnasium. Jamie's body is discovered by Anna and she is treated in the med bay. No one knows that Eva was the culprit.
Due to Jamie needing to rest, Eva tries to take her place alongside Steve, Mark and Bert during a training drill. During this time, Jon is attending a science conference due to being a child prodigy at technology. Steve and Mark express discontent at having to work with Eva. Eva hints replacing Jamie, but Mark shuts it down. The four are participating in a training exercise, and Eva is assigned to be the team sniper while Mark, Steve and Bert retrieve the hostage. They all demonstrate their skills and successfully retrieve her. At the end of the exercise, Mark says that he hates to admit it, but Eva is a really good sniper. 
Marquise Zaki dispatches Takeo and Arisa to kidnap Little Jon Armstrong, the youngest member of the Voltes team. Takeo and Arisa disguise themselves as humans and try to take Jon hostage, but other Camp Big Falcon personnel come to his aid. While Jon tries to use his invisibility device to hide himself, he is still discovered and then kidnapped. Dr. Hook then regretfully informs the Voltes team that Jon has been taken hostage. He orders Eva to join the team in the search for him. However, Jamie arrives, healed from her injuries. She says "Dream on, Eva", before saluting Dr. Hook. Eva feigns concern and says that Jamoe should rest, but she insists she can fight. Dr. Hook tells Steve that since he's the leader, he can choose whether it should be Eva and Jamie that will accompany him, Bert and Mark in looking for Jon. Steve picks Jamie, stating that she is their teammate, while Eva looks heartbrokenly at her gear. Steve, Mark, Bert and Jamie proceed to look for Jon but fall into a trap set up by the Boazanians.
The trap leads them to a stage constructed by Marquise Zaki. Bert realizes that the stage has a force field around it, meaning they can't escape. Feeling hopeless, Mark angrily insults Jon and blames him for being kidnapped. Steve angrily retorts that it isn't his fault, but Mark repeats his claim that the Armstrong brothers are magnets for misfortune. Steve then tries to hit Mark, but Jamie intervenes, only to get injured in the process by Steve, causing her to fall. Both boys are horrified and apologize to her, feeling ashamed. Jamie scolds them both, reminding them that she's just been discharged from the hospital and forced herself out of the ward to save Jon. The four then hear laughter, coming from none other than Marquise Zaki. She calls their fight entertaining.
The four begin attacking Zaki's guards, but when Steve turns a gun on Zaki, she threatens Jon by holding a knife to his neck. Steve, Bert and Jamie surrender and drop their weapons but Mark refuses. Mark loads his gun anyway, pointing it at Zaki despite her pressing the knife further, until Steve wrestles the gun out of his hands. Zaki then releases Jon and he reunites with the Voltes team.
Zaki and her guards then lead the four into another room, where they are observed by Horned Boazanian nobles. Zaki announces that they are to spar with Takeo and Arisa for their entertainment. The Voltes team underestimate the twins, with Bert saying they're not Beast Fighters so they don't stand a chance. Before the fight, Takeo and Arisa ask the Voltes team of the fate of General Watson. Steve tells them that he's dead and he gave his life for the good Boazanian rebels. Takeo is dumbstruck, whispering to Arisa "Our adoptive father is gone....". Arisa, however, is skeptic and calls Steve a liar. Marquise Zaki chides them for talking and says that they must send two fighters from their team to battle Takeo and Arisa one-on-one. Jamie says that she will fight Arisa, and Bert decides to fight Takeo.
Meanwhile, Prince Zardoz asks Zandra and Draco where Marquise Zaki has gone. They both say they don't have any idea. Zardoz expresses frustration at the fact that when his uncle sent him aides, both disappeared suddenly - first General Oslak, and now Marquise Zaki. However, Draco was suspicious of Zaki and had a soldier tail her before she left. The soldier reveals to Draco, Zandra and Zardoz that Marquise Zaki is having the Voltes team battle Takeo and Arisa, which is directly against what Zardoz ordered. Zardoz finally loses faith in his uncle and accuses him of trying to replace his position.
Takeo and Arisa lose the fight. However the Voltes team refuse to kill them (even though it's the tradition of Boazan duels). This touches their hearts and they change sides, helping the Voltes team escape.
==Differences==
*Jon is Filipino, Hiyoshi is Japanese.
*Jon is of a chubbier body type than Hiyoshi.
*In the original anime, Mitsuyo never had any issues with Hiyoshi's age and allowed him to pilot the Volt Frigate.
*Jon figures out his heritage, before Mary Ann shuts him down. Hiyoshi, on the other hand, had no idea until Dange told him.
*Jon still sees the good in Zardoz and nicknames him "Bro Manuel" even after it was revealed that he had devious intentions. Hiyoshi never held such feelings towards Heinel.
==Gallery==
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big bert 2.jpg
big bert 3.jpg
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==Navigation==
Category:Aliens
Category:Tokusatsu Heroes