The Hot Dog Corps

The Hot Dog Corps ("Hotto doggu heidan" ホットドッグ兵団) is a chapter of the Astro Boy manga which originally ran in Shonen magazine in March 1961.

Plot Summary
Astro Boy's teacher, Mr. Mustachio, is very upset, when his beloved pet dog, Pero, is stolen by a mysterious aristocratic woman and her servants. Later on, a mysterious force attacks and annihilates a rocket ship bound for the dark side of the moon. When Astro investigates he discovers that the murderers are the very same people who abducted Pero. The woman is known as the Grand Duchess Anta Maria and she has enlisted the services of a mad robotics scientist by the name of Dr. Junkovitch to convert dogs into human-like cyborg robot soldiers. They are able to talk and fly rockets, and the Duchess has them at her command to destroy anybody who attempts to explore the moon's dark side.

Astro realizes that the commander of the Hot Dog Corps was in fact created from Pero, referred to as #44. Pero's animal instincts cause him to remember his master, and although he struggles with his loyalties to Junkovitch and the Duchess, he secretly helps to save Astro's life and thus allows him to escape the enemy headquarters.

Later on, things lead to a showdown between Astro and the Corps in outer space and they end up on the moon itself. Astro and #44 have a one-on-one struggle and fall into a crater filled with diamonds. Junkovitch and the Duchess shortly arrive, having followed in their own rocket, and lay claim on the diamond horde. But suddenly a giant robot appears who is the guardian of the treasure and attacks. Although Astro is able to overcome the robot causing it to collapse and self-destruct, everybody is killed except for #44.

Astro is able to persuade him to come back to earth where the Ministry of Science is able to convert him from a cyborg dog with human characteristics into a cyborg who looks and acts just like a real dog again. Mr. Mustachio and Pero are thus reunited and are very happy again.

Trivia
This story is a sequel to the February, 1959 chapter entitled, "Ivan the Fool".

Collected Volumes
This story has been collected in the following volumes:


 * Astro Boy, Volume 9 (Kodansha)
 * Astro Boy, Volume 1 (Dark Horse)