Hamegg

Hamegg (ハムエッグ) is a frequent player in the Osamu Tezuka Star System, and a regular character in the Astro Boy series. He usually appears as a shady circus ringmaster, the second person to own and raise Astro, and often appears as a general criminal throughout the rest of the series.

Appearance
Osamu Tezuka was inspired to create Hamegg from two sources, one being the villain of Milt Gross's He Done Her Wrong, and the Austrian-German actor Peter Lorre. He has a very distinct round face and wide toothy grin.

Most often, he is depicted as a gangly man in his 30s-40s, with a mustache and slicked-back black hair. While he does often appear as a criminal alongside Lamp and Skunk, he is the most meek of the three and slightly skittish.

1963 series
Hamegg first appears in the 1963 series, buying Astro from Dr. Tenma. He takes him into the circus as a main attraction. He is cruel towards Astro and easily frustrated with him, but regardless, Astro still saves Hamegg's life when the circus collapses and starts on fire. Ochanomizu meets Hamegg in the hospital, taking Astro away, much to Hamegg's dismay.From this point, Hamegg appears throughout the 1963 series as a part-time criminal or an odd-job worker, under various names. He is not a malevolent criminal, but tends to carry whips or guns.

In the English dub, he is named Mr. Cacciatore and given an Italian accent.

1980 series
Hamegg meets Astro on a cruise ship early in the 1980 series, after Astro accidentally destroys a dinner party on the ship. Hamegg convinces Astro that he can take him to a freer, happier life, but forces the boy to sign an ownership contract and stuffs him in a box. Astro is then taken to work in his traveling robot circus in America.

Hamegg's only cohort in the circus is a young woman named Kathy. He does yell at her, but treats her with far more respect than his robots. It is revealed that is circus is partly funded by the Chicago mafia, and he is in great fear of their boss.

In the Canadian English dub, he is renamed as Roberto.

2003 series
In the 2003 series, Hamegg is the ringmaster of an illegal robot fighting ring, and at one point owned the Blue Knight. Hamegg's robot battle ring was brutal and grueling, leading to numerous destroyed robots, but he still insisted the robots fight as long as they were operable. Upon discovering the Blue Knight was leading a group of robots in an escape attempt, he violently whipped the Blue Knight and left him for dead in space.

Hamegg is a frequent buyer at the stolen robot auction sales on Mars, where he attempts to accumulate more robot fighters and staff. He appears in the episodes, "The Rise of Pluto" and "Secret of the Blue Knight."

In the English dub, he renamed as Brunard, and played by Wally Wingert. His Japanese voice actor is Yuichi Nagashima.

2009 movie
Hamegg appears in the 2009 Imagi movie as an orphanage caretaker and the owner of a robot battle ring. Several of the kids under Hamegg's care find Astro in a junkyard and take him home. Hamegg initially appears to be a caring father figure, and even calls Astro "son" at one point. However, upon finding Astro is a robot with super strength, he changes his focus and turns Astro into a spectacle for his ring. It is revealed that he had worked at the Ministry of Science at one point.

He is played by Nathan Lane in the film, with his character design modeled after his actor.

Little Astro Boy
Hamegg also in Little Astro Boy as the series' main villain. He lives in a pig-themed castle with his robot bodyguard Gora and scientist friend Dr. Flau. Together, the three of them use pig-themed robots and machines, and attempt to stir up chaos and steal things. Much like the overall series, Hamegg and his antics are goofy and light-hearted. In the English version, he is played by Cole Howard.

Other Appearances
Hamegg, under the name Mr. Cacciatore, is a secondary antagonist in the 1987 NOW! Comics series. He is a shady businessman and ringmaster who purchases Astro from Dr. Boynton. Cacciatore maintains aggressive control over Astro with a robot spider bomb called Bruno, and for the most part, neglects the upkeep of his other robots. When Cacciatore's circus burns down, he changes careers to organized crime. Hamegg also appears in the 2001 film Metropolis as a Zone 2 maintenance worker, overseeing garbage collecting robots and sewer treatment. Hamegg twice interacts with the Marduk leader Rock, guiding him around the rubble of Dr. Laughton's burned laboratory, and escorting him to Zone 2's disposal area. However, when Rock sees the robot Tima, who he was searching for, Rock opens fire into the area. Hamegg protests this, in fear of damaging the robots of equipment, and Rock shoots him. He is voiced by Robert Axelrod in the English dub.