General Hawkins

General Amanda Hawkins is a minor antagonist exclusive to the NOW! Comics series. She is the leader of the Metro City military, and one of the financial backers behind Astro Boy's production.

Personality
General Hawkins is a hardened army veteran. She is not afraid of speaking her mind or pushing others around, so long as it gets the army in the direction she wants. She is a short, stout, and muscular woman in her late 40s, and is almost always seen with a cigar.

She partially funded Dr. Boynton's robot project - which later became Astro Boy - under the pretense that she was receiving a humanoid weapon called the Mighty Atom. When it is discovered that Boynton has sealed himself in his house with Astro, Hawkins has her troops wage war on Boynton's house. Hawkins has a close friendship with Taz Tamil, one of the executives of the Institute of Science. She uses his position to get strings pulled her way, with the reward being Hawkins pushing for Tamil to become the lead of the Institute.

Later in the series, Hawkins comes to an understanding with Dr. Elefun and Astro. She allows Astro to live in society as a regular boy, so long as he occasionally assists in missions led by the military.