Maximillian! The time has come to liquidate our guests.

"Maximillian! The time has come to liquidate our guests."

With that line, a chill went up my spine. I was 6 years old, and I met my first evil robot.

Maximillian comes from the 1979 Disney movie "The Black Hole". This movie was like nothing made before it, and in my opinion, nothing made after it. It was one of the first movies to use computer animation (in the opening sequences), and an odd choice for a Disney movie.

See, Star Wars had just exploded on the American psyche, and every studio began looking for their "Star Wars" movie. It began a golden era for Sci-Fi, and studio executives greenlighted a ton of projects without looking too-closely at the scripts. Although The Black Hole was in production as early as 1975, the influence of Star Wars on it can clearly be seen.

The Black Hole was a movie that on the surface was made for kids, but below the veneer was a dark and twisted movie. There was no comedy. There were tortured souls, lost in space, images of heaven and hell, and graphic murder.

In the movie, the crew of the Palomino are on an exploratory mission when they encounter the lost ship, the Cygnus, sitting at the edge of a black hole. They find the ship abandoned, aside from its captain, Doctor Hans Reinhart, and his crew of robot helpers.

Doctor Reinhart plans to go through the Black Hole. He claims his crew revolted and left the ship, leaving the Doctor alone to build his robotic companions. Doctor Reinhard, along with his companion, the robot Maximillian, make preparations to send the Cygnus into the black hole...

*SPOILER ALERT*

Of course, all those robots were the crew, and Doctor Reinhart was insane. He killed the whole crew and turned them into cyborg zombies. Once the crew of the Palomino figure out what he is up to, the Doctor orders Maximillian to kill the visiting crew.

Maximillian is "de-activated" with a duel with the robot V.I.N.CENT, and falls into the black hole. There, in a sequence that defies description, Doctor Reinhart's "soul" is trapped inside of Maximillian's shell, in HELL, while the remainders of the Palomino crew speed through the black hole, through HEAVEN, and end up on the other side of the universe.

THAT IS A DISNEY MOVIE.

Imagine what did to my mind in 1979.

So yeah, there were toys of the characters from the movie. They were made by MEGO in the now standard 3 3/4 size, and for the most part, they were terrible. The human figures were atrocious, and the robot figures only marginally better. The best of the line were Maximillian, V.I.N.CENT and Old B.O.B..

Mego Black Hole Commercial

Unfortunately though, the best wasn't very good. Maximillian is made out of hard plastic and has only 3 points of articulation. The head turns, and so do each chrome arm. Oh and the leg flaps move, if you want to call it articulation. The color of the figure is all wrong from the character, and it requires a clear stand (not shown) for the toy to be displayed properly. The card for this figure was the same as all the other cards, with a sticker to differentiate the toy.

Its not that great, but it is all Black Hole fans had for a while, not counting the model kit or the italian Gig magnetic toys. In 2004, Medicom released a Maximillian Kubrick that is more accurate to the design shown in the movie.

Oh, and I would have given anything for this RC V.I.N.CENT (only a prototype was ever made)

Maximillian comes from the Disney live action movie The Black Hole. It is part of Medicom's Disney Characters Series 6 Kubricks.

Kubricks are small toys based around a common block frame. Maximillian doesn't look like a Kubrick at first, but separate the halves and you will notice a Kubrick upper torso inside. He's about 3" tall, and comes with a clear stand.

Maximillian's head and arms rotate, and the legs pivot on hinges. Some assembly is required.

Old B.O.B. comes from the 1979 Disney movie "The Black Hole". Bob is one of the last service robots left on the U.S.S. Cygnus, a spaceship from earth. Voiced by Slim Pickens, Old Bob helps the heroes escape from Dr. Hans Reinhardt, who is bent on traveling through a Black Hole.

Medicom Toys of Japan released Old B.O.B. as part of it's Disney Kubrick line. He comes from series 5, and you have an 8% chance of getting him (The boxes are not marked as to which figure is inside.). Disney introduced a Maximillian figure in wave 6, so we can only hope for a V.I.N.CENT. in wave 7. these are the first new Black Hole toys since the Mego toys from the 80s.

Kubricks are blocky little action figures, all based off of the same body style. What makes Old Bob a Kubrick? Well, if you remove his top, there is a Kubrick chest piece inside. Check out a picture here.

Old Bob comes packed in a small box, wrapped in plastic, His only accessory is the clear stand, and you have to assemble his one leg. He has virtually no articulation, save for his rotating head. It's a beautiful sculpt, although a little cleaner than he looks in the movie.