Blaze the Monster Machine

"Let's blazeǃ"

Blaze the Monster Machine, or very commonly known as just Blaze, is the titular main protagonist of the Nickelodeon show Blaze and the Monster Machines. He is voiced by Nolan North. He is an orange-red monster truck with tons of transformations. He is a male Monster Machine who loves racing and adventure.

He is based on the first generation 2010-2014 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor in the form of a trophy truck/pre-runner.

Why He's Blazin' Speed

 * 1) He is brave, kind-hearted, and loyal. He's usually in a good mood and is willing to help others in need. Whenever a problem is called to hand, he would be serious and think of how to solve it, usually with viewer interaction.
 * 2) Along with AJ (though he was the first), similar to other Nick Jr.-based main characters, the Mighty Machines (even though despite not being anthropomorphic nor animated), even the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse characters, etc., they talk to the audience in a charming way that isn't pandering at best.
 * 3) His pair with AJ is adorable, mostly how AJ drives with him by going the adventures, including races.
 * 4) He has great and awesome designs, even if they look uncanny (especially in season 1), such as his usual monster truck form, a robot, and race car. In late-season 3 onwards, his design was the improvement from the realistic metal and expression emotions. Visible tears were also added on each truck's tires.
 * 5) He is well-voiced by the iconic voice actor Nolan North, who does a spot-on impression on some other characters, such as Lightning McQueen, a very similar character from another most popular anthropomorphic vehicle-related media, Cars.
 * 6) *In season 1, his voice was slightly low-pitched, and had a little bit of scratch in it. By the time season 2 began, his voice became higher-pitched and lost the scratch, sounding more youthful and eccentric.
 * 7) Even if he rarely does ever get annoyed, usually especially due to Crusher's cheating and his other habits, the only time he showed true anger to date was in "Stuntmania!" when Crusher uses a Bouncy Boot Machine only for him to literally kick Darington out of the Monster Dome, he was actually scolding Crusher and gave him a death glare (aside from "The Driving Force" and "The Great Animal Crown", though just out of determination rather than sheer anger; see Trivia section below)
 * 8) He loves to help other Monster Machines and solve problems.
 * 9) During the episodes, it was shown that he was a fantastic work for doing jobs, other than the racer.
 * 10) *In the episode "Truck Rangers", it was revealed that Blaze is an excellent guitar player and singer, though that was the only episode he was shown doing such.
 * 11) **Coincidentally, Nolan North, is really good at singing.
 * 12) *In the episode "Sneezing Cold", he was good for doing ice skating.
 * 13) *In "Fired Up!", he helps them to put out the fire. He even becomes a member of the Axle City firefighters.
 * 14) *In "The Great Animal Crown", he becomes the ruler of Animal Island.
 * 15) *In "Ninja Blaze", he and AJ become ninjas when doing the training montage.
 * 16) *In "Officer Blaze", he and AJ become police officers.
 * 17) He is really good at driving and racing, which he demonstrates in every episode. He can drive on his own or with the assistance of AJ. Prior to the start of the series, he wasn't a racer yet and dreamed of becoming one. He got his wish in "Blaze of Glory" when he was asked to race with the other Monster Machines. He can also do tricks and stunts in mid-air. When he sees a ramp, he'll jump right off it and either do a flip or spin roll. His jumping is also used to reach really high platforms like in "Trouble at the Truck Wash" when he got the last water sprayer.
 * 18) *In several episodes, he is shown to drive or at least bounce off of walls. In "Trouble at the Truck Wash", he briefly rides on the piano setup of the music store.
 * 19) His blazing speed ability is so awesome, especially that he also shared the main characters for blazing speed, making the ability even more awesome than that!
 * 20) Interestingly, he even manages to avoid coming off as a rip-off to Meteor from Bigfoot Presents: Meteor and the Mighty Monster Trucks, another animated TV series very similarly also about anthropomorphic monster trucks, which was aired on Qubo, and released between September 2006 until its official cancellation in October 2008, or even Chuck the Truck from another inspiration of Cars; The Adventures of Chuck and Friends, which was released in 2010 until its official cancellation in January 2012, also especially in season 1, like the episodes "Tool Duel" and/or even "Trouble at the Truck Wash", although the second case for that show does not excuse the presence of monster trucks due to them being absent on Chuck and Friends, as the characters resemble more of construction vehicles. However, the only exception that does resemble a monster truck might be "Biggs", who is painted orange and is one of Chuck's friends, and has a Texas accent which is evidenced by the horns on his and his father's cab roofs.
 * 21) *It seems that the show was most likely made for this reason; probably just to cash-off on the obscurity (or unpopularity) of those two shows, although they actually were somewhat decently-received too.
 * 22) *However, there was a religious version of the first said series renamed to Monster Truck Adventures, released later in 2013.
 * 23) *What's even more interesting is, the show also tries to not rip-off a third Cars inspiration; Roary the Racing Car, except if it had monster trucks instead of race cars and even just normal cars. Because both shows have actual human characters in the universe.
 * 24) **Even any said character don't bear resemblance to each other.
 * 25) Apart from AJ, he has very good chemistry for other main characters, notably Crusher and Pickle in some episodes.
 * 26) Good catchphrases, like what he says all the time, such as "Gaskets!", "Lug nuts!", "Hubcaps!", and/or "I'm a/an (X) Mmmmonster Machine!!"
 * 27) In "Blaze of Glory", once there, when he wishes them luck, he is invited to participate in the race which he happily accepts, making it his first race ever. He races with them, and when Crusher gets ahead, he uses his Blazing Speed to overtake him and win, thus winning the trophy and fulfilling his dream of becoming a Monster Machine racer.
 * 28) He continued to have many more adventures later on, whether it was to win a race, help a friend, finish a task, or other reasons.
 * 29) His transformations, such as a falcon and tow truck, are exciting and creative.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) While not technically a plot hole, but a little strange, usually a little child driving a monster truck (or him) wouldn't end well.
 * 2) Much like Dora the Explorer and the latter three of the Team Umizoomi protagonists, anyone above the target audience for the show would probably find his fourth wall breaking annoying, since he often stays silent for a few seconds in order to leave time for the viewer to reply. However, it was slightly toned down so that he always hears the viewer and quickly responds to their correct answer.
 * 3) If you had noticed, whenever the episode involves a race, he always wins almost every race he is in, usually because he uses his blazing speed to win, which makes it really unfair (and even somewhat annoying too) to the viewers for almost each episode. However, there is the reason why he does that, it is because he is the main protagonist of the series and Crusher is usually the villain who loses at the end (though Crusher is not always bad and really evil, considering how he does have his good side on a special occasion), and there are some parts where Blaze isn't the only one who wins, sometimes he and his friends, notably Pickle, win as well. But this all does make some sense.
 * 4) There are moments where he would feel shocked or exasperated, such as when Crusher cheats or whenever he comes upon something terrible. Despite this, he manages to stay calm and get it done.
 * 5) Sadly, when the animation was updated as of mid-season 3, for some reason his flame sticker doesn't glow when using Blazing Speed, save for the theme song and for brief moments in Need for Blazing Speed and Raceday Rescue.
 * 6) *This could possibly be because it would be difficult to animate in the new animation style.
 * 7) **However, Crusher's lightning bolts still glow when he deploys a cheat, though they are comparatively simpler in design compared to his flames.
 * 8) Also sadly too, whenever he is driving, the spinning effects on his tires are out of alignment with each other, as the right movements are slightly lower than on the left. He's the only Monster Machine that has this; all others have their tire spinning effects completely aligned.
 * 9) * However too again, although when he turns into a race car for the Race Car Adventures episodes, his tires are in perfect alignment.
 * 10) Much like Crusher, there are ironies in the following episodes too:
 * 11) * In "Dragon Island Duel", he could've transformed into something to free himself before AJ arrived.
 * 12) ** Probably because he didn't know what to transform into until AJ came in the cave.
 * 13) * In "Officer Blaze", he could've used the sidewalk to drive around the traffic jams instead of using his siren to direct the traffic.
 * 14) * In "Toy Trouble!", he and Watts could've given Crusher one of the toys after they shrunk them.

Character

 * Blaze is the very first character introduced on the show, and along with AJ, though he's the first to talk to the viewer.
 * He is the only main Monster Machine with an eye color.
 * He and AJ are the only two characters to currently appear out of all episodes in the series and other media.
 * Except, the only media they do not appear in to date is the Pickle's Pirate Professionals short, which only Crusher and Pickle are seen.
 * He is ticklish on his front fender as shown in "The Driving Force".
 * So far, Blaze has sung the travel song "Hit The Road" alone. He is also the lead singer of two STEM songs, "Structural Engineering" and "Momentum".
 * As of now, he has yet to sing a STEM song alone.
 * Blaze's horn sound is the most unique as it plays a seven-note melody (D-D-G-G-B-B-A). Those who have seen the show multiple times will know it plays a variation of the chorus melody for the Blaze and the Monster Machines theme. Something also worth noting is that it has a similar sounding note to traditional actual large semi-trucks.
 * In "The Driving Force", his horn was low-pitched twice, once when leaving the canyon and again when he returns to the Monster Dome. His horn also produces a generic one-note sound just after the STEM song before Gabby calls him. The horn's sound was lowered by five steps.
 * The low-pitched version of his horn is used for the Super Stunts Blaze toy.
 * In "Knight Riders" and "Knighty Knights", the horn had the sound of a heralding trumpet to fit the medieval theme in those episodes.
 * In "Ninja Blaze", the horn was sped up for some reason when he jumps to free Crusher and Pickle from the giant snowball.
 * The horn sound was used as the first track for the album Rockin' Ride-Along Songs.
 * Blaze has only gotten dizzy five times so far; for a brief moment in "Blaze of Glory" when he crashes into Axle City, in "Stuntmania!" when he gets bumped by the first bighorn while going up the hill, in "Sneezing Cold" when he repeatedly sneezes and reverses into a tree, in "Robot Power" when he gets blasted into a pile of tires by the blasting robot, and in "The Flying Lion" when Blaze got tossed by the tornado.
 * "Dragon Island Duel" and "AJ to the Rescue" are the only episodes to date where Blaze has a minor supporting role, since AJ has more screen time and interaction with the viewer throughout those episodes.
 * Blaze rarely gets angry and/or sad throughout the series. The first, and so far, only time he showed actual, true anger to date was in "Stuntmania!" when he scolds Crusher for kicking Darington out of Stuntmania. He was also actually sad for the first time in "Truckball Team-Up" when he returns to AJ and Gabby after learning he cannot participate in the Truckball tournament without a team. He became sad again in "Race Car Superstar" when Speedrick got away the first time. He became sad again in "The Flying Lion" when Roarian turns to a statue.
 * "The Mystery Bandit" is the first episode where Blaze shows a hint of impatience, as when he goes into position to take a picture with Ferris and he doesn't do anything before realizing he forgot his camera, he shifts his eyes back and forth while still holding his smile.
 * Blaze has a special leitmotif that plays usually whenever his Blazing Speed is in use, consisting of lively rock music played in the key of A major.
 * Every time Blaze is shown looking forward, his eyes appear to cross slightly inward in the center. This might indicate he has a lazy eye, though this could be intentional.
 * Almost every time Blaze smiles, he has his teeth showing.
 * In addition, during season 1, sometimes Blaze would cock lower edge of his mouth to the side when smiling. This has been abandoned by the start of season 2.
 * In a few episodes of season 1, when Blaze responded to a "yes/no" question when he asks the viewer, he uses physical body talk when he speaks. For a "yes" answer, he smiles and/or nods; for a "no" answer, he frowns and/or shakes his head. This has rarely been used since season 2, though the body language still remains in occasional instances.
 * Like Crusher, Blaze might have a mild obsession with cake too, as shown in "Cake-tastrophe!".
 * Blaze can ice skate, as shown in "Sneezing Cold".
 * Blaze gets the most hugs out of every character in the series.
 * So far, he, AJ, Gabby, Darington, Watts, Crusher and Pickle are the only main characters whose homes haven't been seen yet.
 * So far, he gets a new job or position at least once each season:
 * He becomes a Monster Machine racer in the premiere.
 * He becomes a member of the Axle City firefighters in "Fired Up!".
 * He becomes the ruler of Animal Island in "The Great Animal Crown".
 * He and AJ become ninjas in "Ninja Blaze".
 * He and AJ become police officers in "Officer Blaze".
 * Blaze got something stuck in him twice; a rubber ducky in his transmission ("Tool Duel"), and a hot dog in his Blazing Speed engine ("Need for Blazing Speed").
 * Though happening rarely, Blaze has experienced a near death experience nine times in the show to date:
 * In "The Driving Force", he was almost stomped on by Crusher’s bigfoot robot.
 * In "The Team Truck Challenge", he and Pickle almost got crushed by the giant cheese balls made by Crusher’s giant cheese ball machine.
 * In "Trouble at the Truck Wash", he and AJ almost got smashed by the smashing machines at the recycling plant.
 * In "Dino Dash", he almost got crushed by falling rocks.
 * In "Axle City Grand Prix", he was almost crushed by the runaway Ferris wheel. He also almost drowned in the flood that Crusher started.
 * In "The Wishing Wheel", he and Stripes almost got stomped flat by the elephant’s foot.
 * In "The Polar Derby", he and his friends almost got squished by the various balls launched from Crusher’s abominable blaster.
 * In "Power Tires", he was almost squished by the desserts made by Crusher’s robot baker.
 * In "Royal Rescue", he almost got killed by the Bighorn Barbarians’ cannonballs.
 * He is a master of ninjutsu as of Ninja Blaze along with AJ.
 * Blaze’s viewer greetings at the beginning of each episode became less frequent when the show’s animation was updated as of "Animal Island".
 * Blaze could be at least 18-21 years old due to certain jobs he gets (i.e., racer and firefighter) require a US citizen to be within that age group to get the job.
 * This makes Blaze one of few Nick Jr. protagonists to be a teen or adult after Blue's Clues with Steve and Joe (and its reboot Blue's Clues & You! with Josh), The Fresh Beat Band with Kiki, Twist, Shout and Marina, and Mutt & Stuff with Calvin.
 * Blaze is the only Monster Machine in the whole series to have two engines, his main engine under the hood, and his Blazing Speed engine in the back. The latter is what makes him move.
 * Though his main engine was never seen in the series, it was shown on the cover of Pop the Hood!; until it was revealed on a diagram in "The Mechanic Team!".
 * Blaze is the third Monster Machine to have a relative introduced after Crusher in "Rocket Ski Rescue" and Pickle in "The Pickle Family Campout".
 * Blaze is the first character in the series all together to have his parents introduced.

Designs

 * In early stages of production, Blaze’s fog lights were blue, his top area had a more angular look, and already had taillights on his bumper. He also had silver rims that were only red where the metal makes contact with the rubber. Blaze's early artwork also has his front fading from orange and a different flame pattern. Unlike the final design, Blaze's prototype had a protruding bull bar sticking out from under his front bumper.
 * His design seems to be loosely inspired by multiple trophy trucks and pre-runners, specifically the first-generation 2010-2014 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor (coincidentally, both have an orange-red type of color). Thankfully, it's not a full and exact carbon copy, as this would be considered product placement because there are none in the universe.
 * His design also resembles Blue Grit from The Radiator Springs 500½, an episode from the Cars Toon series "Tales from Radiator Springs", which was coincidentally also released in 2014 by a few months earlier before, but with for example, monster tires, and without a roof.
 * For the first three seasons, Blaze's bumper didn't have taillights unlike the others. Since the animation was updated midway through season 3, he had taillights added.
 * In the said updated animation, however, the yellow lining on his spoiler was removed for unknown reasons.
 * Blaze is the only Monster Machine on the show other than his relatives and the dragon from Knighty Knights with an eye color visible, in this case, he has dark blue eyes. All the other trucks have the usual black eyes.
 * Blaze is also the only Monster Machine who went through three different facemolds, as his face seemed slightly different in seasons 2 and 3 than it did in season 1, appearing more realistic-looking and less exaggerated. The rest of the Monster Machines (sans Watts) kept their own facemolds intact.
 * S2E2 - S3E8; S3E15:
 * Paintwork is darker and more vibrant.
 * Mouth is smaller and doesn't stretch as much.
 * Eyes became slightly smaller.
 * Grille became squatter.
 * Foglamps are paler.
 * Drop shadows on body were removed slightly.
 * S3E9 - S3E14; S3E16 onward:
 * Taillights have been added to his bumper.
 * Mouth is more expressive.
 * Eyes became bigger and wider than they appeared in season 1.
 * Paintwork became reflective and slightly duller.
 * Orange lining has been added to the top and bottom frame edges.
 * The flame sticker on his doors became sparkly and holographic.
 * Foglamps became reflective.
 * Shock absorbers and grille became silver.
 * The yellow lining on his spoiler has been removed for unknown reasons.
 * The inside of his cockpit is more detailed.
 * Before the animation update, transformations involving bed-mounted gear simply didn't change Blaze's general body in any major way, but since the update, metallic mechanical plating can be seen when these happen unless Blaze is outfitted for the episode.
 * In "Abra-Ka-Pickle!", his tow hook gains a thinner shape, has a hook block on top with yellow side panels, and the entire hook is now a darker dull silver.
 * In the end segments of the videos from the official YouTube channel, Blaze's windshield is tinted red.