The Steel Bison
The Steel Bison is the fourth episode from the anime series Zoids: Guardian Force based on TOMY's Zoids model franchise.
Overview
The episode begins with Van receiving order to investigate a group of Zoid pilots posing as Republican soldiers, despite there being no army divisions in the area. Van heads into the city to investigate and meet up with Colonel Schubaltz. He leaves his Blade Liger behind so as to not cause a panic. He isn't in the town long but Zeke manages to get covered in red paint by accident. Unable to get it off, Fiona instead just fills in the gaps, painting him completely red. Before Van can react, he is shot at by Lieutenant Thomas Richard Schubaltz, who mistakes him for Hiltz, due to Zeke's impromptu paintjob. He quickly becomes smitten with Fiona, but this does not stop him from arresting Van and Zeke. It is then reveled that Thomas is Karl's younger brother.
Eventually he comes to believe Van is not Hiltz, and gives him information about the enemy forces. They comprise mainly of Command Wolves, and have been terrorising the nearby town. Fearing that the town will be attacked, Thomas decides to launch a pre-emptive strike against the bandits. Throughout this period, Thomas talks almost solely to Fiona, only occasionally responding to Van, and even then in a fairly crude manner. Regardless, he and BEEK, his support AI, open fire at the enemy camp, but his shells veer off course and his attack misses. It turns out that special magnetic poles were causing both the enemy's and Thomas' shells to fly wildly around and back onto Van. Realising this, Van chops the poles up with his Liger's blades, allowing Thomas to pulverise the opponent's Command Wolves. However, an enemy Gordos fires a fresh batch of poles, reforming the field. Van targets this Zoid and destroys it with his blade attack. With the field cleared of magnetic interference, Thomas uses his Dibison's Megalomax attack to finish off all the Zoids in one fell swoop, ending the conflict.
Zoids
See also:Zoids: Guardian Force