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| “ | Teamwork may be strong, But I have the power to be stronger. I will save the entire plaza all by myself! It's time to go Turbo. | ” |
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Turbo K.O. (full name Turbo Kaio Kincaid), or T.K.O. for short, was a manifestation of K.O.'s negative emotions and feelings of powerlessness. T.K.O. first appeared in "Face Your Fears" as a version of K.O. seemingly made out of a dark-colored slime, but after help from Shadowy Figure, his true form manifested in "T.K.O.". In "Let's Fight to the End", K.O. accepts himself and permanently becomes one ego with T.K.O within their psyche.
Physical Appearance
When he first appeared as K.O.'s fear, and before he was unleashed, T.K.O. had a near identical shape to his good half, except for having a blank white eyes, being purple-colored, and a glowing mouth, as well as a rippling liquid consistency. In his physical form after being released in K.O.'s mental plane of existence, T.K.O. once again took on a relatively similar appearance to K.O., with a few key differences. He lacks K.O.'s notable red headband, causing his hair to flow over his back, and purple spiked wristbands take the place of his regular red wristbands. He also has two fangs and other sharp teeth which are almost always visible, and a single snaggle-tooth when his mouth is closed. Additionally, he had dark purple eyeshadow when he started wearing Carol's eyeliner in the second part of his debut episode, and wearing black nail polish during the Plaza Tournament.
In "T.K.O.'s House", inside K.O.'s mindspace, he also wore a black nail polish, and he was wore a black pentagram shirt (in "Dark Plaza", his shirt was no longer had a Pentagram symbol, due to the religion sensitivity of that symbol), making him more of a Goth kid.
But in "Carl", he returned to the usual K.O.'s regular outfit from his debut and Season 1 finale.
In OK K.O.! Let's Play Heroes game, T.K.O. is K.O.’s 'Powie Zowie', and is shown for the first time coexisting alongside K.O. in the physical world. His outfit is nearly similar to K.O.'s regular outfit (still without his headband) with black and gray color schemes, but he is no longer wearing a tank top and albeit his wristbands have no spikes, only seemingly possessing his leg warmers during the peak of his anger, unlike his appearance in the series.
Personality
T.K.O. is not simply the opposite of K.O.; he embodies a darker manifestation of K.O.'s internal struggles, including anger, frustration, and feelings of inadequacy. Rather than being motivated by pure malice or a thirst for destruction, T.K.O.'s chaotic actions are driven by these deep emotional conflicts. His belief that the world is filled with suffering and betrayal shapes his interactions, leading him to dismiss others' attempts at kindness. For example, when he tells Enid, "cram it, wage slave," in T.K.O. (episode), he rejects any form of affection or praise, viewing it as mere pity and a sign of weakness.
Unlike K.O., T.K.O. shows no mercy in battle, even toward those close to him. He is willing to harm people K.O. cares about, as seen in his near-attack on his mother in T.K.O. (episode). His disregard for others, including his sarcastic acknowledgment of Gar with "good hustle, Gar," further showcases his tumultuous relationship with affection and recognition.
In You're in Control (episode), T.K.O.'s primary motivation is revealed: he craves the opportunity to fight and resents being trapped in K.O.'s mind when he is inactive. After reaching a compromise with K.O., T.K.O. is allowed to live freely within K.O.'s mind in exchange for lending K.O. his Turbonic powers. T.K.O.’s willingness to agree to this arrangement is marked by his declaration, "NO TAKE BACKS" signaling both his acceptance and continued desire for autonomy. His existence represents K.O.'s anger, fear, and inferiority, all combined into a powerful, volatile force.
In TKO's House (episode), T.K.O. exhibits some cooperative behavior, working with K.O. in a way that suggests they could potentially function in harmony. T.K.O.'s intelligence even surpasses K.O.'s at times, such as when he correctly deduces that Shadowy Figure was lying about his true intentions. However, despite this, T.K.O.'s struggles remain unresolved, and his violent tendencies continue to surface.
During the Dark Plaza (episode), T.K.O. works with K.O. to defeat Foxtail. Though he helps K.O. by using his Turbonic powers to reflect Foxtail’s disempowering ray, his actions result in unintended consequences, disempowering both Foxtail and Elodie for a period of time. This marks a pivotal moment in their relationship as T.K.O. begins to grapple with the consequences of his power and his anger.
Following the events of TKO Rules! (episode), T.K.O.'s relationship with K.O. fractures when K.O. abandons him in his subconscious as a punishment for his destructive actions. This act of abandonment forces T.K.O. to confront the reality that his internal struggles had led to his isolation, and that K.O.'s attempts at containment only exacerbated the situation. T.K.O.’s rage eventually leads him to escape in Carl (episode), where he seeks revenge by pushing K.O. back into his subconscious. T.K.O. allies with Shadowy Venomous, terrorizing the world as they work together to fulfill Shadowy's plans of destruction and domination.
T.K.O. eventually realizes that Shadowy Venomous’s true goal was not a partnership but to exploit him for his power. In a turning point, T.K.O. breaks free from Shadowy’s manipulation, draining his energy and siphoning power from the people in the Plaza. This moment illustrates the extent of T.K.O.’s internal turmoil and his increasing reliance on destruction as a form of control.
When K.O. discovers T.K.O.'s hidden box in his subconscious, he finds a childhood tape recorder playing Focus Pocus, a song sung by Carol. K.O. hopes that the song will calm T.K.O.’s anger, but instead, it exacerbates T.K.O.'s fury, leading to further destruction as he continues to drain the people around him. This event is a turning point in K.O.’s understanding of their connection. He acknowledges the anger and frustration they both have buried, and in an emotional moment, he offers an apology for neglecting to address it sooner.
In the final resolution, K.O. and T.K.O. merge into a single entity, M.K.O., symbolizing the acceptance of their shared struggles and strengths. T.K.O., now dormant and permanently integrated into K.O., represents the culmination of K.O.'s emotional journey, a moment of growth, unity, and reconciliation between K.O.’s fractured self.
Abilities and Powers
The exact villain-or-hero power level of T.K.O. is unknown, but so far he is shown to be extremely powerful and was described as this by both himself and his normal side. He easily destroyed a powerful dark version of Laserblast by simply flying into him, took down Mega Darrell with a brutal bisection, and sent Rad flying into orbit with a single punch. He was even able to break out of Rad's levitation beam and use it against him with relative ease.
He is also able to float, teleport, fire energy blasts from his fists, and can use the Power-Fist ability similar to K.O. and move with super-speed. His power is so great that he destroyed Lakewood Plaza Turbo with ease.
It appears that T.K.O.'s power is linked directly to his anger, something Shadowy Figure hypothesized and T.K.O. later confirmed as he tried to attack Enid: as he chased her his power, strength, and speed appeared to increase. At the peak of his anger during his proper debut episode, T.K.O. was able to create energy waves that easily blasted through solid objects by simply waving his hand and during a tantrum created a dome-shaped field of energy that was even able to inflict damage on heroes with levels in the double digits such as his mother and employer, who usually are seemingly invincible in a fight. The disempowerment dome has the power to enervate its victims and nullify their powers. This power seems to be inherited from his father, Laserblast, now Professor Venomous.
It was later revealed in Mystery Science Fair 201X that T.K.O. can be unleashed when K.O. feels powerless, and during any direct situations in which K.O. feels devastated, triggering his Turbo transformation. In the "Big Reveal", onwards, K.O. emits purple sparks sometimes when he was worried that he had villain blood in him and about T.K.O. existing within his body (an obviously example is when one of his wristbands turned into T.K.O.'s) to reach his dad. In "Let's Get Shadowy" and "Carl", K.O. implied that he doesn't want to go Turbo because of the instability and emotional loss of control brought by T.K.O. when his powers weren't enough to defeat Carl, but with the help of Rad and Enid, they managed to destroy him. He also hit Shadowy Figure to snap his dad out of his possession, with the help of Fink's own Turbo powers as a boost to K.O.'s Power-fist.
As shown in "Let's Fight to the End", T.K.O. was able to, after absorbing power from the Glorb tree, take out everyone in Lakewood Plaza Turbo, and possibly beyond.
Episode Appearances
| Season 3 | ||||||||||||
| 93. "We Are Heroes": | Absent | 102. "Deep Space Vacation": | Absent | |||||||||
| 94. "KO, Rad, and Enid!": | Absent | 103. "Big Reveal": | Foreshadowed | |||||||||
| 95. "Let's Meet Sonic": | Absent | 104. "Radical Rescue": | Absent | |||||||||
| 96. "TKO Rules!": | Appears | 105. "You're a Good Friend, KO": | Absent | |||||||||
| 97. "K.O. vs. Fink": | Imagined | 106. "Let's Get Shadowy": | Mentioned | |||||||||
| 98. "Chip's Damage": | Absent | 107. "Red Action 3: Grudgement Day": | Absent | |||||||||
| 99. "The K.O. Trap": | Absent | 108. "Carl": | Appears | |||||||||
| 100. "Whatever Happened to... Rippy Roo?": | Absent | 109. "Dendy's Video Channel": | Appears | |||||||||
| 101. "Planet X": | Absent | 110/111. "Let's Fight to the End": | Appears | |||||||||
| 112. "Thank You for Watching the Show": | Absent | |||||||||||
Trivia
- T.K.O. being the dark side of K.O. could be a reference to various video game heroes possessing evil counterparts/rivals such as Evil Ryu (Street Fighter), Dark Link (The Legend of Zelda), Vanitas (Kingdom Hearts), Dark Samus (Metroid), Dark Pit (Kid Icarus), Devil Jin (Tekken), Wario and Waluigi (Super Mario), Dark Sonic, Fleetway Super Sonic, and Shadow the Hedgehog (Sonic the Hedgehog), etc.
- The relationship between K.O. and T.K.O. is a reference to the relationship between Dr. Henry Jekyll and Mr. Edward Hyde, two separate individuals who share the same body but have different personalities with one being good and the other evil, the transformations between the two even resulting in physical as well as mental changes.
- K.O.'s anger being contained in a cage within himself could be a reference to Naruto, where the nine-tailed fox sealed within Naruto was also in a cage.
- T.K.O. can be a reference to all anger-based transformations that can be seen in media such as anime, TV shows and video games including Super Saiyan from Dragon Ball Z (1989-1996), Specifically the third Super Saiyan transformation, due to the spiky longer hair and purple electricity that constantly surrounds him.
- Similar to how K.O.'s name is a reference to the phrase "Knock Out", T.K.O.'s name is a reference to the similar phrase "Technical Knock Out".
- Their names, K.O. and T.K.O., could also be a reference to their personalities. Since a K.O. can be seen as a way to end a fight without overly hurting the other person, while a T.K.O. is when a person injures the opponent to the point they can't fight back safely anymore. This is shown clearly, as T.K.O. is more violent than K.O.
- When K.O. was beaten by Big Darrell in "You're Level 100!", there was a brief glimpse that he was close to becoming T.K.O.
- He has been the reason for the Pow Card glitch. It is possible that it was T.K.O who had a power level of 100.
- T.K.O. destroys a Big Darrell as collateral damage while fighting Boxman Jr. in Boxmore in "You're in Control".
- He has been the reason for the Pow Card glitch. It is possible that it was T.K.O who had a power level of 100.
- The K.O. and T.K.O. storyline is inspired by Ian Jones-Quartey's childhood as a hyperactive kid, who had temper tantrums, and kids' "complicated inner life that adults don't always get."[1]
- T.K.O. appears to share similarities with Dark Mousy from D.N.Angel; their theme color is purple in contrast to Daisuke and K.O.'s red, they both can interact with their other selves mentally, they are capable of taking control of their counterparts bodies and both have been causing trouble for the main protagonists in personal matters.
- According to Ian Jones-Quartey, T.K.O. does not seem like the singing type.[2]
Gallery
Turbo K.O..
Turbo K.O..
References