Race Bannon

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Race Bannon
Race Bannon.png
Insert smart Mike Pence caption here.
Species Human
Gender Male
Affiliation Doctor Benton Quest
Jonny Quest
Hadji
Bandit
Jezebel Jade
Hardrock[Note 1]
Occupation Government agent
Government bodyguard
Works for Intelligence One
Goals Protecting the Quest crew from all sorts of danger
Tutoring Jonny and Hadji
Father John Bannon
Mother Sarah Bannon
Marital status Divorced husband to Jade Kenyan-Bannon[Note 2] or Estella Vasquez in The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest (1997).</ref>
Daughter(s) Jessie Bannon[Note 3]
First appearance JQ: "The Mystery of the Lizard Men" (1964)
Played by Mike Road (1964-65)
Sonny Van Dusen (1986-96)
Robert Patrick (1996-97)
Robert Foxworth (1996-97)
Thom Pinto (2000, 2005)
Michael Hanks (2015)
80s Race Bannon.png
Race in the 80s second season.
File:TRA S1 Race Bannon.png
The Real Adventures season 1.
File:TRA S2 Race Bannon.png
The Real Adventures season 2.
File:JS Race Bannon.png
Jellystone!

Roger T. "Race" Bannon is a government-employed bodyguard for the Quest family, and one of the main characters of the Jonny Quest animated franchise. He works for Intelligence One and is accompanied on special missions with Doctor Benton Quest. His voice was originated by Mike Road.

Character description

Race is a grown man with fair skin, an athletic build, and short white hair. He is commonly seen wearing a red shirt, light grey khaki pants, a wristwatch, and a pair of brown leather boots.

He is a confident man who knows how to stay patient and is usually composed for the greater good. He is also natural at quipping one-liners, particularly when it comes to targeting his enemies. He is an Intelligence One bodyguard who keeps a sharp eye on Jonny, Doctor Quest, and Hadji. He is proficient in piloting aircraft, has known many forms of self-defense, and an expert in weaponry. Race is also nearly as well versed as Doctor Quest when it comes to explaining strange phenomena and mysteries.

When he is not occupied with missions, he acts as a tutor to both Jonny and Hadji, educating them on a variety of subjects. However, Race can sometimes be sensitive to their innocence and often includes short courses on non-traditional subjects like judo, and scuba diving. Race has insight into what it was like to be boys like Jonny and Hadji, and treats them as capable young men, which they are in many areas.

Appearances

TV series

Movies

Specials

Comics

Books

Video games

Biography

Becoming the Second Dad

Race was 32 years old in the original series and was born in Wilmette, Illinois, to John and Sarah Bannon.[1] Following the death of Jonny's mother, Race Bannon was assigned by Intelligence One to safegaurd Jonny "24 hours a day and 7 days a week as tutor, companion and all-around watchdog."[2]

In "Double Danger," Race went to Thailand with Doctor Quest while he scouted for plants for a tranquilizer pill that would help astronauts endure in long space travels. However, a double agent imitating Race replaced him during their operation, who was hired by Doctor Zin to steal Quest's formula, and was trained to copy Race's appearance, voice, and mannerisms. With the help of Jezebel Jade, Jonny and Hadji were able to free Race, stopping Race's double and Zin's plan in the process.[1]

The 1980s Adventures

Becoming a Real Dad

Texan Twang

The Texan Has Left the Building

Custody Battle

Race's Final Mission

Running with Tom and Jerry

Everyone's Back in Jellystone!

Race in the Funny Books

Comico's Real World Adventures

The Dark Horse Adventures

When HB Worlds Collide

Development

According to The Art of Hanna-Barbera book, Race Bannon's appearance was modeled after actor Jeff Chandler.[3] Joseph Barbera also wrote that Bannon resembled the title character of the Terry and the Pirates comic strip.[4]

Gallery

Main article: Race Bannon/Gallery

Behind the scenes

  • Jonny Quest’s creator Doug Wildey created Race's full name by combining the names of Race Dunhill and Stretch Bannon from his earlier comic strips.
  • The surname Bannon is Irish (from 'O'Banain') meaning "white".
  • He is right-handed.[1]

In popular culture

WARNING: The following section contains content that may be seen as mature or offensive to some readers. Reader discretion is advised.
Main article: List of pop culture references to Jonny Quest
  • In the Weekend Update sketch in the Saturday Night Live episode "Miranda Richardson/Soul Asylum," Rob Schneider contests the FFC's ruling that cartoons aren't educational because a cartoon such as Jonny Quest has pro-social values in positively showing gay men, with a picture beside him of Doctor Quest and Race.
  • In The Simpsons episode "Deep Space Homer," an astronaut is named Race Banyon, a play on Race Bannon.
  • In the Freakazoid! segment "Doomsday Bet," from a one-off Toby Danger backup feature, Doctor Quest was lampooned as Dash O'Pepper, with Granville Van Dusen reprising his role as Race from the 80s incarnation of Jonny Quest.
  • In the Adult Swim series The Venture Bros., Brock Samson was partly inspired by Race.
  • Race is merged with Dr. Quest to become Dr. Courage in the Evil Con Carne episode "Max Courage!" Max and Rick accompany their father, Dr. Courage, to Bunny Island at the request of his old protege, Major Dr. Ghastly, which is a trap to get him to build the Doomsday Machine. Dr. Courage holds Max to a higher regard than Rick, to the point where he values their pet weasel more.
  • In The Fairly OddParents TV movie Channel Chasers, Timmy zaps himself into the world of Jonny Hunt, in which he becomes part of an escape with the titular, young Jonny Hunt and his team from a laser-firing robot shaped like a scorpion in the jungle. The unnamed bodyguard-type gave Timmy a bazooka after the Doctor Quest-type invited him along with them after he saved them, referencing how careless the adults are.
  • Following its internet spread in 2016, there was a series of political memes of Race with false captions labelling him as a violently homophobic version of US Vice President Mike Pence.[5]
  • In the film The Incredibles 2, part of "Arctic Showdown" is watched by Dash, with Race's voice heard in the background.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

  • October 4, 2019: The cold opening segment is a fake cartoon titled The Adventures of Mike Pence: "Ukraine, not Me-Kraine," in which Pence (as portrayed by footage of Race Bannon) attempts to distance himself from then-US President Donald Trump, following backlash over his demands for the Ukrainian government to investigate Joe Biden.
  • January 5, 2021: In The Adventures of Mike Pence: "The Uncertain Certification," Pence (again portrayed by Race) tries not to follow through with Trump’s demands to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.
  • September 15, 2021: In The Adventures of Mike Pence: To Coup or Not to Coup," Pence (once more as Race) contacts former Vice President Dan Quayle to get advice on overturning an election, but gets rejected when Quayle refuses his offer.

Footnotes

  1. ^ Second season of Jonny Quest (1986-1987).
  2. ^ In Jonny's Golden Quest (1993).
  3. ^ Jonny's Golden Quest (1993), Jonny Quest Versus the Cyber Insects (1995), The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest (1996-1997).

References

  1. ^ a b c Jonny Quest: "Double Danger," season 1, episode 9 (1964).
  2. ^ Jonny Quest: "The Mystery of the Lizard Men," season 1, episode 1 (1964).
  3. ^ Sennett, Ted (October 30, 1989). The Art of Hanna-Barbera. Viking Studio Books. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  4. ^ Barbera, Joseph (May 1, 1994). My Life in 'toons: From Flatbush to Bedrock in Under a Century. Turner Publishing, Inc. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  5. ^ Mike Pence is Race Bannon - Know Your Meme. Retrieved on June 5, 2023.