Steve Austin is a

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

character created by Martin Caidin for his 1972 novel, ''

Cyborg A cyborg (, a portmanteau of ''cybernetics, cybernetic'' and ''organism'') is a being with both Organic matter, organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

action hero, portrayed by American actor

Lee Majors Lee Majors (born Harvey Lee Yeary; April 23, 1939) is an American actor. He portrayed the characters of Heath Barkley on the American television Western series '' The Big Valley'' (1965–1969), Colonel Steve Austin on the American television sc ...

, in the American television series '' The Six Million Dollar Man'', which aired on the ABC network for multiple television pilots in 1973, and then as a regular series for five seasons from 1974 to 1978. In the television series, Steve Austin takes on special high-risk government missions using his superhuman bionic powers. The television character Steve Austin became a

pop culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art pop_art.html" ;"title="f. pop art">f. pop artor mass art, some ...

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...

of the 1970s. ''The Six Million Dollar Man'' TV series used the name ''Cyborg'' as its working title, during pre-production. Caidin's version of Steve Austin appeared in only four original novels unrelated to the television series continuity: ''

Cyborg A cyborg (, a portmanteau of ''cybernetics, cybernetic'' and ''organism'') is a being with both Organic matter, organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.Operation Nuke'', '' High Crystal'', and '' Cyborg IV''. Following ''The Six Million Dollar Man'' television series,

reprised the role of Colonel Steve Austin in several bionic-themed reunion television films in the late 1980s and 1990s.

Background

As originally conceived by Caidin, Austin is a former

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

pilot who served in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

before transferring to the

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

and then into

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

. As backup

Lunar Module The Apollo Lunar Module (LM ), originally designated the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM), was the lunar lander spacecraft that was flown between lunar orbit and the Moon's surface during the United States' Apollo program. It was the first crewed s ...

Pilot for

Apollo 17 Apollo 17 (December 7–19, 1972) was the eleventh and final mission of NASA's Apollo program, the sixth and most recent time humans have set foot on the Moon. Commander Gene Cernan and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt walked on the Moon, ...

, he became one of twelve astronauts to walk on the Moon when the primary lunar module pilot broke an arm before launch. In the pilot episode of ''The Six Million Dollar Man'', Austin's background is adjusted: he is a civilian test pilot who was the only civilian to walk on the moon. In the regular series, however, Austin once again became a military man, holding the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in the Air Force. In the episode "Pilot Error", Austin is shown to be wearing both the

Vietnam Service Medal The Vietnam Service Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces established on 8 July 1965 by order of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The medal is awarded to recognize service during the Vietnam War by all members of the U.S. ...

and the Vietnam Campaign Medal on his dress uniform, implying that he is a Vietnam veteran. His other medals include the

Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) The Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. The medal was established on July 2, 1926, and is awarded to those who, after April 6, 19 ...

, the

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establi ...

, and the National Defense Service Medal. He is also seen in uniform wearing

Air Force Outstanding Unit Award The Air and Space Outstanding Unit Award (ASOUA) is one of the unit awards of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force. It was established in 1954 as the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award and was the first independent Air Force ...

. Further, he is seen wearing either the USAF Command Pilot "Wings" or the USAF Command Pilot Astronaut "Wings", more specifically named the U.S. Air Force aeronautical rating. In both versions of his origin, Austin is testing an experimental

lifting body A lifting body is a fixed-wing aircraft or spacecraft configuration in which the body itself produces lift (force), lift. In contrast to a flying wing, which is a wing with minimal or no conventional fuselage, a lifting body can be thought of as ...

aircraft when a malfunction causes a crash. Austin's injuries are severe: both legs and one arm are lost, and he is also blinded in one eye and his skull is fractured (the TV version does not suffer the skull injury). One of Austin's best friends is Dr. Rudy Wells, a doctor and scientist who is a specialist in the newly emerging field of

bionics Bionics or biologically inspired engineering is the application of biological methods and systems found in nature to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology. The word ''bionic'', coined by Jack E. Steele in August 195 ...

; unknown to Wells, a secret American government intelligence agency, the Office of Strategic Operations (OSO; later changed to Office of Scientific Intelligence or OSI for TV) has been looking at a way of reducing agent casualties. Their solution is to take a severely injured man, rebuild him with bionics, and create a

cyborg A cyborg (, a portmanteau of ''cybernetics, cybernetic'' and ''organism'') is a being with both Organic matter, organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.infrared Infrared (IR; sometimes called infrared light) is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than that of visible light but shorter than microwaves. The infrared spectral band begins with the waves that are just longer than those ...

capabilities. His legs and arm provide Austin with superhuman speed, strength, and endurance (the latter because, Caidin writes, Austin's heart and lungs only need to power his torso, head and remaining arm). Caidin's character also had some additional bionic parts his TV counterpart lacked, such as a steel-reinforced skull, a poison dart gun built into one of his bionic fingers, and a radio transmitter built into a rib. Another big distinction between Caidin's original and his television counterpart is the extent to which the bionics could supply strength and speed. In the former, Austin's strength and speed were limited by the physical abilities of the connecting human parts. For instance, Austin could run faster than the best Olympic athlete, whereas the TV character could run 60 MPH. Caidin himself satirized the TV series' unrealistic science in another novel, ''ManFac.'' Both versions of the character are subsequently recruited into the OSO/OSI as a secret agent (and as an ongoing test subject for bionics). Austin becomes a top agent, traveling the world to fight everything from terrorism (the most common target of the literary version of the character) to even alien invasion on television. As a military officer he remains an active member of the NASA Astronaut Corps, but the media describes his command of the Athena Rescue mission (necessary because his bionic strength is needed) as a surprise. Austin is obscure enough to usually maintain his anonymity, and uses his astronaut status to establish credibility when necessary. Austin's personality was altered in the TV series. In the books, Austin was capable of being cold-blooded and did not hesitate to use his powers to kill if necessary. Yet in the TV pilot, Austin is initially hesitant to work for the OSI because, he says, "I don't want to kill people," although he appears to do just that in the subsequent mission. After the show's first season, however, Austin was usually not shown killing anyone. In Caidin's novels, Austin's superior is OSO chief Oscar Goldman. Goldman was replaced by another character, Oliver Spencer, in the TV pilot film, but appeared in the regular series. The relationship between the TV version of Austin and Oscar was much friendlier than the literary counterpart, although numerous episodes show Austin being frustrated at being a "bionic lap dog" for the OSI.

Backstory

Austin's backstory is barely described by Caidin. The TV series, however, introduced his mother and stepfather (of

Ojai, California Ojai ( ; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''’Awhaỳ'') is a city in Ventura County, California. Located in the Ojai Valley, it is northwest of Los Angeles and east of Santa Barbara, California, Santa Barbara. The valley is part of the east– ...

, which has a billboard informing visitors of its famous astronaut native), and eventually, a fiancée, Jaime Sommers, who later became bionic after a

skydiving Parachuting and skydiving are methods of descending from a high point in an atmosphere to the ground or ocean surface with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or multiple parachutes. For hu ...

accident, leading to a spin-off series, ''

The Bionic Woman ''The Bionic Woman'' is an American science fiction film, science fiction Action-adventure fiction, action-adventure television series created by Kenneth Johnson (producer), Kenneth Johnson based on the 1972 novel Cyborg (novel), ''Cyborg'' by ...

''. Lee Majors made frequent guest appearances on the spin-off series, which springboarded from Jaime being brought back to life after her bionics failed; a consequence of this was she lost all memory of her relationship to Austin. Both ''The Six Million Dollar Man'' and ''The Bionic Woman'' went off the air in 1978. A later episode reveals that Austin's biological father was also an Air Force pilot and was killed in the crash of his C-47 Skytrain in the China-Burma-India Theater during World War II. Further details about Austin's later life were filled in during three made-for-TV reunion movies that aired between 1987 and 1994. In the first ('' The Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman''), which takes place several years after Austin retires from the OSI, it is revealed that he had a son, Michael, born in the mid-1960s. His mother is not identified. Michael would serve in the U.S. Air Force as a pilot. Michael suffers traumatic injuries in a crash similar to that which his father experienced, and undergoes bionic rebuilding which renders him more powerful than his bionic father. In exchange for Michael's operation, Austin agrees to return to OSI and his son also becomes an operative, though he did not appear in any subsequent films. In the second film, '' Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman'', Austin is shown to be a senior OSI operative helping thwart a terrorist attack against an athletic event in Canada. '' Bionic Ever After?'', the final reunion film, saw Austin's bionics malfunctioning due to a computer virus, but in the end he is rescued by Jaime and the two finally marry as the film ends. Unlike Jaime, who undergoes an upgrade to her bionics in ''Bionic Ever After?'' which apparently adds new abilities, no such upgrade was ever evidenced for Austin in the telefilms, with the exception of an apparent enhancement to his bionic eye which is illustrated in ''Bionic Ever After?''.

Notes

# While the subsequent ''Six Million Dollar Man'' TV series also identified Austin's mission as Apollo 17, there were also contradictory names given at other times. In the 1973 pilot telefilm, ''Wine, Women and War'', Austin's flight is identified in dialogue as Apollo 19. Later, when the original ''Six Million Dollar Man'' telefilm (based upon the ''Cyborg'' novel) was reedited for syndication as a two-part episode entitled "The Moon and the Desert", a prologue was added that identified Austin's flight by the name. "The Rescue of Athena One" says that Austin's

Skylab Rescue The Skylab Rescue Mission (also SL-R)Mission Requirements, Skylab Rescue Mission, SL-R NASA, 24 August 1973. was an unflown rescue mission, planned as a contingency plan, contingency in the event of astronauts being stranded aboard the American S ...

mission will be his first trip to space since walking on the Moon in January 1972, a date between

Apollo 15 Apollo 15 (July 26August 7, 1971) was the ninth crewed mission in the Apollo program and the fourth Moon landing. It was the first List of Apollo missions#Alphabetical mission types, J mission, with a longer stay on the Moon and a greate ...

and

Apollo 16 Apollo 16 (April 1627, 1972) was the tenth human spaceflight, crewed mission in the United States Apollo program, Apollo space program, administered by NASA, and the fifth and penultimate to Moon landing, land on the Moon. It was the second o ...

. # In real life,

Harrison Schmitt Harrison Hagan "Jack" Schmitt (born July 3, 1935) is an American geologist, former NASA astronaut, university professor, former U.S. senator from New Mexico. He is the most recent living person—and only person without a background in military a ...

, the prime LMP, did not need to be replaced by the backup LMP, Charles Duke, who had already walked on the Moon as part of the

crew. # The name of the lifting body varies. In the ''Cyborg'' novel (and sequel books) and the later telefilm ''Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman'', the aircraft is identified as the M3-F5. In the ''Six Million Dollar Man'' episode, "The Deadly Replay", it is identified as the real-life Northrop HL-10. The actual footage used in the original telefilm (and subsequently in the opening credits of the series) was of both an HL-10 and the crash of an

M2-F2 The Northrop M2-F2 was a heavyweight lifting body based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers and built by the Northrop Corporation in 1966. Development The success of Dryden Flight Research Center, Dryden's NASA M2-F1, M2-F1 p ...

. At no point in the original telefilm or later series was Austin's aircraft ever identified in dialogue as the M2-F2.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Austin, Steve American superheroes Bionic franchise Cyborg superheroes Fictional characters who can move at superhuman speeds Fictional characters with superhuman strength Fictional colonels Fictional cyborgs Fictional NASA astronauts Fictional spies Fictional United States Air Force personnel Fictional United States Army personnel Fictional Vietnam War veterans Literary characters introduced in 1972 Science fiction characters The Bionic Woman