Down-on-his-luck fight promoter Charlie (HUGH JACKMAN) trains his star robot boxer Atom for a chance to go to the big time in the high-tech boxing world in this scene from REAL STEEL. ©DreamWorks Studios - used with permission

The Robots in DreamWorks’ “Real Steel” are characters themselves. Each of the robots has specific personas, aesthetics, and different color palettes. These futuristic robot fighters range in size from 7’ 6” to 8’ 5”, and most are anthropomorphic – i.e., they have two arms, two legs, a torso and a head so that they resemble the human boxers that they replaced. The exception is the robot Twin Cities, who sports two heads.

But even with all the technology the robots are built with, can they do what the human’s they replaced do? And can they go beyond that and do things that human beings can’t. And are they realistic enough that humans could have built them? That’s the task the “Real Steel” robot designers and the filmmakers struggled with these questions as they worked to come up with the perfect cast of robot personalities.

Director Levy says, “I want the audience to be conscious of the fact that although the film has a science‐fiction premise, these are not science‐fiction robots. The robots are things that we’d like to believe humans could have built. Apart from the scale of them––they’re not ‘Transformers’ scale and they’re not indestructible––we’ve given them some frailty and humanity in a way that reminds us of such antecedents Iron Giant or Wall•E.”

Meet the Robots of “Real Steel” Video

So who are these robot fighters and what is makes them special?

Noisy Boy lands a hard punch to the steel face of Midas in a boxing match between the two robots at the Crash Palace in a scene from REAL STEEL. ©DreamWorks Studios - used with permission

Meet the Robots Characters of DreamWorks Studio’s “Reel Steal”

ATOM: Atom may not be the biggest or flashiest “bot” in the cast, but he is the most extraordinary. He is the “hero” robot.
ZEUS: He is the champ of the WRB (World Robot Boxing association). He is enormous and is described as “The Death Star.” Zeus is painted reflective black and boasts a piston‐programmed punch mechanisms in his arms. Not only has he never been beaten, but also no other robot has even survived beyond the first round with him.
MIDAS: Colored in gold and red, he sports a Mohawk. He’s a brawler, follows no rules, and will use whatever means necessary to win a fight.
NOISY BOY: A former league bot, he started losing fights and was exiled to doing boxing exhibitions in South America and Asia. He’s now back but he’s no longer league caliber so he’s fighting in underworld venues.
AMBUSH: Ambush is a low‐ rent circuit bot. The best fight that Charlie, played by Hugh Jackman, can arrange for Ambush is literally against a piece of livestock.
TWIN CITIES: With a block‐shaped upper body, Twin Cities is a vicious two‐headed robot.
METRO: With one green arm and one blue arm, both of which are different shapes and sizes, Metro looks like a beat‐up Frankenstein.