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ReBoot
|  | It's the story of four teenagers who dive into a virtual world and meet an artificial intelligence. They are entrusted with the mission of defending humanity against a powerful digital threat...
Remind you of anything?
If you follow the site news, you will have already heard the name ReBoot: The Guardian Code. In February 2018 when the first trailers for this Netflix series came out, CodeLyoko.fr eagerly made a new post on the subject, highlighting the troubling resemblances with your favourite series.
Obviously, this series has a bit more of a story behind it. As its name indicates, it's a reboot of a series called... ReBoot. This four-season show aired between 1994 and 2001, several years before Code Lyoko, and followed the adventures of Bob, a "Guardian" charged with protecting a computer system from a virus called Megabyte. Megabyte is also a recurring antagonist in ReBoot.
At the time, the trailer's release shook the LyokoSphere: "Plagiarism!" we cried, "they stole everything from Code Lyoko, how disrespectful!" etc.
Paradoxically, Code Lyoko having come out after the original version of ReBoot, one wonders if this is a case of the biter bit. But while Thomas Romain didn't hide his desire to do something like Lain, he didn't mention ReBoot at all. It was a Canadian series that wasn't very successful in France, back when "Netflix nights" didn't exist, and we know that the creators of Code Lyoko were turned more towards the East than the West.
Finally, Romain's tweet above also seems to show that he didn't know about the original series, hence his real shock at seeing the similarities between the two series.
In any case, now that the 20 episodes of ReBoot TGC have come out, the site team has somewhat scrupulously watched all of them, and is now ready to give you a comparative analysis...
"My plan is in motion. It can't be stopped, I won't be stopped. And humanity has no idea what's coming."
#1 - Activation | | |
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"You are next-generation Guardians. The first humans to defend cyberspace. While the appearance of dark code caused me to activate you earlier than anticipated, each of you had been pre-selected for your exceptional skills."
#2 - Resurrection
One base idea, two interpretations
As we said in the introduction, the first thing that struck us when we discovered ReBoot: The Guardian Code was its pitch, which is extremely similar to the pitch of our beloved series. The story of a group of four teens who manage to materialise an artificial intelligence from a virtual world (even though in ReBoot they're so modern they manage to do it by accident) which they also use to battle against a virus who's trying to take over the world (even though Megabyte doesn't initially seem interested in the real world but discovers it almost by accident), all while managing their school life. It's impossible not to see Code Lyoko in this description. In fact, there are other striking similarities: cyberspace is very reminiscent of the Network (and the digital sea, due to its deadliness), and the team also has a ship they use to traverse cyberspace, named the Codec. Vera's real-time connection to cyberspace also reminds us of Aelita in the first season of Code Lyoko, as she was the one who warned the heroes of an attack before the Superscan was created. This isn't much of a surprise because the two girls have extremely similar roles in their respective series, as we'll explain in the Characters section.
As a little Easter egg, we can also see a parallel between the bio-constructor, capable of modifying memories, and...the memory-snatching machine that played a key role in the Code Lyoko Chronicles! This parallel is probably just coincidence however, as the Chronicles aren't nearly as well known as the traditional writing pirouette of "Oh yes, but we used a machine to erase their memory..."
Last but not least, a point that anyone will notice when watching the episodes of both series: during virtual fights, the heroes will say say some lines that we think are kinda bad. To this day, it still hasn't yet been determined whether jokes about seafood or names like "Megadoorknob" win the award for best humour...
We can also emphasise that, like in Code Lyoko (and a number of other series), most of the time, the virtual heroes shout the name of their power/attack before using it.
The other significant axis is the imagery. As a live action series, ReBoot: The Guardian Code will naturally be similar to Code Lyoko Evolution...and this impression doesn't dissipate when you see the graphic style of the 3D portion.
But I'm not pointing fingers that quickly! Reboot: The Guardian Code did introduce new elements and a very interesting look at cyberspace/the Network! Especially the concept of the Virusylum and the Internet security system (where in Code Lyoko, viruses and teens alike could frolic about the World Wide Web and nothing would try to stop them). Say what you like about the effectiveness of the Department of Internet Security and the Virusylum (which held Megabyte captive for at least...the time between two episodes!), but they have the merit of existing.
Plus, the series has a much better conceptual idea of virtual systems and the programs themselves, mimicking their functionality on the virtual ladder, while Code Lyoko was more focused on the worlds generated by supercomputers and showed no signs of life other than the bad guys and the good guys. In this sense, ReBoot's universe seems richer and more advanced, because beyond the two opposing sides, there's also...everyone else.
The parallel between Megabyte and X.A.N.A. is also very limited. They're both computer programs, and that's where their similarities end... Megabyte is a virus, X.A.N.A. is a multi-agent system. Their personalities are also very different: although they're both very intelligent, Megabyte seems to be much more human, both in appearance and in speech and behaviour. He has bouts of rage that, among other things, causes him to destroy his Alpha Sentinel 6 times in 12 episodes. It's a completely different approach when compared to X.A.N.A. and its ethereal, threatening and elusive presence.
"A toy? A plaything? That's how Megabyte is proving his value? ...Interesting. Let's see where this leads."
#13 - Bee-Ware
Their MOs are different too: X.A.N.A. generally uses the virtual worlds as bridges to Earth, relying on energy from the towers to deploy its spectres. Megabyte infects a system directly from within cyberspace, and the negative behaviour of the system in question will have repercussions on whoever tries to use it on Earth (be it a toy bee or a virtual assistant). One last major difference: Megabyte can only act with the permission of the Sourcerer - while also trying to get rid of him - while X.A.N.A. was already free of any human authority.
"Did my corruption of the hive meet with your approval?"
"Barely."
"Humph, you are hard to please..."
#13 - Bee-Ware | | |
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The analysis of the heroes' personalities, roles and virtual avatars is particularly interesting in relation to Code Lyoko, because with a group of teens of comparable size (even of identical size if you consider that William is a very separate case who never really found his place in the group), it's logical to think that the roles would be distributed in a similar manner. We can even sum it up in a graphic:
"But Vera says I'm supposed to be the leader. I just don't feel like that's me. I mean, what if I fail?"
#2 - Resurrection
 | Austin is the group's leader by inheritance. The presence of a "boss" as designated by the group is a notable difference between this an Code Lyoko, because the only one to hold this sort of role (Jeremy) was never officially treated as such. It needs to be said that there's no need: though Jeremy is the natural leader of the Lyoko Warriors, it's mainly due to his intellect and his work ethic. But Austin's personality tends more towards a mix of Odd and Ulrich: a similar sense of humour, a bit of a sporty side (we see him using a snowboarding simulator). Despite all that, he gets by with a minimum amount of computing knowledge, as the whole group is supposed to be studying at a "tech-forward" high school.
In this palette of influences, we can also notice another very important fact: the plot centres on Austin's family. Doesn't that remind you of Aelita? Let's take a look: Austin lives alone with his mother, his father is reported missing. Ok, and what else? Austin's father (Adam Carter, not to name him) isn't actually dead! He was a researcher who had also taught at the heroes' high school and created all the machines they use to virtualise themselves. You'll never guess, he also had enemies, like for example...a government agency? And in the end, believe it or not but his father...sacrifices himself so the heroes can achieve victory!!! |
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Though it was hard to really determine which Code Lyoko character Austin really embodies, as he's a mix of just about everyone in the original group, it's far less complicated when it comes to his virtual avatar. I'll make this short: a "zip board," aka a flying board and a "code disruptor," aka a digital projectile shot from his gloves, which really remind you of someone in particular.
But Austin has smokier powers than Odd: his virtual avatar is simply able to slow down time (an amusing coincidence, Odd is able to do that too...in the video game that came out on Wii).
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"Hey, there she is! Miss Vlogrageous in the flesh."
#16 - Double Trouble
 | Though Tamra is associated with Yumi in the graphic, it's almost by antagonism in terms of style and personality: Yumi is sombre and reserved. Tamra likes glitter and talks a lot, to the point of needing to share things with the whole world on her vlog.
But she practises martial arts and following Ishiyama's example, she's in some ways the most mature of the group, even if it's somewhat by default: between Parker's hormones, Trey's familial pressure and Austin's torment about his past, the only human girl of the group is
somewhat suitably the one to stop and think. |
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Yumi can be more clearly seen in Tamra's virtual avatar, which is based on a ninja, for infiltration and quick attacks. Like Yumi in Code Lyoko Evolution, she has a sort of staff, but it can separate into two blades. Her other weapon isn't a pair of fans, but rather...shurikens (not too far off either).
Aside from this, Tamra is also able to become invisible, and her vehicle is a glider that doesn't look like anything out of Code Lyoko. Despite all this, her "Hyperlink" ability allows her to cross short distances in the blink of an eye, somewhat reminiscent of Supersprint, right down to the colour of the trail left behind her.
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"I thought you wanted recruiters to respect you for your playing ability."
"I do."
#17 - Mega-Viral
 | Hang on, this is where we get serious. Trey is a sporty guy (really?) who's very talented (oh?) and the best in his team, who are all under orders to pass him the ball during a match (mhhh). You'll surely be surprised to learn that he's so gifted in his classes and that his grades aren't the best, and that this worries his very strict father, who disapproves of the people he hangs out with.
Surely you must recognise this as Ulrich. Don't worry, we'll talk about this more further down... |
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On the virtual scene, Trey's role is probably the least comparable to any classic Lyoko Warrior because his "power" seems like William, whose problems we know about from the original series. So like Dunbar, he has a large weapon (his digital mace, like the zanbato, though in comparison you pity the mace), big powers (the Mag-Frag which creates a shockwave that is vaguely reminiscent of William's energy waves) and the ability to protect himself and perform his role as tank (Cyber Shield/Cyber Shell which is more reminiscent of Aelita's forms of defence). To a lesser extent, William had his protective armguard.
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"You already have the best weapon anyway. Your-"
"...brain?"
#3 - Fortress Command
 | | Parker quickly distinguishes himself as the Jeremy of the group, the difference being that he also uses his intelligence in the field, leaving the operator role to Aelita's equivalent, Vera. He's the most gifted when it comes to computing, he programs lots of little things and spouts incomprehensible explanations, he's the one who makes jokes about isosceles triangles and motherboards - you get the idea. Parker also shares another well-known trait with Jeremy: his romance with the artificial intelligence of the series, Vera. Like Jeremy, he's rather shy and he doesn't know how to behave around her, the difference being that his approaches are much more awkward... |
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When it comes to his virtual avatar, obviously there's no way he can resemble Jeremy. Instead, Googz gets around on a "Quadra Disk" whose design is similar to the Overwing, and his deflector ring can separate into two boomeranges (hi, fans), but he also has the power to use code to modify virtual objects or create protective walls, or even scan entities within cyberspace. As such, he falls comfortably between Yumi and Aelita.
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"I am the Virtual Evolutionary Recombinent Avatar."
"V.E.R.A. Can...we call you Vera for short?"
#1 - Activation
 | Vera is an artificial intelligence who helps the heroes during their first trip into cyberspace. She is materialised very early on in the series and attends class with the heroes, posing as an exchange student and staying with one of the other Guardians (Austin in this case). She tries to be clever when writing on the board in physics, but make no mistake: she's really an Aelita Junior. The whole "discovering human emotions/references" part is developed, and she does music! Yeah, while Aelita discovers a passion for DJing, Vera prefers hip-hop and dancing.
You get it, the two characters are very similar. Plus, their roles are identical...but unlike Aelita, Vera's role has nothing to do with finding out about her past because she really is synthetic, so as we've already said, Austin is the one who fills that role. |
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Vera's virtual avatar only appears in a single episode, and doesn't manifest any particular weapon or power. We can potentially see some echo of the Ninjas from CLE in this inhuman style, but nothing really convincing.
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This section intends to create a fairly exhaustive list of story similarities between ReBoot TGC and Code Lyoko (Evolution). Due to their similar universes, it makes sense that certain points will match up, but just how much?
 | | Episode 3 - Fortress Command | | The heart of this episode's plot is this: Parker finds that his avatar isn't as strong as his friends'. He decides to upgrade it, but this puts the group in a delicate situation.
Odd is at the centre of a similar plot in episode 63 of Code Lyoko, Triple Trouble, the only difference being that he can't upgrade his avatar on his own and must rely on someone else to do it, and we know how that turned out.
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 | | Episode 7 - Game Day | | Trey is under pressure from his father when it comes to his studies and sport. He has an important basketball game coming up but Megabyte attacks at just the wrong moment. He finds himself stuck between his responsibilities as a Guardian and as the leader of his team. At first he chooses the latter, but he changes his mind to go help his friends, before finally returning to finish the game and smash it out of the park.
Aside from the ending, obviously, you must have recognised Ulrich and episode 21 Zero Gravity Zone, though we must emphasise that Trey doesn't have a return in time...
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 | | Episode 9 - Datastorm | | This attack is rather radical because the Sourcerer takes control of a very powerful satellite. Episode 9 Satellite immediately occurs to us as Lyokofans, but hold your horses: this one isn't used to shoot lasers at the heroes, but rather to start a storm. Is it more original? Unfortunately no, the weather was also used against the heroes in Code Lyoko episode 45 Cold War...
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 | | Episode 9 - Datastorm (and beyond) | | We discover that Austin's mother has found a new partner, who happens to be involved with the plot about the Department of Internet Security. Remembering that Austin's father is the genius who created all the technology in the series, it's easy to draw parallels between this situation and the one experienced by Aelita in Code Lyoko Evolution, with Tyron and Anthea, even though the show unfortunately doesn't give us the real story behind that particular situation.
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 | | Between episode 10 and episode 14 | | As we've said, Parker has a crush on Vera in a very similar way to Jeremy having a crush on Aelita. As a pseudo-couple in the series, Vera and Parker face a number of misunderstandings, such as "Trey and Vera spent time along, she must have a crush on him." These stories Parker makes up are somewhat nostalgic of Code Lyoko episode 32 Saint Valentine's Day, where Jeremy also gave into his paranoid delusion while Odd refused to deny anything.
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 | | Episode 13 - Bee-Ware | | I think the title says enough, but just know that this episode has the heroes fighting bees in the virtual setting, and Megabyte possesses some bee toys. Of course we wouldn't have mentioned it at all had it been any other animal, but yes, they're bees...like the hornets in Code Lyoko episode 12 Swarming Attack.
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 | | Episode 14 - Share Scare | | In this episode, Tamra accidentally uploads a rap music video by Vera that mentions their fight against Megabyte. This blunder obviously puts the heroes' anonymity in danger, but it's resolved in the end. You know, between accidentally uploading a video and accidentally sending an email to the wrong person (Code Lyoko episode 90 Wrong Exposure), it's hard to say which is more absurd...
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 | | Episode 16 - Double Trouble | | As an indirect consequence of the previous blunder, one of Tamra's admirers discovers Room 0 and virtualises herself. Once there, the story holds its own. But between us, an inexperienced person arriving on the virtual world with no supervision, who falls into the hands of the bad guy and puts the whole team in danger while trying to rescue them - doesn't that remind you of episode 65 Final Round and all that follows in season 4 of Code Lyoko?
Also in episode 16, Austin forgets about one of Tamra's important activities, irritating her. I know someone who's going to end up in a French homework assignment like in Code Lyoko Evolution episode 14 Intrusion!
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 | | Series finale | | The Sourcerer ends up arriving at the heroes' school. The heroes come face to face with the adversary they'd been fighting in a virtual world for so long, something that never happened in Code Lyoko because X.A.N.A. never made a physical appearance. However, CLE filled this gap and the Lyoko Warriors met Tyron in person in episode 26 of Code Lyoko Evolution, Ultimate Mission.
Here I'll summarise the Sourcerer's story: Austin's father (yes it's him, infected by dark code) disappeared on the network, hiding on the web in order to escape his enemies in the Department of Internet Security. He ends up regaining control of himself and comes back to help the heroes one last time by...sacrificing himself for them. In the end it's not so different to Franz Hopper, who was also the genius father of one of the heroes, thought to have vanished and died until he comes back to help one last time by sacrificing himself.
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"What's going on? What's happening?"
"How is this possible?"
#16 - Double Trouble
Just like Code Lyoko, ReBoot TGC also has its share of blind spots, some of which are very similar to our series'.
Justifying the group members
In Code Lyoko, the composition of the group, particularly the addition of Yumi, makes us smile and shows just how much trouble the Prequel had in justifying her presence given her not being in Jeremy's class or a boarding student. In ReBoot TGC, Vera justifies her choice of the four guys based on the fact that their team is ranked first at a particular MMORPG. Aside from the absolutely minute possibility that out of thousands of players, the four members of a team would end up at the same school, it also isn't hard to notice that, aside from Parker and to a lesser extent Austin, Tamra and Trey don't show any particular passion for online games...
The location of Room 0
It can't be easy to find an ultra-secret hideout in the middle of a huge city in the 21st Century...so in Code Lyoko, you may wonder why the heroes never see anyone else at the Factory, especially drug dealer types (we just saw some bikers in episode 80). In ReBoot TGC, Room 0 is right inside the school. Sure, a hologram wall keeps everything hidden, but how can they access everything so freely when the school is closed (like at the end of episode 18)?
An artificial intelligence arriving on Earth
Though Code Lyoko tried to show that Jeremy at least put a minimum amount of effort into the problem (though it doesn't make sense that he never discovered Aelita's true identity while creating her fake one because she did really exist), ReBoot TGC brings up absolutely no administrative concerns in relation to creating all the documents for a brand new human being, which poses a number of questions, like simply adding a name to a class roll, or replacing a foreign exchange student at the last minute.
Upgrading virtual avatars
In both Code Lyoko and in ReBoot TGC, the operator seems to be able to upgrade powers or virtual weapons pretty easily, although outfits rarely ever change...though we understand that this is needed for the fights to remain balanced, there's no explanation given in either series as to why there's so much unwillingness to upgrade (and don't even get me started on Odd's excuse).
This type of thing can also be said for the bad guys...for example, we could always ask why in some cases, X.A.N.A. sent so few monsters; in ReBoot TGC, what's stopping the Sourcerer from reprogramming the delete code after Megabyte liberates himself?
The family tie...which brings up retroactive problems
At the end of season 2 of Code Lyoko, we learn that Aelita is actually a human and not an artificial being. Aside from the fact that nobody expressed concern about her 10-year disappearance, and that Jeremy wasn't able to figure it all out sooner, this also poses the problem with episode 36, in which she was supposed to be attacked by the Marabounta because she was supposedly associated with a monster.
In ReBoot TGC, in the end we learn that the Sourcerer is Austin's father, which poses two problems: in the first video the Guardians find, Austin's father didn't have the same voice (of course, in the video after the revelation, he does). What's more, in one episode, the Sourcerer clearly sees and hears his son on the video feed while spying on the phones, but has zero reaction.
"I know. It doesn't make any sense."
#19 - Identity Theft
There are a few other discrepancies that are fun to point out and sometimes remind us of some typically "Code Lyoko-ish" sins of naïvety, like when Special Agent Nance tells Ted, "absolutely no one outside this room can know what we have" in the middle of an open space, stating that one person in particular...who works in that very room...can't find out about it. But North Americans can hardly be accused of under-budgeting their intelligence services. | | |
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Analyses: Icer, Ikorih
File written by: Icer, Ikorih
Technical assistance composing the file: Etienne, Immu
Graphics: Etienne, Icer, Immu | | |
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