The Big O

[ALchemist81]

Is there a deeper meaning to the name than just what lies on the surface?  In Aikido, the "Great Teacher" is called "O Sensei."  Yes, it is spelled that way.  So, does "The Big O" mean "The Big Great" or "The Great Big?"  Yeah, I know that's still kind of shallow, but I'm wondering if the O was really intended to be drawn from anything circular at all.

Sure, Cartoon Network added that in the end, but that was the Americanized 2nd Season.  But most of us can agree that even in the first season, he is still easy to consider "The Great Big," even if none of his weapons have a round or circular nature that  would be indicative of the letter "O".

[Top_Gun]

I think it's intended to be more of a numerical reference than anything else: the three Bigs in the series are named O, Duo, and Fau (i.e. Four). Now what those numbers themselves reference, I couldn't tell you off the top of my head, but there's definitely a naming pattern there. "Big O" is also a type of notation used in computer science, referring to the maximum time that a certain piece of code would require to execute given the size of the data it's working on. I should do some digging on a few of the old fan-sites I have bookmarked (which probably means hitting up the Wayback Machine), to see if anyone ever came up with a better explanation of what the name could mean.

(There's always the naughty answer to fall back on, too. )

[mgangel1124]

I believe it's slang for a very good orgasm.

[shox]

lmfao perfect just perfect

[Kobun20]

I don't remember the details, but I think Keiichi Sato (The Big O's creator and designer) has said he thought up the name "Big O" when he was a kid back in the 70's, and with the show he finally got the chance to use it. Not sure it meant anything special when he thought it up, as he probably just thought it would be a cool name for a robot. Still, the fact that the name itself was a fleeting memory from out of his creative past is pretty appropriate, given the nature of the series!

[XenopusTex]

Well, as somebody previously pointed out, it means a variety of things in a variety of circumstances. *wink*

Top_gun may be on to something with the numbering stuff. 

Though, given the ending, can see grounds for the processing nomenclature too.  Without being too much of a spoiler, let's just say that times weren't always so good for Big-O.

Would also toss out that "O," i.e. Omega, could also be considered the "end" as in Alpha-Omega.  Further, one could tie in a religous aspect; i.e. **beast** being the alpha and the omega.

Union ... Union ... Uber Alles.

[ALchemist81]

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Top_Gun wrote:
I think it's intended to be more of a numerical reference than anything else: the three Bigs in the series are named O, Duo, and Fau (i.e. Four). Now what those numbers themselves reference, I couldn't tell you off the top of my head, but there's definitely a naming pattern there. "Big O" is also a type of notation used in computer science, referring to the maximum time that a certain piece of code would require to execute given the size of the data it's working on. I should do some digging on a few of the old fan-sites I have bookmarked (which probably means hitting up the Wayback Machine), to see if anyone ever came up with a better explanation of what the name could mean.

(There's always the naughty answer to fall back on, too. )

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You're forgetting something:

Spoiler

There is a 4th Big in the series, "Big Venus," who appears in Episode 26, as an alter-ego of sorts of Angel Rosewater.  So, what's its(her?) numerical reference?  The only thing I can think of is "Seven", which is a phonetic rearranging of the letters in "Venus" ("Sevun").  And if that's the case, then that would also tie into Angel, since 7 is often considered an "angelic" number.

[XenopusTex]

I hate small font sizes

Spoiler

Ah yes, the Bird whose wings have been clipped reverts back to the beast it once was.  Can't help but wonder if it's a reference in some way to the "Angel" which came apart and fell to earth.  Damned crappy Soviet engineering... note the language on the piece of "Angel" that Alex had.  I would also submit that he has the wrong piece of "Angel" on display. *Wink*

 

One other option is that maybe, as a result of "The Event," people have forgotten the real names of the bigs.  Recall that Big Duo was the name given to the unit by Schwarzwald. 

Spoiler

Venus has refrenced many things.  In Greco-Roman tradition she was the goddess of love (well more Roman than Greek); the Greek counterpart would be Aphrodite.  From an astronomical perspective it's the morning star, or the bringer of light, Lucifer, from the Romans.  Of course, the christian world knows Lucifer better as the devil or satan.

The question then becomes... was "Angel" good or bad at the time her alter-ego had wings, or were her actions what resulted in the "falling" and loss of wings?  Can't imagine something in the Big O universe and presented in the series which could serious challenge Big Venus.  Though, must admit that Big Fau was pretty much done and Big O's condition seemed to make the final stage the one shot wonder of no return.

In the open, I'd take a properly piloted Big Fau over Big O.  Big Duo is a closer call, as in the open it's maneuverably would be huge.  In the city, I'd still probably take a properly piloted Big Fau over Big O.  Just is Big Fau's pilot, well, stinks.

[The_Union]

I'm back. Greek letter Omega literally means "Big O" as opposed to "little o" Omicron. There 's enough biblical reference in Big O to think of it in biblical terms,  such as God's statement that he is the Alpha and Omega. There is a long line of thought if you go down that path and the writers leave a lot of suggestions to think about it as the Bigs are regularly referred to as  the power of god wielded by man. Then you get the whole behemoth and leviathan legend about the end of the world.

You can also look at Big o's final weapon and can think that's also why they would call him "big o" with that huge O shaped barrel and O shaped path of destruction. It even made Alex exclaim "the Big O!"

However, as far as the origin, as someone has pointed out, creator Keichi Sato got the name "Big O" from the opening theme of Daitetsujin 17 "Oh! Giant Ironman".

[XenopusTex]

It's been a long time since I've seriously looked at the bible, but I think you might be confusing the "Beast of the Land/Earth" and the "Beast of the Sea" with Behemoth and Leviathan.  The pamphlet that comes raining down on Paradigm City has a woodcut which was used as an illustration for one printing of the Book of Job.

[The_Union]

Behemoth and Leviathan are both megadeuses in the Big O. They are also represented in the flyer which is a reproduction of the art work by William Blake on the book of Job. Behemoth and Leviathan are indeed the beast of the earth and the beast of the sea. In Hebrew myth, both date from the beginning of time, a representation of the chaos of the beginning of the universe,  and Leviathan's flesh will be served at God's table for the righteous at the end of time. Another version in hebrew myth states that Behemoth and Leviathan will meet in combat at the end of time (destroying the world) and God will slay them both. (As Big O slays both Leviathan and Behemoth, although Behemoth and Leviathan never fight). There's actually a third beast of the sky called Ziz as well.  There's actually a line of thought that Big O, Big Duo, and Big Fau themselves are in fact representative of Behemoth, Ziz, and Leviathan respectively.

[XenopusTex]

Not 100% sure one can say Big-O destroyed Behemoth.  IIRC it's more like falling debris crushed it while Big-O was holding it.  Speaking of which, shouldn't Behemoth have crumpled around Big-O?

 Union ... Union ... Uber alles

[Gay_Dutchman]

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Top_Gun wrote:
I think it's intended to be more of a numerical reference than anything else: the three Bigs in the series are named O, Duo, and Fau (i.e. Four). Now what those numbers themselves reference, I couldn't tell you off the top of my head, but there's definitely a naming pattern there. "Big O" is also a type of notation used in computer science, referring to the maximum time that a certain piece of code would require to execute given the size of the data it's working on. I should do some digging on a few of the old fan-sites I have bookmarked (which probably means hitting up the Wayback Machine), to see if anyone ever came up with a better explanation of what the name could mean.

(There's always the naughty answer to fall back on, too. )

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^^ This.

That post just now was very deep.

[nslay]

One possible meaning is the enormous weapon Big O uses against Big Fau. When it reveals this weapon, everyone says "Big O ..." out of surprise.

I wonder if Big O can brew coffee ....

[nslay]

Roger Smith is diagnosed with Alzheimers, thinks everyone else lost their memories too. Mistakenly steals the Batmobile thinking it's his car and is subsequently killed by Batman. Big O is converted to a suitable carnival ride with matching name.

[nslay]

Gah, wrong post, meant to post in Robot Chicken suggestions.