# Why is Speed Racer a demon? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 16, 2004, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-speed-racer-a-demon/240340 "2004-04-16T10:59:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-speed-racer-a-demon/240340/1 "2004-04-16T10:59:14Z")
_Here he comes, here comes Speed Racer He’s a demon on wheels He’s a demon and he’s gonna be chasing after someone_ Aren’t demons bad? I thought he was a good guy. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-speed-racer-a-demon/240340/2 "2004-04-16T11:31:30Z")
He’s a _speed_ demon. They’re virtue-neutral. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-speed-racer-a-demon/240340/3 "2004-04-16T13:17:37Z")
So who’d win in a fight: Speed Racer or a Balrog? (and the first person to say “Batman, if he’s prepared” gets a magic missle up the wazoo) ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-speed-racer-a-demon/240340/4 "2004-04-16T13:22:48Z")
Does Speed racer have a 1920s style death ray? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-speed-racer-a-demon/240340/5 "2004-04-16T13:30:03Z")
I burn your Balrog. Says Gandalf. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-speed-racer-a-demon/240340/6 "2004-04-16T13:41:25Z")
I’ll take a stab at the question. Demons’ jobs are to torment people, which tends to disrupt people’s lives. So when there’s a demon around, things can be chaotic. Also, demons can be tenacious at their jobs. So the image is an entity that is performing a task in a frenzied and tenacious manner. Thus, a “speed demon” or a “demon on wheels” is a person who is tenaciousl, skillful, and devoted to speed; specifically, winning races. Oh, and Speed Racer was actually an evil spirit; but that part was edited out of the show. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-speed-racer-a-demon/240340/7 "2004-04-16T13:51:24Z")
> [@Max Carnage](#): > > So who’d win in a fight: Speed Racer or a Balrog? If Speed sent the remote control bird to fly around the Balrog’s face to distract him, he could use the extra seconds gained to build up alot of velocity and then using his hydralic jump-lifting thingees _and_ his buzzsaw blades cut the Balrog’s head clean off! Falling off the bridge of Khazad-Dum is not a problem because the Mach-5 has the submarine capabilty too. I just hope Spritle and Chim-Chim don’t open the trunk at the wrong moment! ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-speed-racer-a-demon/240340/8 "2004-04-16T16:47:26Z")
Most Speed Racer episodes seem to involve the deaths of most of the racers, so maybe he really is a demon. Or just a heartless asshole who enjoys high-velocity bloodsports 😛 ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-speed-racer-a-demon/240340/9 "2004-04-16T19:15:23Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > Oh, and Speed Racer was actually an evil spirit; but that part was edited out of the show. I’d like a cite for this, please. 🙂 (Seems like this thread could thrive in **Cafe Society** ) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2004, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-speed-racer-a-demon/240340/10 "2004-04-17T01:30:29Z")
> [@](#): > > (Seems like this thread could thrive in **Cafe Society** ) I thought the OP was asking a serious question: “Why do we call non-demonic people “demons” (e.g., “speed demons”)?” ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2004, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-speed-racer-a-demon/240340/11 "2004-04-17T02:46:17Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > I’d like a cite for this, please. 🙂 > > (Seems like this thread could thrive in **Cafe Society** ) Well, while I cannot actively cite Speed’s diabolism, there is the matter of the fact that \*Speed Racer \* remains the only cartoon of which I am aware which features people getting killed in the opening credits. \*Jonny Quest \* came close, in that it featured gunfire and armed maniacs flinging spears and suchlike, but no actual onscreen fatalities, or even injuries. _Speed Racer_, on the other hand, every episode, you get that guy spinning out of control, plowing through the guardrails, and blowing up, kaboomski. Spurious evidence of demoniac nature, true, but far more spurious statements have been made – and taken seriously – about kids’ cartoons. And what was the deal with Spriedel and Chim-Chim? Man, if I had a child and an ape, I sure wouldn’t dress them alike. Or were they related in some way? Again, hardly evidence of diabolism, although having a Beast in the family could give some credence to those little old ladies in the Bible Belt… And while I’m thinkin’ about it, the fact that Speed is “gonna be chasing after someone” implies that he would be BEHIND someone, and therefore wouldn’t be first in the race, and therefore won’t win. How’s this? Did Speed EVER lose a race? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2004, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-speed-racer-a-demon/240340/12 "2004-04-17T03:05:36Z")
Oh the analytical brainpower you are all exerting for [this little ditty](http://mywebpages.comcast.net/cpeek001/SRacer.mp3)! ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2004, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-speed-racer-a-demon/240340/13 "2004-04-17T03:13:16Z")
_Go, Speed Racer! Go, Speed Racer! The power of Christ compels you!_ ---
**Author:** ![The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Asbestos_Mango)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2004, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-speed-racer-a-demon/240340/14 "2004-04-17T03:56:43Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > _Go, Speed Racer! > Go, Speed Racer! > The power of Christ compels you!_ That would make a great sig line. May I? ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2004, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-speed-racer-a-demon/240340/15 "2004-04-17T10:53:57Z")
> [@Thea Logica](#): > > That would make a great sig line. May I? Kewl, my first sig request! 🙂 Be my guest ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2004, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-speed-racer-a-demon/240340/16 "2004-04-17T11:20:24Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > I thought the OP was asking a serious question: “Why do we call non-demonic people “demons” (e.g., “speed demons”)?” Actually, I was. The “demon” part in the lyrics always struck me as odd. My best guess is that the lyrics were originally written by a Japanese songwriter, and there was a problem in the translation. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2004, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-speed-racer-a-demon/240340/17 "2004-04-17T12:59:53Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > Falling off the bridge of Khazad-Dum is not a problem because the Mach-5 has the submarine capabilty too. I just hope Spritle and Chim-Chim don’t open the trunk at the wrong moment! How can Speed even concentrate considering the frequent blowjobs Trixie is giving him from the passenger seat? ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2004, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-speed-racer-a-demon/240340/18 "2004-04-17T20:59:08Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > Actually, I was. The ?demon? part in the lyrics always struck me as odd. My best guess is that the lyrics were originally written by a Japanese songwriter, and there was a problem in the translation. The way I remember that era (60’s-early 70’s), people didn’t weren’t as likely to be put off by that kind of thing as they are now. If they were writing that song now, they probably would think of a different thing to call him, but back then nobody would have had a problem with it. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2004, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-speed-racer-a-demon/240340/19 "2004-04-17T21:06:03Z")
> [@Master Wang-Ka](#): > > Did Speed EVER lose a race? Speed lost to Racer X many times. I think also Speed lost a few here and there when the bad guys would drug him, or sabotage the Mach 5. In cases of foul play, though, Speed always got his revenge later on – usually on the track.