Rabbit

Rabbit is the first of a series of automatons built by Peter A. Walter I in the year 1896. His clockwork mechanisms frequently malfunction, as he is the least upgraded of the robots. He plays the melodica and accordion, and sings during performances with the band "Steam Powered Giraffe". He is portrayed by Bunny Bennett.

Design
Rabbit's construction consists primarily of copper, the softest of the metals in the band. He sports vents on each cheek to increase resonance during performance, as well as channel hot air away from his Blue Matter-powered Self Oscillating Utilitarian Lifesource core. His performance attire typically consists of a corseted vest cut at a slant, a short hat, and the famous pair of brass goggles looped atop the hat brim. These are actually a prototype particle accelerator designed by Peter Walter I and given to Rabbit at the time of Peter's death.

Costume Changes
Rabbit has undergone many costume and make-up changes. He has lost his goggles, asymmetrical vest and cheek vents. Currently, actress Bunny Bennett is altering the entire concept of Rabbit's appearance to make the robot into a female-bodied automaton--the zany, loud, Jersey-accented character is going to stay mostly the same. Many more costume changes are forthcoming, especially with Bunny's desire for Rabbit to have a vastly varied wardrobe in the future.

History
Rabbit was built along with The Spine and The Jon in 1896 by Peter A. Walter. He recieved his name when Peter Walter I decided to experiment with the world's first artificial intelligence. Walter pointed to a lab animal in a cage and said, "Rabbit". Walter was surprised when the robot repeated the word back to him. Walter tried pointing to other objects to see if he could teach him more words, but all the robot would say was the word "rabbit".

Rabbit was first used to combat an invasion of Ignatius M. Thadeus Becile 's Copper African Elephants on the Nile River in 1897. Rabbit was outfitted with a prototype blue matter laser lens array, a Gatling Gun attachment, and a collapsible buzz saw, which proved to be very useful against the African Elephants. A fourth robot, the Steam Powered Giraffe namesake Delilah, was completed three months after Rabbit, and the automatons rode Delilah to victory in what became known as The Weekend War or The Battle of the Colossi.

After the success in Africa, Rabbit turned to entertainment, and he and Peter Walter I made a premiere appearance at Ralph Benedict's Bayou Music Festival in 1898. Unfortunately, the explosion of Benedict's steamboat ended hope of future performances at the Bayou Music Festival, but around 1915, Rabbit, The Jon, and The Spine turned to performing closer to home. At the first ever World's Fair, the Panama-California Exhibition in Balboa Park, the group became a cohesive whole for the first time, playing under the name "Colonel P.A. Walter's Steam Man Band."

But the musical function of these robots was destined to be short-lived, as America was thrown into the mix of World War I. Rabbit was enlisted along with other Walter robots for search-and rescue missions, and it was not until 1933 (at the Chicago Exposition World's Fair) that the robots were able to perform in any capacity again. By 1941, the United States once again found itself in the grip of global warfare, and Rabbit returned to the battlefield. He saved lives of fellow soldiers even against orders to participate in a bombing raid.

In 1942, catastrophe struck while the robots were still deployed overseas. Rabbit's inventor and long-time friend, Peter Walter I, died in his sleep at Walter Manor in San Diego, California. By the time the robots returned home in 1945, World War II had ended, but so too had Peter A. Walter. Rabbit received Peter's brass goggles after the fact, and wore them round his hat for the next 68 years.

In 1950, Rabbit's Self Oscillating Utilitarian Lifesource was stolen by Ignatius and Norman Becile, long-time inventing rivals of Peter Walter I. An attempt to reverse engineer it resulted in a horrific explosion that tore through the space-time continuum, killing both Peter Walter II and Professor Guy Hottie. Rabbit's power core was eventually restored to him safely. Rabbit was devastated to learn how the cores had been used, and it still weighs on his conscience.



From there, Rabbit went on to participate in classified government operations in Roswell, New Mexico, and in the Vietnam War. During combat, he and the other Walter robots were rendered inoperable, and their chassis went missing from 1965 to 1974. Peter Walter V repaired the robots and returned them to less dangerous entertainment purposes: touring all over as "Colonel P.A. Walter's Steam Man Band." By 2008, the group name was changed to its current form: "Steam Powered Giraffe", after the mechanical giraffe that carried the automatons to victory so many years ago. Rabbit currently performs in the musical group Steam Powered Giraffe, and resides in Walter Manor with the Walters, Beciles, and Walter robots.

Songs
Rabbit provides the primary vocals for
 * On Top of the Universe (Album One, 2009)
 * Ice Cream Parade (Album One, 2009)
 * Brass Goggles (Album One, 2009)
 * Steamboat Shenanigans (2 Cent Show, 2012)
 * Honeybee (2 Cent Show, 2012)
 * The Suspender Man (2 Cent Show, 2012)
 * The Ballad of Lily / Airheart (2 Cent Show, 2012)
 * Ghost Grinder (MK III, 2013)
 * I'll Rust With You (MK III, 2013)
 * Turn Back The Clock (MK III, 2013)

Gender Change
In September 2013, Rabbit's actress Bunny Bennett announced that Rabbit's gender would be changing in accordance with her own. All pronouns referring to the character will change when he does. It has been revealed that Rabbit will be becoming a female automaton sometime in January of 2014.