Circuit Breaker

Circuit Breaker was part of The Virus Vanguard, a team of five fictional superheroes introduced by Singapore’s Ministry of Communications and Information (now Ministry of Ministry of Digital Development and Information) on 20 April 2020 as part of the Gov.sg platform’s efforts to promote COVID-19 safety measures. Each character was designed to personify specific guidelines to combat the pandemic - Circuit Breaker emphasised the importance of adhering to circuit breaker measures.

Gov.sg published a now-deleted backstory of Circuit Breaker:

Circuit Breaker is a highly advanced robot piloted by a 12-year old girl, Mini Moh.

Backstory: The girl was volunteering at a nursing home as part of school CIP when one of the residents took a particular liking to her. She then gave the 12-year old a tiara which, when worn, will unleash a humanoid machine – Circuit Breaker.

Powered by solar energy, Circuit Breaker is a biomorphic entity with Mini Moh controlling it through neural signals. Mini Moh is sharp with her words (to hide her insecurities) but has a soft heart.

Abilities: Hypersonic speed that is above Mach 5. Can control any digital equipment with a chip in it within a 50 km radius. Can achieve lossless data compression ratio of up to 1000:1.

Weakness: Solar power storage of up to 48 hours.

Plans for the Virus Vanguard were shelved on the same day as its introduction due to severe backlash online. Some expressed concerns that the characters were confusing and potentially trivialized the severity of the pandemic. Three of the five superheroes courted controversy: MAWA Man (seen as disrespecting Liverpool Football Club), Circuit Breaker and Care-leh Dee (accusations of plagiarism).

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