The story behind Robert “Bob” Floyd (Lewis Pullman) is the one quasi-mystery left of the core “Maverick” pilots. On one level, Bob’s call sign serves as a cheeky bit of characterization. According to Pullman, Bob is “a hard nut to crack,” though not through any fault of his own. He’s a straightforward guy, but he doesn’t necessarily fit into the ego-driven culture that dominates at Top Gun. Still, is there actually more to his moniker than meets the eye?

The beauty of a call sign like “Bob” is that it could easily serve as an acronym, as established by Hangman early in “Maverick.” In the final version of the film, Hangman jokes that Bob’s call sign might actually stand for “Baby on Board” — but that particular scene almost played out a lot differently. “One of the original drafts had this moment where he kind of earned his stripes,” Pullman told the New York Times, “and Hangman says, ‘I think I know what Bob stands for: Big Ol’ Balls.'”

Ultimately, that scene was cut, but it still informed a core part of Bob’s characterization. “He starts out as this unassuming guy, who then finds his strength.” That, or it was always there — it just took a while for his fellow Top Gun recruits to see it. Either way, the ambiguity of Bob’s call sign helped to create one of the most interesting characters in “Maverick.” Characters like Hangman may see what they want to see in Bob, but ultimately, he’s an open book, and his call sign (while not overly creative) reflects that perfectly.