- Robotech Defenders
The Robotech Defenders are a line of
scale model kits released byRevell during the1980 s. The line was meant to be tied to an ongoingcomic book series of the same name.DC Comics agreed to publish a three-part mini-series in1984 to test the waters, but the comic was of such poor quality, it was cancelled after only two issues.The Model Kits
Revell went to Japan to look for suitablemecha models before1984 . They eventually licensed existing plastic kits from theMacross ,Dougram andOrguss series. These were repackaged for aNorth America n andEurope an release. Themecha were given new names and functions, most of which were unrelated to the original names, factions and functions of the Japanese series.This caused a problem for media company
Harmony Gold , who licensed theNorth America n video rights to the JapaneseMacross anime series. Since Revell was already distributing the models, Harmony Gold could not support the show with merchandising. In the end, both companies decided to enter into a co-licensing agreement and the nameRobotech was eventually adopted for the syndicated television show that the home video line had transformed into.The Comics
The comic, a two-issue mini-series, was published by
DC Comics in1984 . It was originally intended to be a trilogy, but was reduced to the first normal-sized issue and a 32-page second issue with no advertisement. The story followed the battles of a team of pilots who fight a savage race of aliens who have been given superior technology. The pilots are losing badly when their leader accidentally activates one of the Robotech Defenders. She then learns of the existence of the other machines, which are scattered on the other pilots' home planets. By the end of the first issue, the team have managed to recover all the robots and engage the enemy in battle, but are still defeated and get captured. They escape by pushing a big red button which releases the Defenders' minds, unleashing the latters' full combat capabilities. The pilots then track down the controller of the savage aliens. They defeat him by causing the evil alien energy siphon to suck the energy from the sun, causing their space ship to explode.
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