BW Media Spotlight

First, let’s get in the mindset:

This is not a complaint about the Robotech comics I’ve been reviewing. I’m rather enjoying them. They’re building on a continuity I happen to enjoy, unlike Titan’s run where (as Sean seems to get a kick of telling me in the comments and when he visits) we have a weird merger between what Robotech is and some kind of political thriller plus whatever the heck was going on with Rick and Minmei. I don’t care mind you. I’m happy with what we have. Even other runs that ignored the Eternity/Academy combined run (which isn’t even considered canon except maybe The Sentinels) built off what was there, and quite often these include some kind of prequel story.

Eternity and Academy Comics however had two prequel stories (plus some one-shots and miniseries) between them set before even the first Robotech War: Return To Macross and Academy Blues. These told the early days as the SDF-1 was being studied and prepared. The Zentraedi were still a long ways off and some of the leftover concerns during the third World War were still in play. Also in play were worries about new and confusing technology, just like any technological advancement in human history (that despite what sci-fi likes to tell you didn’t come from aliens, like computers or Velcro). That was the source of the storyline I finished reviewing last week, “War Of The Believers”, in which a more radical splinter faction developed in the anti-Robotech activist group The Faithful. This group was led by one Anatole Leonard, a name that becomes important during the second Robotech War (also referred to as Robotech Masters for reasons I’ll get into when we get to the Comico adaptations). During that war, taken from the Japanese animated series Super Dimension Calvary Southern Cross (which became the group name for the military organization fighting the second war, the army of the Southern Cross), Anatole Leonard was the supreme commander, and of the human antagonists of the series. Leonard’s strategy was ultimately a detriment to battle against the Robotech Masters, making him one of the few human bad guys in the franchise. This might be why he was a baddie during “War Of The Believers”.

If you’ve read this far and are still wondering why I’m bothering to take a look at this, it’s because prequels are often a mixed bag. Most prequels suffer from some seriously fundamental problems and having Leonard a threat in Return To Macross in my opinion is an example of the problem of prequels. Sometimes it’s a good idea, like finally seeing what the Clone Wars was after all these various stories set in the Star Wars Universe, or even the fall of Darth Vader. As a franchise takes more and more hold people want to see these events or sometimes it’s the only story they have left to tell when character arcs and events have led to a proper conclusion. But it is so easy to mess up even a good prequel idea, and while this isn’t the worst example it’s an easy one to examine. At least if you know Robotech. If not I apologize but try to follow along with the rest of us just the same.

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