Article
#75!
January, 2021
The 1980s Gobots Comic Strip?
Boy, it’s
been a while since I’ve done one of these.
If you were
a child in the 1980s in North America, you probably already know of the Gobots.
Imported from Japan and rebranded by Tonka, the Gobots were a line of
transforming toy robots, like, well, the Transformers. Most anyone can point
out the interesting quirks about the toy line, including how even though the
Gobots made it to the North American toy shelves months before the
Transformers, they were still quickly surpassed in popularity by their late
arrival competition. Why this happened can be discussed for ages.
Speaking as
a child of the 1980s, on the playground the Transformers just seemed
“cooler” than the Gobots. There was this perception that the Gobots
were cheap copies, the bulk of the line was in the more miniscule 3 ¾-ish
scale and they rarely came with accessories (i.e. guns). Basically we thought the
Gobots were made for “babies” who couldn’t afford the more
expensive Transformers. And yet, almost every kid in school had at least 1
Gobot in their collection, and in most cases many more. Kids are weird.
The media
was a similar story. Both toy lines had widely broadcast cartoons. Though both cartoons
were extended commercials for plastic and die-cast metal tchotchkes, the Gobots
cartoon still seemed more childish to us sophisticated toy consumers. Kids
loved Optimus Prime, he was like a cool surrogate dad to a generation. His
battles with Megatron seemed to have actual gravitas to them. In a nutshell the
stories seemed more mature and edgy.
Evidence of edginess pictured above. Thank you
internet.
On the
flipside, the leader of the heroic Guardians on Gobots was named Leader-1
(because he’s the leader, get it?).
He’s a fighter jet, which is cool, but in terms of his character I
really don’t remember much. I can list off other characters and their
traits to this day (Crasher = psycho; Scooter = annoying brat ala Wheelie of
Transformers fame; and so on). But Leader-1? The only trait that comes to mind
is he nearly got killed in the first story arc and would often get his ass
handed to him thereafter. That’s it. Still, at least the Gobots had a cartoon.
Print media
was a little different. Both toy lines had the obligatory staples of coloring
books, storybooks and the like, but the Transformers had a cool Marvel comic
book. To the best of my knowledge,
the Gobots never got the same treatment in North America. The closest we got was a Sunday
newspaper syndicated comic strip, which we present here in all its glory.
It’s
not quite… uhm… yeah. So, the plan is for Earth to be invaded
for… reasons, I guess? Even for a kid who can barely put a sentence
together, I expected more. The art was simple. The story is simple. It is
clearly meant for very young and simple minds. And I still clipped it out of
the paper and held onto it for over 30 years. Kind of speaks volumes about me
as a human being, doesn’t it?
And hey, is
it just me, or are Cy-Kill and Leader-1 brothers or something? Their faces look
almost identical. But I digress.
So, what happens once they arrive on Earth?
I still
laugh at the mid-transformation image of Leader-1 in the center panel. It just
looks all sorts of wrong. It is awfully convenient that the Renegades chose to
invade Earth’s barren wastelands first, it keeps the artist from having
to draw any backgrounds. Smart.
You also have
to say this about the comic strip, it really stays true to form as once more
Leader-1 gets his butt handed to him by the evil Renegades.
As you can
tell, the printing on the above strip was terrible. If you can read it, you’ll
learn the car’s name is Baron Von Joy and he managed to dig out Leader-1’s
mangled corpse from the rubble. Apparently he and Leader-1 are all the
Guardians could afford to send to Earth’s defense.
Also, WHAT
THE HELL HAPPENED TO LEADER-1’S FACE!
Awesome. So,
humanity had the most powerful force in the universe, a Sorium crystal. An
apocalyptic power safely stowed behind a chain link fence and gate, in a single
story office building. Is it any wonder Cy-Kill could steal it in a single
panel?
Apparently
it’s taken a week for Cy-Kill to flee and for Baron Von Joy to get back
to the Guardian command ship. And I still find Leader-1’s face in these
panels creepy.
Eagle eyed
readers will notice that the Renegade Thruster ship seen here looks nothing
like the Thruster ship shown in the first comic strip. That’s what we in
the business call “consistency”.
And so an
anxious world waits with bated breath as Leader-1 is electrocuted floating in
mid-air, while a Porsche 928 flies a spaceship.
Pretty
dramatic stuff, eh? It’s been
5 weeks since Leader-1 got bashed, and he’s still out of it, floating in
air. And what happened to the Sorium crystal?
Fun fact, Puzzler
was a giant robot made up of 6 individual car robots. You wouldn’t know
that by this comic though. The comic seems to imply Puzzler is a blocky robot
stuck in the computer grid world from the movie Tron during a lightning storm.
Oh, and it can destroy large cities. To this day I don’t know if Cy-Kill
is ordering Puzzler to destroy large cities, or if he’s just stating the
obvious to no one.
Apparently
part of Leader-1’s revival included plastic surgery, because his head
barely looks like his old self from week 1. Also, it appears he gained psychic
powers because upon waking up the Guardians just know they need to go to the
Arctic. How? Why? It’s a real puzzler (get it?).
Seriously, even
as a slobbering brat I thought this week’s strip was dumb, and not just for
Leader-1’s psychic hunch. See, Cy-Kill is having Puzzler sent to Earth
from Gobotron, but at the SAME TIME he’s going to BLOW UP THE EARTH with
the Sorium crystal. What? Why? Why send troops to a planet you’re going
to destroy anyway? And how is destroying Earth going to win you Gobotron later?
Cy-Kill said the crystal would let him conquer Earth, Gobotron and the
universe, but he’s about to waste it here. And how is Puzzler even travelling
to Earth? None of it makes sense!
Also,
notice how on the last panel Cy-Kill has already thrown the crystal before
Leader-1 arrives. Remember that, because no one else does…
How fast is
Cy-Kill that he can outrun Leader-1 to the Command Centre? Pretty fast it
seems.
That was it
for the comic strip. I have a vague memory of reading the ending, where
Leader-1 blasted Cy-Kill and Baron Von Joy (who is in the Command Centre) simply
shot the Sorium crystal into space, which detonated and knocked Puzzler away.
Yet I ‘m not certain if that actually happened nowadays, and I can’t
really be bothered to research it further. Still, 10 weeks is an odd number to
end at, 12 weeks (or 3 months) of strips would make more sense.
My best
guess is this comic strip was an advertisement commissioned by Tonka and
printed in the Canadian newspaper the Sun, though whether it went national or
was only seen locally I can’t say. It explains the “licensed in
Canada” note seen on some of the strips and the Canadian spelling in
spots (“centre” versus “center” for example). Puzzler was
first sold in 1985, so this strip would have to be published then or later.
It’s
interesting to note that the strip only used Super Gobots, the larger scaled
deluxe models of the toy, measuring about 10 inches in height. Puzzler would
also be considered a premium toy as you’d need all 6 cars to create the
giant. Thruster and the Command Centre were the largest toys in the line at the
time, and also the most expensive as well. So yeah, an advert for some of their
most expensive toys.
I know
people (myself included) like to knock the Gobots, but truth be told they weren’t
a failure. Far from it. It’s just their success pales in comparison to
their more famous “cousins” who achieved true “Pop-culture
Icon” status. 35+ years later and while not as famous, people still
remember the Gobots and are still buying the toys (which in many cases held up
remarkably well for their age). The Gobots still hit a nerve in a lot of people’s
childhoods, and that’s not too shabby.
Thanks for reading.