Category: Anime/Comics/Cartoons

Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman in Wonder Woman #750 (January 2020). Art by Jesus Merino (pencils), Vicente Cifuentes (inks), and Romulo Fajardo (colors)
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	All Star Comics #8 (October 1941)[a][b]
Created by	William Moulton Marston[2] H. G. Peter (uncredited)
In-story information
Alter ego	Princess Diana of Themyscira (Amazon identity) Diana (civilian identity)
Species	Amazon Amazon-Olympian demigoddess (2011–present)
Place of origin	Themyscira
Team affiliations	Justice League Justice Society of America Justice League Dark Justice League International Justice League Task Force Department of Metahuman Affairs
Partnerships	Wonder Girl (various) Nubia Steve Trevor Artemis Superman Batman Martian Manhunter Jesse Quick The Flash
Abilities	See list Superhuman strength, speed, stamina, durability, senses, agility, and reflexes Flight Divine lightning manipulation Energy Absorption and projection (via channeling through her bracelets) Magic Astral Projection Animal Empathy Regenerative healing factor Immortality Master martial artist and hand-to-hand combatant Weapon proficiency Knowledge in Occult Genius-level intellect Utilizes Lasso of Truth, indestructible bracelets to deflect opposing weapons, projectile tiara, sword, shield, and invisible plane

Wonder Woman is a superheroine created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton),^[2] and artist Harry G. Peter in 1941 for DC Comics. Marston's wife, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byrne,^[3] are credited as being his inspiration for the character's appearance.^{[2][4][5][6][7]}

Wonder Woman appears in American comic books published by DC Comics.^[8] The character is a founding member of the Justice League. The character first appeared in All Star Comics #8 published October 21, 1941^[9] with her first feature in Sensation Comics #1 in January 1942. The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously ever since.^[10] In her homeland, the island nation of Themyscira, her official title is Princess Diana of Themyscira. When blending into the society outside of her homeland, she sometimes adopts her civilian identity Diana Prince.^[11]

Wonder Woman's origin story (from Golden to Bronze Age) relates that she was sculpted from clay by her mother Queen Hippolyta and was given a life as an Amazon, along with superhuman powers as gifts by the Greek gods. In 2011, DC changed her background with the retcon that she is the biological daughter of Zeus and Hippolyta, jointly raised by her mother and her aunts Antiope and Menalippe. The character has changed in depiction over the decades, including briefly losing her powers entirely in the late 1960s; by the 1980s, artist George Perez gave her an athletic look and emphasized her Amazonian heritage.^[12][13] She possesses an arsenal of magical items, including the Lasso of Truth, a pair of indestructible bracelets, a tiara which serves as a projectile, and, in older stories, a range of devices based on Amazon technology.

Wonder Woman's character was created during World War II; the character in the story was initially depicted fighting Axis forces as well as an assortment of colorful supervillains, although over time her stories came to place greater emphasis on characters, deities, and monsters from Greek mythology. Many stories depicted Wonder Woman freeing herself from bondage, which counterpointed the "damsels in distress" trope that was common in comics during the 1940s.^[14][15] In the decades since her debut, Wonder Woman has gained a cast of enemies bent on destroying her, including classic villains such as Cheetah, Ares, Circe, Doctor Poison, Giganta, Blue Snowman, Doctor Cyber, along with more recent adversaries such as Veronica Cale and the First Born. Wonder Woman has also regularly appeared in comic books featuring the superhero teams Justice Society (from 1941) and Justice League (from 1960).^[16]

The character is an archetypical figure in popular culture recognized around the world, in part due to being widely adapted into television, film, animation, merchandise, and toys. October 21 is Wonder Woman Day, commemorating the release of her first appearance in All Star Comics #8^[17] (with the exception of 2017 which held the day on June 3 to tie in with the release of the film of the same name).^[18]

Wonder Woman has been featured in various media from radio to television and film, and appears in merchandise sold around the world, such as apparel, toys, dolls, jewelry, and video games. Shannon Farnon, Susan Eisenberg, Maggie Q, Lucy Lawless, Keri Russell, Rosario Dawson, Cobie Smulders, Rachel Kimsey and Stana Katic among others, have provided the character's voice for animated adaptations. Wonder Woman has been depicted in both film and television by Linda Harrison, Cathy Lee Crosby, Lynda Carter, Megan Gale, Adrianne Palicki and in the DC Extended Universe films by Gal Gadot.

Publication history[edit]

Creation[edit]

In an October 1940 interview with the Family Circle magazine, William Moulton Marston discussed the unfulfilled potential of the comic book medium.^[19] This article caught the attention of comics publisher Max Gaines, who hired Marston as an educational consultant for National Periodicals and All-American Publications, two of the companies that would merge to form DC Comics.^[20] At that time, Marston wanted to create his own new superhero; Marston's wife and fellow psychologist Elizabeth suggested to him that it should be a woman:^[21]

William Moulton Marston, a psychologist already famous for inventing the polygraph, struck upon an idea for a new kind of superhero, one who would triumph not with fists or firepower, but with love. "Fine," said Elizabeth. "But make her a woman."

Marston introduced the idea to Gaines. Given the go-ahead, Marston developed Wonder Woman, whom he believed to be a model of that era's unconventional, liberated woman. Marston also drew inspiration from the bracelets worn by Olive Byrne, who lived with the couple in a polyamorous relationship.^[22] Wonder Woman debuted in All Star Comics #8 (cover date Dec/Jan 1941/1942, released in October 1941),^[23] scripted by Marston. Marston was the creator of a systolic-blood-pressure-measuring apparatus, which was crucial to the development of the polygraph (lie detector). Marston's experience with polygraphs convinced him that women were more honest than men in certain situations and could work more efficiently.^[24]

Marston designed Wonder Woman to be an allegory for the ideal love leader; the kind of woman who he believed should run society. "Frankly, Wonder Woman is psychological propaganda for the new type of woman who, I believe, should rule the world", Marston wrote.^[25]

In a 1943 issue of The American Scholar, Marston wrote:^[26]

Not even girls want to be girls so long as our feminine archetype lacks force, strength, and power. Not wanting to be girls, they don't want to be tender, submissive, peace-loving as good women are. Women's strong qualities have become despised because of their weakness. The obvious remedy is to create a feminine character with all the strength of Superman plus all the allure of a good and beautiful woman.

— William Moulton Marston

Marston was an outspoken feminist, polyamorist, and firm believer in the superiority of women.^[27][28] He described bondage and submission as a "respectable and noble practice". Marston wrote in a weakness for Wonder Woman, which was attached to a fictional stipulation that he dubbed "Aphrodite's Law", that made the chaining of her "Bracelets of Submission" together by a man take away her Amazonian super strength.^[29]

The only hope for peace is to teach people who are full of pep and unbound force to enjoy being bound... only when the control of self by others is more pleasant than the unbound assertion of self in human relationships can we hope for a stable, peaceful human society.

— William Moulton Marston

Golden Age[edit]

Initially, Wonder Woman was an Amazon champion who wins the right to return Steve Trevor – a United States intelligence officer whose plane had crashed on the Amazons' isolated island homeland – to "Man's World" and to fight crime and the evil of the Nazis.^[30]

During this period, Wonder Woman joined the Justice Society of America as the team's secretary.^[31][32]

Silver Age[edit]

During the Silver Age of the 1960s, under writer Robert Kanigher, Wonder Woman's origin was revamped,^[33] along with other characters'. The new origin story increased the character's Hellenic and mythological roots: receiving the blessing of each deity in her crib, Diana is destined to become as "beautiful as Aphrodite, wise as Athena, strong as Hercules, and swift as Hermes."^[34]

At the end of the 1960s, under the guidance of Mike Sekowsky, Wonder Woman surrendered her powers in order to remain in Man's World rather than accompany her fellow Amazons to another dimension. Wonder Woman begins using the alias Diana Prince and opens a mod boutique. She acquires a Chinese mentor named I Ching, who teaches Diana martial arts and weapons skills. Using her fighting skill instead of her powers, Diana engaged in adventures that encompassed a variety of genres, from espionage to mythology.^[35][36] This phase of her story was directly influenced by the British spy thriller The Avengers and Diana Rigg's portrayal of Emma Peel.^[37]

Bronze Age[edit]

In the early 1970s the character returned to her superhero roots in the Justice League of America and to the World War II era in her own title.^[38] This, however, was ultimately due to the popularity of the TV series at the time also having Wonder Woman set in the WWII era, and was shifted back to the 1970s era once the TV show did the same.

With a new decade arriving, DC president Jenette Kahn ordered a revamp in Wonder Woman's appearance. Artist Milton Glaser, who also designed the "bullet" logo adopted by DC in 1977, created a stylized "WW" emblem that evoked and replaced the eagle in her bodice and debuted in 1982.^[39] The emblem in turn was incorporated by studio letterer Todd Klein onto the monthly title's logo, which lasted for a year and a half before being replaced by a version from Glaser's studio.^[40] The series was canceled with issue #329 (February 1986) written by Gerry Conway, depicting Steve Trevor's marriage to Wonder Woman.

Modern Age[edit]

Following the 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths series, George Pérez, Len Wein, and Greg Potter rewrote the character's origin story, depicting Wonder Woman as an emissary and ambassador from Themyscira to Patriarch's World, charged with the mission of bringing peace to the outside world. Pérez incorporated a variety of deities and concepts from Greek mythology in Wonder Woman's stories and origin. His rendition of the character acted as the foundation for the modern Wonder Woman stories, as he expanded upon the widely accepted origin of Diana being birthed out of clay. The relaunch was a critical and commercial success.^[41]

21st century[edit]

2010s[edit]

In August 2010 (issue #600), J. Michael Straczynski took over the series' writing duties and introduced Wonder Woman to an alternate timeline created by the Gods in which Paradise Island had been destroyed and the Amazons scattered around the world.^[42] In this timeline, Diana is an orphan raised in New York. The entire world has forgotten Wonder Woman's existence and the main story of this run was of Diana trying to restore reality even though she does not properly remember it herself. A trio of Death Goddesses called The Morrigan acted as the main enemy of Wonder Woman.^[43][44] In this run, Wonder Woman wears a new costume designed by Jim Lee.^[45] Straczynski determined the plot and continued writing duties until Wonder Woman #605; writer Phil Hester then continued his run, which ultimately concluded in Wonder Woman #614.^[46]

In 2011's The New 52, DC Comics relaunched its entire line of publications to attract a new generation of readers, and thus released volume 4 of the Wonder Woman comic book title. Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang were assigned writing and art duties respectively and revamped the character's history considerably. In this new continuity, Wonder Woman wears a costume similar to her original Marston costume (except with a red-black-silver color scheme rather than the classic red-blue-gold), utilizes a sword and shield, and has a completely new origin. No longer a clay figure brought to life by the magic of the gods, she is, instead, a demi-goddess and the natural-born daughter of Hippolyta and Zeus. Azzarello and Chiang's revamp of the character was critically acclaimed, but highly divisive among longtime fans of the character.^{[47][48][49][50]}

In 2016, DC Comics once again relaunched all of its publications as part of the "DC Rebirth" continuity reboot, and the new fifth volume of Wonder Woman was released semi-monthly with writer Greg Rucka. This fifth volume of Wonder Woman is part of the "DC Universe", the current continuity established after Rebirth. Initially, the new series does not use a regular storyline that exists between each issue; instead two separate storylines share the book, with an installment of one story published every other issue, and those of the other storyline published in between those. This practice began with the storyline "The Lies", for the odd numbered issues, and "Year One", for the even numbered issues. The new storyline as presented in these issues effectively retcons the events from the previous New 52 series. "The Lies"^[51] storyline reveals that numerous events from the previous Wonder Woman series, in which Diana was made the Queen of the Amazons and the God of War, were in fact all an illusion created by a mysterious villain, and she had never once been back to Themyscira ever since she left, nor is she capable of returning there. The "Year One" story is presented as an all-new origin story for Diana,^[52] which reveals how she received her powers from the Olympian Gods,^[53] which was intended to bring her back to her classical DC roots. Wonder Woman appears in DC Rebirth with a revised look with an ancient Greek motif, including a red cape and light armor fittings, such as pteruges and shin guards. Along with her lasso and bracelets, she now regularly utilizes her sword and shield. Wonder Woman: Rebirth artist Liam Sharp described the new armor as a utilitarian piece which allows her to move more freely.^[54]

In 2018, DC Comics announced G. Willow Wilson as the new writer on the Wonder Woman ongoing series. Wilson began her run in November, with the first story arc titled "The Just War."^[55]

2020s[edit]

Steve Orlando took over from Wilson in 2020 with Mariko Tamaki taking over from him later in the year. 2020 also saw the Wonder Woman comics issues' numbering order restructured as DC's Doomsday Clock event united the current series to the original Golden Age as one continuous run. This meant the next issue was #750 despite the previous issue being numbered only #83. To celebrate, the issue was extra length and collected a variety of short stories celebrating the character of Wonder Woman with previous writers such as Phil Jimenez, Gail Simone and Greg Rucka returning.^[56] In early 2021, it was announced that Becky Cloonan and Michael Conrad would serve as the writers of Wonder Woman starting with issue 770 as a part of Infinite Frontier, with Travis Moore serving as the initial artist.^[57] Their run would last up to issue 800 in June 2023, where it was then announced that the series would receive a new #1 as a part of the Dawn of DC relaunch. Tom King will serve as the writer and Daniel Sampere providing the art, with the first issue launching on September 6, 2023, and a short story in issue 800 that will set up the series by introducing Diana's future daughter Lizzie/Trinity.^[58][59]

Characterization[edit]

Diana Prince[edit]

The "Diana Prince" identity has been part of Wonder Woman's history since her comics debut in 1941. In the early Golden Age stories, Wonder Woman served as a military secretary during World War II, using Prince as her cover. Later occupations Wonder Woman performed as Prince included translator at the United Nations, Air Force captain and ambassador, and in the '70s TV series, Lynda Carter's Wonder Woman used Prince to serve as an agent of the Inter-Agency Defense Command. In the DC Extended Universe, Prince works as curator for the Department of Antiquities^[60] at the extremely prestigious Louvre Museum and is held in very high esteem by the curator of the Gotham City Museum of Antiquities. Her tremendously long life span, accumulation of immense amount of knowledge and exceptional perceptiveness makes Diana Prince the wisest and most emotionally-intelligent member of the Justice League.^[61][62]

During Marston's run, Diana Prince was the name of an army nurse whom Wonder Woman met. The nurse wanted to meet with her fiancé, who was transferred to South America, but was unable to arrange for money to do so. As Wonder Woman needed a secret identity to look after Steve (who was admitted to the same army hospital in which Diana Prince worked), and because both of them looked alike, Wonder Woman gave the nurse money to go to her fiancé in exchange for the nurse's credentials and took Diana Prince as her alias.^[63] She started to work as an army nurse and later as an Air Force secretary.^[63][64]

The identity of Diana Prince was especially prominent in a series published in the early 1970s, in which she fought crime only under the Prince alias and without her mystic powers. To support herself, she ran a mod clothing boutique.^[65][66]

The Diana Prince alias also played an important role after the events of Infinite Crisis. Wonder Woman was broadcast worldwide killing a villain named Maxwell Lord, as he was mind controlling Superman into killing Batman. When Wonder Woman caught him in her lasso, demanding to know how to stop Superman, Maxwell revealed that the only way to stop him was to kill Lord, so as a last resort Diana snapped his neck.^[67][68] To recover from the trauma of killing another person, the Amazon went into a self-imposed exile for one year.^[69] On her return to public life, Diana realized that her life as a full-time celebrity superhero and ambassador had kept her removed from humanity. Because of this she assumed the persona of Diana Prince and became an agent at the Department of Metahuman Affairs. During a later battle with the witch Circe, a spell was placed on Diana leaving her powerless when not in the guise of Wonder Woman.^[70]

The New 52 continuity did not feature the Diana Prince identity, as series writer Brian Azzarello stated in an interview.^[71] However, when she and Superman began dating, for her civilian identity she used the Diana Prince alias whenever she was around Clark Kent; such as when she introduced herself to Lois Lane at Lois's housewarming party under that name.^[72]

Personality[edit]

Many writers have depicted Diana in different personalities and tone; between both of her diametric extremes; that of a worldly warrior, a highly compassionate and calm ambassador, and sometimes also as a naive and innocent person, depending on the writer. What has remained in constant existence, and is a mainstay of the character, is the dichotomy of her dominant force aspect and her nurturing humanity: her overwhelming belief in love, empathy, compassion, and having a strong conscience. The latter aspect had been the reason for her induction into the Star Sapphires.^[73][74]

Writer Gail Simone was applauded for her portrayal of Wonder Woman during her run on the series, with comic book reviewer Dan Phillips of IGN noting that "she's molded Diana into a very relatable and sympathetic character."^[75]

Actress Gal Gadot described Wonder Woman as "an idealist. Experienced, super-confident. Open and sincere even in the midst of a gruesome, bloody conflict. Having many strengths and powers, but at the end of the day she's a woman with a lot of emotional intelligence".^[76][77]

In the Golden Age, Wonder Woman adhered to an Amazon code of helping any in need, even misogynistic people, and never accepting a reward for saving someone;^[78] while conversely, the modern version of the character has been shown to perform lethal and fatal actions when left with no other alternative, exemplified in the killing of Maxwell Lord in order to save Superman's life.^[67][68]

Brian Azzarello stated in an interview that the New 52 version of the character was being written as a very "confident", "impulsive" and "good-hearted" character in her. He referred to her trait of feeling compassion as both her strength and weakness.^[79]

A distinctive trait of her characterization is a group of signature mythological exclamations, beginning with "Great Aphrodite!", followed by "Great Hera!",^[80] "Merciful Minerva!", and "Suffering Sappho!', some of which were contributed by Elizabeth Holloway Marston.^[81][3]

Others[edit]

Robotech
Title screen from the 1984 television broadcast
Original work	Robotech (1984)
Owner	Harmony Gold USA
Print publications
Book(s)	Robotech Art 1 (1986) Robotech Art 2 (1987) Robotech Art 3: The Sentinels (1988) The Art of Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles (2007)
Novel(s)	Robotech novels
Comics	Robotech comics
Films and television
Film(s)	Codename: Robotech (c. 1984) Robotech: The Movie (1986) Robotech II: The Sentinels (1988) Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles (2006) Robotech: Love Live Alive (2013)
Animated series	Robotech (1984) Robotech: The Macross Saga Robotech: The Masters Robotech: The New Generation
Games
Traditional	Robotech Collectible Card Game
Role-playing	Robotech role-playing games
Video game(s)	Robotech: Crystal Dreams (cancelled) Robotech: Battlecry (2002) Robotech: The Macross Saga (2002) Robotech: Invasion (2004) Robotech: The New Generation (2007)
Audio
Original music	Robotech music
Miscellaneous
Toy(s)	Robotech Defenders Robotech Robolinks

Robotech is an American science fiction franchise that began with an 85-episode anime television series produced by Harmony Gold USA in association with Tatsunoko Production; it was first released in the United States in 1984.^[1]

The show was adapted from three original and distinct, though visually similar, Japanese anime television series (Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross and Genesis Climber MOSPEADA) to make a series suitable for syndication.^[2]

In the series, Robotechnology refers to the scientific advances discovered in an alien starship that crashed on a South Pacific island.^[3] With this technology, Earth developed robotic technologies, such as transformable mecha, to fight three successive extraterrestrial invasions.^[4]

Name origin[edit]

Prior to the release of the TV series, the name Robotech was used by model kit manufacturer Revell on their Robotech Defenders line in the mid-1980s. The line consisted of mecha model kits imported from Japan and featured in anime titles such as Super Dimension Fortress Macross (1982), Super Dimension Century Orguss (1983) and Fang of the Sun Dougram (1981). The kits were originally intended to be a marketing tie-in to a similarly named comic book series by DC Comics, which ran for only two issues.^[5]

At the same time, Harmony Gold licensed the Macross TV series for direct-to-video distribution in 1984, but their merchandising plans were compromised by Revell's prior distribution of the Macross kits. In the end, both parties signed a co-licensing agreement and the Robotech name was adopted for the TV syndication of Macross combined with Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross (1984) and Genesis Climber MOSPEADA (1983).^[5]

Fictional chronology[edit]

The Robotech chronology, according to Harmony Gold, is illustrated below:

* Asterisked works are now considered 'secondary continuity'—that is, that their events exist in the continuity of Robotech, but 'don't count' when conflicts arise with the primary continuity that comprises the three-part Robotech TV series and 2006's Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles.

In 2002, with the publication of the WildStorm (DC) comics, Harmony Gold officially decided to retcon the Robotech Universe. The following Robotech material is now relegated to the status of secondary continuity:

• The Sentinels in all its incarnations.
• Robotech: The Movie
• Robotech comics published by Comico, Eternity, Academy, and Antarctic Press.
• Robotech RPGs published by Palladium Books.
• Robotech novels written by Jack McKinney, most notably The End of the Circle.

While these materials are not precisely 'retired' or 'removed' from the continuity, their events are subject to critical review, and are strictly subordinate to the 'official' events of the 85-episode animated series.

Television and film[edit]

The original television series[edit]

Robotech (1984) is an original story adapted with edited content and revised dialogue from the animation of three different mecha anime series:

1. Super Dimension Fortress Macross (1982–1983)
2. Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross (1984)
3. Genesis Climber MOSPEADA (1983–1984)^[6]

Harmony Gold's cited reasoning for combining these unrelated series was its decision to market Macross for American weekday syndication television, which required a minimum of 65 episodes at the time (thirteen weeks at five episodes per week).^[7] Macross and the two other series each had fewer episodes than required, since they originally aired in Japan as weekly series. On some television stations, the syndicated run was preceded by the broadcast premiere of Codename: Robotech, a feature-length pilot.

This combination resulted in a storyline that spans three generations, as mankind must fight three destructive 'Robotech Wars' in succession with various invading forces, each of which is motivated in one way or another by a desire for a powerful energy source called 'protoculture'. While each of the three animated series used for its footage informs its content, the Robotech storyline is distinct and separate from each of them.

• The First Robotech War (The Macross Saga) concerns humanity's discovery of a crashed alien ship and subsequent battle against a race of giant warriors called the Zentraedi, who have been sent to retrieve the ship for reasons unknown. In the course of this chapter, Earth is nearly annihilated, the Zentraedi are defeated, and humans gain knowledge of the energy source called protoculture. Humanity also learns of the Robotech Masters whose galactic empire the Zentraedi protected and patrolled.
• The Second Robotech War (The Masters) focuses on the arrival in Earth orbit of the Robotech Masters, who have come seeking what turns out to be the sole means in the universe of producing protoculture. Through a combination of mistrust and arrogance, their attempts at retrieving this meet with opposition from the humans and unleash a war that leaves the Masters defeated and Earth awash in the spores of a plant called the Flower of Life—the source of protoculture and a beacon to the mysterious Invid who scour the galaxy for its presence.
• The Third Robotech War (The New Generation) begins with the arrival on Earth of the Invid, who are lured by the Flower of Life and rapidly conquer the planet. References in the previous two chapters explain to viewers that many of the heroes of the First Robotech War had left Earth to seek out the Robotech Masters on a preemptive mission, and it is this Robotech Expeditionary Force that sends missions back from across the galaxy to attempt a liberation of their homeworld. The storyline follows one group of freedom fighters as they work their way towards the final battle with the Invid.

Robotech: The Movie[edit]

Robotech: The Movie, also called Robotech: The Untold Story, is a feature film and was the first new Robotech adventure created after the premiere of the original series. It uses footage from the Megazone 23 – Part 1 OVA (original video animation; made-for-video animated feature) combined with scenes from "Southern Cross" and additional original animation produced for the film.

The original plan for the film was to have it set during the Macross Saga, parallel to the SDF-1's return to Earth from Pluto. The film would also have served as a prequel to the Sentinels, as both projects were initially meant to share many characters. Harmony Gold producer Carl Macek worked with the OVA's original creators to make the story and the new ending work. The film had to be changed again after the distributor of the film, Cannon Films, saw an incomplete rough cut of the film and were upset by it. They ordered Macek to remove multiple scenes from the film and to add more violence (most of the scenes removed were scenes setting up characters and showing female characters interacting). Macek reluctantly did what they ordered, and created a new script and rough edit for the film in less than 24 hours. When the distributors saw Macek act out the new film, they were much more pleased with the new cut.^[8] The opening night in Texas received a positive response, but Cannon Films pulled out after noting that most attendants were adults; the bulk of the scheduled advertising for the series was targeted to children. The film had limited success in Argentina and Belgium.^{[citation needed]}

In 2011, A&E Home Video released, as a part of their Robotech: The Complete Series collection, a 29-minute version of Robotech: The Movie containing only footage used from "Southern Cross". There was no attempt to remaster the footage.^[9]

Robotech II: The Sentinels[edit]

This aborted American-produced series would have followed the continuing adventures of Rick and Lisa Hunter and the Robotech Expedition during the events of The Masters and The New Generation. The feature-length pilot is composed of the first three (and only) episodes that were produced. The Sentinels featured characters from all three Robotech sagas and introduced the SDF-3 along with an overview of their new mission. The series was planned to have a total of 65 episodes.^[10]

In Robotech Art 3: The Sentinels, Carl Macek blamed the cancellation of the series on the crash of the Yen/Dollar exchange rate,^[11] which caused toy partner Matchbox to withdraw from the project. Harmony Gold lacked the funds to produce the series on its own, and production ceased after only three episodes.

Robotech II: The Sentinels was released on VHS by Palladium Books.^[12] In 2011, a "remastered" version was released on the A&E DVD set, Robotech: The Complete Original Series DVD. This version has opening titles resembling those found on the "Robotech Remastered" DVDs, as well as a new ending with text explaining the fate of the SDF-3. Also, all of the flashback footage used from "The Macross Saga" has been removed, including the re-used footage from the episode "Wedding Bells".^[13]

Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles[edit]

In 2002, Tommy Yune announced development of a new animated sequel. Originally announced as a television series with a planned 2004 release date, the project was revealed at Anime Expo 2004 as a feature-length film titled Robotech: Shadow Force. The storyline overlaps with and continues from the unresolved ending of the original series. The title of the story arc was soon changed to Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles. The first trailers with finished animation were shown at Anime Expo and Comic-Con International in 2005. It was not until February 2006, when Kevin McKeever, operations coordinator at Harmony Gold, was able to confirm that the pilot movie had been completed. After a series of delays, FUNimation Entertainment was finally announced as the home video, broadcast, and theatrical distributor at the 2006 Comic-Con International in San Diego with the possibility of producing further sequels. Harmony Gold premiered the movie at various film festivals in 2006, and it was first seen by a public audience at MechaCon on August 9, 2006, where it was showcased as a charity screening to help raise funds for the ongoing Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita recovery effort. A limited theatrical run followed in January 2007, and the film was released on DVD on February 6, 2007.^[14] A two-disc collector's edition was released in November 2007.^[15]

Robotech: Love Live Alive[edit]

First revealed in late 2011 in the final minutes of Carl Macek's Robotech Universe, a documentary on the making of Robotech dedicated to the then-recent passing of Macek, Love Live Alive is an adaptation of the 1984 Genesis Climber Mospeada OVA, Love Live Alive, incorporating some brand-new animation. The film was released on DVD on July 23, 2013, by Lionsgate Home Entertainment in North America.^[16]

Other television and film productions[edit]

Robotech Wars[edit]

This promotional VHS tape created by Matchbox was included with their Robotech Wars playset. This video includes two episodes cobbled together from clips of The Macross Saga. Titled "To the End of the Universe" and "Battle Royale", these episodes contain no new footage, and are not meant to follow any continuity established in the TV series.^[17]

Robotech III, Robotech IV and Robotech V[edit]

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During the production of Robotech II: The Sentinels, Carl Macek had already begun to plot out 13 weeks of a third series title Robotech III: The Odyssey, which would have raised the total number or Robotech episodes 215 had both series been produced. He envisioned two additional series (Robotech IV and Robotech V) to bring the total number of episodes to around 300, one to air every weekday for over a year.^[18]

For Robotech III: The Odyssey, Macek stated that his plans were to create a time-travel loop, allowing the last episode of The Odyssey to lead directly into the first episode of The Macross Saga.^[19] This particular plot detail was eventually adapted into the Robotech novel The End of the Circle by Jack McKinney.^[20]

In 1986, fan publication Macross Life published an interview with Harmony Gold executive Richard Firth who first mentioned the Robotech IV and Robotech V series plans.^[21] Firth said the story would be about a retired Commodore character from The Macross Saga telling a story via flashback, but Macek later refuted that plot detail in a 2007 interview. Macek stated that while he was hoping to do up to five series, nothing was ever written for the final two.

Robotech 3000[edit]

Macek attempted another sequel with the development of Robotech 3000. This all-CGI series would have been set a millennium in the future of the Robotech universe and feature none of the old series' characters. In the three-minute trailer, an expedition is sent to check on a non-responsive mining outpost and is attacked by "infected" Veritech mecha. The idea was abandoned midway into production after negative reception within the company, negative fan reactions at the FanimeCon anime convention in 2000, and financial difficulties within Netter Digital who was animating the show. During a 2000 San Diego Comic-Con panel, Macek announced the series was would be re-conceptualized as a traditional, hand-drawn animated series, however that idea was abandoned sometime prior to 2002 in favor of development of what would become Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles. The trailer was hosted on the official Robotech website, and was included in the 2007 release of the Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles 2-disc collector's DVD, along with behind-the-scenes motion capture footage.

Robotech: Mars Force[edit]

In October 2004, veteran animation writer and producer Greg Weisman revealed that he developed an animated spin-off series titled Robotech: Mars Force.^[22] When asked about the project, Weisman said that he was under a non-disclosure agreement with Harmony Gold and was only allowed to mention that he developed the series.^[23]

In 2006, Harmony Gold Creative Director Tommy Yune elaborated on the project in the Space Station Liberty Podcast, saying that Mars Force was a series geared at younger audiences, following the children of the Robotech Expeditionary Force.^[24] A similar plot would later be used for the canceled 2014 spin-off, Robotech Academy.

Robotech UN Public Service Announcement[edit]

A sixty-second public service announcement for the 60th anniversary of the United Nations, featuring Scott Bernard and Ariel, was animated during the production of The Shadow Chronicles. Although it did not use the original voice actors and the dialogue was somewhat out-of-character, it nonetheless marked the first fully completed Robotech footage in many years.^[25]

Robotech: Shadow Rising[edit]

On July 27, 2007, at their Comic-Con International panel, Harmony Gold and Yune unveiled the second entry of the Shadow Chronicles production, titled Robotech: Shadow Rising and was to be a co-production with FUNimation Entertainment. Pre-production reportedly began in February 2007 and a projected release date of sometime in 2009 was originally expected.^[26] In 2009 Harmony Gold revealed that production had not moved forward since the summer of 2007, due to the announced development deal of a live-action film deal with Warner Bros. in September 2007.^[27]

At Comic-Con 2012, Tommy Yune announced that Love Live Alive would pave the way for Shadow Rising,^[28] and one year later announced at Anime Expo that they had resumed work on Shadow Rising.^[29]

Harmony Gold's trademark of the term "Shadow Rising" was filed in 2007, extended in 2010, but abandoned since 2011.^[30]

Robotech Academy[edit]

On July 5, 2014, Harmony Gold started a Kickstarter project for Robotech Academy, which Macek had developed before he died. The goal of this project was to raise US$500,000 to produce a new 24-minute pilot episode. The crowdfunding project was to have closed on August 9, 2014;^[31] however, on August 2, the project was canceled with a pledge level of US$194,574, or 39% of its target.^[32] Harmony Gold, however, announced that further plans to fund the project were being explored.^[33] At the 2014 Long Beach Comic Con, it was announced that the producers at Harmony Gold were in talks with at least one new media network on the prospect of producing the show.^[34] As of December 7, 2015, the project remains abandoned.

Unofficial and parody productions[edit]

In the 1990s, Seishun Shitemasu, an anime fandubbing group, produced the parodies Robotech III: Not Necessarily the Sentinels and Robotech IV: Khyron's Counterattack, using footage from, respectively, Gunbuster and Gundam: Char's Counterattack, continuing the tradition of the original Robotech's adaptation of unrelated anime series into a single continuity.

On July 2, 2010, Ecuadorian animator Patricio "Pat" Mosquera uploaded to YouTube a teaser for Robotech Skull Knights. On August 17, 2010, second teaser revealed Rick Hunter standing in front of an image of the VF-4 shown in the final episodes of the original series. Robotech Skull Knights has not been released yet.^[35] In July 2013, Patricio Mosquera was included as an animation director in the staff list in the IMDb page of Love Live Alive.^[36]

On December 31, 2012, Cesar Turturro uploaded to YouTube an Argentine fan trailer for Robotech Valkyrie Project.^[37] On December, 2013 the first episode was uploaded to YouTube, and in January 2014, the second episode was also uploaded. The series was cancelled after Harmony Gold issued a "cease and desist" letter to the producers. The team was, however, hired to do the CGI effects for Robotech: Academy.

Proposed live-action film[edit]

Attempts at producing a live-action Robotech have been in development for an extended time, with numerous writers, directors, and actors attached at various times and the film rights changing between studios.

Some time prior to February 2006, the company Kickstart Entertainment (founded by Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles and Robotech 3000 producer Jason Netter) featured a graphic on their website stating that a live-action Robotech movie was in development with Chuck Russel attached to write and direct. While never formally announced by Harmony Gold, Kickstart Entertainment's announcement of this project was reported by Anime News Network on February 27, 2006.^[38] Anime News Network's article was updated on March 1, 2006 saying that this announcement had been removed.

On September 7, 2007, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Warner Bros. had acquired the film rights to Robotech, with Tobey Maguire producing and pursuing the lead role.^[39] A Harmony Gold representative stated that the company had been approached by WB and would have "a say" in the film's creative direction.^[40] A March 2021 review of a 2008 draft written by S. Craig Zahler by the website Scriptshadow revealed the initial plot was very loosely based on The Macross Saga portion of Robotech.^[41] Writers attached to the project included Lawrence Kasdan in June 2008,^[42] Alfred Gough and Miles Millar in November 2008,^[43] Tom Rob Smith in June 2009,^[44] and Michael B. Gordon in February 2015.^[45] Nic Mathieu had been announced as director in early 2013.^[46]

On March 25, 2015, the Robotech franchise was acquired by Sony Pictures;^[47] on July 3, 2015, Harmony Gold clarified that Sony has the rights to release the film worldwide with the exception of Japan.^[48] After Harmony Gold and Big West reached an agreement which was signed on March 1, 2021 regarding to the Macross and Robotech franchises, announced on April 8, 2021, Big West officially affirmed as part of the deal that they will not take any opposition on Harmony Gold's upcoming live action adaptation of Robotech. Both Harmony Gold and Big West will cooperate on future projects for the foreseeable future.^[49][50]

For the Sony production, James Wan was announced in 2015 to direct a script written with Kurt Johnstad;^[51] Andy Muschietti took over the project in 2017 after Wan dropped out to direct Aquaman,^[52] with Jason Fuchs writing the screenplay from scratch.^[53] On April 27, 2022, it was reported that Hawkeye producer and director Rhys Thomas will be directing the film, with duo Art Marcum and Matt Holloway writing.^[54]

In June 2023, artist Col Price posted images on both social media and his official ArtStation page of concept art he was hired to create for the film.^{[55] [56]} While only citing "a few years ago" as the time frame of which they were made, Price's images depict an adaptation of The Macross Saga.

Other media[edit]

At the time of its broadcast, Harmony Gold also launched Robotech through a popular line of comics to be followed by novels, role-playing games, toys, and other consumer products. With the cancellation of Robotech II: The Sentinels, many of these licensed products were discontinued, and led to a drought of Robotech product through much of the 1990s, except for publishers who continued The Sentinels storyline in print.

Art books[edit]

In 1986, Starblaze Graphics published Robotech Art 1, a reference book containing artwork, Japanese production designs, and episode guides from the original television series. This was followed by Robotech Art 2, which was largely a collection of art by various American artists and fans. In 1988, Carl Macek collected much of the unused designs from Robotech II: The Sentinels into Robotech Art 3: The Sentinels, which also included his story outline for the rest of the unfinished series, with an explanation behind its cancellation. In 2007, Stone Bridge Press published The Art of Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles.

Comics[edit]

Robotech comics were first published in 1984 with DC Comics' short-lived Robotech Defenders and Comico's adaptation of the first episode of the Japanese version of Macross. However, the first adaptation of the Robotech television series did not arrive until 1984 with Comico's Robotech: The Macross Saga Number 2, which continued from the first Macross issue.

The various comic publishers include:

• Comico (1984–1989)
• Eternity Comics (1988–1994)
• Academy Comics (1994–1996)
• Antarctic Press (1997–1998)
• Wildstorm (DC) (2002–2005)
• Dynamite Entertainment (2013–2015)
• Titan Comics^[57] (2017–present)

Collectible card game[edit]

The first Robotech collectible card game was release