Over the years, those of us who were "80's kids" have transformed into adults and a few of us began to ponder in greater detail, aspects of shows we once just watched 'for fun.' The 1980's cartoon that started the craze of transforming toys from robots to vehicles by Hanna-Barbera/Tonka has many of us doing just that. The show, "Challenge of the GoBots" spanned 65 episodes in its series and had one theatrical movie.

I already have placed an editorial on the potentials of "GoBot Biology" on my site. This one, is another editorial of a subject I've heard a few fans, etc. discuss in various places online. This subject, the assessement and command capabilities of one of the show's main characters and 'heroes', the Guardian Commander, Leader-1. Most of the comments about this Guardian that I've read are rather negative. My editorial plans to shed a different light on the matter.

First, some background. Leader-1 is a high ranking officer for the 'good' Guardians, similar to a General in Earth forces. He seems to have background in police or security forces. In age, he's probably the equivalent to a human in his late 30's or early 40's. He shows more compassion and emotion than most of his high rank would usually display. He's willing to self-sacrifice for those under his command or any in greater need than himself. His intelligence probably borders if not sits in genius level and he has an uncanny sense of sniffing out plots and schemes...most likely due to his investigative/security type experience in more peaceful times. A brilliant tactician and strategist, he's quite suitable for his role as a Guardian commander. As many female GoBots, both friend and enemy comment in the series, he's considered 'good-looking' by GoBot standards though he really just ignores that fact or at least doesn't show it impacts him outwardly. Though it may have some play in whatever covert/secretive social life he may have (I say secretive/covert, because NOBODY, not even news, allies, etc. seem to know what he does in his off-time!). In his past, he was best friends with his now arch enemy, Renegade leader, Cy-Kill. Yes, Cy-Kill was once a 'good guy' Guardian and both he and Leader-1 held esteemed ranks of "High Protectors." The only other of that rank was Zeemon. High Protectors are probably the GoBot equivalent of USA military 4-star Generals or Navy Admirals. But, that shattered friendship does seem to haunt him in current times too though he tries to suppress it deep within himself (see the episode "Et tu, Cy-Kill" where at the end, Leader-1 still retains a little symbol of their friendship as an indicator of this). He doesn't reveal a whole lot about his personal self which makes many of us think him dull and boring. It's probably not by his choice, but rather by his training. He's a leader and must maintain a certain level of calmness, professionalism, and lack of emotion around those beneath his command. He has to set an example for others to follow. Nothing new there, we see it in real life with our own military leaders and so forth. That's not to say that in off time these high ranking officers can't have fun or a social life, etc. We just never see them in that mode aside for a few fleeting glimpses. Most of this series shows them in 'work' or 'on duty' mode. We don't see them on vacation or in any long term downtimes. Zeemon is seen on Spa Moon once. So, yes, it does prove these high rankers do indeed take in some pleasures and vacation type activities. We just never see Leader-1 on his downtime. Or perhaps, he really is a serious workaholic or utilizes his Guardian skills to thwart even the nosiest of bots about his 'other' life.

Right off the bat, his name makes it obvious he's a commander and many fans or non-fans call it a stupid name, but it is a decent enough play on USA jet jock lingo. Leader-1 is, afterall, in vehicle mode, a resemblence of an F-15 Eagle air superiority fighter jet. Unsure about jet jock lingo? Well, for instance, when a pilot fires a missle, that missle has a code indicating its type and what number it is based on how many that jet is carrying. The pilot may say "Fox 2" for example. Or, if he's flying in a squadron, he may take a radio call sign to identify himself such as "Red 5" like we saw even Luke Skywalker in STAR WARS do. Nicknames also follow military pilots that may describe a personality or trait or action. Remember the movie, TOP GUN? Maverick and Goose are examples of nicknames. They are still used today, especially with Navy and Marine pilots. So, this GoBot's name is a blend of all that. It may not necessarily be the egotistical, esteem hugging need that some claim. Or of course, it could just be one of those really obvious names that some cartoons give to characters to keep it simple for the kiddies. ;)

Another large issue some people have with Leader-1 is that maybe he's not all that great of a leader as he wants us to believe. Many cite the two part episode, "Renegade Rampage" as one of the places where Leader-1 makes some rather unGuardian-like command decisions. He makes the decision to evacuate the inhabitants of a planet then blow the entire planet up, just to destory a handful of Renegades. Another command mistake in this same episode occurs shortly after the launch of both his Guardian Command Center, and the inhabitants' escape ship. With only a small fluctuating opening in a forcefield/shield, the Guardian Command Center takes the lead position and shoots out, leaving the inhabitants' escape ship stuck as the portal closed behind them...with the planet ready to blow at any second. Now, if Leader-1 was the ideal hero, he'd have made sure the helpless inhabitants reached safety first before himself and his own crew. That would mean allowing them to exit first. Perhaps Leader-1 was just having a bad day or off his game in this particular episode. There are also times where he seems rash or aggressive, smashing his fists on consoles and the like. To me, those actions are more for dramatic effect or a way to get attention back to a subject at hand. Seen it with real generals in WWII with pointer sticks on maps, tables, etc. Probably a common commander thing. He rarely raises his voice in anger though he has done so a couple of times with Scooter and a flat out disagreement/argument with Turbo in "Pacific Overature." But, it was just deserved as Scooter subverted or disobeyed direct commands and Turbo displayed obvious attitude and was a bit hostile himself. Most of the time, Leader-1 maintains a calm, cool demeanor even in times where most wouldn't. This probably has a good effect on boosting morale and getting the most out of other Guardians and most assuredly in crowd control, etc. Riots and panic are not good things in maintaining control of the situation afterall. This GoBot is leaned on heavily by his Guardian friends and allies. He's usually the first called upon when there's serious trouble. It's almost as if the Guardians can't do the job or function without him. He takes it in stride though it's got to weigh heavily on him. He struggles with loss both in combat and lives and doesn't seem comfortable with it either. In "Mission:GoBotron" he suffered several setbacks back-to-back. It's probably the only time we see him somewhat distressed and affected by mission losses. He's usually rather positive and upbeat no matter how dire the situation is. But even in that episode, he turned it around to a positive despite the odds. All this just seems to show that he isn't 'perfect', thus making him a more realistic and 'organic' thinking character. He's at the mercy of the same flaws as us all.

Other issues may also affect this Guardian Commander that may cause him to make some of the decisions the way he does. Just look at any long-term 'great commander' who has seen battle for far too long. Alexander the Great, Julius Ceasar, perhaps even Ghingas Khan, and Napoleon to name some obvious examples. Great leaders of men and successful in combat, but flawed and altered through their experiences. We never see the entire backstory to Leader-1 or even a whole lot of his personality aside for a couple fleeting glimpses. What we do see though, indicates some hardships he's had to endure to be what he is. From fighting side by side with his best friend, to having to routinely try and destroy that once friend now enemy has got to be a serious traumatic experience and probably one Leader-1 has never fully recovered from. Add to that, said ex-best friend routinely tries to kill him and succeeded once by having him disassembled (the GoBotron Saga). Thankfully, the discovery of The Last Engineer at the right time and place, saved the Guardian Commander's life. With that disassembly incident and in various other battles, Leader-1 has been captured or surrendured for the sake of others several times. He's also taken numerous injuries and damage. There's no doubt he's witnessed the deaths of fellow Guardians as well, perhaps many under his own command. These kind of experiences have a way of eating a being up mentally, from the inside out. Think of the real life human soldiers who have returned from VietNam or Iraq. Many of those are mentally messed up due to their experiences while on their tour of duties. Leader-1 is of a pretty sound mind considering just the few experiences we see of his. If one filled in the holes of what we didn't see...it'd be so much more.

His command style is actually semi-conservative. While most might see it as straight out conservative (by the book), I see it with a slight twist. He does tend to follow rules closely, but he'll adapt or evolve tactics to suit a mission or situation regardless of what the 'book' might say. He will 'save face' of others by remaining quiet and even taking orders when he really shouldn't have to. Example is in "Cy-Kill's Cataclysmic Trap" where General Newcastle, the human UNECOM Commander, basically orders them, including Leader-1 on a mission to investigate a planet without consulting Leader-1 at all in regards to it. Leader-1 could have pulled rank and reminded the General that the Guardian GoBots are under his command and that he and Newcastle rank as equals, unable to boss each other around, but he didn't. He said nothing and followed the 'orders' of the General thus saving potential embarrassment of the human commander.

A new factor creeping in on Leader-1 is age. This GoBot is either in or nearing the end of his prime fighting years and fast approaching middle age, whatever age that might be for a GoBot. Constant war/combat probably age him faster than normal as well. While his age gives him wisdom and experience, it might also be playing on the back of his mind. He knows he's aging. Just look at that race he had against a newer/younger 'Guardian', Snoop in "Cy-Kill's Cataclysmic Trap." He admitted the feel of his age eventhough his comrade, Turbo tried to look past it by saying "He could race another 100 miles." Leader-1's reply while somewhat out of breath, "Don't bet on it." Snoop also frequently referred to Leader-1 as 'old timer' and even Leader-1's closest human friend Matt said, "You'd better step on it Old Guy!" If that doesn't remind one of their age, than I don't know what will. But, this aging warrior will not go out quietly. He doesn't like to quit or lose and will sometimes pull victories out of his exhaust fans from sheer determination alone. I bet Leader-1 would rather die in combat than pass the years stuck in some office as a Guardian 'has been' like Zeemon pretty much does now.

So, let's not pass judgement too harshly on this Guardian until we've flown a few hundred miles on his wings.