G1 Jetfire Became a Legal Debacle Thanks to Macross

2022-05-21 14:52:36 By : Mr. Rong Chen

Macross had a popular design in the VF-1 Valkyrie, but its toy was best known for later being a Transformer.

Due to the nature of its American adaptation, Macross is connected to a lot of different franchises and properties. One of these is, strangely enough, Transformers, although this certainly wasn't intentional on the part of the series' creators. However, due to the use of one of Macross's iconic designs, an equally as classic Generation 1 Transformer was introduced in radically different ways.

Jetfire is Transformers' link to Macross, but while the latter franchise is still huge in Japan, it was in this country of origin that the original Jetfire was never released. Macross itself also has a very similar misfortune outside the Land of the Rising Sun. Here's how a form of robotechnology went on to become a robot in disguise.

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The most common mechs in the original Macross series (as well as the franchise as a whole) are the transforming VF-1 Valkyrie units. Analogous in the franchise to the RX-78 and its many design derivatives in the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise, these crafts transform from jets, to a limbed jet form called GERWALK, to fully humanoid robots. Created from the technology found in the alien Macross spaceship, these mechas are used in the original series to fight the invading Zentradi. The VF in the name stands for "variable fighter," although it means "Veritech fighter" in the series Robotech, which used footage from Macross and other shows to create a fairly new narrative.

Takatoku Toys would go on to develop a figure of the Valkyrie -- the first fully-transformable version of the toy. Although it was of course popular as a representative of the now-iconic Macross mech, it received another claim to fame in the West as part of the Generation 1 Transformers toy line. There, it would become the Decepticon-turned-Autobot Jetfire, although there would legally be much more than met the eye with this situation.

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Hasbro had licensed the VF-1 Valkyrie toy for use as Jetfire in their Transformers toy line, which meant that Matchbox was unable to use the toy for their Robotech line. This came about because Hasbro was essentially gobbling up all manner of molds for toys to use for their Transformers line so that their competitors in the world of transforming robot toys couldn't do so. However, this presented a problem with Hasbro's relationship with Japanese toy company Takara.

As they were essentially developing Transformers together with Takara, Hasbro/Sunbow planned on releasing the original cartoon for the series in Japan. However, legend has it that Takara felt some sort of way about promoting a toy that, in Japan, was now licensed by competitor Bandai. It's due to this that the original Jetfire toy was never even released in Japan, at least not in the Transformers line. Thus, the animation model for Jetfire in the cartoon was radically changed from the Macross look of the toy. The large jetpack and red coloring were downplayed, with the character getting a blue cockpit and a more humanoid face. Finally, the show character was renamed Skyfire, officially no longer "promoting" the toy.

Jetfire, once again under his true name, would begin to become more prominent in the Transformers franchise again during the Unicron Trilogy of anime. There, he was reimagined as a space shuttle, with his look in Transformers: Armada ironically being based more on the Japanese-exclusive Transformer Sky Garry than either G1 design. However, thanks to more recent nostalgia-based toylines and shows such as Classics and War for Cybertron: Siege, he's gone back to his older style of design. These new forms are based primarily on the animated "Skyfire" design, albeit many times coming with armor and weapons evocative of the Macross refugee Skyfire toy.

As for Macross itself, it's yet to be released in the West in its true form due to Harmony Gold and Robotech. This cleanly reverses the situation with Jetfire's original toy, which was essentially banned from Japan. Thankfully, things are changing now due to legal agreements with Harmony Gold, but it's unlikely that the original VF-1 Valkyrie toy will be re-issued as "Jetfire" any time soon.

Timothy Blake Donohoo is a graduate of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where he majored in Communication and minored in Creative Writing. A professional freelance writer and marketing expert, he’s written marketing copy and retail listings for companies such as Viatek. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, playing video games, watching documentaries and catching up on the latest Vaporwave and Electro-Swing musical releases.