Leader-1

Leader-1 is the heroic leader of the Guardians. Wherever Cy-Kill and the Renegades aim to spread evil, Leader-1 will always be there to fight for justice!

He does get shot down, captured or turned evil a lot though, and his main skill is having a forcefield. He is sometimes called Leader One.

“	Leader-1 indeed, how inappropriate can a name be?	”
—Cy-Kill, saying what we're all thinking

Fiction

Escape to Planet Earth storybook

Leader-1 was commander of the Security Forces, who caught and imprisoned Cy-Kill and his Renegade group on GoBotron. The prisoners were able to escape to Earth though, having learned how to change their forms. Leader-1 discovered this reviewing security tapes, and then summoned Turbo, Dozer, Hans-Cuff, Dumper and Pumper to the Command Center in order to give chase. On the journey they also took on vehicle modes, with Leader-1 becoming a jet fighter. They detected the Renegades after Pete and Nancy accidentally hacked the Renegades, and Leader-1 sent Dumper to rescue them. The Security Forces were able to force the Renegades into a retreat, and Leader-1 honoured his new human chums with medals and the status of honorary citizens of GoBotron.Escape to Planet Earth

Challenge of the GoBots cartoon

Voice actor: Lou Richards

A long-serving Guardian, the earliest recorded history of Leader-1 comes from the first Renegade revolt. His help stopping the Renegades, and battling Parthian Raiders, was recognised when he was appointed a High Protector of GoBotron, along with his good friend Cy-Kill and the respected veteran Zeemon. In the aftermath he took the unglamorous job of guarding the mines on Garleon with Treds; the facility was targeted by Crasher, Cop-Tur and Geeper-Creeper; the Guardians were able to drive them off with the help from a worker called Turbo, who would go on to become one of his most valued comrades. Upon his return from Garleon he rejected the ambitious Cy-Kill's offer to help him take over GoBotron, and then an offer from the Guardian Council to make him overall leader of the planet, strongly believing that no GoBot should be master of another. Even though his name was Leader-1. He was greatly hurt when Cy-Kill instead defected to the Renegades to achieve his goal by conquest, and only narrowly escaped an assassination attempt devised by his former friend. "Et Tu, Cy-Kill" The latter's defection and the lasting damage caused to Zeemon on Parthis left him as de facto field commander of the Guardians. Cy-Kill soon rose to command of the Renegade, and was a constant thorn in the Guardians' side. As well as the Renegades, Leader-1 fought the Tri-Cats of Fedge with Turbo and Blaster. Invasion from the 21st Level, Part I

After Cy-Kill, Crasher and Cop-Tur stole the prototype Astrobeam, Leader-1 petitioned the Guardian Council for authorisation to carry out a strike on their Fortess, receiving permission from Zeemon. However, as their force arrived Cy-Kill and his two henchmen launched from the base. Leader-1, Turbo and Scooter followed them in the Command Center, leaving the rest of the Guardians to deal with the Fortress. The arrival of both sets of GoBots in the atmosphere above Earth led to the crash of the NASA shuttle Intrepid, piloted by Matt Hunter with cadets A.J. Foster and Nick Burns. Turbo was injured in the subsequent tussle with the Renegades, with Leader-1 opting not to make contact with the human authorities. However, the damage to Turbo meant that the Guardians needed allies, and they were able to persuade the trio of suspended astronauts to help find parts to repair Turbo in return for clearing their names. However, they soon found out that the Renegades had in fact allied with NASA scientist Doctor Braxis. Battle for GoBotron Turbo was repaired and the Guardians attempted to prevent Cy-Kill from stealing sorium for Braxis' Frequency neutralizer from Stolbovoy Island. However, the Renegades' Thruster beat them there and Cy-Kill had called up Zod from GoBotron. The monster buried Leader-1 along Turbo, Matt, A.J., Russian scientist Anya Turgenova and Crasher under rock and ice, with an unstable sorium crystal. Target Earth Thankfully he was able to use his force-field to keep everyone safe while Scooter and Nick dug them out with the Command Center. He then oversaw the Brainstorming of Crasher, who caused him some embarrassment by confessing she used to have a crush on him in the "old days" before the Guardians found out Cy-Kill's next target was the NORAD nerve-centre at Cheyenne Mountain. However they were once again too late, and the Renegades activated the frequency neutraliser - turning every human on Earth against the Guardians. Nick released Crasher, who turned the Command Center on the trio; Leader-1 ordered Turbo and Scooter to leave him and tried to hold the ship off, only to be shot down and captured.Conquest of Earth With Leader-1 his prisoner, Cy-Kill put his human slaves to work building a fleet of Zods to conquer GoBotron, using information taken from the Guardian with the Brainstormer before dropping him into a junkyard to be eaten by a Zod. Earthbound However, he was found by Turbo and Scooter, who had freed Matt, A.J., Nick and Anya from Renegade control. With their help he was able to trick Zod into trapping its' head in a car crusher and then strike a weak point on the monster's belly. Anya was able to restore Leader-1 to full power using Zod's cells and they prepared to retake Cheyenne Mountain - but not before the rest of the Zods were launched towards GoBotron. Along with Matt and Anya he was able to deal serious damage to Cy-Kill, who escaped via Astrobeam - callously wrecking the neutraliser on his way so Braxis couldn't control humanity. Leader-1 then hit on the idea of using the Astrobeam to send sorium crystals into the midst of the Zod armada, with the resulting reaction destroying them and saving GoBotron, where the Renegades' Fortress had also fallen. While the confused military personnel tried to piece together what was going on Leader-1 and the Guardians slipped away with their new human friends. The Final Conflict

After this contact with Earth, the Guardians formed an alliance with the human military organisation UNECOM under the command of General Newcastle, and Leader-1 would divide his time between his responsibilities on GoBotron, defending Earth (now a regular target of Cy-Kill) and patrolling other areas of space. Leader-1 led a team of Guardians with Matt, A.J and Nick - now functioning as UNECOM representatives - to the Prison Moon of GoBotron, only to find Cy-Kill and Fitor had escaped. Along with Matt and Turbo he scoured the planet for the fugitives but they injured Turbo, leaving him to freeze on the moon's surface. Leader-1 found his friend and used his force-field to raise Turbo's temperature before they returned to the Command Center to search for the missing Scooter and Nick. However, Turbo collapsed. Thankfully when the Guardians located the pair on the Moon of Knowledge they had discovered the apparent location of the Last Engineer, and Leader-1 ordered a course set for Antares III in the hopes of finding the miracle needed to save his friend.Cy-Kill's Escape When they arrived over the planet Leader-1 and Matt investigated strange signals inside a dormant volcano, unaware they were being watched by Vamp. The volcano unexpectedly erupted and the pair narrowly escaped a fiery death but did find a sanctum containing a sleeping GoBeing. However he and Matt were then overpowered by Scorp and Vamp, who imprisoned them. Leader-1 was able to revive and when the guards came back to use the pair as hostages after the arrival of a Guardian search party he was able to take them by surprise and knock both Monster GoBots out. He then commanded Scooter to see what he could find out about the hibernating figure; his fellow Guardian's efforts awakened the sleeper and Leader-1 greeted the man he believed to be his creator. The GoBeing then repaired Turbo and came onboard the Command Center before it was attacked by Cy-Kill in a Thruster. Leader-1 tried to call Cy-Kill's bluff, claiming the Renegade would not dare endanger their mutual creator; however, the passenger then revealed himself to in fact be the Master Renegade, paralysing Small Foot and taking her hostage.Quest for the Creator.

When Crasher came across to collect the Master Renegade some opportunism from Turbo meant the Guardians avoided destruction and were able to return to GoBotron. Leader-1 warned the Guardian Council of events and Zeemon placed the planet on Stage 6 Renegade Alert. However when the attack came the sheer firepower of the newly-completed Renegade ship Roguestar put the Guardians on the back foot. Leader-1 was prevented from reaching a Command Centre and instead engaged the Renegade fleet alone in jet mode, promptly getting shot down by Cy-Kill from Roguestar. Unable to convert, he was captured on the ground by Crasher. To demoralise what remained of the Guardian forces Cy-Kill announced he would disassemble Leader-1 at the Prison Moon. Despite a spirited Guardian rescue attempt led by Sparky the Renegade was successful; thankfully his comrades had found the real Last Engineer, who oversaw the gathering of Leader-1's parts and adjusted a Modifier to fix him. However Leader-1 had barely been restored to life when Crasher and Fitor discovered the Last Engineer's secret lab. The Fall of GoBotron Leader-1 tried to confront them but, still weak from his ordeal, collapsed. However, the Last Engineer was able to convert his lab into the ship Courageous and took them to Earth, where Leader-1 broke the news of GoBotron's fall to a distressed General Newcastle. However the General put UNECOM's research facilities at the Last Engineer's disposal and soon afterwards Leader-1 was able to put the first Power Suit through its' paces. Flight to Earth When Turbo arrived on Earth in a badly damaged Command Center full of escaped Guardians Leader-1 used the Power Suit's speed boost and protective qualities to help the ship land safely. Soon after Turbo, Small Foot and Scooter were also given suits by the Last Engineer and Small Foot's detected the watching Crasher and Fitor. The Guardians attacked them, Leader-1 using his suit to easily trounce Fitor. He then decided to make a pre-emptive strike on Roguestar before it could invade Earth. However the intervention of the Monster GoBots complicated the plan. Leader-1 was hit by the Renegade ship's guns while trying to save Small Foot; Scooter was able to arrest their fall with his suit's telekinesis until he was hit as well. Thankfully the Last Engineer arrived soon afterwards; the suits combined with Courageous to form a Power Warrior and turned the battle against the Renegades, who retreated. Leader-1 and his team were then honoured by Zeemon on the freed GoBoton. Return to GoBotron.

After Cy-Kill attempted to change history with Professor Ling's Chronos Time Transporter, Leader-1 took Turbo, Scooter, Matt and Nick back to 217 B.C. to stop him, but the Renegades had convinced the ancient Romans that they were gods. Knocked out by rocks, the Guardians were captured and shackled, then fought the Renegades in the arena to try and disprove their claims. However, weakened from their ordeal they lost. Thankfully Matt had made an ally in a blacksmith named Marcus. With his help and the arrival of Path Finder and A.J. through the Transporter they were finally able to expose the Renegades and put history more-or-less as it should be. Time Wars With Matt as pilot, Leader-1 found himself pushed hard in an air race against new recruit Snoop before the group set off to investigate suspicious activity in the Vega star system. They soon find a Renegade mining operation, but Snoop was secretly a Renegade spy and was able to warn her comrades, leading to Leader-1 being shot down by Zods defending the base. With Turbo also sidelined, Scooter and Matt instead had to get help from other enslaved miners, who rose up against the Renegades. After trouncing Snoop, Leader-1 was able to wreck the mining equipment and the Guardians escaped with the other captive miners before the planet exploded. Cy-Kill's Cataclysmic Trap The GoBotron Security Council were convened on Earth after the destruction of Nywilak's star with the Renegades' latest weapon, built by Braxis after Pincher broke the scientist out of prison, though Leader-1 and his fellows were unable to find a way of tracking Roguestar. When Cy-Kill dumped Braxis back on Earth ahead of its' destruction Leader-1 was quick to put the disgraced genius to work trying to find out the ship's location. He then thought quickly when a comet appeared just as the Renegades were preparing to fire, managing to deflect the object into the path of the beam. With the nova beam overloading, the Renegades were forced to jettison it and Earth had been saved once again. Nova Beam A routine mission to drop off rookie Scratch at a UNECOM station became fraught when Leader-1's team found Doctor Mobius had taken up with the Renegades, giving them his new inverta-ray. The scientist's relationship with Cy-Kill soon fell apart as Mobius realised the extent of his mistake but Leader-1's options were restricted by the Renegade using Mobius as a human shield. Cy-Kill delivered an ultimatum to the Guardian Council on GoBotron and Leader-1 seemed powerless to stop him; thankfully a remorseful Mobius and his son Danny were able to prevent the inverta-ray being fired upon their home planet. Genius and Son

Leader-1 took his team to a secret UNECOM facility in Utah to see Professor Von Joy demonstrate upgrades to the Power Suits, and later helped search for the missing Scooter, captured as part of a Renegade plot and brainwashed. He saved Nick from Crasher and Pincher and later realised the Renegades' plan could be used to lure Cy-Kill and his followers into a trap. However, the resulting ambush was undone when Professor Von Joy's attempts to help backfired, paralysing the Guardians and allowing Cy-Kill to call a retreat. While perturbed, Leader-1 forgave the scientist for his flawed intervention. It's the Thought that Counts After both the Guardians and Renegades were brought down by the magnetic field of an unknown planet and forced to work together, with Leader-1 personally saving Cy-Kill from the murderous spiders that inhabited the planet. He then rescued Scooter and Nick when the Renegades inevitably turned on them; thanks to Turbo having the foresight to dispose of a bomb planted on the Command Center by Cop-Tur the Guardians were able to escape. Forced Alliance After Leader-1 received word from Turbo about the Insectoids and their similarities to the Tri-Cats of Fedge he called up Blaster to help. Despite the arrival of the Guardian and energy-draining nets, the resulting raid on Roguestar was ultimately a failure, as Exor, queen of the Insectoids, summoned a cadre of elite warriors before Leader-1 could return them to their correct dimension. Invasion from the 21st Level, Part I Leader-1 and Small Foot were unable to overload the generators on Roguestar and were forced to abandon Turbo on the Renegade flagship. Heading back to UNECOM Headquarters, they were able to meet up with Matt, A.J. and Nick before using the Astrobeam to fetch Heat Seeker and were eventually able to fight back against Exor, with Leader-1 this time able to return her to the 21st level using Braxis' Dimensional Interfacer. Invasion from the 21st Level, Part II When Cy-Kill created an Electromagnetic Neutralizer, Leader-1 took Van Guard with him to investigate the device. They survived a run-in with Scales and were able to destroy the device. Speed Is of the Essence He was then an instrumental part of a treaty with Earth to be decided on GoBotron; however, the human representatives Matt, Nick and A.J. went missing with Scooter in Old GoBotron. Leader-1 searched for them and with the help of Wrecks was able to get them to safety. He offered the old GoBot a place on the planet's surface but respected his decision to stay in Old GoBotron and help those still living there. Lost on GoBotron Along with Turbo and Scooter, he was shrank down to a tiny size by Cy-Kill using Dr. Go's molecular transfuser. Thankfully the Guardians were able to befriend a boy called Nathan who, at Leader-1's suggestion, used a vacuum cleaner to take out the similarly miniaturised Renegades. After returning to full size he thanked the boy for his help. Cy-Kill's Shrinking Ray

After taking a knock from Cy-Kill in a scuffle on Earth, Leader-1 was surprised that Snoop didn't finish him off, little realising it was simply another stage of one of Cy-Kill's convoluted plans. Instead he decided to bench Small Foot before the under-strength Guardians were called to Washington, D.C. where Leader-1 was attacked by a Dr. Go-created double of himself, created from footage recorded by Snoop. He was then jumped by Crasher and Cop-Tur, allowing Dr. Go to get a neural lock in place and the insert Leader-1 to be taken to the Moon of Shadows, soon to be joined by a growing number of replaced Guardians. However, the duplicate Leader-1's actions raised suspicions from Scooter and Small Foot, who travelled to the Moon of Shadows and freed the captured Guardians, Leader-1 included. They then returned to GoBotron and exposed the plot, with Leader-1 getting the satisfaction of blowing up his copy. Doppelganger A series of Renegade raids in Earth's solar system underlined the threat Roguestar posed to the Guardians and Earth, and Leader-1 ordered the ship to finally be neutralised. Path Finder devised a plan to sneak them onboard and plant explosives to destroy the Renegade flagship. Aside from a few hitches the mission went well and the explosives went off - though the Guardians didn't initially realise they had been found by the Renegades and jettisoned seconds before. The Quest for Roguestar He then led the usual suspects to try and prevent the Renegades invading Tri-Ceti and gaining control of the Tramulet but was injured in an assault on Cy-Kill's troops. As a result the Guardians felt the only way to stop the Renegades was to destroy Tri-Ceti with Antimatter Detonators but Cy-Kill used the Tramulet to trap the Command Center and an ark full of native Trindles in the exploding planet's atmosphere. Renegade Rampage, Part I Thankfully they were able to escape through a weak point in the field and were eventually able to return the Tramulet to the Trindle Elders, who were in turn able to reform Tri-Ceti. The Renegades' Rampage, Part II After A.J. stumbled on the construction of Ultra Zod in Waldron while visiting relatives Leader-1 and the Guardians arrived to help; they were able to destroy the Renegades' latest weapon thanks to Courageous, freeing the enslaved population of the town. Ultra Zod His team's next job was to deal with Sentinel, a Renegade-fighting robot built by UNECOM that predictably decided humanity needed to be wiped out. Leader-1 and his chums were seriously outpowered by the machine, which was also being manipulated by Cy-Kill. They once again called up Courageous; while Sentinel was able to match the Power Warrior it at least brought time for Leader-1 to point out to Sentinel that Cy-Kill had lied. As a result the robot chased the Renegades away from Earth, with Leader-1 hoping it would instead commit genocide somewhere the Guardians had no jurisdiction. Sentinel When Professor Frost tried to hold the world to ransom with his Climatizer and instead got mugged by Cy-Kill, Leader-1 led his troops in to regain control of the device. However, he and Turbo were frozen in ice by the Renegades and instead it was Dive-Dive who saved the day, later thawing the pair out. Cold Spell

A lull in Renegade activity saw the Guardians back human law enforcement, thwarting numerous crimes - including a bank robbery that Leader-1 stopped by stomping the getaway car. However, this meant a huge alliance of human criminal organisations led by Murchison teamed up with the Renegades. This huge army soon overwhelmed the Guardians and the authorities, especially when Renegade forcefield tech was added to the criminals' arsenal. Leader-1 was damaged as a result of a confrontation with the invulnerable criminals in Washington, D.C. but thankfully Matt and Flip Top were able to deactivate the forcefields and allow a successful counter-attack. Crime Wave The Guardians were summoned by General Newcastle to investigate a series of thefts by the Monster GoBots, personally staking out an army base with UNECOM troops to trap Crasher, Cop-Tur and Pincher. While they escaped the Guardians were able to track Cy-Kill's latest scheme. The only problem was that the Renegades' wheeze was the huge Puzzler. He joined Turbo and Staks in fighting the giant until Scooter called up the Power Suits, with Courageous easily besting Puzzler in combat. Auto Madic He and Turbo chased off a Renegade attempt to kidnap Nick and A.J. but Scooter's holo-projector was damaged during the scuffle. Leader-1 was unable to repair the unit, and instead Scooter visited Professor Von Joy on GoBotron, getting hand-blasters fitted instead. Meanwhile Leader-1 and Turbo were drawn to a UNECOM tracking station in Alaska so the Renegades could steal the Power Suits. They returned in time to thwart the theft, and Leader-1 approved of Scooter's decision to switch back to using a holo-projector. Scooter Enhanced After Cy-Kill surprised the Guardians by announcing the Renegades' plans to leave Earth behind and look for fresh pickings elsewhere in the universe, Leader-1 was unsure of his former friend's sincerity. Dr. Go then drew the Command Center away from Earth while the Renegades used image inducers to frame the Guardians as villains. When the real Guardians returned Leader-1 was taken aback by General Newcastle telling them they were banished from Earth. However, he had the Command Centre landed discretely anyway and uncovered the Renegades' scheme, forcing a captured Dr. Go to testify about the details of the plan to UNECOM. Tarnished Image When the ancient Dark Heart, a weapon of the ancient GoBot known only as the Evil One, was discovered in Peru he was able to talk some sense into Cy-Kill before he unleashed the weapon. However, the treacherous Doctor Cunningham had fewer scruples and activated the device. Only Leader-1, using his personal forcefield, was able to survive the onslaught of energy from the device and prevent it from destroying the universe. In Search of Ancient GoBonauts

When both the Guardians and Renegades were kidnapped by the alien gamesmaster B'oosa and sold into the service of Crespas Leader-1 was less than impressed with being forced into fighting as a gladiator for his captor's amusement, especially when Cy-Kill and the Renegades also captured were more concerned with fighting than working together to get free, though both groups were eventually able to get to freedom. Gameworld After the Guardian team on Earth were infiltrated by a spy Leader-1 resorted to dramatic measures to draw the leak out. This left to him being accused and seemingly imprisoned by his fellow Guardians but this was a ploy he devised with help from Scooter and Turbo to flush out the real spy - Bad Boy, posing as Heat Seeker thanks to an Image Simulator Circuit. He then led his troops to prevent Cy-Kill using a polarity invertor to interfere with Earth's magnetic field. Wolf in the Fold While his team made short work of a storm of asteroids they then struggled to track the Starfish, the Renegades' new undersea base. However, with the aid of Dive-Dive, Flip Top, Turbo, Scooter, Matt, Nick and A.J. the base was eventually destroyed, with Leader-1 joining a UNECOM naval force in sending the Renegades into retreat. Depth Charge After the Renegades attacked a demonstration of the Guardians' new Proton Cultivator, Leader-1 gave chase. However, he and Scooter were lured into a canyon where Crasher attempted to Astrobeam them into the sun. However, ion interference instead sent the pair into a twisted parallel world where the Guardians were villains. His double attacked the pair of them with their Proton Destructor; the true Leader-1 was able to hold it with his forcefield. They were eventually able to get help from the dimension's heroic Renegades Cy-Kill, Crasher and Cop-Tur in destroying the weapon and saving Wen Kroy and returned to their own reality when the Astrobeam reversed in time for the pair to save Turbo from an attack from the normal evil Renegades. Transfer Point

After Steamer requested to join the Guardians, Leader-1 was willing to give the Renegade a chance, but was reluctantly forced to order his capture after the Renegades used the sincere Steamer against his new friends. However, Nick was able to clear Steamer's name and the Renegades' scheme to take over construction vehicles to turn Boulder City into a staging ground. Steamer's Defection When Scooter's attempts to upgrade Guardian sensors led to a string of false alarms Leader-1 received a dressing down from an irritated Zeemon, with the Command Center team getting cargo haulage duty as a result. The Renegades used the confusion to kidnap Scooter's pal Billy, though the diminutive Guardian was able to persuade Leader-1 and Turbo to help free the human. The GoBot Who Cried Renegade After the psychic Sean Roberts was abducted by the Renegades, Leader-1 led the search for the boy. However this was hindered by the actions of the treacherous UNCEOM officer Major Benedict. The traitor was exposed and Sean was saved. The Seer Another precocious human, the curious and chaotic Buddy, came up with a Spectrometer that could switch GoBots from the alpha frequencies used by Guardians to the beta frequencies used by Renegades. After interrogating the girl with General Newcastle, Leader-1 realised it had all been an honest misunderstanding. However, the Renegades got hold of the device and used it to turn Leader-1, Turbo, Blaster and Good Knight to evil. Under the influence of the Spectrometer he travelled to GoBotron, shot Path Finder and took the Guardian Council hostage but thankfully Scooter, Nick and Buddy were able to free them from the device's influence before the prisoners could be handed over to the Renegades - though he was less than enthused by the girl's offer to show Nick how to hack school grades by computer. Whiz Kid After Cy-Kill threatened to trigger a chain reaction of volcanic activity that could have destroyed Earth, Leader-1 was forced to hand himself over to the Renegades. He was attacked by Cy-Kill, Cop-Tur and Vamp before being restrained and dangled over a pool of lava. Luckily he was freed by Small Foot and Scooter was able to destroy the Renegades' machine, saving the planet once again. Ring of Fire

His optimism and idealism got the better of him when Cy-Kill offered peace talks between the Guardians and Renegades, with Leader-1 finding it hard to credit the cynicism of the normally-loyal Turbo when the latter kept interfering in the peace conference. He chewed out Scooter when he joined Turbo in doubting the Renegades but it turned out they were right, and only their persistence prevented a massacre at the signing of a peace treaty in Vienna. Leader-1 apologised to his team for doubting them. Pacific Overtures After the disgruntled scientist Doctor Eiji Tsuburaya mutated a trio of dinosaurs into the monsters Ichigar, Kaitudan and Jerigan, Leader-1 helped fight the beasts, but was shot down by Ichigar. He had no more success in a later attempt to tackle Kaituden, and when the monsters attacked Tokyo the Guardians were able to do little to stop them, even after Blaster and Hans-Cuff arrived with Courageous. Instead Tsuburaya's conscience saw him gas the monsters into unconsciousness. Destroy All Guardians With help from Turbo, Scooter, Path Finder and Heat Seeker he was able to trap and capture Cy-Kill; as a more powerful Brainstormer was required for the powerful Renegade leader he was temporarily kept at the secret Guardian jail on Elba. When Fitor and Geeper-Creeper feigned defection to the Guardians as part of a plan to free their commander Leader-1 was initially cautious but decided to test their loyalty by sending them as part of a team investigating a disturbance on Elba. However, Cy-Kill had already turned guards Royal-T and Street Heat to his side and the group walked into an ambush while Leader-1 was on GoBotron testing the new Brainstormer, with Fitor and Geeper-Creeper unsurprisingly turning on the other Guardians. Thankfully Matt had sneaked to Elba with Turbo and was able to free the Guardians, while Leader-1 and Scooter returned to Earth in time to foil a Renegade attempt to use a captured Command Center as a trojan horse. Escape from Elba

After being called to a new UNECOM surveillance station that was under Renegade attack, Leader-1 engaged Bad Boy in air-to-air combat. The battle saw Fitor taken prisoner after Leader-1 used his forcefield to prevent him leaving with the other defeated Renegades. Fitor's fanaticism made him difficult to interrogate, with the Renegade lieutenant even trying to destroy the Command Center and everyone onboard before giving away any information. As a result he was transferred to GoBotron for Brainstorming, but Leader-1 called the process off when Cy-Kill took Matt, A.J., Nick and Anya as hostages. Cy-Kill attempted to double-cross Leader-1 at the resulting prisoner exchange; while the Guardian was able to shoot down Cop-Tur he found Fitor a tougher proposition, only to be spared when the Astrobeam reversed and took the Renegade away. This forced the Renegades on the defensive, and the humans were safely rescued. Fitor to the Finish After Cy-Kill shrank nearly the entire population of Earth and used them as bargaining chips to install himself as Overlord of GoBotron, Leader-1 led the resistance against the Renegade. He was even able to surreptitiously get the miniaturised humans to safety, allowing him to do a big dramatic reveal at a kangaroo court Cy-Kill convened to deal with the defiant Guardians Turbo, Blaster and Van Guard. The human race was then restored. Clutch of Doom After Zero took Turbo and Crasher hostage as part of his attempted coup Leader-1 was forced to head to Dengon Beta to retrieve his friend; Cy-Kill was also there to collect Crasher. The hostages were dummies and Leader-1 was blasted by Tank. Scooter, who had followed him against orders with Nick, was able to save him with a hologram until Dozer arrived. The whole thing was a diversion to allow Zero to create chaos on GoBotron. Leader-1 eventually led a successful counter-attack on the usurping Renegade's base, ultimately contributing to the failure of Zero's plans. The Third Column

Leader-1 was then tricked into donning an exo-suit created by the engineers of Fabricon; while it resembled his Power Suit it was in fact controlled by the Renegades, who used it to invert his personality. The evil Leader-1 then stole a transmitter core and numerous Guardian secrets from UNECOM, and as a result was declared a Renegade by the Guardian Council. He then defeated Cy-Kill and took control of the Renegades, setting himself up in command of Roguestar. His ruse having backfired, Cy-Kill escaped and helped the Guardians and UNECOM return Leader-1 to his normal self. A New Suit for Leader-1 He later helped protect the psychic Mira Shaw from a Renegade attack, even saving the life of a UNECOM pilot in the battle. However, the Guardians' security was later bypassed by Block Head, who captured Mira. The Guardians were lured into a trap at a fairground and despite shooting down Twin Spin he was captured and placed in a neural lock. Thankfully Mira was able to guide Nick and A.J. to his rescue and the Renegades were foiled. Renegade Carnival After the powerful alien Alaric arrived on Earth and was tricked into helping the Renegades, Leader-1 did his best to keep the kindly visitor from harm. His selfless actions in using his forcefield to protect Scooter, Nick and Alaric himself from Tork and Blades even though it left him wide open to attack from Cy-Kill convinced the alien that Leader-1 was worthy of his gift. He saved the Guardians and offered his vast knowledge to Leader-1, who demurred and insisted such power should be shared. This meant he passed Alaric's final test, and the knowledge of his race was transferred to GoBotron's Computer Moon, where it could benefit all good races in the universe. The Gift Another misunderstanding saw him disabled for a brief period by the mysterious Tinotchka. The Last Magic Man He later decided the Guardians needed to recruit the insane Braxis in order to counter Roguestar. This gambit almost worked when the scientist's array of detection satellites actually weakened the Renegade ship's molecular structure, though ultimately Braxis was captured by the Renegades and forced to undo the effect. Leader-1 was shot down by Fitor during the resulting battle but the Guardians were nevertheless able to find and destroy the new Renegade base on Titan. Braxis Gone Bonkers He led Turbo and Van Guard into the Command Center's computer system, ultimately combatting a sabotage attempt by the miniaturised Monster GoBots. Inside Job After the Renegades destroyed the Guardian Space Lab in an attempt to prevent the use of Element X to counter their stealth technology he opted to take a decoy Command Center to draw them away while the real element, saved by Sparky, was taken to a secret UNECOM facility on Earth. However, the ship taking the real thing was shot down, leading to Scooter and Small Foot clashing with the misdirected alien Astral, another who believed Cy-Kill's lies. Leader-1 was able to convince her of the real state of affairs and gave her Element X to help her people. Element of Danger

He travelled to the long-forgotten Level 17 of GoBotron with Turbo after Scooter managed to get himself lost there; however, the effect of the Crystal Mountain meant neither of them were able to convert or use their hand-blasters. While they made an ally in dissident Dart they were then captured by Bug Bite, right-hand GoBot of Level 17's cruel leader Gunnyr. Thanks to Dart's quick thinking the pair remained free and armed themselves with weapons from Bug Bite's guards. Scooter and his new friend Ace were able to take out Crystal Mountain, restoring his friends' abilities, and Leader-1 then made short work of Gunnyr in battle. The Guardians returned to the surface, taking Gunnyr and Bug Bite prisoner while adding Ace and Dart to their ranks. The GoBots That Time Forgot He then oversaw the graduation of the Blue and Red teams at the Guardian Academy; however, the Red Team were in fact the Renegade Dread Launchers, who used the ceremony to kidnap Zeemon. While the Blue Team chased after the spies Leader-1 led the rest of the Guardians, who were able to herd Cy-Kill, Crasher and Cop-Tur into a dummy Thruster. While they escaped the Blue Team of Tri-Trak, Twister, Tork and Staks were able to free Zeemon and capture the Dread Launchers. As a result, Leader-1 acquiesced to the group staying together after graduation, as the Secret Riders. Guardian Academy He then commanded a rescue team when the Earth colony ship Pilgrim came under Renegade attack near GoBotron. After saving the ship Leader-1 realised it would likely be targeted again, and joined Path Finder and Turbo in using it as bait while the Secret Riders and the Last Engineer went to New Earth on a Command Center. They later followed on to the new colony, which had by then been saved from an attack by the Master Renegade. Quest for New Earth He later supported Doctor Janus' expedition to the rediscovered Atlantis, arriving with Turbo to back up Tork and Scooter. Janus was in fact working with the Renegades and sicced one of the Furies on Leader-1, who was injured. Along with Turbo, Matt, A.J., Nick and Lois Ransom he took shelter in a cave and was trapped by a dragon, but Scooter and Tork were able to talk Janus around and the group were saved. Terror in Atlantis A return to Garleon during a running battle with the Renegades he found a Parthian energy crystal, which he recognised as a gift from Cy-Kill he had dropped years ago when they worked together as High Protector; remembering the time they had been friends saddened Leader-1. "Et Tu, Cy-Kill" Leader-1 then oversaw the commissioning of the joint Guardian/UNECOM Star Fortress. However, the Renegades were able to infiltrate the facility in an attempt to steal its' quantumite power plant. He was buried in debris by the Renegade assault team and needed to be freed by Sparky. He joined the counter-attack and shot down Sky-Jack but while the Renegades were unable to get away with the quantumite the unsecured element did destroy the Star Fortress. The Secret of Halley's Comet

Leader-1's conduct of the battle against the Renegades came under criticism by the hawkish Man-O-War, who felt the Guardians could deal with the enemy more firmly. After Leader-1 and Mach-3 were unable to prevent a convoy of construction materials intended for new sections of GoBotron from being destroyed. Man-O-War castigated Leader-1 in front of the Guardian Council afterwards. Zeemon defended Leader-1, who refused to change his tactics. A second supply convoy was attacked in plain view of GoBotolis but disaster was averted, with Leader-1's response impressing Man-O-War. As a result Leader-1 was able to organise a trap for the Renegade fleet; after luring their Thrusters close to GoBotron with the help of Mach-3, Ace and Bolt a squadron of Command Centers descended on the Renegades, delivering a stinging defeat. Man-O-War apologised to Leader-1 after the battle, now being convinced he was the right leader for the Guardians. Mission: GoBotron He continued overseeing the building of GoBotron and was on hand when Solitaire and Nuggit arrived from Cordax to request the Guardians' aid in fighting Magmar. Leader-1 was quick to agree but before an expedition could be mounted Cy-Kill mounted an attack, Fitor having overhead the discussion at the GoBotron Fortress. The resulting battle was a disaster for the Guardians, who suffered heavy losses and saw Small Foot, A.J., Nick and Solitaire captured. With much rebuilding to do and much of the Guardian fleet out of action Leader-1 opted to take just a single Command Center along with Turbo, Scooter, Nuggit and Matt to mount a rescue. They soon found the Thruster on Cordax and attacked but Leader-1 was damaged by the ship's main battery. Stranded on the surface, the Guardians met and allied with Boulder's band of troops opposed to Magmar and had to undertake a perilous journey across Cordax towards the Kingdom of Fossils. However, Small Foot, A.J. and Nick were able to escape Roguestar and met them, bringing a Space Hawk which was stripped down to repair Leader-1. The allies then attacked Stonehead, and while Cy-Kill was able to get his hands on the Ultra Scepter he found its' power difficult to control - allowing Leader-1 to shoot it out of his hands. With the Renegades retreating, Solitaire returned to Cordax and with Magmar on the back foot the Guardians left their new friends and returned to GoBotron. Battle of the Rock Lords

The Robo Machines comic

Leader One was one of the star members of the Security Forces of Robotron, and was selected by Ex-El as one of the officers to be taken to Earth on orders of the President to prevent Stron-Domez and his evil, converting Robo Machines from conquering the planet. During the journey onboard the Command Centre, Ex-El rebuilt Leader One so he too could convert - into an Earth fighter jet, performing similar modifications to Hans-Cuff and Dozer. The Command Centre arrived in East Anglia after Stron-Domez had already caused considerable death and destruction to the small town of Cholkham. However, Leader One was able to use his jet mode to draw Stron-Domez and his minions Cy-Kill, Tank and Fitor away from the town and confront them. Tank immediately recognised him - Leader One having once arrested him for vagrancy. The Security Forces officer attempted to appeal to Cy-Kill, pointing out that Stron-Domez had turned his petty criminal behaviour into genuine evil, but was rebuffed - Cy-Kill was enjoying the taste of power given to him by Stron-Domez. Leader One was able to dodge Cy-Kill's Fission Cannon and keep them busy until he was joined by Hans-Cuff and Dozer. Realising the battle was turning against him, Stron-Domez ordered his Renegades to attack a nearby school as a diversion. It worked - while Stron-Domez and his minions escaped Leader One and his troops attempted to undo the damage. He led by example, using his empty fuel tanks to suck up water from the school's swimming pool and then spraying it to douse the fire while Dozer got the pupils to safety. They were thanked by teacher Mr. Fenner before the fire brigade arrived and they left, with Hans-Cuff taking one of the children - Charlie Bampton - back to Cholkham, only to find his parents had been killed in Stron-Domez's attack. Orphaned, Charlie was taken onboard the Command Centre in the hopes that he might be able to convince humans that not all of the Robo Machines were evil. The Command Centre was promptly surrounded by the British Army; Hans-Cuff and Charlie set out to negotiate with them but a stray shot from an enraged and fearful farmer bounced off the Robo Machine and injured the boy. Hans-Cuff reacted angrily and the army fired on him. With the situation deteriorating, Leader One helped get Hans-Cuff and Charlie back to safety by simply lifting up several army vehicles and placing them harmlessly in tree tops. The Security Forces were then able to escape, and Charlie was treated successfully by Rest-Q. While this had been happening Stron-Domez had led his forces to Westbridge, where they took over the Datafile Electronics factory in order to have the human workforce make more evil Robo Machines. They were soon tracked by the Command Centre, but the captured workforce initially prevented an all-out attack. Charlie and Night Ranger reconnoitred Datafile Electronics, allowing the boy and Truck to sneak inside and free the captive humans. Flying overhead, Leader One scanned the factory and after confirming all of the humans were free gave Hans-Cuff the all-clear to lead in the Security Forces' ground assault. In a short but ferocious battle Tank, Fitor, Cop-Tur and Loco were all captured and taken onboard the Command Centre to be deactivated. However, Cy-Kill and Stron-Domez used the arrival of the human authorities as cover to escape. The Robo Machines, Story 1

News of their exploits was broadcast on Robotron, much to the delight of the population. Back in Earth orbit, Leader One led the hunt for the fugitives, but it wasn't until Stron-Domez had Cy-Kill rebuild him as the fearsome Zod in a disused railway station on the outskirts of London that they were able to detect the pair. However, on their way to check it out Zod attacked the Command Centre, shocking the Security Forces with his firepower. The newly-completed Royal-T and Carry-All attacked Zod, buying the Command Centre time to undergo repairs. By the time the ship was fully functional while Royal-T had been seriously injured by Zod. While searching for help Carry-All stumbled across Alf Meeker's scrapyard, where Zod and Cy-Kill had put an army of vagrants to work building the first of the Devil Invaders, Casmodon. He was mortally injured by Zod during his investigation but the rest of the Guardians were able to zero in on his signal. Leaving Scooter and Charlie to mind the ship, Leader One led Hans-Cuff, Dozer, Truck, Night Ranger, Rest-Q and Turbo to investigate, converting to jet mode and shooting ahead while the others travelled in their land vehicle modes. He arrived overhead just as Casmodon was completed, finding his missiles had no effect on the huge Devil Invader, and he only narrowly dodged the return fire. Leader One tried to take cover in the scrapyard, only to be ambushed by Cy-Kill while Casmodon made for London. He was able to drop a crane on the Renegade, only to suddenly find himself in Zod's path - thankfully the rest of the team arrived, and their combined firepower was enough to disable Zod's stabilisers. Realising the threat of Casmodon to London was more dangerous than that posed by Zod, Leader One led the Guardians to the city - where his troops whole-heartedly agreed to tackle the Devil Invader. However, Casmodon shrugged off their attack and swiftly destroyed Night Ranger and Truck in rapid succession. The Guardians scattered, with Leader One and Turbo taking cover behind a building as they discussed their options. After Dozer was injured as well Leader One realised they had to withdraw to the Command Centre and return to Robotron for greater attacking power. As they withdrew Leader One spotted Cy-Kill harrying Scooter and Charlie, who had endured their own run-in with Casmodon that temporarily disabled the Devil Invader. Back at the ship Hans-Cuff suggested using the Command Centre's weaponry, but as it was only at fifty percent power Leader One decided against it, and the Guardians withdrew - temporarily ceding Earth to Cy-Kill. The Robo Machines, Story 2

GoBots Heroic Champions storybooks

After Doctor Braxis and the Renegades kidnapped Scooter as part of a plan to force the Guardians to leave Earth but the tiny Guardian was able to escape and told Leader-1 and Turbo about their new plan - Operation Dark Net. As such, Leader-1 called up expert Blaster via Astrobeam and they set up a base at an abandoned schoolhouse to come up with a counter-plan. The Renegades captured Matt and tracked them, with a fight breaking out. The Guardians were able to foil the Renegades, while Leader-1 rescued Matt before he could be sucked into a black hole. The Hideaway He later helped foil a Renegade plot to replace Matt with a robot double.Race to the Stars Leader-1 and Turbo were getting lube jobs from Matt and A.J. when Scooter and Nick stumbled across Braxis and the Renegades as they headed to Saltsea Fresh Water Plant; however, as Scooter's radio was damaged they had to keep them busy until the rest of their allies arrived and drove the bad guys off.The Power Machine The Guardians were able to track Thruster to a desert and cause the ship considerable damage, leading to the Renegades having to make an overland supply run that involved Cy-Kill, Crasher and Cop-Tur cosplaying as American revolutionaries. Despite accidentally projecting a hologram of the Continental Army, Scooter was able to stymy their plans, to Leader-1's delight. Operation Hoax

Machine Men mini-comics

Leader-1 was one of the Friendly Machine Men native to Earth when it was targeted by the Enemy Machine Men of Robotron, led by Cy-Kill. Despite Leader-1 devising robot modes for the Machine Men the first attack was a rout. His troops regrouped at the Command Centre and prepared for a counter-offensive, with Leader-1 battled Cy-Kill. Space Wars The Enemy Machine Men were captured and imprisoned in a Laser Beam Gaol but escaped thanks to Zod. Along with Baron Von Joy and Zeemon, Leader-1 pursued them to Earth, where the battle was rejoined. Space Wars II Cy-Kill then punched Leader-1 in the face, The Combat though he recovered to watch uselessly as Winch Truck was blown attacked by Helicopter Wincher and the Enemy Battle Base. Cy-Kill meanwhile sneaked up on him and smacked Leader-1 around the back of the head before jumping up and down on him. Moments later the Australian army dropped a nuke on everyone, rousing the Rock Lords. Leader-1 tried to warn Spay-C and Road Ranger when Pulver-Eyes came through the ground to attack the Friendly Machine Robo. Challenge of the Machine Men

Robo Machine featuring Challenge of the GoBots Mini World storybooks

After Braxis and Cy-Kill surrounded the ASC's Command Centre with the carnivorous plants taken from the planet Calcheron Matt piloted Leader-1 up to drop weed killer on them. This didn't work but the plants anticlimactically died soon afterwards anyway. The Weeds of Calcheron

Robo Machine featuring Challenge of the GoBots annuals

The Guardians tried to trap the Renegades by using Road Ranger and Matt as a decoy sorium convoy. That worked, but the rest of the plan was delayed when Leader-1 and the other Guardians were sent back to prehistoric times when the Command Centre was struck by lightning. He and Turbo fought off dinosaurs until Scooter was able to return them to their own time - arriving before Road Ranger and Matt were captured. The Rescue of Road Ranger Later he arrived in time to prevent Crasher from stomping the scientist Professor James Hobby, learning that the Renegades planned to harvest Magma Worms from a volcano in the Amazon. He worked with Scooter, Dumper and Dozer to destroy the creatures before they could be collected. The Rumbling Jungle Braxis then tried to use an army of robot waxworks to kill Nick, A.J. and her cousin Sammy, but Hans-Cuff was able to get word to Leader-1 on the Command Centre. With help from Scooter, he was able to locate and destroy the Renegade base where the robots' control signal was coming from. Meltdown in the Museum Leader-1 and Royal-T tracked Crasher and Cop-Tur to the Arctic but found them to be holograms to keep the pair away and allow Braxis to abduct Anya. However, Matt and Anya were able to turn the tables on Braxis and escape. The Aliens Steal a Scientist Leader-1 and Turbo were able to foil a plan by the Renegades to transport Matt, A.J and Nick to GoBotron and frame them for the killing of the Guardian Council. However, Scooter tracked them, allowing Leader-1 and Turbo to take out Baron Von Joy and Psycho, freeing their friends.By Astrobeam to GoBotron Along with Rest-Q, he was trapped in vehicle mode by Braxis' Freezer Beam, but the other Guardians were able to rescue them and reverse its' effects. Battle of the Beams Braxis and the Renegades then tried to use the mind-controlling Exploding Toads of Primus to take over the population of Earth. However, this was uncovered by Guardian agents on GoBotron, and Leader-1 worked with Road Ranger and Spay-C to capture the scientist. The Guardians tricked him into revealing where the toads were being unleashed and were able to foil the plot. The Exploding Toads of Primus During a jungle battle between the Guardians and the Renegades, Leader-1 noticed that Cy-Kill had slipped away and raided the Command Center, capturing Matt and A.J. and threatening to have Cop-Tur drop them to their death. Thankfully Scooter overdosed on energy and grew to giant size, chasing off the Renegades. Scooter Strides Out

After the Renegades brought the Silvermoon Mine, Leader-1 scouted the area and was chased off by return fire. By the time he returned with the Guardian Earth Force they had cleared out. The Secret of Silvermoon Mine Along with Heat Seeker and Hans-Cuff he chased off the Enemy Invaders after they attacked Turbo and Nick, who reached the Command Centre with help from the hermit Grogan. The Monsters and Mister Grogan he then oversaw the rescue of the freighter Global Trader while also coordinating the response to the Enemy Invaders' raids on Earth, which had knocked several Guardians out of action. Captain Clegg's Dream After Professor Von Joy created the Battle Suit system on GoBotron, Leader-1 sent Matt and Spay-C to collect it; they were able to evade Cy-Kill and get the device to Earth.The Professor's New Baby He then watched as other Guardians saw to the rescue of Anya and Boris Bulkanikov, who had been captured by the Renegades and their new weapon Zod. The Capture of Comrade Boris He then foiled Cy-Kill and Tux's attempt to use the resources of the eccentric millionaire Walter Wilson to capture the Battle Suit. Walter Wilson's Millions After Heat Seeker was captured by the Renegades in a swamp and rescued by a boy named Billy Jack Jackson, Leader-1 saw them back to the Command Centre safely. Billy Jack Makes a Friend Cy-Kill then assembled a huge army of Renegades at Mauna Mauna, and launched missiles at Earth's major cities. Leader-1, Heat Seeker and Path Finder dealt with the missiles before joining the other Guardians on the island. They were able to deal enough damage to make the Renegades retreat. The Battle at the End of the Earth

GoBots newspaper strip

Presumably there was a staff shortage.

Cy-Kill and Herr Fiend set their sights on Earth, so Leader-1 and every other Guardian (i.e. Baron Von Joy) set off to stop them. However, as Leader-1 arrived on the planet he came under fire from Destroyer. As he switched to robot mode Cy-Kill took the chance to collapse a pile of rocks on the Guardian. Baron Von Joy was able to pick up his signals and get him to the safety of the Command Centre. He was eventually revived - just in time to track the Renegades to the Arctic, where they were waiting for the arrival of the Puzzlers. GoBots

GoBots Magazine

Cy-Kill planned to lure Leader-1 onboard Thruster so Braxis could use his new Phoron gun on the Guardian leader, having Nick and Scooter kidnapped as bait. With no choice, Leader-1 had to walk into the obvious trap. However, he was saved when Scooter confused Braxis by projecting a hologram of Leader-1, giving the real thing an opening to destroy the Phoron gun and get his friends to safety. The Blast of Doom! When Scooter discovered a Renegade plot to kidnap Guardians he alerted Leader-1, who helped his small friend carry out a plan that saw the Renegades first restrained and then repelled into Earth orbit by a huge magnet. Scooter's Mighty Magnet Later he was in command of Turbo and Scooter when they caught the Renegades stealing ultium from Sarkofony. However when they tried to stop them a sentient volcano belatedly interjected, preventing any of the GoBots from leaving the planet by erecting a forcefield. The groups had to work together to quell the mountain, helping Cy-Kill return the huge ultium crystals to their rightful place. The mountain was satisfied and the GoBots were able to escape.The Wrath of the Mountain On a mission to Quartex, he helped Boulder and the Good Rock Lords rescue an ancient stone statue the Renegades were attempting to steal. After blasting Cy-Kill, Leader-1 and his allies took it back to the Command Center - little realising that Magmar, Brimstone and Slimestone were hidden inside. They let the Renegades into the ship but Scooter and Nuggit raised the alarm. Leader-1 again fought Cy-Kill, until Scooter used one of his holograms to trick the bad guys into falling out into space. Conquest of the Command Center! He later gathered Scooter, Throttle and Super Couper on a mission to help a stricken freighter. However, they were attacked by Cy-Kill, Cop-Tur, Clutch and Night Fright; the battle went poorly as Night Fright had placed a bug on Super Couper, allowing the Renegades to counter the Guardians' every move. However, Leader-1 was able to work this out and trick Cy-Kill into leading his troops into the empty freighter - which Scooter then programmed for a one-way trip to the Crab Nebula. A Spy Among Us

Fun Publications

Transformers Timelines

The event known as the Cataclysm threatened the fundamental stability of Leader-1's reality. Over a period of two years, the Cataclysm Survival Treaty brought Guardians and Renegades together in a strained peace to find the source of their universe's deconstruction. Nevertheless, Leader-1 was appalled at Doctor Braxis's revival of the Dimensional Interfacer technology in exploring the problem. On the twenty-second level, Braxis identified the source of the Cataclysm, apparently spawning from endless warfare between two robotic factions called Autobots and Decepticons. Cy-Kill's first instinct was to invade Level 22 and annihilate these Transformers, but Leader-1 insisted on caution. Scouts would be sent through the Interfacer first to examine the Transformers' universe and determine what exactly was causing the Cataclysm. Withered Hope

Go-Bots comic

Leader-1 was a Go-Bot created for the US military as a smart metal asset, partnered with ace pilot Nick Burns. Along with Beaky and Condor, they were entrusted with a top secret hostage rescue mission. Despite the loss of Beaky, Leader-1 was able to get into the installation, wiping out most of the guards with his hand-mounted machine guns and locating the hostages, who were then freed by Nick. Afterwards they travelled to the Go-Bot Command Center at the Pentagon, where they were briefed about the growing activities of a group of Renegade Go-Bots in the desert near Route 66. On investigation Leader-1 picked up a caravan of the Renegades but was jumped by Cop-Tur as they went in to attack. Leader-1 knocked the Renegade out with a missile and then began strafing Cy-Kill, who slipped into a canyon. The pair converted to robot mode and engaged in combat, during which Nick was injured. Cy-Kill then criticised Leader-1 for being a mere tool of the humans, who he felt were unworthy of commanding the superior Go-Bots. Leader-1 listened but ultimately disagreed. However, he had been surrounded by the other Renegades and Tank was able to take Leader-1's military knowledge - including nuclear codes. The battered Leader-1 was captured as the Renegades set off to conquer Earth, with Cy-Kill inspiring a huge Go-Bot uprising. Issue 1

While Cy-Kill's Renegades began their initial assaults he ordered Pocket and Crossword to crush Leader-1 at a scrapyard. However he recovered midway through his execution, escaping and crushing the pair of Renegades instead, despite their pleas for mercy. He then joined the USAF fighters against the Renegades, engaging Fitor in battle. Leader-1 then became a rallying point for the GoBots still loyal to humanity. He then fought Cy-Kill one-on-one again, though his motivation had already shifted to becoming King of the Go-Bots. During the vicious fight he was shot down, had his face mask knocked off and half of his head stripped away by his opponent's bladed wheels but ultimately triumphed by riding Cy-Kill into a wall. Both groups of Go-Bots urged him for guidance. Issue 2

Leader-1's precise response is unknown but he did indeed eventually set himself up as a monarch on-board the Command Center. More concerned with his own standing, he appeared to have made little attempt to protect the humans as they became primitive and Gobotron was built, even forcing Scooter to murder the human freedom fighter A.J. Foster when she began to oppose his plans, leading Turbo to leave his service before the same could be done to him. Leader-1's regime was held in place in a brutal fashion, with his subjects put through reprogramming and even dematerialisation to keep his troops docile. Instead he became mainly concerned with his struggles with Cy-Kill and the threat of Zod. Many, many years passed until the human crew of Spay-C encountered Leader-1, whose Go-Bots helped save them from Zod, only to then throw them in the Command Center's brig. With Major Domo as his advisor he reacted angrily when emissaries of the Trade Federation complained that Zod still had not been defeated, and mentioned that Leader-1 might have a rival to his crown in the form of the nomadic Road Ranger. He then interrogated Spay-C and became furious when the new arrival mentioned Earth. That night he was visited by Eno, the Dark Angel, who gave him a vision of the Lazer Lance, a weapon that could defeat Zod which was buried on GoBotron. The visitation led him to reverse his plans to de-materialize Spay-C, believing his arrival to have been a good omen. However that night Cy-Kill leads the Renegades against the Command Center, having trained Zod to follow him. Leader-1 ordered the Command Center to take off, with the Renegades' Thruster in pursuit. Along with Heat Seeker, Royal-T, Path Finder and Spay-C he fought off the Renegades while Tic Toc calculated a jump to hyperspeed getting back on-board just before the Command Center made the jump and headed towards the centre of Gobotron - which was, in fact, Earth. Issue 3

There he received another vision, this time from the Go-Bot God Courageous, urging him to find the Lazer Lance. He made an uneasy alliance with Turbo and the brain-damaged Scooter to locate the weapon, and the journey bought them into contact with the Go-Lems and Braxis' army of Vamps. Ultimately they found both the Lazer Lance and Courageous, which split into armour suits for the Go-Bots. However, when Leader-1 prepared to confront Zod the Lazer Lance was snatched off him and broken in half by Cy-Kill. The intervention of the Go-Lems dropped Zod and Cy-Kill into a canyon, which Cop-Tur took as a signal to challenge Leader-1 to single combat. Leader-1 battered him before gathering up the halves of the Lazer Lance to see if Zod could still be destroyed. He led a small team including Turbo, Scooter, Spay-C and Screw Head; together they were finally able to destroy Zod. Leader-1 was injured in the process, and while they had been fighting Zod, Cy-Kill had taken control of the Command Center. He used it to fire on the Guardians, riddling Leader-1 with bullets. The dying Go-Bot was then visited again by Eno and a vision of Nick as he died and was buried in Courageous' torso section. Issue 4

After his death Major Domo disclosed many of his secrets to Turbo and Road Ranger, who took command of the Go-Bots and finally decided to free Earth from GoBotron. Road Ranger and Bug Bite later recovered his remains, complete with the skeleton of Nick, planning to merge them with what was left of Cy-Kill to create a new, better Go-Bot. Ironically and seemingly unknown to either Leader-1 or Cy-Kill, they has been produced at the same time, with their earliest programming including throwing a basketball to each other. Issue 5

Toys

GoBots

GoBots

Original Leader-1

• Leader-1 (GoBots, 1984)
  • Friendly Robot Leader
  • ID Number: 25

Leader-1 was released by Tonka in the first series of GoBots, and converts from robot to McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle jet fighter in 6 steps. The toy was a repackaging of Eagle Robo from Machine Robo, with no significant changes, beyond the omission of the additional sticker sheet included with the Japanese version. The head of the figure takes design cues from a pilot's visor and oxygen mask. Instead of realistic undercarriage like most other Machine Robo/GoBots jets Leader-1 has four small caster wheels under his fuselage. The figure's grey plastic shows stress easily and the rear wings often break free. Decent shoulder articulation, though.

• Leader-1 was offered in the second assortment of GoBots figures manufactured in 1984 (#7201). The figure remained available throughout the line's life as part of the second and third series' Friendly/Guardian assortment (#7253) - remaining in production alongside the recoloured version of the figure. The third series version came with a card-mounted 3-D GoBots Sticker. The figure was one of a handful that were available for the line's entire life on toy-shelves.
• Bilingual Canadian releases named the figure as Chef.

• Learn more about Leader-1 at TheLiberator.Net

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  1st series card

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  2nd series card

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  3rd series card

Recolour Leader-1

• Leader-1 (GoBots, 1984)
  • Friendly Robot Leader
  • ID Number: 44

Leader-1 was released by Tonka in the second series of GoBots, and converts from robot to McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle jet fighter in 6 steps. The figure was recoloured in a blue/white and assigned a new GoBot number. As with the concurrently issued recolour of Cy-Kill Tonka's famous complete absence of any biographical material on the figures means there is no explanation as to what this change means, though it was perhaps an attempt to make the toy look more exciting; while the scheme looks like that of a display team it matches none currently known. The new scheme was however not picked up in any media at the time, finally being repurposed as Eno for the 2018 IDW comic series. While no physical changes were made to the mould the recoloured version's blue plastic is less prone to stress markings than the grey of the original version.

• The recoloured Leader-1 was offered in the second and third series' Hot Shot assortment (#7255) - the original remained in production alongside the recoloured version of the figure. The third series version came with a card-mounted 3-D GoBots Sticker.
• For bilingual Canadian packaging the alternate name Meneur-1 was used; it was not known why this was different to the first version's name.

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  2nd series card

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  3rd series card

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  Toy instructions

Gift Packs

• Guardian Gift Pack #1 (GoBots Gift Pack, 1984)

The original Leader-1 was released in a gift pack with Flip Top and Turbo. All three toys were unchanged from their original releases.

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• Guardian 3-Pack #1 (GoBots Gift Pack, 1985)

*Not available in stores This item has been canceled, with no current plans for release.

Leader-1 was planned to be included in another Gift Pack along with Rest-Q and Van Guard which was advertised in the 1985 Tonka catalogue but was ultimately not released.

Super GoBots

Super GoBots Leader-1

• Leader-1 (Super GoBots, 1984)
  • Friendly Robot Leader
  • ID Number: 024

Super GoBots Leader-1 was released by Tonka in the second series of GoBots, and converts from robot to McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle fighter in 6 steps. The toy was a repackaging of Big Eagle Robo from the Big Machine Robo series, with no significant changes. While essentially a scaled-up version of the smaller figure, retaining the same rough transformation, the larger Leader-1 is generally sleeker and features retractable tricycle undercarriage but unfortunately the robot mode puts a lot of weight on the tailfins and rear wings, meaning these parts can also stress and break over time. The figure also included a sheet of oversized USAF stickers (including the registration code US86 L-1_ which don't really fit the toy very well; what was wrong with the Japanese sticker sheet is unclear.

• The Super GoBots Leader-1 was offered in the second and third series' Friendly/Guardian Super GoBots assortment (#7251).
• For bilingual Canadian packaging the alternate name Chef-1 was used; again, it is not clear why this is different to other versions of Leader-1.

• Learn more about Leader-1 at TheLiberator.Net

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  Box

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  Toy instructions

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  Sticker sheet

Robo Machine

Robo Machines

• F15 Eagle (Robo Machine, 1984)
  • ID Number: RM-25

A carded repackage of Eagle Robo, the figure now known simply as F15 Eagle was released by Bandai Europe in 1984. A running change in 1985 saw the figure replaced with the blue and white recolour. No changes were made to the backing card, despite catalogues and packaging from that year onward listing the toy under his GoBots name.

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  Card

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  Running change card

Super GoBots

• Leader-1 (Super GoBot, 1985)
  • Friendly Robot

The scaled-up version of Leader-1, identical to the GoBots release toy but packaged in a new box, was among the ten figures released under in the first wave of European Super Gobots banner. It used the same sticker sheet as the American release.

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Machine Men

Machine Men

• F. 15 Man (Machine Men, 1983)
  • Friendly Robot
  • ID Number: 17

The fifth toy from the third wave of figures, F. 15 Man was released by Bandai Australia in 1983. He remained identical to the original Eagle Robo toy, albeit packaged on a blue backing card.

• Leader-1 (Machine Men, 1984)
  • Friendly Robot
  • ID Number: 17

In 1984, the figure was re-released with his GoBots name and faction on a new black backing card depicting a yellow-tinted alien landscape. A running change in 1985 saw the figure replaced with his blue and white variant.

Super Machine Men

• Leader-1 (Super Machine Men, 1985)
  • Friendly Robot
  • Accessories: none

The larger version of Leader-1, identical to the Big Eagle Robo toy but packaged in a new box, was among the ten figures released under in the first wave of Australian Super Machine Men.

Nabisco Promotion

• Leader-1 (Machine Men, 1986)
  • Friendly Robot

As part of a cross-promotion between Bandai Australia, Hanimex Cameras, and Nabisco Brands, a limited edition 'polished chrome' Leader-1 figure (using the same factory stickers as the blue/white recolour version) was made available in 1986. Within specially-marked Nabisco products (such as Vita.Brits cereal) were 10 different Machine Men stickers to collect. On the back of each sticker was a voucher, which people could fill in and give, along with a roll of film, to any participating photo labs. Upon completion, the recipient would receive both their new glossy prints and the free Leader-1.

• It is unknown how many chrome Leader-1s were produced.

Robo Machines

Robo Machines

• F-15 (Robo Machines, 1993)
  • Accessories: none

The figure was reissued by Bandai in Europe during 1993 as part of the third series of Robo Machines. For trademark reasons the figure was renamed simply F-15 in the British market, with localised versions of the name used in other markets. Sadly, like most of the Robo Machines figures F-15 uses poor quality materials and suffers from mould degradation.

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  Card

De Luxe Robo Machines

• DX F-15 (De Luxe Robo Machines, 1993)
  • Accessories: none

The larger version was also reissued, again with the name changed for trademark reasons. Unfortunately it is plagued by the same production issues as the smaller version and most of the other Robo Machines figures, while the stickers have been modified to include the name of the line.

• The multilingual packaging retained the same name.

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  Box

Merchandise

Convertible Model Kit

• Leader-1 (1984)

Produced by Monogram, Leader-1 was a plastic model kit that once assembled could convert from 7" tall robot to jet fighter to a third half-robot half-jet mode. The kit is in fact the AFC-01Z Legioss Zeta from Genesis Climber MOSPEADA, known as the VF-A-6 Alpha Veritech in Robotech, which explains why it does not properly resemble Leader-1. While the plastic was printed in roughly the correct colours, extra painting would be required to get the model to match the picture on the box. The kit is in 1/48 scale and is recommended for model builders aged 13 or over.

• Model kit Leader-1 at Super Toy Archive

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  Box

Collectible Eraser Figurine

• Leader-1 (1985)

Produced by Monogram Products, the Eraser Figurine version of Leader-1 was a small rubber figurine of the character in robot mode.

Figurine Pencil Sharpener

• Leader-1 (1985)

Again produced by Monogram Products, this consisted of a harder version of the Eraser Figurine with a pencil sharpener in the base.

Action Puppet

• Leader-1 (1985)

Produced by The Toy Store, the Action Puppet version of Leader-1 was a small figurine of the character in robot mode. Pressing in the base of the figure caused the robot to twist and turn through a series of strings and elastic, before returning to his usual pose when the pressure was released. The figure closely followed the original Leader-1 toy.

Slot Car

• Space Chase (1984)

LJN's Space Chase slot car racing set included a version of Leader-1 that could race against Crasher. The toy could transform into robot mode (after a fashion) while still remaining compatible with the circuit.

Gumball Machine

• Leader-1 Gumball Machine (1985)

Produced by Superior Toys, the Leader-1 Gumball Machine was a transforming coin-operated candy dispenser. Placing a coin in the slot would see it dispense a gumball. The device could also transform from robot to jet mode, though obviously the large base mechanism and clear plastic reservoir of gumballs would stay in place in both modes.

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  Box

"Et Tu, Turbo?"

Battle Train

• Battle Train (1985)

The crane for AHM's GoBots Battle Train set was styled after a partially transformed Leader-1, and could fire a rocket at those attacking A-Tak and his cargo, or the included cardboard Renegade targets. Or a sibling, if so inclined.

Gum Tresor

• Leader 1 (1986)
  • ID Number: OP 002

A transforming plastic version of Leader-1 was released in France in 1986 by May Bonneuil in their probably legal range of Gum Tresor figures issued to cash in on Les Defi des GoBots. The all-plastic figure mainly used white, black and red plastic, meaning his show accuracy was only moderate. Though he did gain elbows.

Notes

Tonka promotional art for Leader-1.

• Like fellow Guardians Turbo and Scooter, Leader-1 was an ever-present in Challenge of the GoBots, featuring in all 65 episodes as well as the feature film GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords.
• While Leader-1 is strongly against slavery and central planning, there are times when such ideals challenge his command of the Guardians. In times of combat or emergency the other Guardians must rally behind him. However, Leader-1 also gives creedence to the input of Turbo, Scootter, and like Guardians, and makes it known that it is a team effort. This is in contrast to Cy-Kill's style of leadership, where all Renegades are expected to carry out his slightest whim without a second thought.
• For the character's brief appearance in World Distributors storybook The Weeds of Calcheron, Royal-T was drawn in place of Leader-1.
• Over the course of Fleetway Publications' The Robo Machines strip he gets through three character designs - one using the toy body and a weird featureless head drawn by Mario Capaldi, a more flexible version featuring a toy accurate head drawn by Kim Raymond and then midway through the second story he gets a pair of wrap-around goggles not unlike but also not quite the same as his Challenge of the GoBots model.
• The Transformers: Armada Mini-Con Leader-1 was named in the character's honour. Or to secure his trademark.
• Leader-1's Cybertronian-style body in the "Cataclysm universe" is a "virtual retool" of Combiner Wars Deluxe Class Air Raid with a Quickslinger head.

External links

TFWiki.net has content relating to Leader-1. The unofficial Transformers knowledge database!