Lisa Hayes Is Only Human

Volume 9, No.3

By Geoff L.

(Edited by Ramón Bannister)

Lisa Hayes

Kena Cubed contributor Geoff L. discusses how Lisa’s character is very realistic, in part to contrast her with the alien Zentraedi race, but also to enhance the story of Robotech…

Geoff L., Kena Cubed Contributor

Lisa Hayes is the unforgettable First Officer aboard the SDF-1. We know her from the Macross Saga episodes as a bridge officer whose primary responsibility is to direct air combat operations and maintain situational awareness for the command elements. As required by her position, she is strong-minded and able to exert command presence when required. As most good officers go, she is also very eloquent, being able to interface with and apprise senior government officials with her reporting. She’s a capable person and a dedicated Robetech Defense Force (RDF) officer who comes from a long lineage of distinguished military officers. And we eventually learn in later episodes that she becomes Rick Hunter’s love interest and wife.

Lisa Hayes with uniform

At first glance she’s a rather attractive lady. The way she tosses her hair about in some episodes, without the uniform, one could probably mistake her for being a hair shampoo model. She seems rather fit as she is able to wear that cat-suit of a uniform and appear like a sculpted figure. To top it off, the inadvertently sultry yet regal voice would have most guys captivated by her even though she’s a cartoon character (well, at least for me it’s true).

However, I think the most endearing trait underneath all of the more superficial ones is that she has a tremendous amount of compassion. This is something that Rick is drawn to when it came to a long schedule of combat patrols, his dealings with his ambiguously defined relationship with Minmei, or just commiserating over shared hardship from their struggle against the Zentraedi. If not just for Rick, Lisa feels a sense of responsibility in protecting not only the SDF-1 or its crew, but also the 70,000 civilians aboard it.

All of these things above may equate to a well-drawn up character. However, I would further say that she could easily be a real-life person given her background. For instance, what makes her tick is largely influenced by events in her childhood and as a young adult. To me, it would seem uncanny and perhaps be very surprising if she were not modeled after a real person of a similar demeanor and background. Contrasting with some of my experiences in the officer corps, it begins to make sense why she may be more realistic than the general populace may see.

It would be very surprising if she were not modeled after a real person.

Cultural Analysis

Some of Lisa’s personality traits are very apparent in the TV series. As noted, she’s very strong-minded and professional. Since she is a flight crew officer, she probably needs to have a number of flight hours to maintain that type of certification. Perhaps this adds to her larger-than-life heroine mystique. At times, she may come across as an “ice queen” of sorts with many subordinates and pilots alike who are intimidated by her. But beneath that facade we see some contradictions. By this I mean the type of contradictions that make us very much human. Underneath that shell of professionalism and emotional distance, we see that she has a strong capacity for compassion. We also see an immense amount of insecurity when it comes to personal relationships. In order to understand why, we should look briefly into her past.

Growing up as a child in an Active Duty military environment has its pros and cons.

What we know of Lisa’s background is that she’s the daughter of a prominent U.S. Navy Admiral (well before the SDF-1 incident and formation of the United Earth Government). Growing up as a child in an Active Duty military environment has its pros and cons. Lisa probably saw different places around the world, going wherever her father would be posted. I can imagine that she probably lived in places like the Chesapeake Bay Area, Pearl Harbor, Japan, San Diego, and Washington DC for 3-5 years at each location. While some people could only dream of being so well travelled, the drawback here is that there isn’t much opportunity to form lasting friendships. You grow up going to school with the kids of Active Duty parents for a few years and then you move, likely to not see them again. Then you start over at putting down whatever roots you can at the next location. Over time, she probably grew to not be attached to anyone so as to mitigate the loss of being uprooted, thereby emotionally shielding herself.

As if growing up in those environs wasn’t hard enough, Lisa also suffered from the death of her mother while she was at an early age. That kind of loss would be painful for anyone. But with the added challenges of having a father whose job could take him to different remote assignments for weeks or months at a time, she would have to be strong, if only for herself and her own well-being. Needless to say, she had to learn how to be self-reliant at an early age.

Later in life, Lisa would obtain a commission by attending the Robotech Academy, perhaps the futuristic equivalent of a military service academy (e.g. Annapolis, West Point, etc.). However, since she’s the daughter of a prominent Admiral in the newly formed RDF, her peers and perhaps her instructors might have perceived her to have gained admittance solely through her father’s connections. She had to have realized that in order to gain respect she would have to dispel this perception. Subsequently, she had to pursue a very high degree of academic and physical excellence to prove that she can succeed on her own merit and not through her family’s namesake.

With all of these things in her past, you might imagine that Lisa Hayes grew up as a strong, emotionally detached person. However, it doesn’t necessarily explain how she would later be attracted to the fighter pilot, Rick Hunter. In order to make any real sense of it, we have to examine her past attempt at love: Carl Riber.

Lisa isn’t without her faults. After all, humans aren’t perfect.

Carl Riber was an upperclassman that she knew from the Robotech Academy. Those in the military would have to agree that it can be a very insular environment. You live in an environment where you have appearance standards to adhere to. On top of that, you are looked upon favorably if you maintain high physical fitness or aspire to combat arms type professions. In short, being sort of a “jock”. However, Carl probably stood out to Lisa as being different than most of the other cadets. She felt safe enough to be vulnerable with him, as he showed a special sensitivity towards her. Carl was also different in that he felt apprehension about the Unification wars that were still being waged around some parts of the globe. Some of his peers might perceive that as being a coward. However, Lisa likely saw it differently as him speaking his conscience. It was for this reason that Carl wanted to avoid the UN war with anti-unificationists and requested to be posted at a research installation on Mars. Sadly, this was to be ill-fated as the Mars base would later be attacked by those anti-unificationist factions, likely killing Carl and the other inhabitants of the base.

Rick Hunter embracing Lisa Hayes

So then: why Rick Hunter?  She would later be drawn to him for similar reasons: 1) He was not your typical career military officer; 2) Rick developed a soft-spot for Lisa, recognizing her finer qualities; and 3) she felt safe enough to be vulnerable with him. In short, he was different. Rick wasn’t someone who was looking for a career in the RDF, climbing the ranks and impressing his superiors with glowing OERs (Officer Evaluation Reports), jockeying for key positions, or retiring with a comfortable pension. Rick joined out of near child-like innocence and wanted to protect other people. Although it would take some warming up for Lisa to appreciate this, she would eventually recognize him as a bright spot in her life.

Despite all of the above, Lisa isn’t without her faults. After all, humans aren’t perfect. Understandably, she is a jealous woman when it came to Rick and his residual feelings for Minmei. After resolving a hostage rescue scenario with Minmei and Lynn Kyle being held captive by Zentraedi holdouts, we see Rick and Minmei embracing as if rekindling their relationship. Upon seeing this, a jealous Lisa pulls rank without hesitation and orders Rick back on patrol, ending the tender spectacle. Later on, faced with the prospect of losing Rick to Minmei and suffering through a lonely Christmas, she drowns her sorrow in alcohol, as if to concede defeat. For someone so strong, even Lisa has her weaker, darker moments. But despite all of this, both Lisa and Rick would eventually confess their love as they realize how much lonelier they are without each other.

Lisa Hayes is a celebrated character in the Macross Saga of Robotech. It’s not very difficult to see why. She is a strong-willed, attractive woman with the qualities of a heroine. Yet despite this facade we also appreciate the fact that she’s only human, plagued with her own frailties and faults. Regardless, she is admired by fans on many dimensions; remarkable to say the least.