Jim Austin, more affectionately known as Lunk, was a biomaintenance engineer that joined the returning Robotech Expeditionary Forces to fight off the Robotech Masters and the Invid.
History[]
During the aftermath of the Second Robotech War, Lunk served as a certified Bio-Maintenance Engineer for the returning Robotech Expeditionary Forces where he saw action against the Robotech Masters.
During the Invid Invasion of Earth in 2031, he was part of a ground unit that saw first hand the overwhelming power of the Invid. It was during one of the early battles with the Invid when Lunk froze in combat as his entire unit was slaughtered by enemy forces, including a close friend. Although he knew any effort to save him would have been futile, he nevertheless blamed himself for his death. He made a solemn vow to deliver his friend's book, "Inherit the Stars" to his father, Ralph Nader. His guilt, however, kept him from fulfilling his promise for many, many years.
When a local gang of bikers found out about his past, they began terrorizing him and his friends. One day, while chasing Lunk and a friend, they caused him to crash. The bikers captured Lunk's friend and ran off with him. While Lunk was about to run away again, Scott and Rook were ready and willing to go after the gang and rescue his friend. This reawakens Lunk's sense of duty, and he leads Scott to an old Alpha Fighter he had been maintaining after the Invid attacked.
After defeating the attacking Invid, Lunk joined Scott's ragtag group of rebels and would serve as the team's mechanic with him keeping the their Cyclones and Veritechs in top form to the best of his abilities.
Aftermath[]
After the battle on Reflex Point, he set out to start a new life as a farmer. Annie and Ariel accompanied him.
Behind the scenes[]
Jim Austin nicknamed Lunk, was a member of Scott Bernard's freedom fighters during the Third Robotech War in Robotech: The New Generation, and was voiced by Richard Epcar. Lunk was originally a soldier of the Robotech Expeditionary Force, fighting both the Robotech Masters and the Invid on Earth. He gave up arms shortly after the Invid Invasion, considering himself a coward after abandoning his comrade in battle. His signature vehicle was a jeep. He had a friendly relationship with Annie LaBelle.
Lunk's origins are confusing, this is because in the original Genesis Climber MOSPEADA anime, Lunk was part of one of the early Reclamation attempts against the Inbit, meaning that he had been living on Earth longer than Lancer/Yellow Belmont. However, in Robotech there had been only two reclamation attempts, one in 2038 and the other in 2042, as a consequence of this, Lunk was written as someone that lived through the Second Robotech War and the initial Invid Invasion yet was part of the Robotech Expeditionary Force, meaning that he had to be part of a REF unit that arrived in 2031 or 2032 shortly after the defeat of the Robotech Masters but before the Invid Invasion. Some fans prefer to believe that Lunk joined the RDF during the Second Robotech War and failed to escape the planet alongside what was left of the RDF during the Invid Invasion.
He was named Jim Warston in Genesis Climber MOSPEADA, the series which was adapted into the third "saga" of Robotech. Additionally, the first edition of the RPG gave his name as William Benovich. As early as 1986, his real name was stated to be Jim Cooper, per the Files Spotlight on Robotech magazine. The name was also used in Robotech: The New Generation 17: The Midnight Sun.
