OVA
Description
Colonel Millard Johnson is the officer in charge of Project Super Nova, a United Nations Spacy program taking place at the New Edwards Flight Center on the planet Eden in the year 2040. The project is a competitive evaluation to select the next generation of variable fighter, with the rival YF-19 and YF-21 prototypes being the primary candidates.
A seasoned military veteran, Johnson was once a member of the legendary Skull Squadron, giving him a deep, first-hand understanding of a fighter pilot's mindset. He sustained an injury to his left foot during a test flight accident earlier in his career, a wound that ultimately relegated him from active flying duty to a desk-bound supervisory role. By the time of Project Super Nova, he is 52 years old, and his physical limitations are balanced by his extensive experience and strategic thinking.
Personality-wise, Millard Johnson is pragmatic, authoritative, and possesses a calm but firm demeanor. He is a skilled manager of difficult situations, frequently forced to intervene in the volatile and deeply personal rivalry between the two test pilots, Isamu Alva Dyson and Guld Goa Bowman. Johnson often finds himself counseling the reckless Isamu, offering words of wisdom that are intended to guide but frequently only serve to irritate the impulsive younger pilot. Despite his stern authority, he commands respect from those under his charge, and his wisdom is born from personal experience. In the movie edition of Macross Plus, after Isamu steals the YF-19 to interfere with a demonstration of the unmanned X-9 Ghost fighter, Johnson reveals that he too used to steal aircraft in his youth. Recognizing the drive behind the act, he decides to cover for both Isamu and Guld, just as his own superiors once did for him.
Johnson's central role in the story is as the supervisor and mediator of the Super Nova project. He is the authority figure on the base, responsible for managing not only the technical and competitive aspects of the fighter trials but also the intense personal conflict between his two charges. His key relationships are primarily with Isamu and Guld, whose dangerous feud he constantly tries to control. He also interacts with other base personnel such as the young engineer Yang Neumann, but his focus remains on the test program and the two rival pilots.
In terms of development, Johnson is a relatively static character who represents the older generation of soldier, yet he shows a notable willingness to bend the rules for a greater principle. He is aware of the UN Spacy's long-term goal to replace manned fighter craft with unmanned drones like the Ghost, a shift designed to save lives. While he acknowledges the logic of reducing human casualties, he is deeply opposed to this vision. He fears that remote-controlled warfare would remove the responsibility and accountability from conflict, allowing aggressors to start wars without fear of losing their own people. To prove the continued value of human pilots, he is willing to cover for the reckless actions of Isamu and Guld, pushing them to perform incredible feats in the hope that their accomplishments will force the military's high command to reconsider its policy on unmanned combat vehicles.
Notable abilities attributed to Millard Johnson are not combat-oriented but are administrative and interpersonal. His primary skill is his ability to manage a high-stakes testing program and handle the volatile personalities involved without allowing the situation to completely collapse. His authority, charisma, and the respect he commands are his greatest tools, allowing him to maintain order despite the chaos created by his pilots. He is adept at using dialogue and even a bit of cunning to motivate or redirect his subordinates. While no longer a frontline pilot himself, his past as a member of Skull Squadron testifies to a history of considerable skill and courage in the cockpit, and a personal anecdote about stealing planes as a young officer suggests a past that was just as, or even more, mischievous than that of the pilots he now commands.
A seasoned military veteran, Johnson was once a member of the legendary Skull Squadron, giving him a deep, first-hand understanding of a fighter pilot's mindset. He sustained an injury to his left foot during a test flight accident earlier in his career, a wound that ultimately relegated him from active flying duty to a desk-bound supervisory role. By the time of Project Super Nova, he is 52 years old, and his physical limitations are balanced by his extensive experience and strategic thinking.
Personality-wise, Millard Johnson is pragmatic, authoritative, and possesses a calm but firm demeanor. He is a skilled manager of difficult situations, frequently forced to intervene in the volatile and deeply personal rivalry between the two test pilots, Isamu Alva Dyson and Guld Goa Bowman. Johnson often finds himself counseling the reckless Isamu, offering words of wisdom that are intended to guide but frequently only serve to irritate the impulsive younger pilot. Despite his stern authority, he commands respect from those under his charge, and his wisdom is born from personal experience. In the movie edition of Macross Plus, after Isamu steals the YF-19 to interfere with a demonstration of the unmanned X-9 Ghost fighter, Johnson reveals that he too used to steal aircraft in his youth. Recognizing the drive behind the act, he decides to cover for both Isamu and Guld, just as his own superiors once did for him.
Johnson's central role in the story is as the supervisor and mediator of the Super Nova project. He is the authority figure on the base, responsible for managing not only the technical and competitive aspects of the fighter trials but also the intense personal conflict between his two charges. His key relationships are primarily with Isamu and Guld, whose dangerous feud he constantly tries to control. He also interacts with other base personnel such as the young engineer Yang Neumann, but his focus remains on the test program and the two rival pilots.
In terms of development, Johnson is a relatively static character who represents the older generation of soldier, yet he shows a notable willingness to bend the rules for a greater principle. He is aware of the UN Spacy's long-term goal to replace manned fighter craft with unmanned drones like the Ghost, a shift designed to save lives. While he acknowledges the logic of reducing human casualties, he is deeply opposed to this vision. He fears that remote-controlled warfare would remove the responsibility and accountability from conflict, allowing aggressors to start wars without fear of losing their own people. To prove the continued value of human pilots, he is willing to cover for the reckless actions of Isamu and Guld, pushing them to perform incredible feats in the hope that their accomplishments will force the military's high command to reconsider its policy on unmanned combat vehicles.
Notable abilities attributed to Millard Johnson are not combat-oriented but are administrative and interpersonal. His primary skill is his ability to manage a high-stakes testing program and handle the volatile personalities involved without allowing the situation to completely collapse. His authority, charisma, and the respect he commands are his greatest tools, allowing him to maintain order despite the chaos created by his pilots. He is adept at using dialogue and even a bit of cunning to motivate or redirect his subordinates. While no longer a frontline pilot himself, his past as a member of Skull Squadron testifies to a history of considerable skill and courage in the cockpit, and a personal anecdote about stealing planes as a young officer suggests a past that was just as, or even more, mischievous than that of the pilots he now commands.