[Super Joe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBlueMarvel

There were two Celestials pictured off in the distance...While I wanted the Haslab Sentinel to be a Galactus project and I would take either Galan, or the Stranger before anything else had I my druthers...I would also pick up any Celestial without hesitation.

Its possible to see HasLab Galactus (online) plus Celestial "Premium Roleplay" (at retail stores) the same year. Dwight said Galactus already completed the design phase, during the same time as the Sentinel. So its ready to go! Plus I prefer a retail series of "Premium Roleplay" helmets. At least 1 new Celestial per year. Maybe 2 or 3 in movie years (Eternals, GotG, or other movies they appear). I just can't wait 10 years for maybe only 5 HasLab Celestials. We can get more Celestials as helmets (retail) versus HasLab (online). Yet I'd love to see the "merged" Celestials form 1 huge HasLab helmet (bigger than the Battlecat by Super 7)!!!

[Harbinger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBlueMarvel

Sorry man, as I've told you before, I don't speak 'meme'.

You’re a big buzzkill than buzz killington.

[omega145]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBlueMarvel

Seeing that "FA" Storm reminds me of how many negative African stereotypes were imbedded in the character (intentional, or not) from the very start. Outside of her long shock of straight white hair and her blue eyes (I still chuckle at that), her introduction as barefoot and topless harkens to some of the worst depictions of native cultures made all too familiar in antiquated tomes like National Geographic.

The tropes don't stop with just her physical appearance, or her liberation from a 'primitive' existence by savior Charles Xavier, but extend to writers retconning her cringe-worthy backstory further to include a past that featured her as a poor orphaned child who was manipulated/trafficked into becoming a street-thief. Now I understand there was some small effort to demonstrate that she came from loving parents, but when you juxtapose those slight nods with the other grating elements, well, it becomes hard to justify.

Funny how a title heralded for its allegories to elements and figures from the American civil rights struggle, with themes revolving around acceptance/tolerance of differences - all of which being true about the X-men - can still represent some ugly silliness at the core of character creation. Now don't misunderstand, I dig Storm very much as a character and have celebrated her throughout the years. However, as a person of color with a sense for both history and perspective, certain things just can't be unseen.

Not bashing, nor am I trying to stir up shit as I'm a firm believer in accepting the pop-culture I've consumed throughout my life warts and all. I'm just expressing a viewpoint that I want better, more organic character creation that doesn't rely on off-putting devices.

Excellent post and all very true points. The X-Men were trendsetting in bringing together people from all cultures but they fell into the same stereotypical tropes from Storm to the rest of the "minority" members.

On another note, Superjoe is always so thirsty.

A couple of Targets by me showing Storm/T-Bird in stock. I'll be checking this weekend when I go out shopping with the wife.

[Starlord67]

So does anyone want my Mr. Fixit pieces when the figures arrive (Friday) ?
I only bought Kang, Jocasta, Falcon and Thunderstrike. No desire to build another Hulk.

[TheBlueMarvel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr Kain

Um... that was never retconned in, that was something Claremont did early on when he showed her working for Shadow King.

As for her backstory being stereotypical, frankly, it's fictional, so I don't care one bit. Not to mention she is such a well written character that she goes beyond the stereotypes. She's basically to Marvel what Apu is to The Simpsons. A well developed, fully fleshed out, strong character who overcomes the stereotypes by being well written.

I'm actually going to break from my standard convention and respond to you...

Apu? Yeah, I'm going to shelf that for a minute.

40, some odd, years of comics can often get muddled together ultimately representing a big blob, or information dump in a cloudy recess of the mind. You're right, the Shadow King stuff originally surfaced during the Claremont/Byrne run, but like so many other X-men (Wolverine, Kurt etc) her background was considerably nebulous. However, the retcon that I referenced was from a Storm mini that lead up to her wedding with BP which tried to create a meaningful link between Ororo and T'Challa that went beyond 'two African heroes who, to that point, had never really demonstrated any interest in one another have actually always been secretly smitten with each other since childhood'. In this story the two met for the first time before Storm's rents are killed and she's enslaved by Shadow King. It was at the point of reading that story that I realized Storm was largely a hollow character that did need an actual backdrop to explain why a king would marry her because the tropes used to shape her background made for a mismatched pairing between her and the Wakandan sovereign. I began examining my recollections of Storm as a character, realizing a nearly 30 year old (at that time - 2004) popular hero was a weird collection of familiar fetishized concepts about 'exotic' cultures. Who was she really? What made her relatable to me? Where in Africa was she even supposed to hail from? Why do her hair and eyes not reflect the diaspora? Has she been an idealized (which can take on both positive an negative connotations depending on the creative talent) stereotype that I've allowed myself to accept unquestioningly due to being hungry for any characters that even remotely relate to me as an African American??? As demonstrated in my first post, I'm still working my way through all of that, but it ain't anything I'm losing sleep over either.

Honestly, I don't expect you to understand where I'm coming from at all. After all, part off why I don't generally respond to you is because of your sharing with me your belief that my culture is represented, by and large, by thieves. A system of belief you established on your anecdotal experiences in retail with black Americans. Back to Apu: you seem to traffic comfortably in stereotypes, so of course you don't care when they find their way into storytelling. I imagine you might even prefer it that way. When we had that conversation, I tried to tease out the flaws of thinking that way, but that was as much an effort in futility as is the time I just spent explaining something I didn't have to...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Super Joe

Its possible to see HasLab Galactus (online) plus Celestial "Premium Roleplay" (at retail stores) the same year. Dwight said Galactus already completed the design phase, during the same time as the Sentinel. So its ready to go! Plus I prefer a retail series of "Premium Roleplay" helmets. At least 1 new Celestial per year. Maybe 2 or 3 in movie years (Eternals, GotG, or other movies they appear). I just can't wait 10 years for maybe only 5 HasLab Celestials. We can get more Celestials as helmets (retail) versus HasLab (online). Yet I'd love to see the "merged" Celestials form 1 huge HasLab helmet (bigger than the Battlecat by Super 7)!!!

I'm excited to learn that good news. If Haslabs has already done the work to spec out a Galactus, the the character's appearance is all but ensured . Your suggestion of busts for Celestials is starting to grow on me, as the average sizes of Celestials range widely. I'd love an Exitar bust since he's enormous even when compared to other Celestials.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harbinger

You’re a big buzzkill than buzz killington.

Didn't you know that's my superhero codename???

Quote:

Originally Posted by omega145

Excellent post and all very true points. The X-Men were trendsetting in bringing together people from all cultures but they fell into the same stereotypical tropes from Storm to the rest of the "minority" members.

My dude, as you likely picked up, I have plenty of love for the X-men. I also believe that anything can and should be improved upon....that understanding is extended to my assessment of myself, first and foremost.

[Robb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Super Joe

Haslab Barge is 48 inches. If Galactus is 36 inches. Then the Celestials maybe 48 inches. As big as the Barge! Having the Barge - I can't imagine - having 10 huge HasLab Celestials.

It's best for space + scale, to keep the Celestials as Roleplay helmets..

How do you have that displayed?

[joewolf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Super Joe

Its possible to see HasLab Galactus (online) plus Celestial "Premium Roleplay" (at retail stores) the same year. Dwight said Galactus already completed the design phase, during the same time as the Sentinel.

Wow, that's great news. I mean, not so great for me since I just got Galactus, but still great news.

I can't imagine they would make Galactus much bigger than Sentinel though. Nevermind the cost, how many people actually want to store something that big in their place? Or maybe no one thinks about that until they get it..

[Starlord67]

Well my "connection" with the Target Toy guy paid off...I got my Storm set this morning!! Ive been waiting on this figure since I was a kid and she does not disappoint!! Thunderbird is nice too...though I'll be gluing the fringe to his boots. I just need to find one more for myself so I can display both poses!! I did pick one extra up for my fellow Arkers so if ya need the set PM me. First one gets it but I can't mail until Saturday.

[Dr Kain]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBlueMarvel

I'm actually going to break from my standard convention and respond to you...

Apu? Yeah, I'm going to shelf that for a minute.

40, some odd, years of comics can often get muddled together ultimately representing a big blob, or information dump in a cloudy recess of the mind. You're right, the Shadow King stuff originally surfaced during the Claremont/Byrne run, but like so many other X-men (Wolverine, Kurt etc) her background was considerably nebulous. However, the retcon that I referenced was from a Storm mini that lead up to her wedding with BP which tried to create a meaningful link between Ororo and T'Challa that went beyond 'two African heroes who, to that point, had never really demonstrated any interest in one another have actually always been secretly smitten with each other since childhood'. In this story the two met for the first time before Storm's rents are killed and she's enslaved by Shadow King. It was at the point of reading that story that I realized Storm was largely a hollow character that did need an actual backdrop to explain why a king would marry her because the tropes used to shape her background made for a mismatched pairing between her and the Wakandan sovereign. I began examining my recollections of Storm as a character, realizing a nearly 30 year old (at that time - 2004) popular hero was a weird collection of familiar fetishized concepts about 'exotic' cultures. Who was she really? What made her relatable to me? Where in Africa was she even supposed to hail from? Why do her hair and eyes not reflect the diaspora? Has she been an idealized (which can take on both positive an negative connotations depending on the creative talent) stereotype that I've allowed myself to accept unquestioningly due to being hungry for any characters that even remotely relate to me as an African American??? As demonstrated in my first post, I'm still working my way through all of that, but it ain't anything I'm losing sleep over either.

Honestly, I don't expect you to understand where I'm coming from at all. After all, part off why I don't generally respond to you is because of your sharing with me your belief that my culture is represented, by and large, by thieves. A system of belief you established on your anecdotal experiences in retail with black Americans. Back to Apu: you seem to traffic comfortably in stereotypes, so of course you don't care when they find their way into storytelling. I imagine you might even prefer it that way. When we had that conversation, I tried to tease out the flaws of thinking that way, but that was as much an effort in futility as is the time I just spent explaining something I didn't have to...

Well excuse me. I wasn't actually being mean or anything dude, I was explaining why I didn't notice the premier stereotype because Storm is such a well rounded character. She's my favorite X-Man.

However, I have no fucking idea what this means:

Quote:

your belief that my culture is represented, by and large, by thieves.

The fuck?

[Captain Nash]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Starlord67

Well my "connection" with the Target Toy guy paid off...I got my Storm set this morning!! Ive been waiting on this figure since I was a kid and she does not disappoint!! Thunderbird is nice too...though I'll be gluing the fringe to his boots. I just need to find one more for myself so I can display both poses!! I did pick one extra up for my fellow Arkers so if ya need the set PM me. First one gets it but I can't mail until Saturday.

Congrats! How do your Storm's fingers look on the hands with the lightening?

[TheBlueMarvel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr Kain

However, I have no fucking idea what this means:



The fuck?

...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr Kain

There's a difference between the real world and an internet persona.

BTW, if stereotypes weren't real, then they wouldn't be stereotypes. I am originally from Buffalo NY, so I have seen the stereotypes in full. Just like the notion that most thieves are black. It sounds horrible, but at the Best Buy I worked at, 7 out of every 10 thieves were black, 2 were Mexican, and 1 was white. I can't help it if reality is what created these stereotypes. That's not to say every black person is bad, as not every cracker is good. After all, most serial killers and that worthless sack of shit theater shooter were white, while some of the most educated men in the world are black.

Either way, I want my Blade to look like a super hero, not the lost cousin of 50 Cent.

It's like groundhog day for you everyday...

[Dr Kain]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBlueMarvel

...




It's like groundhog day for you everyday...

Hmmmmm, I totally worded that poorly as that was not at all what I was trying to imply, and for that, I am sorry.

[omega145]

Yikes, ALWAYS re-read and think about what you are typing and try to phrase some empathy into yourself to see things from other perspectives.

[TheBlueMarvel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr Kain

Hmmmmm, I totally worded that poorly as that was not at all what I was trying to imply, and for that, I am sorry.

It takes a certain amount of maturity to do what you just did, Kain. I appreciate the gesture and I'll work to soften my opinions regarding you moving forward.

[Harbinger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBlueMarvel

Didn't you know that's my superhero codename???

Touche’

[Captain Nash]

So I got to thinking, with the reveal of Firestar, are there any other characters that have not made it to Legends in any form (Toy Biz Or Hasbro) under any of their looks that are generally agreed with most of the community as needed? I mean, I know we have some figures that need to be redone, and we all have our personal wishlists of characters that we'd like to see, but I honestly feel like Firestar was the last one to tick off. Which is a weird feeling.

[Starlord67]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain Nash

Congrats! How do your Storm's fingers look on the hands with the lightening?

Horrible. I won't be using those at all!

[Black Arbor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by omega145

Absolutely correct. The comments made were very poor in taste and regardless of how they were worded, it was still very biased, stereotypical and racist. I've saved them as a reference as it's too easy for people to delete and act like they never said it. Someone should spend a little more time doing some racial sensitivity training instead of being on this forum.

I'm sure they're all TERRIFIED

[Boogieman4hire]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Starlord67

So does anyone want my Mr. Fixit pieces when the figures arrive (Friday) ?
I only bought Kang, Jocasta, Falcon and Thunderstrike. No desire to build another Hulk.

I'm buying Jocasta and Kang only. I used to dislike the neutral bored face Hasbro would usually give their characters but Thunderstrike's xxxxtreme face bothers me. It looks like he's eternally taking a mean shit hence his nickname. But what price would you be looking at for his piece and Falcon's?

[TheBlueMarvel]

My Storm set arrived and as anticipated, her fingers are missing paint and this officially feels like budding QC issue.

@Nash

Without going into a full on wish-list:

- Quasar
- Blue Marvel

[Captain Nash]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Starlord67

Horrible. I won't be using those at all!

Argh. I'm so sorry. Seems like this is going to be a widespread issue. It's the only time I've ever looked at a figure and immediately gone "WTF??" but at least her other hands are good.

@TBM, sorry for you too. I guess we're all going to be experiencing this. If I do ever see the pack out in the wild I'll be sure to be looking but given it's not her only hands I'm not going to go out of the way for it.

As to your choices, possibly, but I'm not so sure. Looking over my list I feel like the Wizard is the only one that may fit for that, but I'm not really so sure on that either.

[JAG2045]

Got my Fan's Choice Silk today in the post, nice figure overall (I never got the original version) but does anyone have trouble getting her to stand freely?

[TheBlueMarvel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain Nash

Argh. I'm so sorry. Seems like this is going to be a widespread issue. It's the only time I've ever looked at a figure and immediately gone "WTF??" but at least her other hands are good.

@TBM, sorry for you too. I guess we're all going to be experiencing this. If I do ever see the pack out in the wild I'll be sure to be looking but given it's not her only hands I'm not going to go out of the way for it.

As to your choices, possibly, but I'm not so sure. Looking over my list I feel like the Wizard is the only one that may fit for that, but I'm not really so sure on that either.

I don't see a wide consensus for the Blue Marvel (a shame), but Wendell has quite a few fans beyond just me...lol

[Boogieman4hire]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain Nash

So I got to thinking, with the reveal of Firestar, are there any other characters that have not made it to Legends in any form (Toy Biz Or Hasbro) under any of their looks that are generally agreed with most of the community as needed? I mean, I know we have some figures that need to be redone, and we all have our personal wishlists of characters that we'd like to see, but I honestly feel like Firestar was the last one to tick off. Which is a weird feeling.

I think there's some key Avengers and Fantastic Four characters that might qualify. But it seeems that Hasbro is now cracking into that with those Gamerverse waves' comic figures and I definitely think that in the upcoming years the Fantastic Four's supporting characters will get some love. But Attuma, Count Nefaria, Graviton, Shia LaBeouf might qualify. Melter maybe though I feel like he's definitely now more of a C-lister. Howard the Duck was a pack in with the ToyBiz Silver Surfer but I think that he now needs an actual articulated single carded figure release. Maybe no one's clamoring for any of these but I do think it's weird that not one has made it into the line yet.

[sh002]

Regarding Storm’s lightning effect hands, it looks like the effect was supposed to run more along her fingers but they were painted brown. Maybe remove some of the paint on the fingers to show the clear effect? I might adjust her fingers so that they look better. I didn’t even notice until I removed her from the box and she’s packaged with the tops of her hands not showing.