whaliiwatching · 2 years ago
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tiny shiny guillermo for a friend :)
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bltngames · 4 years ago
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The Balan Wonderworld demo came out yesterday. If you haven’t been keeping up with this, it’s a game by Yuji Naka and Naoto Ohshima, two of the original creators of Sonic the Hedgehog. A lot of that original team has gone on to do solo work outside of Sega, but this is the first time two former members of Sonic Team have gotten back together to make a new game.
If the demo is anything to go by, Balan Wonderworld (which I keep trying to type as “Balan Wonderland,” because it has a much nicer rhythm to it) is a game that lives deep in the shadow of NiGHTS into Dreams and Sonic the Hedgehog. It is very clearly trying to be an “Old School Sonic Team” experience, which it... sort of succeeds at, for better and worse.
This feels like a game they ripped straight out of 1995, warts and all, and remastered it with modern-ish graphics. I say “modern-ish” because in broad strokes, I think Balan looks pretty good. The character designs are charming, the level themes are interesting, but if you really stop and look at the game, it’s honestly pretty ugly, with simple lighting, limited detail and blurry textures.
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One gets the impression maybe that’s because Balan is on everything -- Playstation, Xbox, PC, and even Switch. The gross texture work could be to squeeze the game down for Nintendo’s handheld, but apparently it runs extremely poorly there. On the PS4 Pro, it sticks pretty closely to 60fps, though there are occasionally hiccups here and there. Nothing worth fretting over, honestly.
But how does it play?
This is where the shadow of Sonic the Hedgehog looms large. Balan is designed to be simplistic to a fault: You get one button to control your character. Or, more specifically, every button on your controller will do the same thing (for the most part). This is right out of the Sonic handbook, as that game was also designed to be operable with only one button, as well.
Now, what your one button does can change. Scattered around levels are different costumes for your character to put on, and each costume has its own unique ability. The full version of Balan promises 80 different costumes, and there’s probably half a dozen in the demo. Each one serves a unique purpose, and some of them don’t even have the ability to jump. Which is fine, mostly, because you can carry a stock of three costumes with you that you can swap between sort of like the team mechanics in Sonic Heroes. Once you finish a level, those costumes get added to your dressing room, allowing you to customize a loadout of costumes at any checkpoint.
On paper, that much sounds fine. But this is where things start getting weird.
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Costumes are not freely available to pick up. The jewels that hold costumes are locked with a key. This creates an obvious gameplay loop: find key, unlock costume, use costume to solve puzzle, right? Right.
Except that, at least in the demo, most keys are only a few feet away from any given costume jewel. On top of that, keys respawn. Crack open a costume jewel, grab the costume, but hang out for a little while and eventually the key will reappear. In doing this, you can stock up on keys early on in a level, smoothing out the process of acquiring new costumes as you go. I’m not sure why Balan does this. The time between key respawns is a few seconds too many -- just enough that it starts to feel tedious. But, as far as I can tell, there is no penalty for farming up a bunch of keys from the first key spawn point, either. It’s the worst of both worlds. If it was trying to be convenient, keys would spawn more quickly, but if it was trying to plan puzzles around acquiring keys, you can completely side step that by just waiting it out and hoarding keys early on.
You’ll not only want to hoard keys, but hoard costumes, as well. If you’re unlucky enough to take damage or even die while wearing a costume, it’s gone. You can build up stocks of costumes so you’ll always have spares to pull out of the dressing room, but that requires you to specifically go out of your way to get duplicates and bank them. If you don’t, you might find yourself at a puzzle that requires a specific costume that you simply don’t have anymore. When that happens, your only recourse is to backtrack in the hopes of finding a crystal that contains the costume you need, and characters in Balan aren’t exactly fast moving.
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The chances of you losing a costume seem pretty low, admittedly. Balan Wonderworld doesn’t really seem like it’s aiming for anything resembling difficulty. Enemies exist, but only in very small numbers, and they’re easily dispatched. Most of the game is more about exploring the dream-like environments and playing around with the various costume abilities in order to solve basic puzzles.
You aren’t working against a clock, there isn’t a scoring system, and you usually aren’t being graded on your performance. Talking it over with some others, the vibe is that this could be a good game for young children. It requires little in terms of controller dexterity and is generous in every sense of the word.
The primary complaint against that, I guess, is that Balan Wonderworld is a weird game. Like, “Elsa and Spider-man Finger Family Youtube Video” weird. Every level is packed full of gently dancing ghosts that phase out of existence once you get too close to them. They’re all the creatures your costumes are based on, but they don’t exist as NPCs in the world for you to touch and interact with. Like I said, they’re ghosts, and they disappear the moment you get within a few feet. Those same ghosts will suddenly materialize when you touch certain checkpoints, throwing you something of parade. They interrupt the level music and everything just to play their own special celebration song. Move more than a few feet and they will fade back out of existence again, taking their special parade song with them, never to be seen for the rest of the stage.
It lends a strangely “uncanny” feeling to the game. I think the dancing characters are meant to add a sense of carefree fun, but they look like people wearing mascot suits, doing the same basic scripted routine over, and over, and over, for eternity. They don’t look like they’re having fun, they don’t appear to be choreographed to the stage’s music, and yet there they are, eternally dancing the days away. It’s kind of eerie. They were performing before you got here, and they'll keep performing after you leave.
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The demo pits you against a single boss, which is notable for being someone who has the same powers you do, but combined and amped up. Seeing the same costume motifs come up in the boss as they draw from the same abilities that you have is actually a really fun idea, and the game rewards you for getting creative and swapping between costumes when you deal damage.
Balan Wonderland is a very odd game, and I’m not sure what to make of it. It took me a while to start wrapping my head around its aesthetic and vibes. It contains shades of something like Super Mario Odyssey to be sure, but it feels like it’s trying to elevate itself above that. Again, it’s a game living deep in the shadow of NiGHTS and Sonic, and in particular, it feels like it borrows NiGHTS’ penchant for putting artistic expression at the top ladder rung. Balan often feels like a very inscrutable sort of game, but in a way that seems to be reaching for some kind of greater meaning beyond simply gameplay. Everything in Balan feels like it might be conveying a message of some sort, even if it’s not immediately apparent. Its ideas do not come from a vacuum.
But here’s the deal: even though a lot of people couldn’t grok NiGHTS into Dreams, I did. I love that game to death. But with Balan Wonderworld, even I’m often left scratching my head. Despite its dead-simple gameplay, it may be just a little too high concept for its own good.
But at the end of the day, it’s not a game I hate. It’s strange, and charming, and even if it feels sort of impenetrably "artistic," at least that makes it interesting. The simple gameplay works its magic, making it an easy game to drop in to even if you don’t necessarily understand what you’re looking at.
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Like, what’s the deal with the “Isle o’ Tims” between levels? It kind of has the vibe of a chao garden from Sonic Adventure, but the individual “tims” creatures don’t seem to have statistics or anything like that. You feed them so they crank a wheel, which builds a tower that helps them crank the wheel better. It turns in to a bizarre sort of perpetual motion machine. To what end? I don’t know. And what exactly is Balan himself, anyway? Some of his visual cues call to mind character designs for NiGHTS, but he appears to be a different sort of creature altogether. There’s a rather lengthy intro FMV, as you can no doubt see from the Youtube embed, but it’s more about swirling colors and hyperactive animation than conveying what’s going on or who Balan is. How much of this is even really happening, and how much of it is purely metaphysical? It’s very unclear.
I’ll be interested in seeing how the full version of Balan Wonderworld fares. I get the distinct impression that this will be another NiGHTS -- a game beloved by a core audience of hardcore fans, but shunned for being “too weird” by the populace at large.
I’m not quite sure which group I belong to yet.
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Alright 5x19 let’s DO THIS.
(Warning: This will probably be long.)
WE BEGIN...by visiting Leviathan’s underground speakeasy.
The shot of Lex in the glow of the Kryptonite is great, 15/10 iconic Kryptonian Killer.
But SPEAKING of things that are green and bad...Gemma’s outfit is stage magician meets Mera from Aquaman and WAIT, WAIT, I’m just now remembering that the character in the comics was linked to Atlantis. Is that why they’ve gone with a green motif for her all season?
Probably not. Either way, still gives me knockoff Mera vibes. (*whispers quietly* I don’t like Mera’s outfit either.)
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(I’m reading the Wikipedia entry for Gamemnae and did you know: she was exiled from Atlantis for being blonde?)
Anyways!
That’s just a very long-winded way of saying that the costume is kind of a weird choice.
Then we’re back in Kara’s loft and finally, FINALLY...someone tells Lena that there are BIGGER FISH, STOP REMINISCING.
And then the Superfriends arrive on the scene and they are ready to throw down.
Honestly same bro, same.
Also M’GANN IS ON THE TEAM I love it please, SG, please, hire Sharon Leal full-time. 
What is the current door-kicking tally--how many front entrances have the Danvers girls destroyed?
“Well the joke’s on Rama Khan and his big dumb gladiator outfit because I already defeated him once.” THIS. IS. WHAT. I. HAVE. BEEN. SAYING.
THE COSTUME IS SILLY AND NOT IN A FUN WAY.
Leviathan just has terrible fashion sense, is basically the theme of this season.
Oh my gosh M’gann being the one to suggest the multiple Karas and the WINK I love her, I love her so much.
PLEASE NOTE: That J’onn was like ‘the skirt is surprisingly comfortable’ but his response to the pants is, ‘they’re gonna chafe.’ 
J’onn J’onzz, Skirt Supporter. 
Then the Alex suit reveal and ooof, ooooof, probably the wonkiest of the scenes, unfortunately. (Can’t decide if I appreciate the effort of the CGI Alex or if it’s simply too uncanny valley.)
Also, put a pin in the Alex suit reveal. We’ll circle back to it.
(Oh wait and also: Kara’s scream and J’onn’s reaction all A+.)
Breaking chronological order here to just touch on the highlights and maybe discuss particular chunks in detail SO...let’s get right toooooooo....
Rooftop scene with Alex and M’Gann! Nice! But also I was like, ‘Alex just...has a bazooka? ...Yeah that tracks.’ And then I remembered that she has the martian weapon...honestly kinda prefer my accidental headcanon that she just owns one. 
Then back to Lena and Kara and we’ve come full circle because folks...they figuratively flew to Luthor-Corp...on a bus.
Oh if only that was the actual goal of this entire plot. I would applaud it.
SG writers, always: REAL threats come in groups of THREE.
I actually don’t mind it. They aren’t given a big introduction and amount of screen time, so it’s pretty unobtrusive. 
Then we get a Luthor-Corp lab scene AND a good look at Alex’s suit so LET’S CHAT.
Okay first and foremost: not opposed to vigilante Alex! Especially if it means she can work with Kara a bit more directly.
Love the color scheme! Love the hood! Love that the boots are no longer the stealth wedge heel but are just...heels. Good, yes, good! Also love that you can see it’s basically built on top of her DEO suit which totally makes sense, as...I guess Alex is building the suit mentally, not physically, technically, but she’d still be using stuff she’s familiar with to put it together in...her...mind?
I also think the top portion sits better than the DEO suit, which had that awkward...square-ish portion that covered the front of the torso.
But hmmmmmm the eye makeup is...a statement. 
Confused as to why they didn’t go with a domino mask...maybe it was an actor comfort thing but HMMMMM not my personal favorite, admittedly. (Also don’t love the lace up look on the front portion but that’s because it’s reminding me of some of the terrible costumes from Arrow.)
And then the hair clip, which. Okay. As someone who has been struggling to find a way to pull back short hair during this time of no haircuts...can’t be mad about it.
In fact, catch me over here, taking notes.
Alright, costume rambling OVER sorry for the tangent but, you know. New super suit, it’s always exciting. 
I like that Kara had to deal with not being able to be out fighting the threat! That’s a good bit of character stuff there.
“William went after Eve ALONE?!?!?” “No super hearing!” 
“Please, be careful.” “You know me.” “Yeah, exactly, that’s what I’m worried about.” And then a HUG and they’re just the best.
 Dunno if I’ve mentioned it yet but I love the effects they use for Gemma’s ‘true form.’ Very cool and creepy.
Does Andrea just...not question Gemma’s evil villain outfit...or...?
Much like Alex’s super suit we’re puttin’ a PIN in the Brainy plot we’ll get there but FIRST...
THE KARA AND LENA CONVERSATION.
Do I think it should’ve come earlier in the season? Yes! Do I care at this point? ...Okay, still yes! But that’s another pinned point I’ll get back to, right now let us just bask in the beauty that is specifically, verbally laying out all the CRAP Lena put Kara through, and Kara making sure Lena understands THAT is what hurt her, not ‘working with Lex.’
“You never understood.” BINGO. “I know I hurt you by waiting so long to tell you my truth but what about all the ways you hurt me?” EXACTLY. 
“I made one mistake, one mistake that was only ever meant to protect you and in return, all you did was hurt me in every way imaginable.”
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Then Lena finally apologizes. For, you know, the stuff that was actually upsetting Kara. So. We got there. ...Eventually.
Then it’s off to save William and he’s talking down Eve! We love a noble journalist.
Kara cauterizing the bullet wound and William being like ‘DO IT no wait DON’T DO IT’ and Kara’s just like, ‘TOO LATE, IT’S DONE.’
RETURN OF THE POWER RANGERS SUIT NICE.
And theeeeen a lot of scenes that are fine but it’s mostly just legwork to get us to the bigger parts of the episode sooooo we’re jumping to...
Andrea! Pleasantly surprised with her part in the action of this episode. Had that nice moral conflict we saw in the front half of the season. It’s a little crammed in here, at the last minute, but. Still enjoyed seeing it.
A personal quibble on the visuals: I prefer the simple elegance of the season one hope speech, (Just a lone camera, in a rundown radio station XD) but I understand they had to convey ‘scale.’ Still think it’s a little much.
Oh man, totally forgot to mention, loved Nicole’s line read for, “Maybe you should’ve been meaner.” It was GREAT.
So there’s the fight against Rama Khan and his buddies, and Kara’s trying to talk people out of a MMORPG, AND Andrea shows up ready to kill somebody. 
The drama! The suspense!
THE SCORE.
I have another quibble with the cutting back and forth on the hope speech and it’s largely to do with perhaps inadvertent implications regarding who has to grow from pain and what pain in particular, but that might just be a ‘me’ thing, reading the scene a particular way, so I’m just gonna move on and say LOVE TO SEE A HOPE SPEECH.
Also:
Supergirl: “I believe in you.”
The VR peeps and us, the audience:
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Alright time to talk about BRAINY.
Admittedly haven’t loved double agent Brainy, which felt more like a, ‘let’s add some drama’ move than anything else.
I do still stand by my assessment that Brainy being a few steps behind Lex made sense given his distress re: Nia and the Superfriends.
But also...was a little wild, IMO, that he didn’t have...some way to at least circumnavigate the radiation shield? Or at the very least limit it.
But again. DRAMA.
All that said...wow. Loved the two Brainys at the end, there. Genuinely touching.
“Will you stay with me?” “Till the very end.” 
BRAAAAAAAIIIINNNNNNNNY.
How do you make another Luthor reveal work when you ALREADY pulled the, ‘It was Lex all along!’ like, twice before?
You MAKE IT LILLIAN.
Like, dang it, I enjoyed it. How dare you, SG.
But THAT’S IT. NO MORE SECRET LUTHOR REVEALS. 
The terminator look and death shriek for Gemma was fittingly creepy very nice.
But also WOW, she never interacted with Kara. I am DISAPPOINTED. 
So anyways, that second Lena and Kara conversation! 
It was fine. It’s fine. This is fine. It’s...it’s fine.
(Except that it highlights a problem with the way this whole thing was set up and it’s not something unique to SG! It’s a problem I’ve noticed with a lot of redemption arcs--which seem to be all the rage, as of late--and that is a disproportionate amount of bad things done by the one character, and putting off the turn until like, the last possible minute to increase the drama factor and thaaaaat...is not a super satisfying conclusion because it’s a HUGE amount of build up for a relatively small pay off. Like, as Kara is listing the stuff that Lena’s done, it’s kind of a stark reminder that Lena physically and emotionally hurt Kara on purpose which. Is a glaring red flag. That’s the kind of thing that needs to be unpacked, maybe! Given some space!
Which isn’t to say that characters should never be forgiven, or that they need to be excessively punished. It just needs time. So saving the ‘redemption’ part for the very end where the characters NEED TO BE HEROES RIGHT NOW IN ORDER TO HELP OUT it’s...hmmmmmm. Too rushed.)
AND SO, SOME FINAL THOUGHTS ON THIS, THE SEASON FINALE, AND THE SEASON AS A WHOLE:
Wow but I did not like the focus on Lena. Not fun. No thanks.
Which is only made worse by the trashfire that is the SG fandom. 
Loved the moments of growth and agency for Kara, though. 
Loved the big crossover! It kinda made for a wonky set up of Earth-38 plot vs. Earth Prime plot but honestly anything the writers set up in the front portion of the season was going to be at the very least interrupted, if not completely derailed simply given the nature of what they intended to do with the merging of the earths.
Like give me SG’s approach to handling the front half of the season over Flash’s any day. 
Still too many characters! Still too much plot! Still weird pacing issues! XD
Forget it, Jake, it’s Supergirl.
Oh, honorable mention: The handling of Kelly! She was integrated so well into a nice intersection of plot points and characters that when she’s there to hack into the Obsidian stuff in the finale it’s like, ‘well naturally she’d be here.’ EXCELLENT WORK. 
William and Andrea win ‘most improved over their intensely unlikable introductions.’
To be clear: I liked this season finale! And the fact that it all came together as well as it did is a testament to the skill of all the folks involved, considering the awful extenuating circumstances.
Though, upon further introspection, I think I really do dislike the CGI Alex. Too far into the uncanny valley, sorry. 
IN CONCLUSION: Very, very sad that it’s gonna be a whole year, or possibly longer, before we get new SG content but, glad that the actors will have a little more time off than they usually might, and I’m all for holding off the production as long as possible, in order to keep folks safe.
WHAT are Lex and Lillian up to, like, specifically, and WHAT is Alex’s superhero name??? WILL the folks in charge of the new Superman show remember that it’s a Supergirl spinoff?!??! Find out NEXT YEAR only on SUPERGIRL! (And Superman & Lois!)
EDIT: I used the word ‘quibble’ twice which feels like one time too many, but also it IS a fun word to say. ‘Quibble.’ Ha. XD
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msmovingforward · 4 years ago
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Re-Engaging: SLC Reunion Pt I
Part one of the the first season reunion! We get the typical footage of the women’s jitters before the reunion begins. Whitney and her glam team saying they’re going to really feature her new boob job in the look for the evening. Jen and Heather saying they’re excited. I would be excited too! I mean, I’m a shady bitch... I would love to get paid to sit around and talk smack to people’s faces. 
The set is actually pretty shah-mazing. Imagine a very gay food court set up for Santa, but socially distanced. Andy Cohen says, “This is the Super Bowl, guys!” Accurate. These reunions really are like the gay Super Bowl, complete with fumbles, MVP’s, and emotional tackles. Those are the four football terms I know. OK... Roll footage. I love that!
Andy opens by saying he gives the season two thumbs up, and congratulates the women. “Hey, Lisa! Does God care now that you own at tequila company?”
“Yeah. He’s blessing me by selling more.” All the women look very rested, and their makeup for the most part in my opinion is pretty understated. Lisa has a somewhat modest outfit. Her tan is looking very nice. Very white teeth. A curled look for her hair. It’s sort of fancy free, and I love that for her.
Heather is wearing a light pink dress with a bejeweled motif that is somehow both tight, but also does almost nothing to show off her curves. It’s very Mormon, but make it fashion.
Whitney is giving me beachy vibes with her blonde bob this evening with a plunging-neckline maroon sequined number and a pair of really EXPENSIVE white gold hoops.
Mary looks like Beyonce’s wax figurine at Madame Toussaud’s, with a rose gold sparkling dress and eyeshadow to match.
Meredith looks like Jessica Rabbit got dressed in the dark and is now ushering a Cirque Du Soleil knockoff show at the Nomad Hotel Casino, but what do I know? This is probably just too fashion forward for me to understand.
Jen stopped at the Spirit Halloween inside the closed Linens-n-Things next to Heather’s new Beauty Lab+Laser and bought a knock-off Jasmine from Aladdin costume.
Some highlights from the customary 20-minute greetings are Heather being DM’d by Rihanna and being told Rihanna thinks Heather is “everything,” and Jen promising to be “Zen Jen,” unless somebody “makes [her] turn up.” So basically no one has learned anything. We’re off to a great start for this reunion. I’m glad everyone is on the same page for what makes a good viewing experience. These reunions are like group therapy if no one were willing to change, and everyone lied and yelled the whole time. I’m NOT disengaging for this one.
Round one! (This is a boxing reference. I’m basically a jock now). Whitney’s journey this season is shown, and Andy brings up the whole swinger situation. Whitney denies being a swinger herself, but says she knows a lot of Mormons who do it, and it’s very Mormon 2.0. I give this one to Whitney because Lisa is riled up, and it was like very nuanced shade, especially for Whitney. Whitney zing!
Next Andy asks how Meredith feels about Jen’s reaction to Brooks’s sweat suit line at Park City Fashion Week, asking “Are you appalled that Jen would be picking on a child?”
Meredith replies, “One hundred percent I was ... He saved his own money to launch his brand ... He should be commended, not criticized.” So Brooks (who by the way is well over 21 at this point, but at the time of filming was definitely NOT a child) should always be commended no matter what, even though he couldn’t even be industrious enough to rip off two Givenchy track suits? Also how was Brooks saving his own money? What does he do for work to earn this money? He couldn’t even call the coordinator of the fashion show himself to say he was going to be late!
We also learn that Meredith was not upset that Jen made Meredith’s birthday party all about her, but she was upset that it was thrown on Lisa’s actual birthday. We are shown unseen footage of a thousand-plus dollar wedding cake for Meredith being wheeled out and a comparatively tiny birthday cake for Lisa being brought out behind it. Unseen footage of Lisa singing happy birthday to herself is also shown. So that makes two women who were confused as to whose birthday party it was and singing anyway: Lisa and the drunk woman whose name I won’t mention because she attempted to overtake the Capitol. Conversely, Lisa reveals that she wasn’t upset about the birthday party itself, the thing that she found to be upset about was how Heather gave her a quick once over because Heather had heard that LIsa was calling Heather a “good-time girl.” Don’t worry though, because Lisa explains what actually happened, saying, “ I said she was a good time! My friend told me an antecdote ... Heather was so much fun. She would press her boobs up against things.” Heather denies all allegations of ignoring Lisa, and Lisa yells, “Roll footage!” Heather tells her that’s not a thing, as the footage of Heather blatantly ignoring Lisa is shown. Lisa calls Heather a pathological liar.
I will say, In this situation originally, I was on Heather’s side, but it does seem like Lisa really didn’t know Heather prior to filming. If we remember even more though, it was Jen who told Heather that Lisa had said this about Heather in the first place.
Andy asks Whitney what he thought of Lisa’s comments regarding her love of the stripper pole. Whitney says she is more angry at the overall vibe Lisa gives that she’s better than Whitney. I definitely can see where this is coming from; Lisa and Meredith do seem to have an elitist attitude toward the other women, however, Lisa hypocritically claims that she doesn’t have a problem with Whitney’s dancing in general, just how she handled herself at Sharrieff’s put-put golf birthday party, “twerking” in front of another woman’s husband. Footage is shown of Lisa trying and failing to one-up Whitney’s splits on the dancefloor. The editors throw in a helpful arrow to let us know where in the crowd Sharrieff is standing (far closer to LIsa). Whitney says Lisa called Whitney trash multiple times, to which Lisa replies that she only called Whitney trash once, AND SHE CAN’ EXPLAIN THAT! I’m glad we’re only sticking to the facts here. Objectively, Whitney, you are trash, but I’ve only called you that once. Love that.
After commercial, we are shown Jen’s season highlights (This really is similar to SportsCenter, isn’t it?) It’s mostly footage of Jen yelling, throwing things, crying, more yelling, and crying more. We find out that Heather’s father passed away in April, though. Mary shares that her father also died this past year, but she has this weird dreamy chipmunk look in her eye when she says it. Also, I love how these women aren’t even going to pretend for the cameras they know even the most basic things the others are dealing with when the cameras aren’t rolling. HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW YOUR “FRIEND’S” FATHER DIED?! Heather says that there’s more than enough drama to talk about during this reunion without talking about her dad’s passing. Exactly! The really important stuff, like how Mary can fit into a loofah dress that most people can’t.
Andy asks Jen what it is exactly all her assistants do. We learn that Jen actually has a real job in the marketing field. While I doubt that she actually came up with the technology she uses, I was impressed with the amount of industry jargon she threw out. She says she does “direct response marketing.” I worked in advertising for five months, and I was basically an assistant. I can confirm that telling people they were pretty all the time was about 90% of my job as well.
Jen goes into the story of her father’s passing and Sharrieff missing the funeral. We learn that Jen nearly kicked him out for missing it, and it’s a very big point of contention for the two of them. This is where I start to feel sorry for Jen. While I can’t justify much of her behavior this season, it does seem like she’s dealing with both the loss of her father and realizing that her 20-year marriage is not as solid as it could be.
Speaking of Jen’s behavior, someone from Hawaii asks if Jen thinks it’s appropriate to act the way she did all season at 50 years old. At this, time stands still, and the women are ALL flabbergasted. How DARE?! Jen is only 48! So distracted by being confused for someone two WHOLE TWO YEARS older, Jen needs to regroup before saying, “Shit happens.” and that she’s just “temperamental,” which, according to Oxford Dictionary means “liable to unreasonable changes of mood”. Jen just admitted her behavior is unreasonable. ROLL THAT FOOTAGE! Mary jumps in and talks about how she has been a scapegoat for Jen all season, which didn’t really make sense because Mary seems like a genuinely terrible, racist scam artist. Don’t kick her off the show, though. It’s very entertaining!
Andy brings up vagina-gate. This was very revealing to me. (See what I did there?) Meredith says she’s upset with Jen for purposely “rattling” her kids. Jen claims that she loves Meredith’s kids, and she would never do anything to harm them. Jen says that the whole story was taken out of context, and Brooks had caught Meredith smoking, which is the real reason Brooks was so upset. Meredith reveals that she does occasionally smoke a cigarette (but so what? Meredith is cool, and smoking is very elegant), and she says that Jen recorded Meredith smoking without her knowledge or permission. Jen denies this allegation (but looks like she’s lying to me). The real confusion is cleared up, though, and we learn that Brooks in fact did see Jen’s vagina, and he had to go to Best Buy at that point. Meredith also reveals that she had not invited Jen to sleep over that night, but Jen passed out in Meredith’s bed and had to borrow one of Brooks’s track suits in order to have something to wear home the next morning. Jen denies this as well, and doubles down, saying that Meredith was actually the one who passed out. This is like the time my mom caught me drinking when I was 16, and she said, “:You’re drunk!” and I said, “No I’m not. You’re drunk!” Jesus, Jen!
Meredith accuses Jen of attacking Brooks on social media, calling him white privileged. (Um, that’s not an attack, Meredith. That’s just the truth. I’m white privileged, and I can’t even open a credit card right now). Jen denies this too, and the following tweet is shown: “ @therealitybitch R U SERIOUS?????? I never went spread eagle... it's COMPLETELY INSANE to me that NOT ONLY did you all SEE I DIDNT but bcuz a white privelaged family tells you I did, you somehow think I Sis something wrong. (Girl with face palm emoji).” Arguably my favorite part of this episode is the dramatic music playing as the misspelled words “white privelaged” are highlighted on screen.
Next we’re shown Lisa’s highlight real, where she mostly says, “I love that,” and talks about how much she loves herself and what a go-getter she is. Andy asks Whitney which couple out of the group she would swing with, and Whitney answers Meredith. Not Seth. Just Meredith. Really, Whitney? You don’t want to get down with Mary and her grandfather? At this point, Jen’s superiority complex is brought up by essentially all the women except Meredith. I understand LIsa’s response; she doesn’t feel like she owes anyone an explanation for how she acts like a boss bitch, and I truly believe her. I guess I have a soft spot for Lisa? I am team Lisa on this one for sure, though. I don’t understand why Heather and Whitney feel the need to change Lisa’s attitude. Meredith jumps in and says that Lisa says the same things to her in the same tone, and Meredith doesn’t take it personally, which is why she and Lisa have been able to remain close friends for ten years. This rings true to me.
What gets tricky to me, though, is then Heather and Lisa start fighting. Lisa plays a victim, claiming all the bad press she got for coming off as elitist was in direct response to how Heather portrayed her on the show. I feel like Lisa is trying to walk a line of owning her bossiness, but still wanting to throw Heather under the bus for people hating her for being a boss. I truly don’t understand where Lisa is coming from on this one, and it’s not a good look.
Mary then brings up that she NEVER talks down to people or makes them feel less than, and Lisa tells her that she most certainly does do that to all the members of her church. Dramatic music plays, as Mary blinks and twitches Bewitched-style, and says that Lisa better not bring up Mary’s church, or Mary will bring up Vida Tequila.
in the midst of all of this nonsense, Whitney tries to have an epic moment in which she reveals she has TEXTS from Lisa regarding the bartenders she had claimed made a mess of her party at the beginning of the season, but when Andy goes to read them, he says, “This is a bad Xerox, babe.” (”Jen, you know I’m a straight shooter.. wait. Can I start over?”) Before we’re shown the scenes from next week’s episode, everyone basically starts talking over each other, and Lisa says something about Taco Bell.
My final thoughts: I’m wondering what it is Jen has to offer that is so appealing to Meredith and Jen that they’re giving her so much grace. Beyond the fact that neither of them seem to vibe with her at all, the sudden change of heart Lisa had in the finale was VERY fishy to me. Meredith didn’t seem to have much to say in the way of Jen, but I assume that bridge will be crossed in the parts of the reunion to come. I was also a little shocked to learn that the bartenders Lisa hired really were a gift, and they really had nothing to do with Vida Tequila. Maybe there is something to what Lisa is saying about Heather and Whitney portraying her as more of a monster than she really is. Did she get a bad edit? Also, though it may be a long shot, I would love to learn that Whitney is actually an evil genius playing dumb. There are hints of it I’ve seen so far. She DID organize the whole trip to Vegas, and she DID start the ball rolling on Sharrieff’s birthday-gate. One thing is for sure, after the reunion thus far, I’d say these women all came to PLAY, and I’m living for Salt Lake. 
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tyrantisterror · 7 years ago
Text
Slightly More Detailed Character Nonsense for Baron Skeleton
It is weird how I’ve made more progress on this story concept in the last couple of days than I have in rest of the couple of years since I came up with it.
This builds off of/refines the rambling brainstorm stuff I did in this post, just in case you missed it.
Baron Skeleton Character List
Size Classes from Smallest to Largest: Scout, Basic, Deluxe, Mega
Villain Team
Baron Skeleton
Character Role: Big Bad
Motifs: Skeleton, Cobra Commander, Skeletor
Size Class: Basic
Toy Gimmicks: Snap on Chest Armor
Personality: Manic and almost perpetually annoyed, Baron Skeleton is prone to spiteful rants and loud tantrums.  While anger and frustration are basically his default emotions, he rarely directs these feelings at the people around him, being more likely to rant about bad luck or society being rigged instead.  Despite his volatile temper, he’s actually far more patient with his henchmen’s quirks that you’d expect, and genuinely likes the people he works with.  Unlike the villains he’s based off of, Baron Skeleton is never abusive to his underlings and generally tries his best to accommodate their needs and desires in his schemes, even if doing so often results in failure.  Though he talks as though his worlview is bleak and cynical, Baron Skeleton notably refuses to ever give up the fight – he always has another scheme for victory after each defeat, and rarely dwells on his failures for long before moving on to the next plan.
Meta Stuff: As the show’s protagonist, he’d get a lot of toy variants with different gimmicks, like “dragon blast armor” and the like.  The show would work these in as clumsily as possible.
Snakeman
Character Role: Big Bad’s Wacky Sidekick
Motifs: Snake, Barbarian
Size Class: Deluxe
Toy Gimmicks: N/A
Personality: Though technically Baron Skeleton’s number two, Snakeman’s real function is as Baron Skeleton’s best friend.  As the second in command, Snakeman is terrible – he can never keep Baron Skeleton’s plans straight even on the rare occasions where he actually listens to them, and always ends up derailing things by “winging it.”  As a best friend, though, he’s marvelous – he’s always there to listen to Baron Skeleton’s problems, and he’s always doing his best to cheer Baron Skeleton up.  One could say that Snakeman gives Baron Skeleton what he needs instead of what he wants.  Snakeman is also a very chill boss to the other underlings, rarely dolling out punishments and always willing to hear them out.  Like most of the bad guys, he can actually be a competent fighter when he applies himself – he just rarely ever does so.
Meta Stuff: Snakeman’s design should be as He-Man-y as we dare to get.
Newbie/Edgelord
Character Role: Fish Out of Water, Eviler Than Thou
Motifs: Grimdark villain
Size Class: Scout as Newbie, Deluxe as Edgelord
Toy Gimmicks: Clip On Spike Armor (Edgelord only)
Personality: Newbie’s role in the first season is to be the fish out of water character who triggers exposition from the pre-established characters, but overall his real purpose is to contrast the bad guy’s outdated style of supervillainy with a more modern Grim & Gritty take.  Newbie is the only bad guy who is legitimately evil rather than just weird and antisocial.  He views murder as the best solution, and all of his suggestions for plans essentially boil down to “kill as many people as possible.”  He’s sadistic and cruel, and the other bad guys are ultimately unsettled by him (though many, Baron Skeleton included, still try to turn him around to their way of thinking).  Once he becomes Edgelord, he dives straight into the most Grimdark of villainy, doing his best to put every face-removing Joker to shame.  Edgelord is the one character on the show that the audience is invited to hate without any regret.
Meta Stuff: While Newbie’s action figure should just be a variant of the Henchskull figure (with a different head and color scheme), Edgelord’s should be a 100% new mold to better make him stand out as a character from a very different take on the superhero genre.
Gargruel
Character Role: Starscream
Motifs: Demon/Gargoyle, Gaudiness
Size Class: Basic
Toy Gimmicks: Clip On Armor (more elaborate than Baron Skeleton’s)
Personality: Gargruel is a perpetual traitor, trying to usurp Baron Skeleton’s leadership at every opportunity.  It is literally a pathological tendency of his, and one of the rest of the bad guys have just learned to deal with.  Perhaps the hammiest of the villains, almost every word out of his mouth is a loud, theatrical declaration of his superior mind and strength.  Of course, Gargruel is nowhere near as clever or strong as he thinks he is, and always ends up overreaching.  Despite his superiority complex, the others consider him a friend, and he is always quickly forgiven for his repeated betrayals (especially since they tend to implode on him almost immediately).  It helps that he can actually be a pretty nice guy on the rare occasions where he isn’t talking himself up.
Meta Stuff: Gargruel’s outfit should look like a much flashier/gaudier take on Baron Skeleton’s. His toy would probably even be a retool of Baron Skeleton’s toy, with different gloves, boots, and clip on armor as well as a new head.
Galvanstein
Character Role: Fanatical Loyalist
Motifs: Frankenstien, Executioner
Size Class: Deluxe
Toy Gimmicks: Spring-loaded Extendo-Fists
Personality: An utter sycophant, Galvanstein is a yes man and Baron Skeleton’s greatest enabler. Galvanstein is utterly devoted to his boss and believes every idea Baron Skeleton has ever had is absolute genius. The only reason they fail, he reasons, is that the other henchmen aren’t pulling their weight, which is why Galvanstein is overly critical of his peers.  He’s not a complete dick to them though – after all, Baron Skeleton clearly saw potential in them, so they must have some good sides.  Galvanstein’s loyalty is his greatest weakness, as he can never bring himself to admit that his boss is flawed.  Likewise, he has no improvisational skills – while he will gleefully carry out Baron Skeleton’s orders to the letter, he is at an absolute loss whenever a plan gets derailed and forces him to think for himself.
Meta Stuff:
Nosferoi
Character Role: TFP Soundwave
Motifs: Vampire, Boba Fett/Samus/Cool Helmeted Space Warrior
Size Class: Basic
Toy Gimmicks: Grappling Hook Claw, Removable helmet
Personality: Quiet and thoughtful, Nosferoi is the most competent villain in Baron Skeleton’s organization by a long shot.  She has the highest success rate of any henchmen, pulling off her tasks efficiently and with a great deal of style.  When she contributes to a plot, her suggestions are always cunning and well-reasoned.  If she was the gang’s leader, they would have won ages ago – but she doesn’t want to be a leader.  In fact, Nosferoi is much happier as a henchman.  She likes following orders more than giving them, and thinks Baron Skeleton’s schemes are far more fun to carry out than anything she could come up with, even if they’re doomed to fail.  Unlike most of the other villains, she doesn’t really want to win so much as she just wants to hang out with her friends, and is content to just do her part of the job well instead of trying to fix their operation.
Meta Stuff: Nosferoi should look rad as hell.
Spinestra
Character Role: PG Seductress
Motifs: Spider, PG Rated Dominatrix
Size Class: Basic
Toy Gimmicks: N/A
Personality: Supposedly a master manipulator, Spinestra’s role tends to focus on finding ways to play mind games with the heroes that Baron Skeleton’s forces oppose.  She’s not quite as good at this as the others think she is, but she does her best to come up with dastardly schemes to set the heroes against each other.  Her real skill lies in trap making, and many of the defense systems in the villain team’s fortress are of her design.  Spinestra also often helps with the team’s plans, though she’s sort of a double edged sword – her contributions are so complex that the heroes can’t follow them, but, sadly, also end up confusing the other henchmen more often than not, resulting in a bungled operation.  While she tries to act cold and aloof like Nosferoi, she has a ferocious temper and cannot take criticism well.
Meta Stuff: in the vein of villains like Evil-Lyn and Baroness, Spinestra has a vague dominatrix vibe that’s intensely watered down so as not to anger parents (ignoring the fact that they could have just not made her look like a dominatrix in the first place).
Swampstomp
Character Role: Bumbling Brute
Motifs: Swamp Monster, Gill Man
Size Class: Mega
Toy Gimmicks: Tummy Prison
Personality: The muscle of the villain team, Swampstomp knows she’s valued for her brawn and not her brains, and is totally fine with that.  She’s the largest of the core henchmen and hits the hardest by far. Swampstomp revels in her role as a dumb brute, cheerfully taking orders from anyone who acts even the slightest bit authoritative.  When Gangruel initiates a coup, Swampstomp is generally the first to fall in line, and likewise she’s one of the first to switch back to Baron Skeleton when the old boss reasserts himself.  While Swampstomp gleefully embraces her dumb muscle persona, she’s actually more perceptive and intelligent than anyone gives her credit for, herself included. Likewise, while she generally plays up her love of beating people up, she really isn’t the sadist she thinks she is, and is utterly revolted at people who are genuinely vicious.
Meta Stuff: Swampstomp’s gimmick is that she can swallow smaller figures and store them in her tummy. Because this is a pretty intricate gimmick, Swampstomp’s mold would be entirely unique, so her design has more leeway to be strange than most of the others.
Dr. Strategerm
Character Role: Straw Vulcan
Motifs: Mad Scientist, Chess, Mathletes
Size Class: Basic
Toy Gimmicks: Swappable hands
Personality: Dr. Strategerm claims to value logic and rationality, and tries to reduce all problems to mathematic equations that come to one objective solution.  Ironically, he is utterly irrational in his devotion to this philosophy, and will passionately argue about how emotions are distractions that keep people from being run by pure, perfected logic.  Strategerm creates all the high tech weaponry and gadgets that the group uses and is prone to sesquipedalian loquaciousness.  He has a notable rivalry with Hexadeth, being her foil.
Meta Stuff: Dr. Strategerm’s hands can be switched out with multiple different tools, like a claw, a hammer, a drill, etc.  His toy would use Baron Skeleton’s body mold, but with a cloth labcoat draped over its torso and legs to disguise the mold reuse.  His arms and head would be entirely new pieces.
Hexadeth
Character Role: Sorceress
Motifs: D&D, mummy
Size Class: Basic
Toy Gimmicks: Dice of Doom Accessory
Personality: Superstitious and traditional, Hexadeth is a master of magic who insists on doing things the “old way” and hates technology.  Though her magic is extremely powerful, her resistance to catch up with the times often bites her in the butt, as her enemies often use technology that she is not prepared to deal with.  She has great skill in dealing with emotional and spiritual matters, but has nothing but disdain for logic and science.  She often butts heads with Dr. Strategerm despite the fact that she essentially does the same thing as him – i.e. create new weapons and equipment for the others.  Her dialogue is also similarly hard to parse, as she loves purple prose and antiquated linguistics.
Meta Stuff: Hexadeth’s toy uses the same body tooling as Spinestra, though it is disgused by her cloth robe and cowl.  Her head, hands, feet, and shins all uses new pieces that are sculpted to look like they’re covered in bandages.  Her gimmick/accessory is a set of dice – 1d20, 1d10, 1d6, and 1d4 – with different magic symbols on them, which in the show she uses to cast her magic spells.  She might also come with a cup that automatically rolls them or something – we can have fun with it.
Oddserver
Character Role: Wild Card
Motifs: Eyeball, strangeness
Size Class: Mega
Toy Gimmicks: Removable Parasites
Personality: Considered weird by the other villains, which says something considering their own quirks, Oddserver is an alien juggernaut that marches to the beat of its own drummer.  The enigmatic monster is unpredictable – sometimes it will follow the team’s plot to the letter, and other times it will break off and do its own thing.  Oddserver’s actions always serve a purpose, one that always benefits Oddserver even if it does little if anything to help the others.  While Oddserver’s nature and motives are mysterious, there are some moments where it shows clear affection for the other villains, and they consider it to be part of the team all the same.
Meta Stuff: Like Swampstomp, Oddserver’s toy is an entirely new sculpt, so it can go a little wild. I like the idea of it working sort of like some of Kenner’s Aliens toys, with lots of little parasitive creatures that can pop off the main body and work as their own monsters, but look like just a normal body part when attached to the main figure.
Griftermister
Character Role: Prankster
Motifs: Goblin, Pranks
Size Class: Scout
Toy Gimmicks: Bug-Out Eyes
Personality: Griftermister has a deep seated inferiority complex that drives him to drag everyone around him through the mud to feel good about himself.  He is always looking for new ways to humiliate and mock others, devoting his life to practical jokes and mean spirited teasing.  A dick to friend and foe alike, the other villains rarely if ever incorporate him into their schemes, and instead try to steer him towards the heroes hoping they’ll distract each other.  Like many of the other villains, he’s somewhat aware of his flaw, but has no idea how to fight it.  The others accept him because he has no one else to turn to, and deep down he does value their friendship – even if he can almost never bring himself to admit it.
Meta Stuff: Griftermister’s goblin head would have a lever disguised as a horn that makes his eyes (and maybe his tongue) extend out ala Rat Fink.
Wailwolf
Character Role: Defeatist
Motifs: Wolf Man, emo kid
Size Class: Deluxe
Toy Gimmicks: N/A
Personality: Wailwolf is more acutely aware of how often the villain team fails than anyone else, and dwells on this constantly.  For her, every battle is lost before its begun, and she only trudges on because she knows the others would be hurt if she didn’t join in with them.  While her pessimism can be a bit grating, the others accept her for who she is, and sometimes inspire her with their resolute (if somewhat naïve) optimism.  Or, in short, she’s basically Eeyore.
Meta Stuff: Wailwolf would reuse some of Snakeman’s sculpt, though she might require a different torso in addition to new head, hand, and feet sculpts.
Jinxlinx
Character Role: Silver Age Villain
Motifs: Black Cat, Theme Obsession
Size Class: Basic
Toy Gimmicks: N/A
Personality: Jinxlinx is basically every Silver Age Batman villain, having an all-consuming obsession with sticking to a particular theme for his crimes.  This presents several problems, as Jinxlinx never keeps to one theme for very long, and the themes he does choose are almost always terrible and difficult to integrate into crime.  The other villains try to accommodate this obsession, but it’s very hard for the aforementioned reasons.  Jinxlinx is a very enthusiastic henchmen when things go his way, but panics once things fall apart.
Meta Stuff: Jinxlinx would have his own sculpt, though he may reuse arms and legs from Baron Skeleton’s toy.
Ratfang and Batfang
Character Role: Those Two Henchmen
Motifs: Rats, Bats, evil twins
Size Class: Scout
Toy Gimmicks: N/A
Personality: Ratfang and Batfang are less defined by their own quirks and more by their shared dynamic. The two are never seen apart and spend most of their screentime making snarky comments, essentially being the Statler and Waldorf of the show.  They’re the lowest ranking of the named henchmen, but can be pretty competent despite their lack of special powers.  They prefer to just crack jokes though, and their main contribution to the show is their banter.  They cannot stand to be separated.
Meta Stuff: Ratfang and Batfang would have very similar head designs, and both would wear re-colored versions of the standard Henchskull uniform.  Like Newbie, they were only recently promoted from Faceless Goon to Named Henchmen.
Henchskulls
Character Role: Faceless Goons
Motifs: Cobra Troopers
Size Class: Scout
Toy Gimmicks: N/A
Personality: As a legion of incompetent soldiers, the Henchskulls are technically varied in personality, but we generally only get hints of it.  Normally they’re just go-fers and minions, though most of the villains know their names and treat them like the individual people they are (which is slightly humorous since their uniforms make them all look identical). The Henchskulls are terrible at villainy, but to be fair, their leadership isn’t much better.
Meta Stuff: The henchskulls’ outfits would be similar to Baron Skeleton’s, but less elaborate. Their masks would conceal their faces and look vaguely skull like.  More than a few characters are retools/redecos of the Henchskull sculpt.
Hero Team
Captain Touchdown
Character role: The Hero
Motifs: Football, Superhero
Size Class: Deluxe
Toy Gimmicks: N/A
Personality: As the leader of the heroes, Captain Touchdown comes the closest to embodying the ideals they’re supposed to stand for.  In D&D terms, he is every bad stereotype about Lawful Good characters: a goody two-shoes who insists on playing by the book and insists that everyone do things his way because it’s “right.”  While many of Captain Touchdown’s beliefs are noble, he’s hampered by his completely lack of empathy – he cannot understand the idea that people think differently than him, or that anyone would be dissatisfied with the status quo.  “The complainer is always wrong” is practically his motto, and most of the conflicts between his team and Baron Skeleton’s is rooted in his inability to accept different points of view.  While never explicitly malicious, there is a smarmy air of condescension in how Captain Touchdown interacts with others, and he treats all of his peers as if they’re ignorant children who need to be told how the world works rather than, y’know, his equals.
Meta Stuff: though Captain Touchdown’s overall design should feel very Superman-ish, like Baron Skeleton, he should also have a few slightly medieval/fantasy touches.  The Football theme could be used a bit here – maybe finding some middle ground between football shoulder pads and armor?
Cheerally
Character role: The Girl
Motifs: Cheerleader, Ultra-Femininity
Size Class: Scout
Toy Gimmicks: N/A
Personality: Cheerally is basically the anthropomorphic personification of what toy companies think girls act like and desire.  She dresses in pink and pastels, she loves ponies and cute things, and her role on the team is essentially to provide moral support and act as a sort of surrogate mother. None of these traits are negative, of course, but Cheerally doesn’t get a great deal of respect in the group because of her perceived role, and rarely feels comfortable voicing her opinions. She’s somewhat aware of the fact that she’s not quite getting a fair deal, but she doesn’t know how to get the others to listen to her concerns.
Meta Stuff: If we were going super meta, Cheerally probably wouldn’t even HAVE a toy in the toyline, as the token girls of these shows often weren’t expected to sell merchandise well.  But let’s be nice and give her a toyetic deisgn anyway – albeit one that’s unique, since she probably wouldn’t be likely to get many retools.
Hooper Trooper
Character role: The Lancer
Motifs: Basketball, Future Warrior
Size Class: Basic
Toy Gimmicks: N/A
Personality: Hooper Trooper is the second in command of the Hero Team, though that doesn’t mean a whole lot.  In a more complex take on hero team dynamics, he’d be a foil to Captain Touchdown, but since 80’s hero teams hated interpersonal strife, he’s basically little more than a slightly more lax copy of his leader, and generally just acts as a yes-man.
Meta Stuff: His head is a giant basketball, and maybe removable?
Basebarian
Character role: The Big Guy
Motifs: Baseball, Barbarian, Caveman
Size Class: Mega
Toy Gimmicks: N/A
Personality: The big guy to the hero team, Basebarian isn’t particularly smart, but he’s got a lot of muscle.  His ignorance will often be treated as a joke by the other heroes, and often people laugh at him without him truly understanding why.  Thankfully, he’s not aware enough to realize just how poorly he’s being treated, and takes it all in stride.
Meta Stuff: Though he lacks an overt gimmick like the other mega figures, Basebarian does have multiple trick baseball accessories – including one that’s on fire, one covered in buzzsaws, etc.
Rockem Soccer
Character role: The Smart Guy
Motifs: Soccer, Cyborg
Size Class: Basic
Toy Gimmicks: N/A
Personality: Explicitly part robot and part man, Rockem Soccer is the smartest of the core five members of the hero team, although that doesn’t extend beyond memorizing a lot of facts and trivia – none of the team are very big on creative problem solving.  Though his intellectualism is sometimes a boon, more often the not it just annoys his team-mates, who often tell him to stop rattling off his useless trivia.
Meta Stuff: Rockem Soccer would probably reuse some parts from Hooper Trooper, though his legs would have to be entirely new pieces.
Pukamok
Character role: The Loose Canon
Motifs: Hockey, Mad Max
Size Class: Deluxe
Toy Gimmicks: Puck-Canons
Personality: An aloof ally, Pukamok is sarcastic and far less “goodie goodie” than the other heroes, almost fitting better with the villain team.  There is constant tension when he does work with the heroes, as his personality does not mesh well with their high standards of how heroes should act. He tends to struggle to win against the villains a lot more too – some would say it’s because of his independent streak, though others might note that the other heroes do little to include him or look out for his safety.
Meta Stuff: Pukamok’s toy would probably reuse parts from both the hero AND villain figures, as well as some new pieces.
Wrekracket
Character role: The Tomboy
Motifs: Tennis, Rock & Roll, Amazon Warrior
Size Class: Basic
Toy Gimmicks: N/A
Personality: Aggressive, masculine, and itching for a fight, Wrekracket is the obligatory tomboy to Cheerally’s girly girl.  As per tradition, those two do not get along well, and also as per tradition, the other team members tend to take Cheerally’s side.  Like Pukamok, Wrekracket is one of the least content heroes, and one the others fear may switch sides.
Meta Stuff: Wrekracket would use some parts from Spinestra’s mold, to further emphasize how she’s straddling the line between “hero” and “villain.”
Fortempo
Character role: Aquaman
Motifs: Marching Band
Size Class: Scout
Toy Gimmicks: Projectile-Launching Tuba
Personality: While technically a part of the hero team, Fortempo is generally shunted to the side under the assumption that his powers aren’t terrible useful – after all, how useful can music really be in the fight against evil?  Fortempo desperately wants to prove he’s just a good a hero as the others, but he is rarely given the opportunity.
Meta Stuff: Fortempo’s toy would be a heavily altered version of the Henchskull sculpt, and might even have the tassle-y shoulder bits from Baron Skeleton’s toy.  Again, this would be foreshadowing that he’s one of the heroes that’s on the margins.
The Council
Character role: Ineffectual Higher Power
Motifs: Student Council, the Guardians of Oa
Size Class: Scout
Toy Gimmicks: N/A
Personality: Presented as a sort of ultimate force of good that the heroes ostensibly answer to, the Council never uses their supposed power and does little more than occasionally give orders and evaluations of the Heroes.  Though they demand that their authority should be respected, they do little to show they deserve that authority, and yet few of the heroes ever question them.
Meta Stuff: If these guys get a toy, it would probably be an add on with another character – no one really wants to play with the vague council of supposed goodness.
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