Should we do a Year in Review thing?
Re: Should we do a Year in Review thing?
Yes, bring all the Spanish-speaking actors to TF! Rollbar Julia! Henry Silvabolt!
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Re: Should we do a Year in Review thing?
I guess the thing I liked about the tech spec being in Spanish is mostly the fact that it pushed the concept to an absurd level that I really just found to be mostly hilarious. My love of Rapido is somewhat similar to my love of Action Master Thundercracker.
Re: Should we do a Year in Review thing?
Ya know, the new comics are kind of doing that.Gomess wrote:I think I'm with BWprowl on this one, but it IS a step in the right direction... Someday we might even get a TF series where the factions are defined by their country of manufacture, and negotiating a method of communication might be a mitigating factor in that series' obligatory war!
Dom
-wondering what Gomess thinks of Claremont.
Re: Should we do a Year in Review thing?
S'alright. I guess the best I can say of him is he's "important", and is good at character voice. We've had our ups and downs! His opinions on women and sex are way out of wack in particular, but he basically got me into X-Men, so he gets Furman Points for that.
-Not feeling particularly analytical tonight-
-Not feeling particularly analytical tonight-
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Re: Should we do a Year in Review thing?
So, you are okay with Claremont's all ethnic stereotype X-Men?
Re: Should we do a Year in Review thing?
Y'mean the Second Genesis gang? Well, I'll try and be a bit more lucid about them:
Storm was a truly revolutionary character for me; the first black woman in fiction I'd ever seen. She was outwardly strong, aloof but compassionate, harbouring many secret insecurities.... and yes, worshipped as a god by her people because of her powers. Here's the thing: that kind of does happen in Africa, particularly in the northeast. It might have been accidental research on Claremont's part, but I found Storm to be an accurate and sensitive portrayal of an African mutant.
Wolverine is a stereotypical Canuck? But he's fiercely perceptive and doesn't have hockey hair! Not really buying that one. Maybe I don't really know what a stereotypical Canadian is all aboot.
Colossus is probably Ethnic Enemy #1, I'll admit. A literal communist MAN OF STEEL, who's humble and naive about the ways of the world.... but unlike most Russians in American kids' fiction, Piotr sacrifices none of his heritage to join the X-Men; he's clearly grown up socialist, and isn't gonna change anytime soon. I love his conflict about whether his power is a "property of the state". Say what you will of his appearance and his power, he's the best portrayal of a Russian character in 70s American fiction *I've* ever seen.
Nightcrawler is hardly the stereotypical strict and meticulous German, is he? And his demonic appearance basically shunts all ethnic stereotyping out the window. I certainly don't have any problems with him being of gypsy stock. I remember being visibly impressed when that was revealed, because 99% of gypsies in British fiction are smelly, unsociable, dishonourable thieves. Claremont won me over with Kurt in a very personal way.
Thunderbird... well... I don't like to talk about Native Americans, because I've never met any, and just don't feel I've earned the right. I like that his power is perception-based, making him more than just a generic powerhouse, but it's a damn shame he was introduced just to die. I like that he was a soldier in the US army, though, and kiiinda resented his heritage. Is self-hating First Nations a stereotype?? To me it seemed exciting and rebellious that he was pretty much directly criticising the marginalisation of Native Americans...... but then died. -_-
Sunfire is a flying cliche. No arguments. Sun gimmick? English name? Ultranationalist? Bleh. The least Marvel's editors could've done was decide whether the family's surname was "Yashida" or "Yoshida" (note: only one of these is actually a Japanese surname). You'd be forgiven for not realising that he's related to Mariko and the Silver Samurai (who's a far worse stereotype, in my opinion).
...So, all in all, I didn't really see much stereotyping in Second Genesis, not of a particularly negative kind, anyway. Bear in mind I'm unfamiliar with the X-Men post-Onslaught (yep, it was THAT bad), so they could've become awful stereotypes since then, I wouldn't know.
Storm was a truly revolutionary character for me; the first black woman in fiction I'd ever seen. She was outwardly strong, aloof but compassionate, harbouring many secret insecurities.... and yes, worshipped as a god by her people because of her powers. Here's the thing: that kind of does happen in Africa, particularly in the northeast. It might have been accidental research on Claremont's part, but I found Storm to be an accurate and sensitive portrayal of an African mutant.
Wolverine is a stereotypical Canuck? But he's fiercely perceptive and doesn't have hockey hair! Not really buying that one. Maybe I don't really know what a stereotypical Canadian is all aboot.
Colossus is probably Ethnic Enemy #1, I'll admit. A literal communist MAN OF STEEL, who's humble and naive about the ways of the world.... but unlike most Russians in American kids' fiction, Piotr sacrifices none of his heritage to join the X-Men; he's clearly grown up socialist, and isn't gonna change anytime soon. I love his conflict about whether his power is a "property of the state". Say what you will of his appearance and his power, he's the best portrayal of a Russian character in 70s American fiction *I've* ever seen.
Nightcrawler is hardly the stereotypical strict and meticulous German, is he? And his demonic appearance basically shunts all ethnic stereotyping out the window. I certainly don't have any problems with him being of gypsy stock. I remember being visibly impressed when that was revealed, because 99% of gypsies in British fiction are smelly, unsociable, dishonourable thieves. Claremont won me over with Kurt in a very personal way.
Thunderbird... well... I don't like to talk about Native Americans, because I've never met any, and just don't feel I've earned the right. I like that his power is perception-based, making him more than just a generic powerhouse, but it's a damn shame he was introduced just to die. I like that he was a soldier in the US army, though, and kiiinda resented his heritage. Is self-hating First Nations a stereotype?? To me it seemed exciting and rebellious that he was pretty much directly criticising the marginalisation of Native Americans...... but then died. -_-
Sunfire is a flying cliche. No arguments. Sun gimmick? English name? Ultranationalist? Bleh. The least Marvel's editors could've done was decide whether the family's surname was "Yashida" or "Yoshida" (note: only one of these is actually a Japanese surname). You'd be forgiven for not realising that he's related to Mariko and the Silver Samurai (who's a far worse stereotype, in my opinion).
...So, all in all, I didn't really see much stereotyping in Second Genesis, not of a particularly negative kind, anyway. Bear in mind I'm unfamiliar with the X-Men post-Onslaught (yep, it was THAT bad), so they could've become awful stereotypes since then, I wouldn't know.
Last edited by Gomess on Fri Dec 17, 2010 3:06 am, edited 1 time in total.
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andersonh1
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Re: Should we do a Year in Review thing?
I'm not sure I've bought enough Transformers merchandise to really know what's best and worst, but I guess I'll go with what works based on what I bought.
- Best TF Figure -
Out of the small range of figures I've purchased this year, I'm going with THUNDERWING!
Yes, I had initially picked Drift. But G1 Thunderwing is a holy grail of collecting for me, and this new Generations version is such a compact and effective remake that I'm going to have to throw my objectivity out the window and declare it the best Transformer I've bought all year. Or at least, my favorite.
If nothing else, the fact that Hasbro finally did a remake of a figure that's not from 84 or 85 is just awesome. More!
- Worst TF Figure -
Tuner Mudflap is probably last year's figure. But he's certainly the worst Transformer I purchased this year.
- Best Transformers 2010 Line -
I'd have to go with Generations, simply because we're getting new takes on old characters that are very nice homages and well-engineered. Not to mention, less complex than ROTF figures. And the movie aesthetic is old hat now.
- Worst Transformers 2010 Line -
Activators is the kid's line, so it may not be fair to criticize it. But it's the least impressive.
- Best Esoteric Character -
Has to be Darkmount/Straxus.
- Best Comic -
The monthly series has been hit or miss, and while I enjoyed both Drift and Ironhide, I'm going to have to go with Last Stand of the Wreckers (which I think started last year, but at least finished during 2010). Good art, excellent continuity, great characters and plenty of reveals just about every issue. And the unstoppable villain was defeated in a believable way.
- Worst Comic -
The Bumblebee mini-series. Didn't like the art, and the writing was awful. Didn't even finish it.
- Best TF Figure -
Out of the small range of figures I've purchased this year, I'm going with THUNDERWING!
Yes, I had initially picked Drift. But G1 Thunderwing is a holy grail of collecting for me, and this new Generations version is such a compact and effective remake that I'm going to have to throw my objectivity out the window and declare it the best Transformer I've bought all year. Or at least, my favorite.
If nothing else, the fact that Hasbro finally did a remake of a figure that's not from 84 or 85 is just awesome. More!
- Worst TF Figure -
Tuner Mudflap is probably last year's figure. But he's certainly the worst Transformer I purchased this year.
- Best Transformers 2010 Line -
I'd have to go with Generations, simply because we're getting new takes on old characters that are very nice homages and well-engineered. Not to mention, less complex than ROTF figures. And the movie aesthetic is old hat now.
- Worst Transformers 2010 Line -
Activators is the kid's line, so it may not be fair to criticize it. But it's the least impressive.
- Best Esoteric Character -
Has to be Darkmount/Straxus.
- Best Comic -
The monthly series has been hit or miss, and while I enjoyed both Drift and Ironhide, I'm going to have to go with Last Stand of the Wreckers (which I think started last year, but at least finished during 2010). Good art, excellent continuity, great characters and plenty of reveals just about every issue. And the unstoppable villain was defeated in a believable way.
- Worst Comic -
The Bumblebee mini-series. Didn't like the art, and the writing was awful. Didn't even finish it.
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BWprowl
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Re: Should we do a Year in Review thing?
I'd like to add that I firmly can't call Generations my favorite 2010 line, because it seems to be stiffly marching TF towards the dreaded GI Joe territory. Nothing but repeats of characters from the eighties, only one size class, and a conscious overabundance of mold reuse make me fear that there'll be nothing left to draw me into TF collecting four or five years from now. Transformers 2010 is just so much more interesting.
Re: Should we do a Year in Review thing?
I'd just point out that even in the case of mold reuse, there are new parts which means you're not 100% getting the same toy, ie: at least there's something new for buying it. I actually hope that's a trend that continues.
Re: Should we do a Year in Review thing?
Yeah, them, the guys who's speech was often peppered with "ja", "da" and "by the goddess".Y'mean the Second Genesis gang? Well, I'll try and be a bit more lucid about them:
Da comrade. But, you are forgetting how low the Amerikanski bar for showing good Russian Socialists truly was in the 70s. All men are equal under Stalin, but a healthy leper is still a leper, even in great Russia.Say what you will of his appearance and his power, he's the best portrayal of a Russian character in 70s American fiction *I've* ever seen.
Putting aside the jokes that write themselves, it should be pointed out that Wolvering, (the least ethnically stereotyped guy on the team), was the one who was supposed to die originally.I like that his power is perception-based, making him more than just a generic powerhouse, but it's a damn shame he was introduced just to die.
I am not sure. But, that figure is probably going to be hanging around well into 2011.- Worst TF Figure -
Tuner Mudflap is probably last year's figure. But he's certainly the worst Transformer I purchased this year.
(What possessed you to buy that thing? Dude....)
Nah. Worst is worst.Worst Transformers 2010 Line -
Activators is the kid's line, so it may not be fair to criticize it. But it's the least impressive
The simple fact is that deluxes sell to everyone, not just GeeWunners. And, while "Generations" might be looking back a bit more than you like, there is still plenty of new stuff on the shelves, even if you ignore the WfC iterations of old characters. "Generations" is a side-line. With "GI Joe", it would be the primary, if only only, line.I'd like to add that I firmly can't call Generations my favorite 2010 line, because it seems to be stiffly marching TF towards the dreaded GI Joe territory. Nothing but repeats of characters from the eighties, only one size class, and a conscious overabundance of mold reuse make me fear that there'll be nothing left to draw me into TF collecting four or five years from now.
Dom
-enjoying the lack of skip effect.