Hero Inconsistencies

[The 1st Shadow]

My cousin and I were talking about HF a while back, and we debated for a long time about some inconsistencies with the Heros, both set-wise and story-wise.First, we discussed the Heroes' weapons, and the way they are held. We noticed that some Heroes, like Stormer, seem to have a "dominant hand" that they hold their tools with. However, some of them are not uniform in this way, set-wise.Stormer: Always has a weapon in his right hand. (righty)Stringer: HE was a bit confusing during Savage Planet, since he was right-handed in his 1.0 form, but a lefty in his 3.0 shape. However, my cousin pointed out that Stringer's Quad-Amplitude Mega-Decibel sound blaster is situated in his right hand in the instructions. So, we questioned his left-handed claw when he otherwise appears to be right-handed.Bulk: Always has a weapon in his left hand. (lefty)Breez: Always has a weapon in both hands. No idea where she stands in the matter, since sha has always been released with at least two weapons.Surge: He always had a weapon in both hands, and his Ice Spear Blaster (2.0) was attached to both hands. Not sure where he goes, either.Furno: First two incarnations had a weapon in his left hand, but since his 3.0 upgrade, he's remained a righty.Evo: Always has a weapon in his right hand. (righty)Nex: Always has a weapon in his left hand. (lefty)Rocka: Hard to say, since both of his incarnations had weapons in different hands.So, what we were wondering is whether or not the heroes have a "dominant hand," and why some of them seem to change. (I know it's a set-designer thing, but it still bugged us.And secondly, the rookies: Nathan Evo, Julius Nex, and Rocka.When they all started out, they all had specific skill sets and knowledge.Take Evo and Nex, for example. "Born" at the same time, but as the series progressed, Nex was treated more like a full-fledged hero, while Evo was always being picked on because of his rookie status (Breakout). And then Rocka comes in and within a year, seems to excel beyond Evo and Nex (maybe even Stringer or Furno), both older than him and (most likely) more advanced in their training.So, basically, what we wanted to ask you guys is what you make of this, and what you think the reasoning behind it was.EDIT: I forgot to point out something else with Evo. Nex retained his personality from Ordeal of Fire, but Evo went from master of his emotions and the ultimate cannon to an unlearned kid with a big gun and almost no idea what he's doing during Breakout. Evo was my favorite Hero from the moment he was introduced, but his portrayal in Breakout just didn't live up to his introduction in OoF.

Edited September 25, 2012 by ~The 1st Shadow~

[Fastcar800]

Hmm. Intresting discoveries. Dang, that must've been a long debate.

[Aanchir]

My cousin and I were talking about HF a while back, and we debated for a long time about some inconsistencies with the Heros, both set-wise and story-wise.First, we discussed the Heroes' weapons, and the way they are held. We noticed that some Heroes, like Stormer, seem to have a "dominant hand" that they hold their tools with. However, some of them are not uniform in this way, set-wise.Stormer: Always has a weapon in his right hand. (righty)Stringer: HE was a bit confusing during Savage Planet, since he was right-handed in his 1.0 form, but a lefty in his 3.0 shape. However, my cousin pointed out that Stringer's Quad-Amplitude Mega-Decibel sound blaster is situated in his right hand in the instructions. So, we questioned his left-handed claw when he otherwise appears to be right-handed.Bulk: Always has a weapon in his left hand. (lefty)Breez: Always has a weapon in both hands. No idea where she stands in the matter, since sha has always been released with at least two weapons.Surge: He always had a weapon in both hands, and his Ice Spear Blaster (2.0) was attached to both hands. Not sure where he goes, either.Furno: First two incarnations had a weapon in his left hand, but since his 3.0 upgrade, he's remained a righty.Evo: Always has a weapon in his right hand. (righty)Nex: Always has a weapon in his left hand. (lefty)Rocka: Hard to say, since both of his incarnations had weapons in different hands.So, what we were wondering is whether or not the heroes have a "dominant hand," and why some of them seem to change. (I know it's a set-designer thing, but it still bugged us.

This isn't exclusively a Hero Factory problem. It also showed up in BIONICLE-- for instance, Phantoka Toa Lewa held his sword in the opposite hand that Toa Mata Lewa held his axe with. I think part of it just is that unique set designs have to have unique considerations when it comes to handedness. For instance, when a set has a launcher, it's often (but not always) put in the right hand since a lot of the users of the toy will be right-handed, and thus a right-handed launcher facilitates play.Also, the handedness of a character partly depends on what sets they appear in a series with. Often if you want a certain hand to wield the weapon, you have to balance it out with armor on the opposite arm. And pretty soon all the characters might start looking alike if their armor is all balanced the same way.And of course, handedness can often be based on guesswork. Stringer has his giant claw on his left hand, but it might make more sense for the regular hand (the one with more articulation) to be his dominant hand in the story. On the other hand (no pun intended), his launcher in the Breakout series is meant to resemble a guitar. Since you normally play a guitar with your dominant hand, you would hold it with your non-dominant hand, complicating matters further.The most likely scenario, of course, is that they are all ambidextrous robots so handedness doesn't even apply.

And secondly, the rookies: Nathan Evo, Julius Nex, and Rocka.When they all started out, they all had specific skill sets and knowledge.Take Evo and Nex, for example. "Born" at the same time, but as the series progressed, Nex was treated more like a full-fledged hero, while Evo was always being picked on because of his rookie status (Breakout). And then Rocka comes in and within a year, seems to excel beyond Evo and Nex (maybe even Stringer or Furno), both older than him and (most likely) more advanced in their training.So, basically, what we wanted to ask you guys is what you make of this, and what you think the reasoning behind it was.EDIT: I forgot to point out something else with Evo. Nex retained his personality from Ordeal of Fire, but Evo went from master of his emotions and the ultimate cannon to an unlearned kid with a big gun and almost no idea what he's doing during Breakout. Evo was my favorite Hero from the moment he was introduced, but his portrayal in Breakout just didn't live up to his introduction in OoF.

I agree that Evo's portrayal has been inconsistent. But as for why Rocka seems to surpass them, that's mostly just luck-of-the-draw, just like how Furno tended to have extremely good scores in training simulations compared to a lot of rookies. There will always be individuals to whom the skills expected of them come naturally.It should also be considered that although Nex isn't a bigshot like Rocka or Furno, he still has a fairly prominent role as head of Hero Outreach and as a skilled technical coordinator. Just because Rocka has more of the skills expected of a Hero doesn't mean he's a better Hero because of it. Also, he's not really treated as more of a full-fledged Hero than Evo-- since their introduction, the two have hardly ever appeared in any media together. The exception is The Doom Box, where they're more or less portrayed as equals. Edited September 25, 2012 by Aanchir: Rachira of Time

[Timelady Gallade]

And have you noticed, up until 4.0, that Furno always fought the flying guys.

[The 1st Shadow]

And have you noticed, up until 4.0, that Furno always fought the flying guys.

I actually did notice that. So suddenly going underwater seemed like a huge change for him.

[TheSkeletonMan939]

Robots don't need dominant hands.

 

One confusing thing I found is that at the beginning of Ordeal of Fire, Makuro makes a big fuss about how hard it is to upgrade heroes.

 

Now they're upgraded like every week. Go figure.

Edited December 2, 2012 by TheSkeletonMan939

[toa kopaka4372]

The handedness is just a set thing, I think.

 

I've hear about the inconsistent portrayal of certain HF characters before. Hopefully later HF media will portray characters properly. Personally I feel that the people producing the TV episodes don't understand the characters very well. I recommend reading The Doom Box, the best piece of HF story I've seen to date, thanks to Greg. The characters in the book are all portrayed quite solidly.

[Gatanui]

Robots don't need dominant hands. One confusing thing I found is that at the beginning of Ordeal of Fire, Makuro makes a big fuss about how hard it is to upgrade heroes. Now they're upgraded like every week. Go figure.

Actually, what he said was hard was the upgrade to the new building system. After that, all they get is new armor and weapons.-Gata

[Meiko]

I don't keep up with the story, so I'm indifferent to this. And dominance of their hands could technically occur in robots, because in humans, it has to do with the amount we use those particular muscles. For a robot, it could be about how worked in the joint system on that particular arm is, and even about how much lubricant is used in each joint. Random theory, I know, but it makes a bit of sense.

[bonesiii]

Assuming someone (especially a robot) is ambidextrous, if you have just one weapon, you have to pick a hand. That would create the illusion of handedness to those who are handed, like most humans.

 

Going from specific to more general should be the whole point of becoming a more adept hero.

 

I didn't notice any particular personality change; I think it's just a symptom of these being kids stories, where somewhat kiddy personalities will tend to show up in even the most unlikely characters, as happened in the Bionicle movies too. Easiest to deal with it by just considering that part of it semi-canon. Generally the character that's being focused on the most will be the one that seems more different from previous portrayals. But then, every real person is complex and can seem different in different circumstances anyways, so you may be overthinking it (or underthinking it to borrow from SGU ).

[Great Being Velika]

I never noticed that. I should pay more attention.