Four Horsemen Studios Mythic Legions

You know, after sleeping on this for a night…

I bet the Horsemen could have gotten away with this if they actually named the character

“The Legendary Warrior” is some straight up Hong Kong Third Party “Dark Warrior of Nocturnal Winged Justice” (is just Batfleck but they blur the chest logo and face in promo pics) shit

If she was named “Kka’Ttrrinaah the Legendary Warrior” or Something and just happened to look (not really) like Red Sonya, it probably would have been passable as “no this is an original character, you don’t own redheads, man! I mean she’s wearing a battle corset not a spare change bikini top! Completely different!” since Jjuno was fine (although maybe Jjuno was not as in there face so she just snuck out unnoticed)

But calling her just “the Legendary Warrior” is a “wink wink nudge nudge you know what legendary warrior she’s supposed to be, get it!” move that will of course make the Red Sonya people say “yeah, we can read between lines too, that’s just Red Sonya, stop it!”
 
Boy Wonder said:
I have to imagine that they scooped up the copyright for Roboskull and Skeletron since they're using those names proper instead of like Count Ironmoon.
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Probably... but that doesn't explain their use of 'Red Shadows' all over the packaging and cross sell material. Red Shadows is clearly and obviously still Hasbro's - as evidenced by Super7's use of it in licensed G.I. Joe merch.

And while Hasbro may not be threatened by it, I would think they would need to shut down use lest they lose the right to enforce....
 
Although knowing their previous naming conventions it would've been Ruby Sonnijaah. But yeah, if they hadn't called it out so much they might have flown under the radar. Also after last year's Conan/He-Man homage I bet they were feeling invincible. Which, again, is the whole "it's just an homage until someone with lawyers says it isn't."

Seeing some ML super fans say that Boss Fight overreacted because Meridia and Kim Possible are also redheaded heroes is the sort of behavior why the only ML buyers I like to talk to are right here on this board though. Fanatic is not a compliment regardless of what you're engaging with. Let me never be called a fan of anything unless there's an actual crusade worth fighting for...

On a less frustrating note, looks like they got the all-ins in for Rising Sons and will be shipping out this week. Definitely 3-4 pieces I wish I'd skipped and not done the all-in but 2022 Doc (or whenever we ordered this wave) was in a different place than 2026 Doc.
 
From what I’ve heard, Boss Fight didn’t chime in on this, it was the license holder for the Red Sonja brand who started trolling 4H’s post and replying to the comments telling them to buy the official Boss Fight figure instead.

I’m not sure Boss Fight would consider the 4H figure that much of a threat. Their Sonja has been out for a while already, and this is an event exclusive that won’t be around forever. I don’t know that it would cut into their sales in any meaningful way since the figures themselves look so different. Just like with their MOTU homages, no one is buying a 4H not-Skeletor to replace a real Skeletor in their display. That’s why Mattel probably hasn’t bothered to tap them on their shoulder. Sometimes things like this add to the brand more than it detracts.
 
docsilence said:
Seeing some ML super fans say that Boss Fight overreacted because Meridia and Kim Possible are also redheaded heroes is the sort of behavior why the only ML buyers I like to talk to are right here on this board though. Fanatic is not a compliment regardless of what you're engaging with. Let me never be called a fan of anything unless there's an actual crusade worth fighting for...
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Lol, good Lord, that's such a disingenuous argument they're making. Merida is a Scottish princess archer in a green dress. Kim Possible is a spy action hero from a modern school setting who usually wears a black shirt and olive cargo pants. The 4HM are releasing a barbarian-style warrior woman in revealing, bikini-esque armor who they advertised with an image referencing a famous image of the character whose design they were referencing/stealing, while other companies have an officially licensed figure of that character on the market in a similar format. Even if we extend a lot of grace to homage figures, this one is complicated by the fact that the character they're referencing has product they're in competition with.
 
Damien said:
That's giving them the credit to say they wouldn't just ask OpenAI to 'create a fantasy character name like Red Sonja' and use whatever it spits out. I would 100% believe that's how most of their character names come to be.
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Idk, AI names might be more pronounceable or memorable than mythic legions current approach of spilling alpha bits on the table


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PantherCult said:
Probably... but that doesn't explain their use of 'Red Shadows' all over the packaging and cross sell material. Red Shadows is clearly and obviously still Hasbro's - as evidenced by Super7's use of it in licensed G.I. Joe merch.

And while Hasbro may not be threatened by it, I would think they would need to shut down use lest they lose the right to enforce....
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It’s complicated. Skeletron owns the trademark red shadows, and if you notice Super7 doesn’t actually use that exact term on its packaging.

But remember, buying the trademark doesn’t mean you own the IP


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AgentGreen said:
From what I’ve heard, Boss Fight didn’t chime in on this, it was the license holder for the Red Sonja brand who started trolling 4H’s post and replying to the comments telling them to buy the official Boss Fight figure instead.
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That's part of why I referenced how dumb it was - it wasn't even Boss Fight in the first place! Just dumbass fans with a youtube channel and too much time on their hands.
secondwhiteline said:
Lol, good Lord, that's such a disingenuous argument they're making. Merida is a Scottish princess archer in a green dress. Kim Possible is a spy action hero from a modern school setting who usually wears a black shirt and olive cargo pants. The 4HM are releasing a barbarian-style warrior woman in revealing, bikini-esque armor who they advertised with an image referencing a famous image of the character whose design they were referencing/stealing, while other companies have an officially licensed figure of that character on the market in a similar format. Even if we extend a lot of grace to homage figures, this one is complicated by the fact that the character they're referencing has product they're in competition with.
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All this. And those were just the two that jumped out at me as most ridiculous. They showed off every redhead from a cartoon or game not named Mary Jane, Scarlet, or April. Pure dumb.
Damien said:
That's giving them the credit to say they wouldn't just ask OpenAI to 'create a fantasy character name like Red Sonja' and use whatever it spits out. I would 100% believe that's how most of their character names come to be.
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I always assumed they chose their character names by closing their eyes and banging on the keyboard a few times. I'd actually put money on an AI name being less unspellable/more memorable than some of their greatest hits.
 
secondwhiteline said:
Lol, good Lord, that's such a disingenuous argument they're making. Merida is a Scottish princess archer in a green dress. Kim Possible is a spy action hero from a modern school setting who usually wears a black shirt and olive cargo pants. The 4HM are releasing a barbarian-style warrior woman in revealing, bikini-esque armor who they advertised with an image referencing a famous image of the character whose design they were referencing/stealing, while other companies have an officially licensed figure of that character on the market in a similar format. Even if we extend a lot of grace to homage figures, this one is complicated by the fact that the character they're referencing has product they're in competition with.
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Yeah, I’m just annoyed by the people that are just straight up pretending this wasn’t meant to be a red Sonja figure because they like the horsemen or think companies are bad.


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Not for nothing but Red Sonya’s IP holders threatening to sue might have saved the Horsemen from actual legal action if they released the red haired sculpts….

So I already mentioned in this thread the Horsemen base all their heads on celebrities and it’s only because Mythic heads are squatter and wider they get away with it, they would be absoluteshit likenesses if released as MCU figures or NECA Ultimates but being passed off as “original characters” you barely notice (unhelmeted Attlia 2.0 and his repaints Fisher Ryce and Not Beachhead for example are Josh Brolin as Cable)
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Tharice is Lindsey Lohan as Cady Heron, you can see it in the way the hair curls and the shape of the brow to nose, the expression is different in these photos but you can see it.

Lindsey famously tried to sue Rockstar because she thought the GTA 5 bikini girl looked like her (their defense: “uh no! We traced a completely different model!”) I always assumed they didn’t do a redhead Tharice in the Cosmic pack and went with blonde because it gives away the source, you don’t think she’d lawyer up if she found out no fewer than five figures or accessory sets used her unauthorized likeness?!
 
When I checked the forums last night, I didn't understand why this thread blew up. I was like, "How did we generate five pages about a canceled Red Sonja ripoff?" With thoughtful, nuanced conversation, of course. It's either that or dick jokes here.

While I don't own any "homage" figures, it's purely out of a lack of opportunity.

It's one of the few areas (I think, anyway) where I don't have a clear moral throughline. I wouldn't buy a CT Toys figure, but I own the unlicensed PC Toys Matrix Neo. To me, there's a difference between buying a figure based on a stolen mold and a licensor that refuses to take advantage of the potential market. Is there actually a difference, or are they both wrong? I'd feel a lot guiltier about buying unlicensed Studio Ghibli merchandise (a studio actively against consumerism) than an unlicensed Neo. Again, both wrong.

Doc had me thinking about the original art versus fan art thing because of a discussion we had after a recent AT D&D session. Should I feel bad about commissioning a Magik from someone in Artist Alley? They wouldn't get my money otherwise.

Should I feel bad that I'd give a Magik comic a chance in a way that I wouldn't with an indie comic?

How about Marvel Legends? Hasbro does everything above board, yet Marvel never paid artists like Jack Kirby a fraction of their worth. You peel the onion back far enough, and you inevitably reach "no ethical consumption under capitalism." It's a moral hornet's nest. The whole thing makes me a huge hypocrite. I can't say I love it.

All that said, the Horsemen doing this again feels in bad taste. As a recent ML convert, I didn't know half this shit about stolen art/designs. It makes me less likely to buy from them.
 
What about the Cosmic Legions head sculpt kits that had the redheaded woman with the black and red colorway figure? Provided the skin tone matches, isn't it the same head?
 
PantherCult said:
Probably... but that doesn't explain their use of 'Red Shadows' all over the packaging and cross sell material. Red Shadows is clearly and obviously still Hasbro's - as evidenced by Super7's use of it in licensed G.I. Joe merch.

And while Hasbro may not be threatened by it, I would think they would need to shut down use lest they lose the right to enforce....
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Dang it, Wyldman beat me to the genius idea of just searching the Trademark office.

But in addition to Red Shadows, they do also have the Trademark for Roboskull and Skeletron


 
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