Real Names BS

[Draego-Man]

Does anyone else despise this whole idea that MOTU characters have "real names"? This is a direct lift from the realm of DC and Marvel superheroes and really annoys the shit out of me when applied to the mythical worlds of Eternia and Etheria. Why can't Peekablue just be Peekablue and not "Penelope"? Why the hell is Blade said to be "Ritter" instead of just Blade?

Why would those planets follow the same sort of naming conventions as Earth, and specifically America for that matter. People in Cambodia regularly name their children after outwardly personality characteristics or after animals, so that it is not uncommon for someone to be named "Friendly", "Dog", "Hello", "Pig", or "Lucky". Or in many First Nations (or Native American) cultures people have awesome names like "Two Bears", "Happy Cloud", "Lone Elk", "Spirit Deer", or "Browneyes".

This whole "Real Name" bullshit is the insertion of a particular cultural perspective on naming conventions into a fantasy universe that completely deludes and detracts from the experience of total immersion. Totally lame.

[GREP-A-TOR]

This whole "Real Name" bullshit is the insertion of a particular cultural perspective on naming conventions into a fantasy universe that completely deludes and detracts from the experience of total immersion. Totally lame.

Was just talking about this last weekend. Beastman is BEASTMAN. Not f.u.c.kin.g Clifford or Al. This isn't GI JOE, these do not have to be codenames.

Goatman is not Klickety Klackey or whatever bullspit that Boytoyguru pulled out of the unoriginality hat that morning.

[Y2Greg]

Clifford or Al....that made me laugh.

[MegaGearMax]

Crespo's comment reminds me of the Halo mythos. The various alien races have actual names, but everyone calls them by their slang names.

[Vahn]

Crespo! That is the exact same scene I always imagined!!! It fits Skeletor's personality perfectly: Sure, he'll collect all these misfits and outcasts from all over Eternia, but if their names are hard to pronounce, Skeletor has no time for that bullshit!

[rothsauce]

I'm fine with some of them having real names, since there are so many types of cultures throughout their worlds. But the idea that all of them would? Not likely, and stupid.
It makes it feel less believable and narrowed.

[Captain Atkin]

I don't have an issue with some of the characters having real names. Man-at-Arms always had a real name in the original series, and I've always thought of him as Duncan. The issue I think that most fans have is that the characters who were given real names in MOTUC were mostly given BAD names. There was a serious lack of creativity when real names were being handed out in Masters of the Universe Classics.

[Mechanizor]

I always hated them, and I don't care about them, I even disliked the use of Adam or Duncan in the context of MOTU... And Mr. Nutlich has managed to put his uncreative stamp on it making things sound atrociously ridiculous, but that's just me... In my canon, I would use none!

[Battle Ram Man]

Almost every "real" name is bad, like they just took whatever came to the top of their head and went with it. Lazy.

Even if it's understood that the characters have real names, we don't really need to know what most of them are. What is added to Mosquitor's character by giving him a real name?

[MegaGearMax]

"Even if it's understood that the characters have real names, we don't really need to know what most of them are."

I think this is a great point here.

[Matthew L. Martin]

Some of the characters having 'real names' makes sense--Mekanek, Extendar and Rotar come to mind, since they started as ordinary people who acquired their talents later in life. But others feel like additions for the sake of additions. Hordak was the first and worst example, IMO, and the PoP characters generally seem to have gotten the short end of the stick.

So generally, I'm with Captain Atkin. Some characters merit real names, but the implementation has fallen short in many ways. Indeed, I think the bios suffer from the problem that Neitlich was trying to tell a Grand Story and Unify the Canon in brief snippets that are better suited to giving us a sense of character.

[zombihamma]

Does anyone else despise this whole idea that MOTU characters have "real names"? This is a direct lift from the realm of DC and Marvel superheroes and really annoys the shit out of me when applied to the mythical worlds of Eternia and Etheria. Why can't Peekablue just be Peekablue and not "Penelope"? Why the hell is Blade said to be "Ritter" instead of just Blade?

Why would those planets follow the same sort of naming conventions as Earth, and specifically America for that matter. People in Cambodia regularly name their children after outwardly personality characteristics or after animals, so that it is not uncommon for someone to be named "Friendly", "Dog", "Hello", "Pig", or "Lucky". Or in many First Nations (or Native American) cultures people have awesome names like "Two Bears", "Happy Cloud", "Lone Elk", "Spirit Deer", or "Browneyes".

This whole "Real Name" bullshit is the insertion of a particular cultural perspective on naming conventions into a fantasy universe that completely deludes and detracts from the experience of total immersion. Totally lame.

I 100% agree with this ^^^^^^^^^

[Robarr The Morbid]

"Real names"???!!! What da funk???!! What steaming pile 'o horse shee-it is this?! Bad enough we see DC/Marvel heroes going around calling each other by their "real names" (noone should know each other's secret identity, THAT'S WHY IT'S SECRET! DERRRRP!!!) but this is just plain ridiculous!

[Y2Greg]

I never cared for the real names thing. This isn't Earth. Eternia and Etheria can be places where names are determined by other means.

[Croc-O-Bite!]

If it came from Neitlich, it's ALL BS, not just the real names.
Whether it's Hector: Adora's evil step-father, Teela the clone, or Orko the secret agent, and everything inbetween.... Pure crap from an unimaginative hack whose only storytelling ability comes from all the lies he constantly tells.

[Matthew L. Martin]

BRM--that's arguably an example of one of Neitlich's bigger problems. He's got the common fan vision of fitting in and trying to unify everything, which can sometimes work but often winds up feeling forced and artificial. You see some of this in Emiliano's proposed 200X bible as well, and I was arguably guilty of it twenty years ago when I tried to unify all the pre-200X US material into a single coherent timeline. The more disparate the material, the more talent it takes to make it all fit--and Neitlich doesn't seem to have the talent to do so for something as wide-ranging as all the MotU material.

I think one of the most glaring examples for me was the Etheria Invasion Hordak bio. Look, this was a figure intended to look like Hordak in Filmation; why do we need some convoluted explanation about 'blood rising to the surface' to explain why he's blue instead of gray?

[Battle Ram Man]

Oh, I agree.

[Crespo]

The problem was that he used a convoluted solution to that issue.
Here's a solution that may have been simpler: After King Grayskull Mortally wounded Hordak in the Preternian Ultimate Battleground, various Horde Mages and Scientists repaired Hordak's body with a strain of the Techno Virus. While it prevented Hordak from dying, the Techno Virus partially changed his appearance. The End. You could add that when using certain abilities, the TO Virus alter's Hordak's appearance. (justifying his variants as well) but I'm no Mattel writer.

[MegaGearMax]

Does anyone else despise this whole idea that MOTU characters have "real names"? This is a direct lift from the realm of DC and Marvel superheroes and really annoys the shit out of me when applied to the mythical worlds of Eternia and Etheria. Why can't Peekablue just be Peekablue and not "Penelope"? Why the hell is Blade said to be "Ritter" instead of just Blade?

Why would those planets follow the same sort of naming conventions as Earth, and specifically America for that matter. People in Cambodia regularly name their children after outwardly personality characteristics or after animals, so that it is not uncommon for someone to be named "Friendly", "Dog", "Hello", "Pig", or "Lucky". Or in many First Nations (or Native American) cultures people have awesome names like "Two Bears", "Happy Cloud", "Lone Elk", "Spirit Deer", or "Browneyes".

This whole "Real Name" bullshit is the insertion of a particular cultural perspective on naming conventions into a fantasy universe that completely deludes and detracts from the experience of total immersion. Totally lame.

Is this about TG's real names or MOTU characters having real names period, like Teela'Na, Kronis, Duncan and Galen Nycroft?

I think TG had an interesting point about the real names -- think about it...Ram Man coming out of the womb, most likely wasn't named "Ram Man". Even the Sorceress had an origin where a normal Eternian woman became the Sorceress (She wasn't born with that name or those powers). However, the names that TG came up with sounded Star Wars-like and un-Eternian. Some of those names are jokes, references or even Earth sounding. Bow "looks like a Kyle"?.

Personally, I think we should drop the "Neitlichverse" real names. Point blank, the fans hate them, so they shouldn't be used. Save the true names for the creators with the storytelling credentials to pull them off, like Larry DiTillio (who wrote for both Filmation AND MYP). Heck, if we get a new cartoon, we should get DiTillio back!

[Draego-Man]

TG's real names in the MOTUC bios.

[Captain Atkin]

Most of the names used in MOTUC should be dropped. Especially the names given to the POP characters. The only ones that worked for me were the NEW ADVENTURES real names, only because those were taken from the European releases.

[PhantomZodak]

Is this about TG's real names or MOTU characters having real names period, like Teela'Na, Kronis, Duncan and Galen Nycroft?

for me, it's the real names period. i hate them. i don't care what mekaneck was like when he was 15 yers old & what his dad called him. he's mekanek. same for man-at-arms. i've always hated the name duncan. it remind me of dunkin donuts & my man-at-arms is not some doughy sweet old man.:twobad:

[Nemisythe]

I really wasn't fond of the "Real Names" as they lacked imagination or character; if they were actually thought about and maybe play on words which would've been clever I may have said "Sure OK I'll bite."

But the lack of creativity in creating the real names left nothing to the imagination and in some cases just sounds dumb. I mean some characters didn't need them as the name fit wither way. Now some like Glimmer, Ram Man, Man-E-Faces, Trap Jaw, Tri Klops sure maybe could use some...

For instance I'm gonna try my hand and maybe this will sound silly or maybe some may like it: Frosta, Real Name: Galaci'a (maybe?)

[Battle Ram Man]

I don't like the apostrophe used in MOTUC names. First of all it adds nothing to any word, it literally does nothing. Second of all I don't think there is any precedent in the vintage canon for names with the single apostrophe inserted in there. Galacia, however, would make a fine real name, and it sounds authentic.

[MIDOR]

I like them having real names.

I always wondered what they were.

[Dark Horse]

Hate them, just like all of Nutlick's pea brained crap.