What could be in a Mythology series of CMFs?

[8BrickMario]

I was thinking that LEGO might want to do another themed series, as Monsters has become such a hit. I figured the next one would be Mythology, which has been another popular subtheme of the Minifigures, with less representation.

This is what we have so far:

Minotaur

Ocean King

Cyclops

Medusa

Battle Goddess

Lady Cyclops

Here are some ideas I have for a set of 16 and the standard five females:

* King of the Gods- reuse laurel-crown hair, Fisherman beard, have a skirt for a toga, lightning-bolt accessory

* Lord of the Dead- Skull accessory, black/green robe, white skin, black hair.

* Hunting Goddess- Bow/arrow, moon designs on robes, new hair?

* Love Goddess- Crystal heart piece (as seen in Friends/DP), long Elizabeth Swann hair, white robe, clamshell accessory

* Satyr- possibly reuse Gargoyle head (although a new piece would be better, two peg legs with the feet painted black, Pan pipes accessory

* Grey Sister- This one is designed to be bought in threes. An old crone in a grey cloak with a 1x1 eye tile, and two faces. One with empty eye sockets, and one with an eye in it. When set up in a group, one of them can have the eye in, or none of them can while the eye is being passed. For simplicity's sake, all of them can have the tooth.

* Messenger God- new winged helmet to allow for Flash customs as well, caduceus staff, satchel

* Wicked Weaver- Human-spider hybrid like Spinlyn, but perhaps with fewer pieces, or an arrogant Greek female with a spindle and a spider accessory.

* Strong Hero- club piece, lion-skin robe, snake accessory

* Gorgon Slayer- Spartan helmet, reuse Battle Goddess's shield, have wings printed on side of feet.

* Harpy- short female with Man-Bat style arms, but with feathered wings. Ugly face, perhaps with Chima-esque beak printed on it.

* Centaur- new horse-like lower body with pegs to insert into torso

* War God- Spear, shield, Spartan helmet, angry face with red eyes and red armor?

* Music God- Lyre accessory, sun designs on robes, bow and arrow

* Party God- Bunch of grapes, laurel crown hair, purple robes, thrysus staff or goblet

* Blacksmith God- scarred face, recolored Mjolnir, sword (perhaps in a glowing orange state), brown robes

I'm not entirely sure how well these would sell, but there's definitely a market for it, and it seems like the next theme LEGO could expand on, without repeat characters to complain about.

Any other ideas that would work better?

[Robert8]

I'd include Cupid and Icarus

And I think they would give them their proper names (like they did with Medusa) because it would be kinda confusing

(You forgot the S9 Mermaid)

Edited September 2, 2015 by Robert8

[8BrickMario]

Good ideas. The Battle Goddess and Ocean King weren't called by their names, though.

[Vorkosigan]

I wonder if LEGO's "no religion in sets" stance precludes them from having a named Athena and Poseidon but not a general "battle goddess" and "ocean king."

If they were to do this I'd want all ancient mythology: Greek, Roman, Norse, etc. However I think the first day that the series is for sale is a little early to declare it a smash hit. Series 13 didn't stay on the shelves for more than a day around me either.

[SirBlake]

This is a fun idea!

How about Charon, the boatman on the river Styx? He's generally depicted as a grim reaper-looking character, though he could come with an oar and maybe a lantern?

[ResIpsaLoquitur]

Cupid would be an obvious one that I'm surprised they haven't done yet.

[Karalora]

I would love to see a Classical Mythology theme, even if it were just a wave of CMFs.

Your ideas are great! Here are some of mine:

Dryad--Tan or dark tan skin, the new Banshee's hair in green with a few lighter green leaves printed on it, green chiton print on torso and legs, bouquet or other plant-based accessory.

Siren--A mermaid variation with a normal face and a "hypnotic singing" face. Could be an excuse to add another color to the fishtail palette.

Philosopher--Just a normal bearded dude in a toga-style robe. For the accessory, a printed 2 x 2 tile with sage words (in Greek, of course) or geometric constructions. This one is less mythological than the others, but it wouldn't be ancient Greece without one!

Love God--Feathered wings, bow and arrow, cheeky expression.

[Robert8]

Siren--A mermaid variation with a normal face and a "hypnotic singing" face. Could be an excuse to add another color to the fishtail palette.

Just for the record: In greek mythology, a Siren is half woman/half bird, not fish. That's a modern misconception

[Karalora]

Just for the record: In greek mythology, a Siren is half woman/half bird, not fish. That's a modern misconception

I know about the original myth. But the image of sirens as mermaids goes back at least far enough to influence the development of Romance languages, where the word for mermaid is "siren." (Spanish sirena, French sirène, etc.) Also, a bird-like siren would seem redundant to the harpy, and I want both.

(Third, Poseidon wasn't originally depicted as a merman either, but I think we all understand the Ocean King to be a Poseidon-like character.)

[Dorayaki]

Uhmm.. not sure if this could be an independent topic since it's not yet a rumor. Maybe a topic for "more themed CMF series" as a collective topic.

As for Mythology, maybe it could be a good source, but since mythology characters have been allowed in regular series, an independent themed series shows to be less necessary. Perhaps TLG can add some gods or heroes with very specific references or names which can't be used in regular series.

Mythology was indeed one of Alexandre's proposal, so it does has a chance to be either a regular theme or a CMF series. A Fairytale series might interest me, too.

Edited September 2, 2015 by Dorayaki

[gedren_y]

Cupid? Which version?

The classical version is the Roman name of the god Eros, the son of Aphrodite. Though he was sometimes depicted with wings, he was a grown man and the embodiment of male perfection. He also had a darker side. There is a story of when a hero, possibly Herakles (proper Greek spelling), was hailed the male ideal, Eros became a demonic version of himself as the physical embodiment of jealousy.

The modern version is a misconception. The image is that of a cherub, one of the lower orders of angels.

[AmperZand]

I'd love to see a Greek mythology CMF line. I'm not sure TLG would ever do one though. The themed CMF lines we have had so far have all been tied to particular events such as anniversaries (The Simpsons 25th), movies (TLM), sports (2012 Olympics) and holidays (Halloween).

* Centaur- new horse-like lower body with pegs to insert into torso

Nice idea but I don't think a properly proportioned equine lower body would fit in a CMF packet.

[8BrickMario]

I don't know if they would dare to do a cherubic Cupid, as it could come too close to modern religious imagery. However, he could use a pair of wings like the Gargoyle's with feathers instead. Icarus seems a little dark. How would they dumb it down? "Icarus loves to fly around, but his wings are always falling apart in the workshop"?

A siren might be redundant, and LEGO seems to be in favor of accuracy, so she'd be more birdlike than fishy.

Yes, there are no rumors for such a series yet, but there don't need to be for us to speculate about things we might never get!

[ResIpsaLoquitur]

No, I think I'd want the cherubic cupid. That's a commercialized enough character that I think it would be fine, particularly since we've had a number of holiday-themed minifigs: the Leprechaun, Santa, and all the Halloween/Monster characters. So I'd want a cute child face, wings, short legs, and a bow and arrow. Come to think of it, I'd like a modern commercialized angel as well: wings, harp, etc. (And a stone version for cemetery scenes.) Yeah, it has religious overtones, but classic Biblical angels tended to have multiple heads, eyes, and wings.

[Blakstone]

As much as I would love a Greek mythology CMF series, I agree with Vorkosaigon that a mythology series should include other cultures to broaden its appeal. So in addition the Greek characters I would also add Anubis (Ancient Egyptian), Woden (Norse), Baldr (Norse), and Sun Wukong (Monkey King).

[Karalora]

LEGO seems to be in favor of accuracy, so she'd be more birdlike than fishy.

The female Cyclops says hi. I don't think Medusa had a snake body in the original myth either.

[BrickOn]

I just like getting one or two characters per series and seeing them increase as I collect, not sure I would find a whole mythology series as appealing (Actually I proably would like them all but I prefer to get a mix)... however I would like to see..

Centaurs (somehow coloured like the disney fantasia ones, male and female, but they don't fit in the packet... argh just squeeze them in!),

Wood nymph,

Different pixie/sprites/fairies

Faun or Satyr

Norsk gods, although I guess Thor is already taken with marvel, shame.

more greek and roman gods, I would most like Hermes/Mercury, Venus/Aphrodite, Artemis/Diana, Zeus, still loads to do!

Also I think the Genies are part of the current mythology list.

Its a strange one because it depends on how you interpret Mythological, is it referring to an ancient religion no longer practised or to creatures or beings from folk law (kinda just another way of saying the same thing). So if you produced a whole series of them, it could just be highlighting the grey area of religious origins...

Edited September 2, 2015 by BrickOn

[x105Black]

I've seen some mentioned here that I would fully support, like the Satyr, Centaur, and Anubis.

I'd prefer, if they were to do Mythology, that they explored all world myths rather than a heavy focus on Europe. For example, figures like Ganesha the elephant god, or Hanuman the monkey god, both from Hindu myths. As far as Europe goes, though, how about the Green Man? How about Baphomet? Most mythology is religious in nature, so they should be somewhat differentiated from their religions, but all of these would make great figures.

[8BrickMario]

In this idea, I was referring to classical Greek/Roman myths, but I imagine they could make some other mythological characters. Norse might be awkward due to Marvel, but Egyptian figs might work, although the characters seem less recognizable. I just felt that they were already building a subtheme of Greek/Roman figs (both real and mythological), so that's what I envisioned. The MMO also has a"Mythology" world, but it only includes the Greek/Roman elements.

I would stick to older myths that are no longer celebrated, if I were LEGO. Making Hindu gods could be seen as offensive since they're still recognized. Kali would be amazing, though...

Edited September 2, 2015 by 8BrickMario

[Blakstone]

I was trying to stay away from Hindu deities because it is a major world religion. But I know people that worship Greek, Ancient Egyptian, and Norse deities as well. None of these religions are completely dead. They just lost prominence.

Personally I would love Ganesha as well.

[x105Black]

Baba Yaga would be great!

I'd also support more djinns.

[8BrickMario]

YES, Baba Yaga would be my dream CMF! I love witches and have Russian heritage, so she'd be perfect.

[Ordinareo]

I would love to have a Hercules minifigure.

[gedren_y]

It bothers me a little that most people use the Roman name for Herakles. The result of Zeus' infidelity was named for Hera. It is part of the myth.

There are plenty of mythological/religious figures from so many cultures that TLG could sprinkle them in the CMFs for years before they use up the list of non-objectionable ones.

[8BrickMario]

I don't get it either, but "Hercules" is more popular, and most people grow up knowing that name, so it sounds better to them. Shouldn't the Roman name include "Juno" somewhere?