Why hasn't Johnny Thunder come back?

[Takanuinuva]

Since 2011 there have been several sets and themes that were inspired by Adventurers.

Pharoh's Quest, Dino, And the city subthemes. Jungle and Arctic.

Yet not one of them included Johnny Thunder as a minifig. Pharoh's quest had Jake Raines who is similar to Johnny in name and Josh Thunder from Dino is a descendant

But why haven't Lego thought to include Johnny in these Adventurers inspired sets? They had no problem updating him for the Lego Movie in the Super Secret Police Dropship set. 

[Blondie-Wan]

The City subthemes appear to reflect not only real-world exploration, but very contemporary stylings of it, while Johnny Thunder and his adventures are more Indiana Jones-esque, not only in the more fantastical story elements, but also in their temporal setting; they harken back to a different era, when much less of the world was known (at least to the western world). Johnny isn’t really connected to the Arctic and Jungle City subthemes the same way.

I think Dino was also, while obviously fantastical, more rooted in contemporary times (and contemporaneously-set science fiction and fantasy) than the more romanticized era of Indy’s “high adventure years” or Johnny’s prior exploits - more Jurassic Park than The Lost World (the latter meaning the Doyle story or its movie adaptation rather than the sequel to the former).

Pharaoh’s Quest, though, is much more a Johnny Thunder sort of milieu, and he would make sense there - but indeed, he had a spiritual heir in Jake Raines. Even the character names in Pharaoh’s Quest seem to reference the earlier Adventurers lines, enough that I for one like to consider it kind of an extension of them.

[Robert8]

No idea

And LEGO knows how popular the character is. They keep bringing him back

They did it for The LEGO Movie. He also appear in Scooby Doo and Ninjago Movie

 

One can only hope The LEGO Movie Sequel will include him somewhow

[Takanuinuva]

54 minutes ago, Robert8 said:

No idea

And LEGO knows how popular the character is. They keep bringing him back

They did it for The LEGO Movie. He also appear in Scooby Doo and Ninjago Movie

 

One can only hope The LEGO Movie Sequel will include him somewhow

Wait where did he appear in Scooby doo and the Ninjago Movie?

[Robert8]

3 minutes ago, Takanuinuva said:

Wait where did he appear in Scooby doo and the Ninjago Movie?

In Scooby Doo he appeared in a printed tile in the Museum set. In the Ninjago Movie, he appears in a printed tile in the new Ninjago Docks set

[Takanuinuva]

32 minutes ago, Robert8 said:

In Scooby Doo he appeared in a printed tile in the Museum set. In the Ninjago Movie, he appears in a printed tile in the new Ninjago Docks set

Oh I though you meant in the movies. I knew about those.

[Digger of Bricks]

5 hours ago, Robert8 said:

One can only hope The LEGO Movie Sequel will include him somewhow

Personally, I think a great way to reintroduce both the character and the Adventures theme would rather be for Warner Brothers to do a spin-off movie based upon the line, perhaps acting as a prequel to The Lego Movie under the title of... LEGO's Johnny Thunder and the Piece of Resistance.

How's that for an idea? 

[Lyichir]

Honestly? How many other ‘90s Lego characters have you seen come back? Outside of one-off homages and references, it’s not a lot, and for good reason—as beloved as many of those characters are by older fans, characterization in those days didn’t really provide much worth bringing back. Johnny Thunder was little more than an Indiana Jones expy with an Australian accent. His supporting cast was similarly nebulous in personality outside of the archetypes they filled. And the same applied to most other themes of that era, such as Rock Raiders or Alpha Team.

So really the only benefit of bringing those characters back is to tickle the nostalgia of older Lego fans—a small periphery demographic. And that’s less important than tailoring themes to the taste of modern kids. Pharaoh’s Quest is a good example—more The Mummy than Indiana Jones, new characters were probably a better fit than Johnny Thunder for a theme that featured high intensity battles with hordes of undead baddies rather than the largely more grounded fare of Adventurers. 

[Digger of Bricks]

6 hours ago, Lyichir said:

Pharaoh’s Quest is a good example—more The Mummy than Indiana Jones, new characters were probably a better fit than Johnny Thunder for a theme that featured high intensity battles with hordes of undead baddies rather than the largely more grounded fare of Adventurers. 

I've said this before elsewhere, but I wished that Lego had made Pharaoh's Quest a theme with with much broader horizons, much like the original Adventurers theme. If Jake Raines was to be the Johnny Thunder for a new generation, why couldn't Lego have given the line a less specific name, one that suggested a continuation of Jake's adventures if the line were a better success than they'd expected? 

[Johnny1360]

Well we do have The LEGO Movie 2 coming out, so who knows what characters and themes will be resurrected. 

[Digger of Bricks]

For those who read this discussion, I'd like to know... Where would you've liked the Adventurers theme to go if it were to pick up from where it left off? So, as opposed to retreading old ground, what new horizons would you wish to see Thunder and company explore? 

[Takanuinuva]

I guess the only other places left to explore that wouldn't be retreading old ground would be

A roman setting.

Atlantis

And maybe Australia?

[Digger of Bricks]

9 hours ago, Takanuinuva said:

Atlantis

Somewhere fantastical would be where I'd wished the theme had gone, so Atlantis being explored in the 1920's would've been a pretty cool idea for a playtheme back then!

Hey, taking inspiration from Jules Verne, traveling into the depths of the earth to discover lost subterranean civilizations could've been another novel idea! By the way, does anyone remember this one former CUUSOO project, speaking of subterranea? 

LEGO Ideas - Hyperborea  

[icm]

Where did Tintin and Haddock go that Johnny Thunder did not? In no particular order:

1. Various Muslim-majority countries on the Mediterranean coast.  JT won't go there...too political.

2. The Moon.  That's obviously not JT's thing, but we can hope City goes there someday.

3. Treasure hunting in the South Pacific.  JT and co. could do that, but Town, City, and Aqua Raiders have pretty much picked all the wrecks clean by now.

4. Old castles in Britain and assorted fictional small European countries.  That's too close to home for JT and co.

5. The Andes.  A long-lost Andean civilization would be right up JT's alley, and reasonably distinct from the jungle ruins close to City.

If JT ever comes back, he should tackle nos. 3 and 5.

[MAB]

On 19/05/2018 at 10:25 PM, Robert8 said:

In Scooby Doo he appeared in a printed tile in the Museum set. In the Ninjago Movie, he appears in a printed tile in the new Ninjago Docks set

That's because he is history.

 

I think he didn't come back because he is not that popular with kids today. They don't know him, there is no reason for him to be popular. He is a nice "easter egg" for a certain age range of adults, but that is it. He looks quite old fashioned now too. So they could update him, but then adults will complain that he is not the "real" Johnny Thunder. It is just better to come up with a similar character (like Jake Raines) that can fit in with any storyline they want.

 

Look at the TLM minifigure on BL, he is very cheap - nobody wants him. Although Jake Raines is just as bad here too. Whereas Indiana Jones keeps his value, which tells you something about what people really want in an Adventures type theme.

 

[Digger of Bricks]

6 hours ago, icm said:

The Moon.  That's obviously not JT's thing, but we can hope City goes there someday.

Indeed! I certainly hope the same for City too, as I think it would be redundant for their next Space subtheme to do the spaceport setting a third time.  

[Blondie-Wan]

On 5/21/2018 at 10:11 PM, Digger of Bricks said:

I've said this before elsewhere, but I wished that Lego had made Pharaoh's Quest a theme with with much broader horizons, much like the original Adventurers theme. If Jake Raines was to be the Johnny Thunder for a new generation, why couldn't Lego have given the line a less specific name, one that suggested a continuation of Jake's adventures if the line were a better success than they'd expected? 

I actually don’t see why we can’t consider Pharaoh’s Quest a de facto Adventurers subtheme itself. While Johnny Thunder isn’t in it, the name “Jake Raines” was clearly chosen as a sly reference to the character names from the original theme, and it could easily be considered just another set of characters from the same universe. The general milieu is pretty much the same as in the original, Egypt-focused Adventurers line.

_______________________

Of course, it’s likely LEGO Indiana Jones will return when the character hits the big screen again in a couple years. I certainly hope so...

[Digger of Bricks]

10 hours ago, Blondie-Wan said:

I actually don’t see why we can’t consider Pharaoh’s Quest a de facto Adventurers subtheme itself. While Johnny Thunder isn’t in it, the name “Jake Raines” was clearly chosen as a sly reference to the character names from the original theme, and it could easily be considered just another set of characters from the same universe. The general milieu is pretty much the same as in the original, Egypt-focused Adventurers line.

I've always thought of it as a homage-based reboot of the Adventurers theme, only that they seemingly intended for it to be a one-and-done love letter to the original line's debut year. Preferably, if Lego wanted to do a one year tribute to Adventurers, I would've liked to see a single wave composed of five to eight playsets each set within a different global location, kinda like how the first wave of Agents from 2008 had done it.

11 hours ago, Blondie-Wan said:

Of course, it’s likely LEGO Indiana Jones will return when the character hits the big screen again in a couple years. I certainly hope so...

You know, I'd kinda hope to see a new wave of sets based upon the original movies to precede the theatrical release of 2020's fifth instalment, preferably released either during the Fall of 2019 or January 2020 as a sort of warm-up for general consumers beforehand. 

[Blondie-Wan]

2 hours ago, Digger of Bricks said:

I've always thought of it as a homage-based reboot of the Adventurers theme, only that they seemingly intended for it to be a one-and-done love letter to the original line's debut year. Preferably, if Lego wanted to do a one year tribute to Adventurers, I would've liked to see a single wave composed of five to eight playsets each set within a different global location, kinda like how the first wave of Agents from 2008 had done it.

Agreed, that would have been awesome.

Quote

You know, I'd kinda hope to see a new wave of sets based upon the original movies to precede the theatrical release of 2020's fifth instalment, preferably released either during the Fall of 2019 or January 2020 as a sort of warm-up for general consumers beforehand. 

Well, that’s pretty much what they did with the previous Indy theme... and with Toy Story, and even with Star Wars for that matter (and also with The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, if one considers them as one big “Middle-Earth” theme). Each of those was a classic entertainment franchise that had been around for years without ever having had LEGO sets, and for which LEGO used the occasion of new installments years after the previous ones to launch new themes based on them. In each case, they started with a launchwave, released months before the new movie, consisting of sets based on the previous installments, and followed it with a “new movie wave” consisting of sets from the new release.

Some licensed themes they’ve handled differently, but this seems to be a frequent approach of theirs (and other toy companies as well, I believe).

Edited May 24, 2018 by Blondie-Wan

[Digger of Bricks]

On 5/24/2018 at 12:15 AM, Blondie-Wan said:

Agreed, that would have been awesome.

I'll just say, Pharaoh's Quest didn't necessarily box itself in as a one-year theme absolutely, as the line would've had many other sources of inspiration to cite from for future waves (if that were wished for by TLG). Egyptian mythology alone could've definitely offered that inspiration for future adventures; but still, that limited setting does prevent such a theme from being evergreen, whereas one of broader, global scope would've offered a line with a considerably longer lifespan.

[Still Raindrop]

On 5/21/2018 at 1:09 PM, Lyichir said:

Johnny Thunder was little more than an Indiana Jones expy with an Australian accent. His supporting cast was similarly nebulous in personality outside of the archetypes they filled.

I'd call him more of an homage to explorers from dime novels, pulp fiction, and radio serials. Indiana Jones was an homage to those characters, as were the characters in movies like The Mummy, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, etc. While Johnny certainly took from Indiana Jones, he also clearly borrowed from other sources, as well.

[Digger of Bricks]

3 hours ago, Still Raindrop said:

I'd call him more of an homage to explorers from dime novels, pulp fiction, and radio serials.

We really need to see more characters like that from in-house action/adventure themes, ones that would be taking inspiration from the type of source material you've cited there.  

[Still Raindrop]

18 hours ago, Digger of Bricks said:

We really need to see more characters like that from in-house action/adventure themes, ones that would be taking inspiration from the type of source material you've cited there.  

I'd like that, too. Jake Raines and his crew definitely fit the bill, as did the Monster Fighters. I think this is actually one of the downsides of Ninjago's success: the protagonists are consistent, even when we get cool and varied antagonists. That means that a Johnny Thunder or other dime novel/pulp fiction/radio serial type character is much less likely.

[Digger of Bricks]

5 hours ago, Still Raindrop said:

I think this is actually one of the downsides of Ninjago's success: the protagonists are consistent, even when we get cool and varied antagonists. That means that a Johnny Thunder or other dime novel/pulp fiction/radio serial type character is much less likely.

The other thing about Ninjago (and many other similar action/adventure lines), is that there's usually never a single hero who's the main focal point, with many of these themes rather making the team as a whole the focal point instead. I suppose many kids relate to that better, as a team of protagonists is comparable to their own troop of friends; but still, it would be cool to see at least one action/adventure theme in the near future with a singular, star protagonist.

[Aanchir]

On 5/30/2018 at 10:32 PM, Digger of Bricks said:

The other thing about Ninjago (and many other similar action/adventure lines), is that there's usually never a single hero who's the main focal point, with many of these themes rather making the team as a whole the focal point instead. I suppose many kids relate to that better, as a team of protagonists is comparable to their own troop of friends; but still, it would be cool to see at least one action/adventure theme in the near future with a singular, star protagonist.

I think Ninjago does an OK job keeping the team dynamic from becoming monotonous by letting different characters be the "star" for each story arc since season 3. For instance, Jay was the star of Season 6, Kai and Nya were the co-stars of season 7, Cole was the star of Day of the Departed, etc.

That said, as far as set designs go, it doesn't always make a huge difference whether a theme has a singular star or splits the focus among the team. Even in Adventurers' debut year, Johnny Thunder was not in that many more sets than his teammates despite being the theme's star, and unlike themes like Ninjago or Alpha Team or Nexo Knights, the Adventurers vehicles usually weren't conspicuously coded to specific characters.