The Hero Factory

Every self-respecting geek (and many others who lost their self-respect a long time ago) has dreamed at one time or another of being a super hero.

Those who are more artistically inclined have sketched, designed, written, doodled, built, or in some other way brought their heroic fantasies to life through one creative outlet or another.  For most of the rest of us, however, such imaginings have (to the relief of society at large) remained firmly locked in our brains.

Until now.

Now we have The Hero Factory.

Released (for some reason) by the agency of Crispin Porter + Bogusky, The Hero Factory lets you customize your own hero’s features, costume, accessories, and abilities.  (Despite arduous Googling, I wasn’t able to figure out what it is that CP+B is doing with The Hero Factory, but as you can see from that link, they’ve been responsible for some pretty famous campaigns in recent years, so whatever their purpose is, I’m sure it’ll get figured out soon.)

Not personally content to simply turn myself into a superhero, I spent some time creating heroic interpretations of people or characters with whom we’re already quite familiar.  Click on the images to enlarge them, and just ignore the generic names that the factory generates based on the costumes…

Well, for starters, we’ve got the Superman and Batman look-a-likes.  That’s cool, but let’s amp it up.  How about some interpretations of classic cartoon characters like Buzz Lightyear and a futuristic Samurai Jack?

Any guesses on who these next ones are?

Well, if Star Trek went the same route as the Star Wars: Clone Wars cartoon, this might be what Captain Jean-Luc Picard would look like, and if the 2008 election had been cooler, this might’ve been how the RNC would have dressed up Sarah Palin.  Maybe.

Last, but certainly not least…

The ultimate hero of all — Jesus. I think He looks cool (though a little too much like the Burger King), but my wife thinks He’s wearing a pimp coat with bling.  I think it’s a good look for Him; a good balance of Good Shepherd and Lord of Lords.  The interior clothes are white with crimson trim and sport a cross emblem, while the outer robes have a purplish color to represent lordship.

The ruffled collar together with the fur collar are a bit much, though, but hey…The Hero Factory does have its limitations!  Give it a spin and post what you come up with!  (Thanks to Kim at Bold Blue Adventure for the original link.)