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Why is Thunderbird a name I can't use?
rugrothrumbor
Posts: 534 Arc User
It's the Native American legendary bird. Marvel should not own that name. Same with wolverine which is an animal. That's like being unable to use "Bear" as a name.
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Grappling/Wrestling Power Set Suggestion 2012-2013
How a Wrestling Power Set Can Work
Grappling/Wrestling Power Set Suggestion 2012-2013
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Post edited by rugrothrumbor on
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There is a Thunderbird in the Champions Universe as well. Someone once mentioned that many names from the CU were excluded from player use just in case there was a decision to add the character to CO.
Don't know if that is what you are facing here, but could be I suppose.
'Caine, miss you bud. Fly high.
It most likely is. A friend of mine who went by the handle Dark Seraph in City of Heroes couldn't use that name here because - well - Dark Seraph is the name of one of the more prominent (though as yet unseen in CO) superVILLAINS of the Champions Universe lore.
So our villains are still somewhat unique.
Personally though, I think it's pointless: similar to identical names are common in superhero settings: look at all the seperate Captain Marvels that have existed!
There's a list here of restricted names on the slightly-less-good-wiki: http://championsonline.wikia.com/wiki/Character_Name_Restricted_List
I'd say about 90% are character names who cannot be mistaken as anything but those characters due to fairly unusual or specific names unique to that character.
For example, Darth Malak, Batman, Aunt May Parker.
In champions, Thunderbird is along the dock where you rescue the police.
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Yes, the Master Villain class of the Cobra Lords are called Thunderbird, but that's not the reason this name is already taken (so to say). After all you could name your character Sorcerer and that's the name of the Master Villains from the Red Banner Cult for example.
No, Thunderbird is the name of a as-of-yet not included vigilante from the Champions PnP, who hunts superhuman criminals. Imagine Punisher getting his weapons and equipment supplied by SHIELD, then you are pretty much spot on.
The Doctor on the PDB
Fahrenheit on the PDB
Cryptic are odd when it comes to names . I asked a dev on the forumites channel why Raiden was a blocked name turned out it was nothing to do with the blokes from Metal Gear or Mortal Kombat.
They said they didnt want to piss off the Japanese being one of their gods and all. Stupid logic that , being born in Osaka I wasnt pissed at Mortal Kombat I thought that version is badass of the highest order . Stupid Cryptic. ( also the spellings RAIJIN anyhoo :I )
BUT HARKEN! The stupid it GROWS! :O ...Jesus and Moses as far I can see are fine :I
Cryptic Logic from the people that brought yew Cryptic Maths.
*Nephts final thought* Oh yeah the Viking version of Raiden ( ie THOR ) is ok it seems. Well thats all good only one half of me can be offended then
Again...Stupid Cryptic strikes again :P
Nepht and Dr Deflecto on primus
They all thought I was out of the game....But I'm holding all the lockboxes now..
I'll......FOAM FINGER YOUR BACK!
"Thunderbird" is not a class of master villain. There is just one. He is a unique master villain, like Rid Len or Iron.
Whoever you are, be that person one hundred percent. Don't compromise on your identity.
I disagree. Considering that there are beligerent versions walking around indicates that there are more, even though there is only one non-beligerent version in the entire game.
Still, I think the prohibition is more closely related to Marvel's various Thunderbird characters. Players would make clones.
Marvel does not have a copyright on the term "Thunderbird" (or "Thor", for that matter), but they do have trademark rights to the likeness/character. Trademarks are usually the issue with IP infringement regarding superheroes, not copyright.
Trademarks are similar to copyrights, but different in important ways: http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/
Whoever you are, be that person one hundred percent. Don't compromise on your identity.
Handle: @drgmstr
"Embrace your dreams"
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Short version is an animal named wolverine and a legendary bird named thunderbird are not protected and not unique, however a superhero in a comics-related product named Thunderbird or Wolverine are relatively unique and more importantly, iconic in such a way that creating anohter, competing superhero in a comics-related product kisses the trademark line, and while probably not a trademark violation, actually violating the trademark is secondary to protecting the trademark, and protecting the trademark entails suing the pants off anything that may possibly be percieved as a threat to the trademark in order to build a foundation for the possible occasion where someone does violate the trademark.
Yes, that's the short, somewhat inaccurate, but simplified version of it.
The other thing to understand is that notability is important - the more iconic or notable something is, the less it needs to be contained by its medium - why? Here's why.
Mickey Mouse was a cartoon character appearing in Disney animated shorts. Anyone trying to trade off Mickey Mouse when he was originally concieved would have a difficult time in doing so because it was relatively unknown and therefore creating a Marty Mouse and t-shirts wouldn't really have been a problem.
As Mickey Mouse becomes more popular(or "iconic") it becomes more wanted, and it becomes easier to trade on the name, as more products are featuring its trademark. If its iconic enough to be recognized but not overly well known, people could trade on the name or similar because they could be fooled by Marty Mouse's similar appearance - the bootlegger would now be making money off the original creator's work without paying the original creator for what he created. To prevent this from happening, laws were passed - its essentially a way to stop people from stealing potential earnings from hard working creators by protecting the creators rights so they don't say "Screw it, ima stop creating if I keep getting stole'd from."
Once Mickey Mouse becomes so popular that nobody can make that mistake and everything has a big honking "Property of Disney" logo on it and is only sold by Disney Authorized Distributors By Penalty Of Death, however, or it has sued enough people who are attempting to cash in on Disney's creation, then the knife cuts the other way - people can't make that mistake as easily, therefore its harder to steal from the original creator, therefore stfu Disney. But Disney owns the world, so they will sue you because they can afford it and they want your soul, and even if they lose its about creating a completely impenetrable wall of litigation, plus they don't need to win, they just need you to lose, and if you can't afford to keep paying your lawyers for the next 100 years to argue the same thing over and over again like they can and will, then you lose.
Anyway, that's the slightly longer, still about as inaccurate, but simplified version of it.
The main lesson I've learned from studying Da Lawz is that what a law does, what a law says, and what a law is for are not necessarily the same thing, and that's a good thing for folks to keep in mind.
Example - Irene Morgan (Rosa Parks before Rosa Parks Rosa Parks'd) didn't want to go to the back of the bus. Da Lawz said (eventually) she didn't have to, not because of "civil rights" or any of that hippy crap, but because it was an interstate bus, and if state A said she could sit in the front and state B said she couldn't, the bus would have to stop at the state line, everyone would have to get off and switch places, and that would slow things down, and that's bad for interstate business, and since interstate business is Federal (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 of the Constitution) the state can't do diddly what interferes with it, therefore state B has to shut up and take it and let her sit wherever she damn well pleases less fuel prices go up.
So why can't you use "Thunderbird?" Cuz Da Lawz says to make sure Steve Gates is happy and we get an iPad XP Eleventy-Billion Disney will sue your ****.
Sums it up nicely.
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According to the link I posted above, they aren't.
Handle: @drgmstr
"Embrace your dreams"
Come Check Out My PRIMUS Database Page!
Git Gud M8!
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Cause I'm worth it. Playing since 2009.
(I figure that name is probably used in something a bit more widely known, but I don't know offhand what...)
There was one name that sprung out at me. If I were the person responsible for creating Animal Vegetable Mineral Man, I think I'd rather forget the whole sorry sordid affair and the heavy drug use that probably led me to the idea, as opposed to suing somebody who used the name later...
Edit: On the other hand, I'm kind of sorry to see Stephen Colbert on that list. After all, he's already got a Nemesis - Bears.
- David Brin, "Those Eyes"
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Beautiful Dreamer was an X-Men character.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beautiful_Dreamer_(Marvel_Comics)
Admittedly, it's quite an obscure character.
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"Lol came here to say this" -- Maddog 20/20
"Whats the word?"
Thunderbird!
and just to show how much the major comic publishers respect the copyright themselves it was a DC character too
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forever_People#Original_members
The major comic publishers have learnt to cooperate over this kind of thing otherwise they would have fought themselves to death over the name Captain Marvel by now.
Regardless of this Alan Moore's Captain Marvel still needed to become Miracleman.
A Prootwaddle is one of the weirder player-character races in "The Fantasy Trip", Steve Jackson's first published role-playing game.
1953 when Fawcett comics did lose the lawsuit about Captain Marvel being a Superman copy
The Marvel character of the same name was created when Fawcett was prohibited to publish Captain Marvel and DC comics has not yet bought the rights on the Fawcett superheroes so being the copyright laws the murky waters that they are both Marvel and DC have the copyright on the name Captain Marvel :biggrin:
DC can use the name in the comics but cannot publish a comic book with Captain Marvel in the cover title
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Marvel_(DC_Comics)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fawcett_Comics
Strangely it doesn't prevent Cryptics from making such borderline offensive racial stereotypes like Hi-Pan or Red Winter, or better - making a Russian UNTIL officer on MI a communist adressing playeer as a "comrade", despite game being made a long ago after fall of Communism.
Indeed, Cryptic logic, but I also call Crybtic b***t and Cryptic lack of tact.
This is what Alan Moore worked from, some years later.
A Prootwaddle is one of the weirder player-character races in "The Fantasy Trip", Steve Jackson's first published role-playing game.
There's a suuuuuuuuuubtle difference tho - Hi Pan is a parody character of Lo Pan from Big Trouble in Little China so its actually a parody of a racial stereotype, and Red Winter are mercenaries left over from the Cold War - there's nothing stereotypical about them aside from being members of the former Soviet Union who went into business for themselves. They're not bad guys because they're Soviets or communist, they were bad guys in a Soviet state that continue to be bad guys.
On top of that, there's nothing racial about being a Soviet - there were several different ethnic groups that were a part of the union. The only common factor was that the Soviet party in charge was primarily scumbags and murderers that were openly hated even by their own people, with good old Uncle Joe being responsible for mass murders on par with some of the greatest genocides in history. And these guys? They worked for him on the less than savory missions that were required.
- David Brin, "Those Eyes"
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That's my favourite one. Splitting off limbs is the best power...
assuming you have the secondary power to reattach, otherwise every fight that Marvel would have would be reminiscent of a Monty Python sketch...
"I'll bite your legs off!"