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Lego Hero Factory

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hero Factory
Sub‑themesHero Recon Team
Availability2010–2014
Total sets70
Characters(See Characters)

Hero Factory (stylized as HERO FACTORY) was a line of construction toys created by the Lego Group marketed primarily at 6-to-16-year-olds. The theme was launched in 2010 as a successor to the former Lego construction theme Bionicle, which ended its run earlier that year.[1] In its legacy, Hero Factory utilized the building system used in Bionicle before going on to create its own. The theme was discontinued after 2014 in favor of reviving Bionicle.

The story revolves around the Alpha 1 Team, a high-ranking group of robotic Heroes who work for the Hero Factory, a peacekeeping organisation whose objective is to fight crime across the galaxy and protect its similarly robotic populace. The Hero Factory itself is a towering skyscraper based in the fictional Makuhero City that is located on a terraformed asteroid. New Heroes are constructed everyday and trained from the ground up. Each Hero is unique thanks to their Quaza Core, a mineral stone that provides each of them with a distinct personality.

Characters

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Heroes

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  • Preston Stormer: The no-nonsense Alpha 1 Team leader, plagued by his failure in a past mission, and demanding in his expectations of all team members.
  • William Furno: Once a reckless and ambitious rookie Hero assigned to Alpha 1, now a valuable team member.
  • Dunkan Bulk: A physically imposing, powerful senior Alpha 1 member, whose impressive strength belies a growing intelligence.
  • Jimi Stringer: A philosophical, laid-back, and musically inclined veteran of the team, who incorporates sound-based functions into his weaponry.
  • Mark Surge: An emotional and temperamental hot-headed former rookie working to overcome a secret insecurity.
  • Natalie Breez: The sole female member of Alpha 1, brash in her dealings with her teammates, but with a connection to nature.
  • Nathan Evo: An introspective rookie Hero working with the team, who emphasizes heavy artillery use in his missions.
  • Julius Nex: Socially nuanced and technologically gifted head of Hero Outreach and a rookie on Alpha 1, with a love for gadgetry and herobook.
  • Daniel Rocka: Headstrong new rookie of the team, also covertly a member of the Hero Recon Team.

Villains

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Adaptations

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Hero Factory attraction at Legoland Deutschland

Comics and books

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In July 2010 Lego Group and DC Comics released the first Lego Hero Factory comic on the Hero Factory website only. Entitled The Trials of Furno, it was released for free download at Lego.com, and follows the story of the rookie hero William Furno on his first mission, to battle against Xplode and Rotor.[2][3] A second issue, entitled Core Crisis was released in September 2010.[4][5] In 2012, a new series of books tied in with the Hero Factory story and toyline began being released, written by Bionicle writer Greg Farshtey.[6] So far, one DK Reader-level 3 book has been released and four chapter books were released in September (The Doom Box) and October (Legion of Darkness) 2012, then in January (Collision Course), March (Robot Rampage), and April (Mirror World) 2013. They are published by Scholastic.[7]

Television series

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Main article: Hero Factory (TV series)

To accompany the Hero Factory sets and storyline, a TV series of the same name, produced by Threshold Animation Studios, was commissioned by Lego in 2010. Starting off as a four-part mini-series on September 20, 2010 on Cartoon Network,[8] further episodes followed portraying subsequent storylines from the toy line. Threshold have produced ten Hero Factory episodes, while an eleventh and final episode was produced instead by Lego partners Advance and Ghost for the "Invasion From Below" story arc, premiering in January 2014.

The first four episodes of the series were released as a direct-to-DVD film entitled Hero Factory: Rise of the Rookies on November 22, 2010, it was released in Region 2 on October 21, 2011. The second assortment of episodes, including "Ordeal of Fire and "Savage Planet" (Parts One and Two), were also released as a direct-to-DVD film on October 4, 2011 entitled Hero Factory: Savage Planet and received a Region 2 release on November 5, 2012. Latter episodes are as of yet to receive a DVD release.

Legoland attraction

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At Legoland Deutschland the Hero Factory [nl] is an attraction in the Hero Factory theme.

Reception

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Toybuzz stated that the simplicity of the Hero sets were great for people who like the actual playing experience, but not so good for Lego fans who prefer the enjoyment of the build.[9] Toybuzz praised the sturdyness of the figures and wrote that "the best feature was that the weapons were actually one of their arms", as you do not have to spend time on putting the weapon back on. Toybuzz also praised the packaging that the Hero sets came with, stating that the plastic tubes are great for organization and for keeping the sets tidy.[9]

References

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  1. ^ "An Important Announcement Regarding Bionicle". Retrieved 28 December 2009.
  2. ^ "LEGO Hero Factory Comic – Trials of Furno". Toys N Bricks. 2010-07-26. Archived from the original on 2010-08-02. Retrieved 2010-08-02.
  3. ^ "Hero Factory Comic 1 Online" (PDF). Lego Group. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2010-08-02. Retrieved 2010-08-02.
  4. ^ "Hero Factory Comics". Lego Group. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
  5. ^ "Hero Factory Issue Two" (PDF). Lego Group. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2010-12-06. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
  6. ^ "Books in Hero Factory media". HEROsector1. Archived from the original on 8 August 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  7. ^ "New Hero Factory books". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  8. ^ "TV-guide". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2010-08-28. Retrieved 2010-04-23.
  9. ^ a b "Lego Hero Factory – Review". Toybuzz. 2010-08-17. Archived from the original on 2010-08-26. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
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