The Forgotten Custom Contest
Oh man! I was just thinking about this great superhero movie I watched when I was a kid. It was about this guy, and he could fly, and he was super fast and invincible, and he had x-ray vision, and could shoot lasers from his eyes, and he could stop bullets, but later he started to get weaker, and there was this green rock . . . man, it was super . . . what was it called?
Oh, wait, I know! The Meteor Man! You remember that movie?
No?
That's ok, no one else does either.
Of course, we ALL know about the major superheroes out there, the Supermen and Deadpools and Wonder Women, the bats and spiders and captains and mutants and so on. But where's the love for obscure, lost, and forgotten characters, like Longshot or Megaton Man? M.A.N.T.I.S. was a pretty cool show back in the day, right? And what about Solarman? Ms Mystic? Mighty Mouse?
In case it wasn't clear, we're looking for characters that have faded into obscurity and vanished from the general public consciousness. They could have been discarded for being lame, or they could have been amazing but underfunded and ceased production. Maybe they just showed up at the wrong time and couldn't capture any attention. Your job is to get OUR attention! Show us what was so great about them! Go all original, and sell the concept to us just as they are, or give them an update with a modern costume, gimmick, or backstory. Whatever it takes to have them grab the spotlight again!
Now obviously, the internet is an infinite source of pop culture history, powered by a never ending number of nostalgic nerds dead-set on reviving that one glorious gem of superheroic awesomeness from the sea of mediocrity, through a Youtube series or a Steam video game or a Kickstarter action figure campaign or maybe just a library's worth of fanfic. Point is, we're not going to restrict entries just because someone recently decided they're gonna bring back Sectaurs or Bucky O'Hare for a limited figure series. Bet you didn't know ROM the Spaceknight has a new comic book, and most everyone else doesn't know that either. The Tick series on Amazon finally got green-lit, but until we can actually watch an episode, he's fair game. Bottom line, if you think a character might be forgotten, or might not be forgotten enough, just ask. But trust me, if your character has recently been out of action for more than a decade, they're probably in the clear.
So dig into your history, and show us why we should never have overlooked your favorite forgotten superhero!
Please remember to follow the
Contest Rules and to
Vote Fairly.
Contest Winners:
1st
2nd
3rd
| Size Restrictions: | None |
| Dioramas Allowed: | Yes |
| Original Characters Allowed: | Yes |
Please wait...
What are the rules of the contest?
- Please use the form here to submit your custom figure.
- At least a paragraph description is required with your entry. This paragraph, at a minimum, should answer the following questions:
- How was this custom customized?
- How does the custom fit into the contest theme?
- You may submit up to three different entries for the contest.
- Please only submit figures that were created for this contest. Do not submit old figures from the Showcase or previous contest entries.
- Your entry should not be posted on this website, any other website, or anywhere on the internet until the contest is completely over.
- The pictures for your entry will remain hidden until the contest ends and the voting begins.
- Your identity will remain hidden until after the voting completes.
- Do not include names, logos, signatures or anything on the pictures that will give you away as the creator of the custom. We want to keep the customizer's identity a secret until the contest is over.
- Don't wait until the last day to submit your entries. If your internet is down, or something happens beyond your control, you will miss the contest! Also keep in mind how many customs you can submit in one day. You may not be able to submit all your entries in one day.
- The contest is purely for fun... well... and bragging rights!
How does the contest voting work?
Anyone can vote for their favorite customs in the contest, you don't even have to submit anything to the contest! You do have to be logged-in to your Figure Realm account though so we can keep track of the votes. Only appointed Figure Realm staff can see the votes, so anonymity is guaranteed. Voting begins once the entry deadline is met and lasts for a week.
It's hard to choose just one custom to vote on when there are tons of great entries, so Figure Realm has a unique voting system where you can vote on ALL the customs! When you click on an entry to view, there's a bar with buttons on it that lets you give the custom anywhere from 1 to 5 Stars. 1 Star means you think they could have done a better job on the custom while 5 Stars means you think they did a perfect job. The votes for each entry are added up when voting is closed and averaged-out to determine the winners. Also, don't abuse the system. Don't give your own custom 5 Stars and then give everyone else 1 Star to boost your rating. Remember, the votes are monitored.
Some points you might consider when casting your vote: Is the figure well-made? Is the paint smooth or crusty? Are there noticeable fingerprints on the sculpted parts? Is it an original custom? Is it accurate to the source-material (comics, photos, description in a book)? Are the pictures clear enough to see the details? Did the creator take the time to include a back-story or recipe? Is the custom so unbelievably awesome that you'd trade your dog for it?
Craftsmanship and creativity are major factors to consider, but ultimately your vote should depend on how much you like the custom, and how well you feel it fits the contest theme.
What is the contest schedule?
| Begins: | Contest Closed |
| Ends: | July 15th, 2017 - Last day for submissions. No exceptions! Cut off is at midnight Central Standard Time. |
| Voting: | July 16th - 22nd. |
| Managed By: | Batman1016 |
Example Pictures for Ideas
View Contest Entries 
User Comments
Everyone Google "The Mandela Effect."
Now, the acceptable criteria would be a LITTLE different, since videogames are a younger medium, tend to have fewer entries in a franchise, and often don't share characters from one installment to the next.
- The game series ITSELF must be relatively forgotten, not just the character. (Maybe no one remembers anybody from the first installment, but everyone has played a Grand Theft Auto game)
- If a franchise, no new games in the last two console generations (No games on Wii, PS3, Xbox 360, or NDS).
- If a solo game, can be more recent, but you must demonstrate poor reception and obscurity. A simple line about console exclusivity and sales numbers (this was only released on the Ouya and sold only seven copies!)
Everyone think that's fair? Let me know, I came up with this list on the fly.
I feel like videogame characters are forgotten faster than comic ones since they appear less frequently and people don't revisit old stuff as much. Plus, they generally don't have as much personality or background story as comic book characters, so they're easier to forget.
What about simplifying to this?
- Character cannot have appeared as a playable character in any game made in the last 8 years
- Character cannot have been made into a commercial figure in the last 8 years
In the videogame world, 8 years is a long time to go without being in a game. That rule would pretty much guarantee that the character is unpopular or forgotten.
Up to you though, it's your contest!
- Forget about the franchise rule (mostly): if the character hasn't been playable in two console generations, they are acceptable. Sorry, I feel 8 years is too short. I MAY accept characters with appearances on Wii, PS3, Xbox 360, or NDS if there's been a 10-year gap, so they'd have to be EARLY in those consoles' lifespans. Depends how major the character was in said game. Ask first please.
- Solo game rule stays: can be more recent, but you must demonstrate poor reception and obscurity. A simple line about console exclusivity and sales numbers.
We good with that?
I would definitely give a thumbs-up to Freakazoid. The Green Lanterns, however . . . I'd say MOST are fair game. However, a few are fairly well known, either because of a prominent appearance in the film, or the animated movies, or the DCUC figure line, or simply their importance to the history of the corps. Kilowog, Tomar-Re and Tomar-Tu, Abin-Sur, Arisia, Sinestro, ANY of the Oans, these are all fairly major players and should be avoided.
Now, while the characters may themselves be kinda obscure, the problem with the squirrel GLs (C'hp and B'dg, "Chip" and "Badge" ) is that they fit into that odd category of "Hey, you know those really weird alien Green Lanterns? The squirrel and the wasp and the planet and the tree?" Sure, no one knows their names (Bzzd, Mogo, and Medphyll, 'cuz I'm THAT nerd), but everyone always thinks of them first. So it's kind of a balancing act: is a character "forgotten" if everyone can instantly picture or recognize him, even if they don't know anything about him?
It's a gray area, and in gray areas, I tend to allow it. I don't feel it really fits the intention of the contest, but I'm not going to nitpick that too much since, end of the day, no one really knows anything about the characters C'hp or Bzzd.
Great question!
Here's a good rule of thumb for everyone looking to enter: search for your character here in the FR Custom Showcase. Searching through the archives, this site displays 30 figures per page. If your character has only one page or less of results, you're pretty much golden (Liberty Belle, for example, came up with only 16 hits). Two pages, ask me first. Three pages, probably not what we're looking for.
Though again, there are always exceptions, so if you really think your character fits the bill, make your case! I'm always happy to chat!