Zaheer - Leader of the Red Lotus

I don't normally look ahead to see who is starring in a show, so when Season Three of Korra started, I had no idea who the voice of Zaheer was. All I knew was that they were intimidating as heck.

I don't remember exactly what it was, but at one point towards the end of the season, Zaheer said something that triggered a Henry Rollins flash in my head, and then I realized who it was. And he did a great job with Zaheer.

It's pretty easy to put Zaheer and the rest of the Red Lotus as the top villains of Korra. I don't think anyone would really argue with that.

For Zaheer, I used a Dungeons & Dragons miniature Githzerai Monk. As with the mini I used for Unalaq, this one didn't have a nose and had pointy ears, so I had to make some adjustments with green stuff.

For some reason, this mini came out looking a bit like Pete Postlethwaite, for what that's worth.

-c

Shadow Demon - Venger's Spy

Every villain needs a henchman, but Venger is unique in that he seems to have the only assistant in fiction that isn't a moron.

Shadow Demon is interesting not just because he is a flying shadow with wings, but also because of how helpful he is. He doesn't complain, he doesn't try to overthrow Venger, he rarely (if ever) makes a mistake that interferes with Venger's plan. He's just...helpful.

And a demon.

For Shadow Demon, I trimmed the legs off an Adaptoid Heroclix and added his tapering tail and wings with plastic and green stuff.

And a lot of black paint.

-c

Eric the Bogbeast

If I did a miniature for every time someone is in disguise or gets shape-changed to another face, well, I'd never run out of minis to paint probably.

I don't plan to do every little alternate look for my favorite characters, but this one was too obvious (to me) to pass up.

In the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon episode "Beauty and the Bogbeast", Eric the Cavalier somehow gets changed into a bogbeast. I don't remember how but he probably said or did something stupid.

Anyway, while looking at Star Wars miniatures one day I saw the Ishi Tib Scout and realized that it resembled Eric's bogbeast look. A lot.

So, I replaced its gun with a shield and voilà: Eric the Bogbeast.

-c

Kelek - Evil Sorcerer

As I have mentioned before, the Dungeons & Dragons Cartoon is my all time favorite, and it's because of guys like this.

Kelek was an evil sorcerer who was determined to take all the unicorns' horns which (in theory) would give him to power to defeat Venger.

Considering he was only in one episode, you can guess how well that worked out for him.

But, Kelek was iconic enough to be one of the action figures that TSR made in the 80's. There were a few others that made it into the cartoon as well.

For Kelek, I used the Heroclix Mandarin and some green stuff and plastic to make his beard and funky collar.

(Unicorn horns not included.)

-c

Venger - Force of Evil

No miniature version of Venger is ever really going to be good enough because Venger is such a bad-ass, but I tried.

Much has been made of the idea that Venger is Dungeon Master's son. (Hinted at in "The Dragon's Graveyard" and confirmed in "Requiem".) This revelation puts Venger in the same "fallen hero" category as Darth Vader. Which is kind of cool.

The three main things I looked for when searching for a Venger mini were wings, a skirt, and horns. The Mage Knight Astrus figure had two out of three, so I added a horn with green stuff.

Ideally he should be a little bigger so he can tower over the gang, but we can't have everything.

-c

Dungeon Master - Guide

The obvious comparison people male is to say that Dungeon Master is the Yoda of the D&D Cartoon, but at least Yoda sometimes makes sense. And for all his other faults, at least Yoda didn't keep a bunch teenagers hostage in a foreign realm, making them do his work for him.

You know DM could have sent the kids home any time he wanted...

Seriously though, DM obviously had a goal in mind when he brought the kids to the realm. (OK, I know it's never revealed that he did it...but he must have had something to do with it.)

Anyway, for DM I had considered using a dwarf or gnome wizard if I found one with the right look, until I ran across the Heroclix Emp miniature. He's even pointing like Dungeon Master!

-c

Presto the Magician

If it weren't for Eric, Presto would probably be considered the comic relief character. As a kid though, I found Presto to be the most relatable of the gang. He was unsure of himself and clumsy and never could get his magic hat to work. But he was earnest and tried to help as best he could.

Truly, a role model for the eighties.

Finding a miniature that looked like a wizard but without a beard or really fancy robes proved a bit challenging. Finally, I decide to stick with a simple mini I had used before, Heroclix Jason Blood.

My general rule is to avoid using the same miniature for a different character, but are from different continuities (in this case, the DnD Cartoon and G.I.Joe) then I think it's alright.

I added the magic hat, glasses, and belt with pouch using green stuff. I can't find the reference image I used before, but his belt looked like that in the image (more or less) and his had was kind of slumped over too. Maybe he was running?

Would He Stay or Would He Go?

Presto, more than any of the other kids, has more reason to stay than to go. For one thing, we know he wants to be a magician but his tricks usually don't work. And from the episode "City at the Edge of Midnight" we know that even the younger neighbor kids look down on his tricks. So for that reason alone, I think he would stay.

But more than that, Presto has a girl waiting for him in the Realm: Varla. From what we are told in the episode, it seems like True Love between Presto and Varla, so why would he go home to a world that scoffs at his dreams when he can stay in the realm with a girl who loves him and the chance to learn magic for real?

Presto totally stays, becomes an apprentice to a magician (maybe a reformed Venger after the events of "Requiem") and settles down with Varla.

-c

Bobby the Barbarian

Let me be honest here: when i was a kid, I hated Bobby the Barbarian. He was everything I dislike about kids in cartoons: loud, snarky, and stupidly fearless.

As an adult, I can see his merits and kind of appreciate the role he plays in the group. But it took a little time to get to that point.

But every team needs their Raphael, and Bobby fits the bill.

The hard thing with finding a mini for Bobby was deciding if I wanted to lean more childlike or more barbarian. I considered a few gnome and halfling fighter minis, but most looked tougher than I wanted for Bobby.

In the end, I settled on the Heroclix Gee figure and added details with green stuff. Now that I look at it, his shorts didn't really come out right, but it's close enough.

I tried to find a way to put the club in his hand without major remodeling of the hand, but finally gave up and put it on the ground at his feet.

I kind of wish I had taken the time to model a locket in his upraised hand. The pose is similar to the ending of "The Girl Who Dreamed Tomorrow".

Would He Stay or Would He Go?

Even though Bobby whines about not getting home in "The Dragon's Graveyard", I think he would stay. For one thing, Uni can't leave the Realm, but more importantly, I think he just loves smashing stuff. I can see him growing up and taking over some barbarian clan somewhere. Yeah, he's staying.

-c

Diana the Acrobat

There is one thing about the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon that I don't like and it applies to all fantasy stories: the Fur Bikini. I don't know who came up with this look (probably the same people behind the Chain Mail Bikini, but it's a look I really don't like.

I could have done Diana with the fur bikini to be more accurate to the show, but my thought was this: If *I* was her, the first thing I would do is find a pair a pants.

I never thought about it as a kid, but Diana is kind of an awesome character. She's possibly the best fighter in the group, brave and smart. And unlike Sheila who gets a few "whiny girl" scenes, Diana is confident enough that we don't see her play the victim. She's bad-ass.

For Diana, I found the Star Wars mini Twi'lek bodyguard and tried to make her hair with green stuff. I think it works. And she's posed and ready to kick a Bullywug in the face.

Would She Stay or Would She Go?

I'm on the fence about whether Diana would return home or not. She has a lot waiting for her at her home, but she honestly seems to enjoy being in the Realm. With her combat prowess, her intelligence, and her willingness to help, I could see her becoming adviser to a kingdom or something.

Or she might return and get a gold medal at the Olympics. It could go either way.

-c

Eric the Cavalier

The Dungeons and Dragons cartoon is my favorite cartoon and my favorite episode of it is "Day of the Dungeon Master". That episode has a lot to do with why I think Eric is my favorite character in the show.

Eric was supposed to be the complainer who is always wrong, in order to "teach" kids that you should follow the group. But kids are smart enough to figure out that Eric often had a point. He regularly calls out Dungeon Master for not being as helpful as he could be, while the other kids blindly follow what DM suggests.

As a kid, I definitely paid attention.

Eric was the comic relief character and portrayed as cowardly, but he always rushed into protect others. While some of the others were a little two dimensional, Eric had layers. I think that's why I like when he gets to be DM for a day. He gets a chance to show more of his character.

Finding a mini that had the armor and shield but no weapon was difficult. Even removing the weapon wouldn't work for many because the pose would be too aggressive. Eventually, I settled on the Human Cleric of Bahamut. I removed the pick and modified the shield a little. His right hand is a little awkward, but I like to think that's Eric trying to figure out how to make a fist.

Would He Stay or Would He Go?

Eric most definitely would take the portal back home the first chance he got but...I think he would regret it. He'd go back to school, go to college and start working in his dad's company and just be bored and miserable. But I like to think that DM would give him some way to come back to the Realm and Eric just might decide he missed the place.

-c

Sheila the Thief

Where Hank is the head of the Dungeons and Dragons gang, Sheila is the heart. And of all the characters in the show, she is the most out of place in the Realm.

While Sheila was kind of the team mom, and a bit overly emotional at times, she did her fair share of fighting as well. Instead of direct attacks, she used misdirection and tricks, which seems very thief-like.


The hard part about finding a mini that worked for Sheila is that a lot of thief type minis are armed or look way more lethal than I wanted. Or, they were in "sexy" armor that I also did not want.

Finally, I decided to modify a Heroclix Magdalena miniature I happened to have. I removed the weapons and added a skirt. She still looks tougher than the cartoon version, but not crazy.

I guess technically since her hood is up you shouldn't be able to see her, but you could have a big discussion about how exactly Sheila's cloak of invisibility works. Sometimes it seems to make her intangible, sometimes not. Or maybe she's just a fast runner.

Who knows?

Would She Stay or Would She Go?

Sheila would definitely go home. No question about that.

-c

Hank the Ranger

While G.I.Joe is my favorite property from my childhood, the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon comes a close second. In fact, if we just talk cartoons, the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon is my all time favorite cartoon.

I'm not sure what that says about me...

Hank was the leader of the gang trapped in the "realm" of Dungeons and Dragons and, let's face it, was kind of the boring leader guy. He's the Cyclops of the group.

It's also kind of interesting that for the oldest member of the group, Hank is the only character who doesn't have a love interest or at least have someone show interest in him during the cartoon's run. Even Eric had a queen almost marry him (although she *was* evil, so maybe that doesn't count.)

Anyway, for Hank, I modified a Heroclix Legolas, removing the quiver and adding Hank's collar thingy. I considered trying to make his awesome hair, but didn't think I could pull it off.

Would He Stay Or Would He Go?

Initially, the kids were all looking for the way home, but I think some might elect to stay in the Realm. Hank is a good fighter and has a strong urge to do good, but in the end, I think his sense of responsibility would make him return home.

-c