Q:I must confess I was expecting the unnamed one to be a cross between chthulu darkness from legend and the emperor from star wars.instead we got a trollan.dont get me wrong it really is a nice figure.could you explain how this is a love letter to fans?
A:Happy to give a few thoughts on this issue!
So for starters, I'll absolutely be upfront that one man's "love letter" is another man's "huh?". Anytime you are dealing with revealing a 30 year mystery, the build up and anticipation (as well as speculation in different fan's minds) will inevitably lead to some level of disappointment. Wolverine's origin anyone? Star Wars prequels? etc..
I remember the final episode of ST Enterprise was billed as a love letter to fans and I was sorely disappointed. Trip died in a holodeck? Whatever. But I do get where the creators were coming from and why they would call the final episode a love letter to fans.
Okay, back to the UNO.
So for starters, the idea of who the figure is and what he looked like was something that was set way back in 2009. His bio was also written back then and has not changed. Which actually debunks the whole "this is the same story as Krona from Green Lantern". That story by Geoff Johns which revealed that Krona was a fallen Guardian did not come out until 2010/2011. Before that Krona was a different character in the DC universe. The UNO backstory, while written before this new GL story, was published second. So I can see where there is an "argument", but that "argument" is just factually wrong. Additionally, the "idea" of a fallen character, be is a God like Prometheus or an angel like Satan, is a concept, much like all of MOTU, deeply rooted in mythological motifs. If anything, both Geoff and the MOTU bios are paying homage to mythic themes of a fallen character, not ripping each other off. - in fact, I remember reading the GL story revamping Krona as a fallen Guardians back in 2010/2011 and thinking "wow, this is very similar to the backstory we created last year (and as yet unpublished) for the UNO. Some fans are totally going to jump to the conclusion we ripped this off, even though it was written first!".
So with that out of the way...
Next, again back in 2009 when we decided who the UNO was and what his story was, we very directly made him an "evil Trolla" because 1: Trollans (Orko) is a VERY recognizable character to casual MOTU fans and would be instantly understood by most casual fans as a MOTU figure/character. A giant Cuthulu type beast might not be. 2: Fans already were using Gorpo (the working name for Orko) as a blue clad Trollan character online and the UNO figure payed homage to that look and name. Heck, He-Man.org, one of the large fan sites even has a "Gorpo" smily face icon that came out well before the figure did. So this was a concept fans had been using for years and incorporating it into the UNO figure was an homage to that. Hence a "love letter" if you will.
Finally, the mini comic included with UNO is just chocked full of easter eggs and surprises for long time fans. And of course the biggest thing of all is the very fact that this figure solves a 30 year mystery for fans; who is the UNO? Doing that in itself, solving the mystery finally, is a love letter to fans. We could have just as easily only done the vintage figures in MOTUC and never expanded the world like this, but by purposely including a toy of the UNO in the line up and writing a bio (back in 2009)it would help resolve 30 years of mystery and plot threads at least finally giving fans an answer they have waited for.
It may not be the answer every fans wants, but it is an answer and providing "an answer" to this mystery, whether you like it or not, is also a "love letter" to our fans. We could have just as easily never addressed this and made a much smaller toy line, but that is not what MOTUC is about! The line has always been about resolving long term plot points and connecting the dots. (Horde Prime figure, the mini comics, etc...) It pushed the brand forward and helps justify the greatest number of figures possible!
Of course, as I noted in the top, this is 100% dependent on your POV. Not every fan will see him this way and that is fine. Again, anytime you are revealing the answer to a long term mystery there will be a contingent of fans not on board with the answer. Spending 30 years *(and especially the last 12 months) wondering what this figure would look like and who he is definitely adds to the hype and raises expectations.
At the end of the day, we are really proud of this figure and honestly he has become one of the single most popular figures around the office. Everyone seems to want one! Not every fan will be 100% satisfied and we never expected to please everyone.
For what our goals were, we couldn't be prouder of this amazing figure!
