:: View topic - The Guardian Project

Zap! Whoosh! Bam! Goal?

Comic-book legend Stan Lee has an unlikely partner for his new team of superheroes: the National Hockey League.

The Spider-Man co-creator and the NHL are collaborating on The Guardian Project, creating a superhero to represent each of the league's 30 teams.

"It's thrilling to me because they have such great teams, and every team has a name that lends itself to a superhero we've created, and nobody I think has done anything like this before," Lee says in an interview. "We're taking the whole hockey league and we're playing up every one of the teams, and we have a whole story behind it. It's going to be an epic story."

Each Guardian will have five powers, including one tied to his team. The Calgary Flames representative will have control over fire and the Philadelphia Flyer can go airborne, for example. They are not being developed from existing mascots.

"We worked really closely with all 30 teams over the last 10 months to really get the look and feel and personality of their team and incorporate it into the physical superhero character," says Adam Baratta of Guardian Media Entertainment (GME), the partnership set up to launch and operate the franchise.

The superheroes are designed to appeal to the NHL's fan base, but also to the younger set, perhaps cultivating new fans. Plans call for comic books, a novel, mobile applications, TV and film.

"We were looking at how do we cultivate a relationship with the next generation of fans," NHL marketing chief Brian Jennings says. "And watching the explosion of superheroes that was going on in the entertainment world, we immediately saw an amazing opportunity."

Organizers are keeping a lid for now on the powers and likenesses of The Guardians, with plans to reveal them individually over time on the enterprise's website (http://www.guardianproject30.com) before presenting them together at January's NHL All-Star game.

The teams had a role in designing heroes to reflect themselves. The Flyers are characterized by toughness, the Montreal Canadiens by speed and the Toronto Maple Leafs by size and strength.

The superheroes will work together and separately, although there will be friction between those representing traditional rivalries, such as that between the Flyers and the New York Rangers.

They spring from the mind of another character, a hockey fan named Mike Mason. They will be fans of their respective teams, but their stories will take place in a world outside of hockey. Of course, there will be villains.

Mason will have something in common with Spider-Man's Peter Parker "in the sense that (as) we tried to make Peter Parker as realistic as possible, we are trying to make Mike Mason as real as possible. (But) it's a whole different story," Lee says.

The Guardians will have "their own personal problems and hang-ups," he says.

GME's Tony Chargin, who worked with Lee and Jake Shapiro to create and develop the characters, came up with the idea of merging superheroes and professional team sports. In the late 1990s, he noticed kids becoming less interested in team sports and more engaged with wrestling and the X-Games.

"How do you get kids in today's world, who have so many options, interested in team sports?" he says. "Kids love superheroes. Kids love sports. Sports figures are very similar to superheroes. It seemed natural."

He and his partners also talked to other professional leagues, but the NHL pairing made for a partnership rather than a licensing deal, GME COO Mark Terry says.

Hockey is a fine fit, Lee says. "It's fast moving, it's thrilling, it's exciting as a game can be."

Author:	sabresindc [ Sun Dec 26, 2010 5:21 pm ]
Post subject:	The Guardian Project
http://www.guardianproject30.com/ Quote: Zap! Whoosh! Bam! Goal? Comic-book legend Stan Lee has an unlikely partner for his new team of superheroes: the National Hockey League. The Spider-Man co-creator and the NHL are collaborating on The Guardian Project, creating a superhero to represent each of the league's 30 teams. "It's thrilling to me because they have such great teams, and every team has a name that lends itself to a superhero we've created, and nobody I think has done anything like this before," Lee says in an interview. "We're taking the whole hockey league and we're playing up every one of the teams, and we have a whole story behind it. It's going to be an epic story." Each Guardian will have five powers, including one tied to his team. The Calgary Flames representative will have control over fire and the Philadelphia Flyer can go airborne, for example. They are not being developed from existing mascots. "We worked really closely with all 30 teams over the last 10 months to really get the look and feel and personality of their team and incorporate it into the physical superhero character," says Adam Baratta of Guardian Media Entertainment (GME), the partnership set up to launch and operate the franchise. The superheroes are designed to appeal to the NHL's fan base, but also to the younger set, perhaps cultivating new fans. Plans call for comic books, a novel, mobile applications, TV and film. "We were looking at how do we cultivate a relationship with the next generation of fans," NHL marketing chief Brian Jennings says. "And watching the explosion of superheroes that was going on in the entertainment world, we immediately saw an amazing opportunity." Organizers are keeping a lid for now on the powers and likenesses of The Guardians, with plans to reveal them individually over time on the enterprise's website (http://www.guardianproject30.com) before presenting them together at January's NHL All-Star game. The teams had a role in designing heroes to reflect themselves. The Flyers are characterized by toughness, the Montreal Canadiens by speed and the Toronto Maple Leafs by size and strength. The superheroes will work together and separately, although there will be friction between those representing traditional rivalries, such as that between the Flyers and the New York Rangers. They spring from the mind of another character, a hockey fan named Mike Mason. They will be fans of their respective teams, but their stories will take place in a world outside of hockey. Of course, there will be villains. Mason will have something in common with Spider-Man's Peter Parker "in the sense that (as) we tried to make Peter Parker as realistic as possible, we are trying to make Mike Mason as real as possible. (But) it's a whole different story," Lee says. The Guardians will have "their own personal problems and hang-ups," he says. GME's Tony Chargin, who worked with Lee and Jake Shapiro to create and develop the characters, came up with the idea of merging superheroes and professional team sports. In the late 1990s, he noticed kids becoming less interested in team sports and more engaged with wrestling and the X-Games. "How do you get kids in today's world, who have so many options, interested in team sports?" he says. "Kids love superheroes. Kids love sports. Sports figures are very similar to superheroes. It seemed natural." He and his partners also talked to other professional leagues, but the NHL pairing made for a partnership rather than a licensing deal, GME COO Mark Terry says. Hockey is a fine fit, Lee says. "It's fast moving, it's thrilling, it's exciting as a game can be."

Author:	Displaced Fan [ Sun Dec 26, 2010 5:28 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: The Guardian Project

Author:	sabresindc [ Sun Dec 26, 2010 5:31 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: The Guardian Project
Basically the NHL has teamed up with a comic book guru to create a comic book hero of each team. I'm assuming they will be create some sort of storyline to go along with it. Obviously someone in marketing is a comic book geek who thought this was a great idea...I personally think it'll bomb.

Author:	mechaphil [ Sat Jan 01, 2011 5:18 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: The Guardian Project
"A comic book guru"? Stan Lee transcends mere titles. He is unto a god.

Author:	Wozniak [ Sat Jan 01, 2011 5:28 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: The Guardian Project
mechaphil wrote: "A comic book guru"? Stan Lee transcends mere titles. He is unto a god. the name amongst names!

http://www.sabresjunkie.com/forum/

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Author:	Wozniak [ Sat Jan 01, 2011 5:30 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: The Guardian Project
im more interested to see the character designs then whatever else they do with it.

Author:	Rud [ Sun Jan 02, 2011 12:20 am ]
Post subject:	Re: The Guardian Project
This is crossing a threshold that should never be crossed. So this will either be amazing, or will be like opening the Ark of the Covenant.

Author:	mechaphil [ Sun Jan 02, 2011 12:21 am ]
Post subject:	Re: The Guardian Project
Last I saw, the Sabres were beating the Senators 60-40 for the right to be revealed on 1/5

Author:	Rud [ Sun Jan 02, 2011 12:22 am ]
Post subject:	Re: The Guardian Project
Where do we vote?

Author:	mechaphil [ Sun Jan 02, 2011 12:23 am ]
Post subject:	Re: The Guardian Project
I dunno...saw it RT'd by someone on the Twitter.

Author:	Rud [ Sun Jan 02, 2011 12:24 am ]
Post subject:	Re: The Guardian Project
Aw. Boo-urns.

Author:	sabresindc [ Sun Jan 02, 2011 12:24 am ]
Post subject:	Re: The Guardian Project
mechaphil wrote: "A comic book guru"? Stan Lee transcends mere titles. He is unto a god. Not really a comic book person. I'm very interested in this and think it will be cool

Author:	CriminallyVu1gar [ Wed Jan 05, 2011 6:05 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: The Guardian Project
I like the idea, being someone who is getting more into comic books daily.

Author:	Squanto [ Wed Jan 05, 2011 6:07 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: The Guardian Project
sabresindc wrote: Rud wrote: Where do we vote? Facebook just search "the guardian project" This is the face of Buffalo's character "The Sabre" That is, in fact, a picture of The Penguin.

Author:	ironyisadeadscene [ Wed Jan 05, 2011 6:07 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: The Guardian Project
remember when MLB tried to put spiderman ads on the bases and the backstops? remember how bad it went? imagine that, but 20 times worse. this sounds beyond retarded.

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Author:	BlueandYellow [ Wed Jan 05, 2011 6:16 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: The Guardian Project
So yeah. No.