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RPG Evolution: The Plastic Ancestry of the Owlbear
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<blockquote data-quote="talien" data-source="post: 8022730" data-attributes="member: 3285"><p>Like so many of the plastic monsters pulled from obscurity as patchisaurs, the owlbear has become iconic. But unlike the other monsters who we can easily trace to kaiju from the Ultraman series, the owlbear's roots may go much deeper.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">[ATTACH=full]123238[/ATTACH]</p><h3><span style="font-size: 18px"><strong>Monsters, and Owls, and Bears</strong></span></h3><p><a href="https://amzn.to/2VmVOh8" target="_blank"><strong><em>Art & Arcana </em></strong></a>explains the origins of these plastic monsters:</p><p></p><p>However, the original appearance of the owlbear doesn't match its later appearance:</p><p></p><p>The owlbear's final form was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owlbear" target="_blank">more bipedal bear than ambulatory bear</a>:</p><p></p><p>In an interesting twist on the plastic origins of these monsters, the owlbear didn't look like its inspiration. But what was the inspiration behind the patchisaur?</p><h3><span style="font-size: 18px"><strong>The Yellow Turtle</strong></span></h3><p>Fabled D&D artist Tony DiTerlizzi <a href="https://diterlizzi.com/essay/owlbears-rust-monsters-and-bulettes-oh-my/" target="_blank">expands on the owlbear's origin</a> in correspondence with Tim Kask:</p><p></p><p>Chandra Reyer <a href="http://multiverse.world/blog/2017/06/01/quest-owlbear-daikaiju-connection/" target="_blank">picks up where DiTerlizzi left off</a>:</p><p></p><p>Reyer theorizes that it's Gomora:</p><p></p><p><strong><em>The Return of Ultraman </em></strong>seems to be the source of many of the creatures depicted in the toys, which gives us a clue as to what monster to pick from. Of the different Ultraman foes, <a href="http://ultra.wikia.com/wiki/Bemstar" target="_blank">Bemstar</a> seems to have the most in common with the owlbear. <a href="http://ultra.wikia.com/wiki/Telesdon" target="_blank">Telesdon</a> is also a possibility -- his posture is right but he doesn't seem to have any feathers. DMDavid <a href="https://dmdavid.com/tag/the-stories-and-3-mysteries-behind-dds-iconic-monsters/" target="_blank">has his doubts</a>:</p><p></p><p>[EXCERPT]Some have tried to find a Kaiju that resembles the owlbear toy, but even the closest match takes blurred vision and a big leap of imagination. The toy’s bowl-shaped hair stands out as its most distinctive feature. As badly as the toy resembles an owl or a bear, it also badly resembles a Kappa from Japanese mythology.[/EXCERPT]</p><p>And thus we get the likely origins of the owlbear: the kappa!</p><h3><span style="font-size: 18px"><strong>What's a Kappa?</strong></span></h3><p>Wikipedia explains:</p><p></p><p>The kappa is described as:</p><p></p><p>The kappa seems like a good fit for an <strong><em>Ultraman </em></strong>series ... and it is, because several different kappa-inspired kaiju have faced off against the titular hero. But the only kappa kaiju that looks like a kappa is <a href="https://ultra.fandom.com/wiki/Kawanoji" target="_blank">Kawanoji</a>, who didn't appear in <strong><em>Ultraman Cosmos </em></strong>until 2001, much too late to inspire the patchisaur. Similarly, <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/125078123@N07/16100112190" target="_blank">the <strong><em>Death Kappa </em></strong>movie</a> came out in 2010. The only kappa-related monster that fits is <a href="https://ultra.fandom.com/wiki/King_Kappa" target="_blank">King Kappa</a>, but his appearance looks quite different from the patchisaur.</p><h3><span style="font-size: 18px"><strong>So Who Inspired Whom?</strong></span></h3><p>Given that patchisaurs were inspired by popular Japanese media at the time and that the kappa is an iconic yokai, it's not unreasonable to assume that the toy was based off of Japanese folklore. And that toy went on to become something different entirely, a creature with a title that roughly approximates its appearance without any of its fascinating and weird history.</p><p></p><p>Articles in this series:</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><a href="https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-ultra-mysterious-history-of-d-ds-iconic-monsters.672346/" target="_blank">The Plastic Ancestry of...</a></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><a href="https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-plastic-ancestry-of-the-umber-hulk.672616/" target="_blank">Bulette</a></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><a href="https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-plastic-ancestry-of-the-owlbear.672928/" target="_blank">Owlbear</a></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><a href="https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-plastic-ancestry-of-the-rust-monster.672809/" target="_blank">Rust Monster</a></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><a href="https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-plastic-ancestry-of-the-umber-hulk.672616/" target="_blank">Umber Hulk</a></li> </ul></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="talien, post: 8022730, member: 3285"] Like so many of the plastic monsters pulled from obscurity as patchisaurs, the owlbear has become iconic. But unlike the other monsters who we can easily trace to kaiju from the Ultraman series, the owlbear's roots may go much deeper. [CENTER][ATTACH type="full" alt="paowlbear.jpg"]123238[/ATTACH][/CENTER] [HEADING=2][SIZE=5][B]Monsters, and Owls, and Bears[/B][/SIZE][/HEADING] [URL='https://amzn.to/2VmVOh8'][B][I]Art & Arcana [/I][/B][/URL]explains the origins of these plastic monsters: However, the original appearance of the owlbear doesn't match its later appearance: The owlbear's final form was [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owlbear']more bipedal bear than ambulatory bear[/URL]: In an interesting twist on the plastic origins of these monsters, the owlbear didn't look like its inspiration. But what was the inspiration behind the patchisaur? [HEADING=2][SIZE=5][B]The Yellow Turtle[/B][/SIZE][/HEADING] Fabled D&D artist Tony DiTerlizzi [URL='https://diterlizzi.com/essay/owlbears-rust-monsters-and-bulettes-oh-my/']expands on the owlbear's origin[/URL] in correspondence with Tim Kask: Chandra Reyer [URL='http://multiverse.world/blog/2017/06/01/quest-owlbear-daikaiju-connection/']picks up where DiTerlizzi left off[/URL]: Reyer theorizes that it's Gomora: [B][I]The Return of Ultraman [/I][/B]seems to be the source of many of the creatures depicted in the toys, which gives us a clue as to what monster to pick from. Of the different Ultraman foes, [URL='http://ultra.wikia.com/wiki/Bemstar']Bemstar[/URL] seems to have the most in common with the owlbear. [URL='http://ultra.wikia.com/wiki/Telesdon']Telesdon[/URL] is also a possibility -- his posture is right but he doesn't seem to have any feathers. DMDavid [URL='https://dmdavid.com/tag/the-stories-and-3-mysteries-behind-dds-iconic-monsters/']has his doubts[/URL]: [EXCERPT]Some have tried to find a Kaiju that resembles the owlbear toy, but even the closest match takes blurred vision and a big leap of imagination. The toy’s bowl-shaped hair stands out as its most distinctive feature. As badly as the toy resembles an owl or a bear, it also badly resembles a Kappa from Japanese mythology.[/EXCERPT] And thus we get the likely origins of the owlbear: the kappa! [HEADING=2][SIZE=5][B]What's a Kappa?[/B][/SIZE][/HEADING] Wikipedia explains: The kappa is described as: The kappa seems like a good fit for an [B][I]Ultraman [/I][/B]series ... and it is, because several different kappa-inspired kaiju have faced off against the titular hero. But the only kappa kaiju that looks like a kappa is [URL='https://ultra.fandom.com/wiki/Kawanoji']Kawanoji[/URL], who didn't appear in [B][I]Ultraman Cosmos [/I][/B]until 2001, much too late to inspire the patchisaur. Similarly, [URL='https://www.flickr.com/photos/125078123@N07/16100112190']the [B][I]Death Kappa [/I][/B]movie[/URL] came out in 2010. The only kappa-related monster that fits is [URL='https://ultra.fandom.com/wiki/King_Kappa']King Kappa[/URL], but his appearance looks quite different from the patchisaur. [HEADING=2][SIZE=5][B]So Who Inspired Whom?[/B][/SIZE][/HEADING] Given that patchisaurs were inspired by popular Japanese media at the time and that the kappa is an iconic yokai, it's not unreasonable to assume that the toy was based off of Japanese folklore. And that toy went on to become something different entirely, a creature with a title that roughly approximates its appearance without any of its fascinating and weird history. Articles in this series: [LIST] [*][URL='https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-ultra-mysterious-history-of-d-ds-iconic-monsters.672346/']The Plastic Ancestry of...[/URL] [*][URL='https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-plastic-ancestry-of-the-umber-hulk.672616/']Bulette[/URL] [*][URL='https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-plastic-ancestry-of-the-owlbear.672928/']Owlbear[/URL] [*][URL='https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-plastic-ancestry-of-the-rust-monster.672809/']Rust Monster[/URL] [*][URL='https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-plastic-ancestry-of-the-umber-hulk.672616/']Umber Hulk[/URL] [/LIST] [/QUOTE]
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