Best and Worst toy lines of the 80's and 90's Part #2
Well here it is as promised, part two of my best and worst toy lines
of the 1980's and 1990's. This time around, I will be hitting on the two big
superhero action figure lines of the early 1980's; Super Powers and Secret
Wars. Like last time, I will be doing two lines that I like and one that I dislike.
Line: Super Powers (1984-1986)
Company: Kenner
This was the longer running of the two lines (only by a year), but
for its time it introduced a lot of fun options for action figures. The
figures were scaled slightly larger than the GI Joe line; each figure was
about 4-5 inches tall, depending on who
t
he character was. This line was the first (as far as I know) that gave us
action figures that had a special action. For example, the Superman figure
in the line had the action of punching when you squeezed his legs together.
My favorite figure action out
of the line was Brainiac with the action of when you squeezed his arms
together his right leg shot up in a kicking action. It was fun because you
could do it rapidly and it was fun to do.
The figures had very good molds and paint jobs. They were colorful
and were really eye catching so they stuck out when they were on the
shelves. Also the figures that needed accessories got them while those that
didn't did not get them. For example, Green Lantern got a small green lantern
(what else) that he could hold to recharge his ring. The figures were based
on the heroes and villains from the Super Powers comic book limited series
that was out about the same time as the figures. Around the second release
of the series, they released some of the best figures from the
entire line, and those are the ones of Darkseid and all of his cronies from
Apolipse. The last year of the line gave us some of the more obscure figures
that some comics novices at the time might not know. They included ones like
Tyr, Cyborg, Dr. Fate and Mister Miracle. The line also included vehicles that
seemed to fit in with some of the figures from the line like the Lex Soar -7
and Kalabak Boulder Bomber, and then there's the completely wacky Justice Jogger.
Best figure: Hawkman (The first one I got from the line)
Worst Figure: Cyclotron (Why? Why? Why?)
Line: Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars (1984)
Company: Mattel
This line came out the same time as the Super Powers line, but this
one was not as fun as the Super Powers line. The figures were based on the
twelve issue limited series that went by the same name. The figures in this
line measured about four and a half inches tall with some being taller or
shorter, depending on the character that they represented.
The gimmick that was included with each figure was the shield that
came with each figure. The good guys came with a round red shield and the
bad guys came with a square grey shield. The shields had lindticular
technology that allowed you to put a special cut out that came with
each figure that showed something about the figure that came with each
figure. The one included with the figure usually showed the character in
costume and then their secret identity. Some of the figures in this line
came with a weapon that was normal for the character to have. The figure
Wolverine from the line for example had a set of either black or silver
claws (first or second run) and the Daredevil figure came with a billy
club. Unfortunately, they kind of made a mistake with some of the figures
accessories. For example, the Dr. Doom figure came with
a gun along with the Iron Man and Magneto figures. Why did these figures
come with weapons, they did not use them in the comics so why include them?
Three things about this line bugged me other than the whole gun
thing. First, is the reuse of the same body molds for each figure. This was
probably done as a cost saving measure with them only having to do different
heads for different figures. Second is the fact that three of the figures were
released only in Europe. The figures for the characters Constrictor, Electro
and Iceman were only released in Europe, and I know for one, that I would not
have minded having an Iceman figure to go with my Wolverine figure. Lastly,
there's the inclusion of some figures that I have never seen in the Secret
Wars comics. Of the dozen figures from the line (not including those released
in Europe), I can only remember seeing seven of them in the comic. The three
glaring additions that I do not think were in the comics are Baron Zemo, Hobgoblin
and Kang.
Best Figure: Wolverine (The first I got and I still have it.)
Worst Figure: Kang (Who is this person and why was he made?)
Worst Lines: X-Men/X-Force (1990-present)
Company: Toy Biz
Where can I begin about this line? Well, first is the fact that this
line just plain stinks. Why, you may ask? Because there's too many of them.
The line begins with the release of seven figures. I guess with the success
of those, they decided to branch out into two separate lines, one for X-Men
one for X-Force. Since then it has snowballed into this gigantic cash cow
for Toy Biz.
I do not like this line simply because of the number of short packed
figures in the line and the fact that they decided to crank out some type of
Wolverine with each X-Men line or some type of Cable with each X-Force line,
and frankly, they took good characters like them and then drive them into the
ground by doing different versions of them over nine years. They wasted good
plastic on all these different versions of Wolverine and Cable, when there
were numerous other figures that they could have done.
Now there are the variations on the lines. You have the Savage Land
versions, Space versions, Water Wars versions, and there's got to be
something that I missed. The only saving grace with these lines are the
release of special versions of the original
X-Men five pack, and a set from Giant Sized X-Men with Storm, Colossus,
Nightcrawler, and others that I have missed. There are problems with this
part of the line, but they are not as prevalent as those in the other lines.
Well, that about wraps it up with this edition. Next month I'll
cover Transformers and a special line that will be a surprise to everyone.
As always questions, comments, ideas or whatever you want can be sent to
torach@hotmail.com and I'll take it under advisement.
