Comic Action Heroes, 3 3/4" action figures by Mego, 1975
Above is Robin (missing an arm) and Aquaman. These figures are the same as the Pocket Heroes produced in 1979 (shown below) but have bent legs instead of straight legs. Other DC characters in the series include Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Shazam, Penguin, and the Joker. Vehicles included the Batmobile modeled after the 1966 TV series, and Wonder Woman's Invisible Plane made out of clear plastic.
Mego also produced a very popular series of 8 inch and 12 inch dolls which I have shown on the DC Comics Dolls page of my other blog, Mikey's Dolls.
Pocket Super Heroes, 3 3/4" action figures by Mego, 1979
Above are Robin, Batman, and Superman. The skin tone paint on Batman's face has worn off. These figures are the same as the Comic Action Heroes from 1975 (shown above) but have straight legs instead of bent legs. Other DC Comics characters in the series include Wonder Woman, Shazam, Aquaman, Penguin, Joker, Lex Luthor, General Zod, and Jor-el.
Four Marvel superheroes were also made as part of this series, two of which are shown on the Marvel Comics page of this blog.
The Batmobile from the Comic Action Heroes line was reissued as part of this set however the top "dome" section was modified. Rather than having one solid clear lid that flips open, the windows on this version match with how they looked on the 1966 Batman TV series and are fixed in place.
Super Powers, action figures by Kenner, 1984-1986
In other words, this amazing and iconic toy series would never have happened if Mego had never gone bankrupt. As both a life-long fan of Mego 8 inch superhero dolls and a huge fan of the Super Powers series, this bit of action figure history has always made the collector in me feel rather conflicted. Part of me can't help thinking "Wow! Good thing Mego went bankrupt!", but then the Mego fanatic in me immediately feels like I've betrayed my awesome 8 inch Mego collection and am not worthy of basking in it's glory. Gosh, life is hard sometimes!
Unlike Mattel which acquired the rights for Marvel Comics superheroes resulting in the "Secret Wars" toy line, Kenner pampered DC Comics fans by producing a well designed and perfectly sculpted series of figures complete with fabric capes and articulated knees to allow extra posing and playability. Plus, each figure had a built in "Super Power action" based on the specific character's heroic ability. If that wasn't enough, each figure also came with a full colour mini comic book! This made the Secret Wars figures seem lack-luster to kids of the 80's. As such, Kenner's Super Powers series quickly became the more popular superhero toy line, and the rest is history. Mattel wasn't out of the picture though. Two years prior in 1982, Mattel had released their extremely popular He-Man / Masters of the Universe toy series, so they still had a very strong and stable position in the action figure market.
Series 1
Heroes: Aquaman (missing trident staff), Robin, Batman, Superman (missing cape),
and Wonder Woman (missing golden lasso)
Super Power action:
Aquaman - squeeze arms to make both legs kick for swimming action
Robin - squeeze legs to make right arm make a karate-chop action
Batman - squeeze legs to make both arms punch
Superman - squeeze legs to make both arms punch
Wonder Woman - squeeze legs to make arms cross (to use her bullet stopping bracelets)
Heroes: The Flash, Green Lantern (missing lantern accessory), and Hawkman
Super Power action:
Flash - squeeze arms to make both legs move for running action
Green Lantern - squeeze legs to lift right hand (to use the green power ring)
Hawkman - squeeze legs to make both wings flap
Villains: Penguin, Joker (missing coat tails), Lex Luthor, and Brainiac (missing left arm)
Super Power action:
Penguin - squeeze legs to make right arm lift umbrella
Joker - squeeze legs to make right arm clobber with mallet
Lex Luthor - squeeze legs to make both arms punch or chop, removing the green armor limits his powers (by releasing a button on his back, this limits the arm movement)
Brainiac - squeeze arms to make right leg kick (unfortunately, it's common for the left arm of this figure to break off)
The Batmobile
This toy was released with series 1 and originally came in a box without any figures. The car has a spring loaded battering ram on the front which is activated by a lever next to Batman's chair. A yellow button on the dashboard operates the headlights, which simply lift up (they do not actually light up). Another button next to Batman's chair operates a set of spring loaded hooks that pop out from the back of the car to capture the villain. When the car's back right wheel turns it makes a clicking sound.
Hall of Justice Playset
Series 1 Vehicles and Playsets missing from my collection:
Lex-Soar 7 (spaceship)
Superman Supermobile (spaceship)
Series 2
Heroes: Green Arrow (missing arrow accessory), Firestorm, Red Tornado,
Martian Manhunter (missing cape), and Dr. Fate
Super Power Action:
Green Arrow - squeeze legs to make arms move into position to shoot bow and arrow
Firestorm - squeeze legs to make both arms punch
Red Tornado - squeeze arms to make lower torso with legs spin around
Martian Manhunter - squeeze legs to make both arms punch
Dr. Fate - squeeze legs to make both arms punch
Villains: Kalibak (missing Beta-Club accessory), Darkseid, and Parademon (missing weapon)
Super Power Action:
Kalibak - squeeze legs to make left arm lift up (to swing his Beta-Club accessory)
Darkseid - squeeze legs to make both arms lift up, the red eyes also light up if the figure is held up to a light source
Parademon - squeeze legs to make arms/wings flap
Villains: Desaad (missing plastic skirt), Mantis, and Steppenwolf (missing axe)
Super Power Action:
Desaad - squeeze legs to make his arms move side to side (to shock an enemy with his machine)
Mantis - squeeze legs to make arms move back and forth in opposite directions
Steppenwolf - squeeze legs to make his right arm chop his axe (which is missing)
Series 2 figures missing from my collection:
Clark Kent
Clark Kent
Series 3
Hero: Samurai (missing fabric vest)
Villain: Tyr (missing rocket arm)
Villain: Cyclotron (missing face piece)
Super Power Action:
Samurai - squeeze his arms to make his lower torso and legs spin
Tyr - squeeze legs to make his rocket arm move
Cyclotron - wind him up (twist his upper torso around several times) and then squeeze his legs to make his upper torso spin
Series 3 figures missing from my collection:
Cyborg
Plastic Man
Mister Miracle
Shazam
Golden Pharaoh
Orion
Mr. Freeze
Riddler (exclusive to Argentina)
Here is a better view of Samurai's sword.
Additional vehicles in the Super Powers series included:
Batcopter
Darkseid Destroyer
Delta Probe One
Kalibak Boulder Bomber
Justice Jogger
Batman action figures by Toy Biz, 1989
As for the Batmobile, I was a kid in the 70's so I grew up with reruns of the 1966 Batman TV series which was still very popular. So I will always love the 1966 Batmobile as it is the one from my childhood and has sentimental meaning to me, but the 1989 Batmobile is my my favourite Batmobile. I especially like the slick, streamline look to it.
DC Comics, PVC Figures by "Comics Spain", 1988-1992
Toy Biz Batmobile, 1989
The Toy Biz Batmobile was released with or without the Cocoon as seen in the movie. As such the Batmobile was released in two different boxes, one that shows that the Cocoon is included on the front of the box (shown above) and one that doesn't come with the Cocoon.
The Cocoon itself is just a cheap, flimsy plastic blow-mold form. It's the same type of plastic that the bubble for card packaging is made of , only instead of being clear plastic it's solid black. It would not take kids very much effort to damage the Cocoon, either tearing it or crushing it, even if they were trying not to. I have always left mine in the box because it is so fragile.
Batman, PVC figures by Applause, 1989
Applause made these PVC figures in 1989 as merchandise for the Batman movie starring Michael Keaton. This same figure of Batman was also made with his grey and blue outfit. These PVC figures are much smaller than the Comic Spain figures shown below.
DC Comics, PVC Figures by "Comics Spain", 1988-1992
I found this series of DC Comics PVC figures on e-bay. They are all marked "Comics Spain / 1991" with the exception of Batman and Superman which are marked 1989 and 1992. The majority of these Comics Spain figures were made five years after the Kenner Super Powers series ended, yet I like to think of them as being part of the Super Powers collection. They seem like mini versions of those figures as they use the same designs and colours for the characters.
Shown above are Hawkman, The Flash, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Green Arrow and a character from the Teen Titans, Starfire.
There is also an earlier version of Superman in a different pose from 1988, and a version of the above Batman figure in a black costume, likely released in 1989 in conjunction with the Tim Burton Batman movie.
In 1992 a third PVC figure of Batman was made based on the film sequel Batman Returns. The figure was detailed to have the same costume as seen in the movie, and was released along with figures of the villains Catwoman and Penguin from the same film. In my experience the three Batman Returns figures along with Green Arrow and Wonder Woman are the harder figures to find from this series.
Flash, Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman
Here's a closer look at each of the figures. This 1992 version of Superman is much nicer than the 1988 version, though I adore this PVC series so I hope to own both someday. Wonder Woman is a more recent addition to my collection. In my experience she was quite challenging to find. As these were originally only sold in Europe the only way I'm able to acquire them here in Canada is to buy them online. Had it not been for e-bay, I would never have known this series existed!
Batman and Flash are very nice looking figures. Alas, it seems that a Robin PVC figure was not made for this collection. :( Unfortunately in the late 1980's and early 1990's Robin was out of vogue as a side-kick for Batman, who was being marketed on his own as a solo superhero. I thought that was unfortunate as Robin has always been my favourite superhero.
Hawkman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, and Aquaman
I must say, it's nice to see Hawkman included in this set as the character is often excluded from action figure collections. I wonder why his winged cowl was painted brown instead of orange as they already had orange paint for Aquaman? I'm glad to have the figure none the less. In 1991 when the Comics Spain Hawkman, Green Lantern, and Flash PVC figures were made, the three characters had only been offered in action figure form on two other occasions. The first was as part of the very popular Kenner Super Powers series in 1982, shown above on this page, and the next was in 1990 by Toy Biz, which in my view were rather poorly made.
The Mego toy company that had produced smaller 3 3/4 inch action figures, bendy figures, 8 inch dolls and 12 inch dolls based on DC Comics characters in the 1970s never included Hawkman, Flash or Green Lantern in their figure assortments. Mego made an 8 inch doll prototype of the Flash but retailers weren't interested, which I suspect was due to the character's costume being similar to Shazam, which Mego had already included in their DC toy lines.
For some odd reason the Aquaman figure for this set was sculpted slightly larger than all the other PVC figures in this series including Superman.
Starfire
As Robin was the leader of the Teen Titans he was still a popular character during the late 80's and early 90's despite his separation from Batman. It's equally as odd that a PVC figure of Robin's Teen Titans team mate Starfire was made for this series without a Robin figure to match (the two characters were dating in the Teen Titans comic books), not to mention any of the other Teen Titans such as Cyborg or Kid Flash. That would have been cool! The Teen Titans characters were very popular at the time, so it's very bizarre to me that a Robin figure wasn't made, very, very bizarre! As a collector I find it extra frustrating that they made two versions of Batman and Superman but no Robin! Of course, this was the era that introduced Robin's new persona as Nightwing, so maybe that's why Robin wasn't made. Frankly, in my view a first appearance "disco" Nightwing PVC figure would have been even more awesome than one of Robin.
Just for fun, here is the Comics Spain Batman PVC figure (far right) next to a few other Batman figures for size comparison. On the far left is an 8 inch Mego doll, next is the 3 inch action figure by Mego, and the Kenner Super Powers action figure.
Swamp Thing, action figures by Kenner, 1991
Swamp Thing action figure shown with Batman and Robin for size comparison.
Although not officially part of the Super Powers collection, I like to include the Kenner figure of Swamp Thing displayed with my Super Power figures as he is also a DC Comics character. Kenner did an entire series of figures based on Swamp Thing which was very well done and included several figures of Swamp Thing, each with a different design and action feature. "Capture Swamp Thing" looks like it is meant to be the official or normal version of Swamp Thing, however I find the bright green solid colour of "Snap Up Swamp Thing", shown above, matches with the Super Powers collection much better.
Several other characters were made in the Swamp Thing series as well, including good guys and villains, as well as several accessories and playsets. All of the figures were made in the same scale as the Super Powers figures which makes the Swamp Thing series seem like an extension of the Super Powers collection.
Super Power Action:
Snap-up Swamp Thing - pull out all of Swamp Things limbs (which are attached to strings) and then press the button on his back to "snap up" all the limbs back into position.
