Toys

Superman Stuff #30: Blake’s Superman Shelves-Assorted Action Figures

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Today we’re going to take another trip to the Superman Shelves, the semi-regular feature in which I take you on a tour of some of the many, many pieces of Superman toys and collectibles in my collection. In previous installments, we’ve looked at my Superman LEGOs and various toys featuring Supergirl. This time out, we’re going to look at some of the assorted action figures that line my shelves.

We’re going to start today with some of the in-package figures in my collection. For the most part, these do not go on display, mostly because I don’t have a good way to display them at the moment. I’m not a fanatic about keeping toys in the box, but certain ones (particularly if it’s not a reclosable box) stay in their plastic bubble as a display piece.

The top two figures in this collage are both of the Christopher Reeve Superman. On the left is a retro-style Spin Master figure, and next to him is a DC Comics Multiverse representation. (I’ve also got the Michael Keaton-style Batman from this line.) Below that we’ve got one of the McFarlane “Page Punchers” – figures packaged with a comic book. This one is from the first issue of the 2016 “Rebirth” era of the comic. In the middle is a Spin Master black suit Superman based on the 2015 Lois and Clark miniseries, and at the end is one of the new line of MEGO Heroes replica figures. I definitely don’t have the original.

This next trio are old-school figures: a McFarlane Super Powers Superman in the style of the Fleischer Cartoons, a bendy figure in the same style (that one is out of his box), and a retro “First Appearance” Superman from the sadly defunct DC Legion of Collectors series. I miss that line – getting a box of DC collectibles every other month with no idea what was coming was a great thing.

Here are some of the smallest figures that I have. The top row are all figures from the Mattel “Imaginext” line of toys for younger kids. Don’t worry, I did not steal any of these from my son. I am consistently impressed, though, at the wildly diverse characters in that line – it’s not 200 different versions of Batman. Well…not JUST 200 different versions of Batman. Here we have Superboy-Prime, a Kingdom Come Superman, and Bizarro. The two figures beneath them are steel Mattel figurines from the Dollar Tree – a classic Superman, and the same figure in a black costume, part of a larger set of Justice League figures.

This next set of figures are all based on last year’s David Corenswet Superman movie. Your basic figure comes first (still in package), followed by a Krypto “Mini Chomper.” Next to them is a Thrilljoy figure, given to me as a birthday present by my brother. Thrilljoy is a relatively new player on the market and seems to be making moves to set itself up as the next Funko – in fact, I believe the company was founded by former Funko executives. On the bottom row is a 12-inch David Corenswet figure (my son has an identical one, which he insisted on bringing with us to see the movie), and in the corner is the three-inch four-figure set from the film, which included not only Superman, but Ultraman, the Engineer, and Mr. Terrific. 

These two tall guys are a Noble Collection Bendable figure (which has come out of his package since I took this picture) and a 12-inch “New 52”-style Superman that I got in a gift basket from my dear friend Owen years ago when I was in the hospital for a couple of weeks. There were other Superman things in that basket too, some of which will turn up in later pictures, and a towel that my son now uses. Owen is a great guy.

I call these guys “the Cosplayers.” McFarlane Toys did a line of “action figures” that were really more like slightly articulated statues for Warner Bros’ 100th anniversary a couple of years ago. I got the Bugs Bunny-as-Superman from that line, as well as Sloth from the Goonies recreating that epic moment from the end of the movie. Also in this set is the Neca Ben Cooper Superman costume figure. I love this line of toys, even though this is the only one I own – action figures of kids wearing the classic Ben Cooper Halloween costumes of my youth. There are lots of other ones. My brother gave me this one, too.

Two more from McFarlane: this replica of the old Supermobile, with an out-of-package Super Powers Superman to pilot it.

Then there’s this little oddity from their Qubi line – cubes that “transform” into figures. It’s weird and neat. I got my wife the Harley Quinn from that line, and I’ve got my eye on the Supergirl…

Let’s finish up this tour with two of my favorite pieces: the most unique toy in my collection and the oldest toy in my collection. Back in 2008 Disney launched its own line of vinyl figures called “Vinylmation.” There were hundreds of different designs that were wildly popular for a few years, then kind of faded away. But one of the most popular things in the line  were blank figures intended to be customized into whatever design you wanted. My sister, who is far more artistic than I am, made this Superman Mickey Mouse for me for Christmas one year. It’s still got a place of honor on the shelf.

Finally, this guy here is a MEGO Pocket Heroes Superman. I had one of these figures as a child, and it was one of my favorite toys. I played with it all the time. The thing is, I never knew what action figure line it came from. I have no memory of receiving the toy, it was just kind of always THERE. This preceded the original Super Powers figures, and once those came out, that was sort of the standard for DC figures for many years. I never forgot the old toy, though, and I spent years wondering what it was and where it came from. Then out of the blue, just about a year ago, someone in a Facebook group shared an old advertisement for the MEGO Pocket Heroes (the ad, and some further information about the series, can be found here at the MEGO Museum Galleries website). I immediately recognized the figure as the one I’d played with as a kid, and as it originally came out when I was just two years old, that kind of explained why I didn’t remember its origin. Once I finally had a name for the figure, finding one on eBay wasn’t terribly difficult. I even got a case just for this guy. He’s not particularly expensive, especially in this condition, but he’s a piece of my past that I was absolutely thrilled to have returned to me.

Okay, I think that’s enough for today. Still plenty of other stuff on the Superman Shelves to share with you (I haven’t even touched on the Funko Pops yet), so there’ll be more coming soon. 

Blake M. Petit is a writer, teacher, and dad from Ama, Louisiana. His most recent writing project is the superhero adventure series Other People’s Heroes: Little Stars, volume one of which is now available on Amazon. Don’t forget, you can check out earlier blogs in the Year of Superman/Superman Stuff Archive! Got a request for a future “Superman Stuff”? Drop it in the comments!

Three Wishes: The Toys That Made Us

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A few days ago, a long national nightmare ended when Nacelle announced two new seasons of their hit documentary series, The Toys That Made Us. I became a huge fan of this series right away, and it’s been a long five years since we got any new episodes, so I’m absolutely ecstatic. To commemorate the news, I thought I would re-present to you a piece I wrote between seasons two and three for a sadly-defunct pop culture forum, a “Three Wishes” column where I suggested potential topics for future episodes. I’m happy to say that one of my three suggestions was included in season three, and the other two are going to be in the new episodes that were just announced, albeit in slightly different forms than what I suggested. It’s incredible that my ability to predict the future is incredibly accurate, provided that I only use it in ways that have absolutely no potential for monetary advancement on my part. Anyway, here’s what I wrote way back in 2018.

The best reason to subscribe to Netflix these days isn’t Orange is the New Black or Arrested Development. Heck, it’s not even Bright. The shining jewel in the streaming service’s crown is The Toys That Made Us, a documentary series that looks into the history and impact of some of the most popular toy lines of all time. With a lighthearted tone, the series dives into things that the viewer grew up with, chock full of interviews with the people who conceived the toys, creators who made the TV and comic book tie-ins, and supercollectors. Plus, you get all the classic toy commercials you grew up with.

The eight episodes, to date, have explored the worlds of Star Wars, Barbie, He-Man, G.I. Joe, Star Trek, TransFormers, LEGO, and Hello Kitty. That’s a ton of toyetic goodness. But if you’re like any other human being, you probably read that list and immediately asked, “Hey, what about…” and then filled in whatever your own favorite toy line is. That’s natural, there are hundreds of toy lines that have achieved enough success to have their fans, and while not all of them may have an incredible story to go with them, there are bound to be enough to fuel several more seasons of this show. Considering how popular and relatively cheap the show is to produce, Netflix would be bonkers not to ask for more. In Three Wishes, we take a look at something in pop culture and express three hopes for the future, whether those wishes are almost inevitable or pie-in-the-sky dreams. Today, we’re going to talk about three toy lines the producers should consider for their next round of episodes.

1. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The first choice here is pretty much a no-brainer. When you look at the independent comic book bubble of the 80s, it would be virtually impossible to argue that there was a bigger success than Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. From their humble beginnings as a parody of Frank Miller’s Daredevil, the Turtles exploded into a global phenomenon. Their comics, through countless relaunches and spin-offs, have been featured at no less than five publishers They’ve starred in five television series and six theatrical films, and most significantly, they have dominated toy shelves for years. 

Playmates Toys has held the Turtles license since 1988, producing thousands of action figures and playsets. In addition to the countless iterations of the Turtles themselves, there have been figures of their allies and foes, movie- and TV-specific versions, the turtles in costumes such as (not officially) the Universal Monsters and (officially) the cast of Star Trek, and pretty much any other piece of merchandising you can name. With a documentary, the challenge is to find what’s compelling in real life and push it to the forefront. Although I don’t know anything about the Playmates company or how they have worked with Eastman and Laird or the Turtles’ current owner, Nickelodeon, the sheer volume and popularity of this franchise seems like it would be a ripe property to focus on for 45 minutes. 

2. Toy Biz/Marvel Toys: On the other hand, here’s a property where there is undoubtedly enough drama to make for a compelling TV episode. It may be hard to believe today, but there was a time in the 90s where the future of Marvel Comics was in serious doubt. Bad business decisions and bad acquisitions sent the biggest comic book publisher in the industry spiraling into bankruptcy, and things looked bleak at the house that Spider-Man built.

One of the things that helped pull Marvel Comics through was an unexpected merger of sorts with Toy Biz, a Canadian-based company that had the license to make Marvel toys at the time. The story of the twisting, winding relationship between the companies has been written about extensively, but that doesn’t mean there’s not more gold to mine. I’d love to hear the story told by the players in the game, as we learn the truth about how, without this little toy company, Marvel Entertainment may not have lasted long enough to make your kids cry all the way home from Infinity War.

3: McDonald’s Happy Meal Toys: In my house, we have a term for people who didn’t love McDonald’s Happy Meal toys: filthy liars. Because no matter what kind of Keto-adherent, La Croix-chugging diet you may be on today, when you were a kid there was nothing better than a cheeseburger, fries, and a new toy. Since 1979, McDonald’s has released thousands of toys, from licensed Disney characters to Chicken McNuggets in Halloween costumes to the legendary McDonald’s Changeables (toys that transformed from McDonald’s food into robots. That I never completed this series is my one regret in life.)

Not only can’t the Happy Meal toy be beaten in sheer variety, but it’s also ubiquitous as anything you can imagine, touching virtually every child in North America for the last four decades. What’s more, some of them are insanely collectible. Give me a tour of some guy’s crazy attic Happy Meal museum and, I promise, I’m watching to the end. Let’s see if anybody feels that strongly about the Burger King Kids’ Club. (Answer: no.)

Blake M. Petit, whose college roommate once said he could never date a woman who didn’t “get” Grimlock, has been pontificating about pop culture online for over a decade. You can follow him at BlakeMPetit.com and, if you’re feeling generous, check out his books on Amazon.