For Today's Advent I'm focusing on another toy that some might consider a flop- but I was a big fan!
Silverhawks!
For some, this follow-up to Thundercats was a one-hit wonder. It was about a group of bionic police officers who operate in outer space. Led by Commander Stargazer, the Silverhawks were a rag-tag bunch recruited to bring down the intergalactic mob boss, Mon*Star. Characters included Bluegrass, a singing cowboy pilot and the copper plated Kidd; a robotics whiz who only spoke in beeps and whistles. (As you could probably tell, those two were both my favorites!)
Many considered Silverhawks to be Thundercats in space. Yet that's just not true. While I liked Thundercats visually, the stories were pretty complicated and hinged on ancient prophecies. Plus, it was done as a serial in that if you missed and episode, you were sunk!
Unlike Thundercats, which lasted from 1985-1989, Silverhawks ran for only 65 episodes in 1986. For many, Silverhawks was lame. But I was a huge fan of that show to the point that in the Christmas of '86 I wanted any and everything Silverhawks while all of my friends wanted Thundercats!
The Silverhawks figures were embossed with this shiny metallic paint, which were very pleasing to the eye. Each good guy came with a weapon-bird: an android bird that doubled as a tool for offense or defense. Made by Kenner, the sculpts were far superior to those of the first wave of Star Wars figures. But unlike those action figures, the Silverhawks were at all not durable.
The Silverhawks figures were designed for one to squeeze either the arms or legs in order to make their wings detract or perform some some sort of kick or karate chop. However, I think the type of plastic used for metal painted action figures was different from other forms of molded plastic because these guys broke all the time. It must have been a design flaw by the Kenner design team because the metallic Brainiac figure from the Super Powers line was also very fragile. Stoopid android arm snapped clean off!!!
Anyways, it wasn't just the metallic figures that broke. Mon*Star had a feature in which when you squeezed his legs, his chest would open and an uglier version of the baddies' head would flip out. The chest plate kept snapping off. But unlike the metallic finish figures, the hinges would snap off. However, if you didn't have a collector's case, you'd have to hunt for Mon*Star's chest plate each time you wanted to play with him.
One aspect of the Silverhawks that was of high quality was the comic book series from the Marvel imprint, Star Comics. The series lasted 7 issues, which doesn't seem like alot. But when you take into account that some Star Comics titles were cancelled after only an issue or two due to poor toy sales- seven issues of Silverhawks was the equivalent of a James Michener epic! And yes- I am constantly on the hunt to add these books to my collection! The Silverhawks comics- not the collected works of Michener.
I'd love to share with you an episode for an Advent. But Youtube makes you pay for those. So, as my Advent present for you today, here's the opening theme song. Enjoy!
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