Classic Toys from a Madman's Youth: Advent 2019 Day 21

Nowadays, the crafting of action figures has become an art form. But back in the 70s and 80s, there were action figures based on iconic characters. Growing up, they seldom looked anything like the characters on the screen. That all changed with Kenner in 1984 as a superior toy line, that brought the characters on paper to life, debuted. 

For today's Advent, I'm talking about Super Powers!

I remember the day I discovered this iconic toy line. I was watching a rerun of Super Friends when a commercial for Super Powers came on TV. It was a mix of cartoon and reality as Superman punched out a wall  and Batman did too! And there were villains! (Oh, how I love baddies!) I was instantly hooked and I had to have it!

Somehow, my mom decided we needed to run to K-Mart and get me a couple of those figures. Normally, she'd poo-poo such an idea. But on this day, she was all for it. 

Unfortunately, Batman and The Man of Steel wasn't at K-Mart that day. Instead, my Justice League was first comprised of Aquaman and Robin, the Boy Wonder. But that's okay. As by Christmas of 1984, I was leading all of the heavy hitters including Green Lantern, Hawkman and The Flash. Oh, and Firestorm! My favorite!

Look folks, if you are to ask me if I am a DC person or a Marvel guy, I am going to answer DC. I love any and all super heroes. But I grew up on DC! And a lot of that is thanks to two men- Dick Giordano and Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez. These two amazing artists had created the DC style guides which were used to instruct licensing companies how DC Comics wanted their characters to look like. And Kenner got it right with the Super Powers line! These heroes looked like they had come right from the comics I adored so well!

Each action figure came with 2 unique features. First of all, each figure had a distinct 'power action.' For example, if you squeezed Red Tornado's arms, his lower torso would spin around like a cyclone. 

The other feature of a Super Powers action figure was my absolute favorite. The mini comic! Every figure came with 4-inch tall 8-page comic book that starred the character whose action figure you bought. The mini books are the rarest thing for fans to locate. They often either got lost or destroyed or thrown away. I've been asking for years for DC to reissue these as a collection. But my pleas always seem to fall on deaf ears. 

One of my favorite Christmas gifts from the Super Powers line wasn't the toys! It was the case that you collecting them in! Yes, the Super Powers carrying case was that awesome! The case has 2 lids that opened on both sides like a book. Inside both lids were several 4 panel strips that revealed the secret origins of all your favorite super heroes. I read and re-read those so freakin' much. 

As my Advent gift for you today, I want you to enjoy those awesome commericals as much as I did. It's kinda long, but it's every commercial from Super Powers' 1984-86 run. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I have!