by Jarrett Kruse
The 80’s are now officially back. And it seems that toy collectors would not have it any other way. Besides offerings like Rambo, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Rocky & Robocop already in stores from the budding giant toy company NECA, there is one property that I have been waiting for for over 25 years. Just a few weeks ago, Mattel and their exclusive online store began selling 6-inch Super Powers figures instead of the old 3 & 3/4 inch ones from back in the day. As buzz began to grown that the seminal line of 80’s figures were going to be reissued as Marvel Legends size.
First, a little background on the storied franchise from Kenner and how the Super Powers came to be. The Kenner Products company, under the guide of brothers Albert and Phillip along with Joseph L. Steiner was founded way back in 1947 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The company was a smash success and for years, they churned out hit after hit toy including Play-Doh and later on Tonka Trucks. But it was not until 1976 when the triumvirate landed the rights to a small film by the name of “Star Wars” that Kenner moved into the stratosphere. After reaping in a whole lot of cash from the Star Wars franchise, Kenner was officially on the same playing field as toy giants Mattel and Hasbro. A few years later, Kenner released what would become one of the seminal toy lines of the 1980s—the Super Powers Collection. The line ran from 1984 to 1986 and was wildly successful amongst toy fans. The gimmick was simple, take DC’s flagship characters and give them each their own “Super Power.” So for example, when you squeezed Aquaman’s arms, his feet would come to life flipping like he was swimming. When Green Lantern’s legs were squeezed, his fist and power ring would raise up into a punching like pose. And so on and so forth for all of the characters in the line. Super Powers established themselves as the figures to get your hands on in the mid 80’s and even today, they fetch a nice price on the secondary market.
While collectors thought that we would never see any of the Super Powers again, toy giant Mattel has come through in a big way. With the 30th anniversary of the line upon us, Mattel has recreated the 80’s magic of Super Powers in awesome 6-inch form. A bump up from the original 3 & 3/4” figures from back in the day. So far we have been treated to DC staples Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman which seem to be selling at a brisk pace on MattyCollector.com. Next month, we will get three more including Green Lantern as The Riddler, Gold Superman & Mr. Mxyzptlk.
As far as the future goes, it looks like the skies the limit with the back of the figures boasting a slew of the figures that are on their way. Hopefully sales will be brisk enough to warrant Mattel to continue to make more Super Powers giving nostalgic fans a piece of their childhood back. At a $30 price point, before shipping, the figures are most definitely of the investment type and for the die hard collector that has been waiting for the return of the Super Powers. The figures are exclusively available on MattyCollector.com and the next sale is October 15th. So get in there and start your collection today before they are all gone!