I'm just a skater cat, said "see ya' later rat."

Remember back in 1996 when Playmates released a new line of Flash Gordon action figures, based on a cartoon which attempted to relaunch the franchise to a younger, hipper audience?

Me neither.

Which is why this action figure intrigued me when I spotted it at the toy show I attended a couple weeks back.

"Kobalt the Mercenary comes with everything you see here! Dignity sold separately."

The funny thing is, I spotted this cat loose in a box of toys at the same toy show and was intrigued by his design and my inability to recall from whence he came. He does have a cool Thundercat-ish vibe going for him, and spiked knee pads are always cool (just ask Gene Simmons.) I moved on to another booth and lo, they had him carded for a couple bucks, along with a few more characters from the line!

I talked the vendor down to a buck and bought old Kobalt for the pure novelty of owning the odd figure.

Kobalt was made by Playmates in '96. There were eight figures from the line (according to the cardback,) and honestly they aren't half bad from a design and mid nineties toyline perspective. The cartoon was probably crap though, which is sad because more kids need to know the classics, and Flash Gordon is a classic and an important sci-fi icon who really deserves respect.

In order to stay hip and keen and far out and all that jazz, Kobalt came with a "jet powered" rolling skateboard. Silly yes, but let's face it; all your toys would be more fun if they came with skateboards.

Admit it.

From a design perspective, Kobalt would fit right in with the Thundercats or the X-Men or even the New Adventures of He-Man. He's actually pretty cool. The skateboard really adds to his fun factor, and I am glad I found him MOC in order to enjoy him to his full capacity.