Back in 1984 toy manufacturer Remco released a series of superhero action figures based on little known Archie Publishing superhero properties. Many of these superheroes were old forties 'also-rans,' making them pretty unique on the '84 scene and something my now 36 year old self would have been all over like four color ink on newsprint.
Alas I had no idea these guys existed back then, I only discovered the existence of these toys in the internet age. But thanks to the magic of the swap meet, I now own two of them!
First up is
The Fox. Originally debuting in 1940 and probably my favorite of all the
Mighty Crusader toys because of his Batman-esque vibe, news photographer Paul Patton used his alter ego to get sweet shots of crimes as they happened (sounds like a familiar friendly neighborhood wall crawler, doesn't it?)
His costume is pretty straightforward and simple and reminds me a bit of Wildcat.
Fox's chest symbol was the head of a fox in his original comic art, but it has been highly stylized/simplified for his action figure debut.
The second figure I found is the Buzzard. Buzzard reminds me a lot of Spider-man villain The Vulture, another balding old man with flight capabilities. The Buzzard (and Fox for that matter) originally came with a load of sweet accessories, but sadly both of the ones I found came with nothing. Not sure how difficult it would be to rectify that (probably not very) but they are still pretty cool as they are, so I'll probably not sweat it.
According to
MightyCrusaders.net, Buzzard did not make his debut until 1985, so maybe he was created first for this toyline and later appeared in a comic book? I don't know, I'm no Mighty Crusaders expert.
Regardless, these are pretty fun little guys and of course I got them on the cheap - $3 for the pair!
Whenever I would see these toys online I assumed they were the size of original Masters of the Universe figures based on the similarity of their construction. But these guys are actually only about 4.5" tall, making them a little more fun in their cute, compact size. They do sport an action feature, a spring back fist for superhero punches! Aw yeah uppercut!
They're pretty cool. I'd imagine though a lot of people would probably just pass them up, thinking they were Dollar Store knock-offs or something!
ReplyDeletei knew nothing of the comics line, nor the toy line. i wonder what distribution was like- could it have been more regional? Or like Iok said, were they missed/passed over as Dollar Store Knock-offs? It's weird to see the website- an ALTERNATE WORLD of heroes... what if Marvel/DC never existed? Would THESE be the toys at Wal-Mart, Toys 'R Us, ect...?? Fascinating!
ReplyDeleteI totally remember these from youth never bought them however. I also used to have a few of the "Red Circle" comics from Archie that feature these characters as well. Going to have hunt down a few of these some time now.
ReplyDeleteOh if i remember correctly with these figures they came with guns and shields and the shields doubled as whistles i think.
ReplyDeleteBuzzard had wings and a helmet and the other figures where The Shield, Brain Emperor,The Web, The Fly, The Comet and The Eraser and think those were the only other ones.
I would of loved to have seen a Black Hood or Hangman figure or even Mister Justice. : )
Whoops! I forgot about there was The Sting figure as well.
ReplyDelete