Random Toy Pic :: Apokolips Now

Steppenwolf, Darkseid, Mantis, and a Parademon from Kenner's Super Powers action figure line.

Secret Wars Wolverine

As a kid I had a whopping three Secret Wars action figures and I loved them all: Wolverine, Iron-Man and Dr. Doom. I would play for hours on end in the woodpile in the back yard, where I could build caves and buildings and other strictures for my superheros to battle around and within.

I didn't hold on to those Secret Wars figures past childhood, but did pick up an Iron-Man a few years back, and do have a rough Dr. Doom as well. And now I have a really nice Wolverine thanks to a random bag-o-toys from a local thrift store!

Wolverine actually had some wear around his mask, but since it's black, I was able to sharpie it up and make it look much better.

Sadly he doesn't have his claws but I can live without them. When I was a kid, this Secret Wars figure was my only exposure to Wolverine, so I though his claws were just strapped on to his wrists in the comics the way they did so with the toy. It wasn't until years later that I discovered they came out of his hands!

Additionally, since my first exposure to Wolverine was this figure, I am overly fond of the brown costume and think it's his best look.

This is basically the best Wolverine action figure ever and I am beyond stoked to have found him again.

Wolverine was in a three dollar bag of random toys, mostly junk, but I would have paid three dollars for Wolvie alone! But I got some great other pieces too, including...

...a Secret Wars Captain America! I already have a cleaner version of this guy, so I've promised this one to a fellow collector. Side note: I HATE when action figures have that damn nose-rub missing paint sitch. One of my major toy pet peeves. Anyone have a cure? Skin-tone model paint or something?

Anyways, Cap is in pretty good shape, all things considered. And finding TWO Secret wars figs for three bucks is a pretty damn nice find.

But wait, there's more...

Super Powers Flash! And again with the damn nose-rub. ARRRGH! Wolvie had the nose rub too, but again, I had a black sharpie. Sadly I don't have a skin-tone sharpie!

Regardless, Flash is a pretty nice example and I dig him. His actin feature doesn't work well but who cares.

Even though I'm a DC fanboy now, I never owned any Super Powers figures as a kid. I have a handful today, and love finding them in the wild on the rare occasions that I do. Still need a Batman though!

Super Powers Mantis

I know I blogged about my Super Powers Mantis years ago when I found him at the flea market, but he was in that random box I mentioned where I unearthed my Rumble Ready Riddler, so I figured he deserved another shot at stardom here on Toyriffic!

I didn't follow the Super Powers line back in the eighties, but it has been fun gathering together the odd figure now and then in my adulthood. I now own Aquaman, Steppenwolf, Joker, Robin, Darkseid, Parademon, Brainiac and Mantis. And the Batmobile! Still no Batman though. Sure, I could jump on eBay and pay inflated prices for one, but the fun of not technically collecting a line is that I only pick them up on the super cheap when they pop up randomly. Sure they may not be complete or mint but did I mention I like them cheap? I like my action figures like I like my women: incomplete, play worn and cheap.  JUST KIDDING!

Anyways Mantis is a great looking robotic Fourth Worlder. He was completely redesigned for the Super Powers line and looks like he may have been inspired by Star Wars. His 'action feature' is ridiculous but also invisible and doesn't require any special knobs or buttons: squeeze his legs together and his arms sway back and forth. FUN!

Watch out! Whew, that was close...you almost Steppenwolf!

Haha - get it?

Yeah, bad joke. It was either that or 'This action figure was Born to be Wild!' Or maybe an even more obscure 'Lookie lookie, this action figure is Sookie Sookie!'

Yes, I had a 'Best of Steppenwolf' cassette in High School. I was pretty cool that way.

What I did not have then nor have now is any knowledge of Steppenwolf the Jack Kirby New God character.

Okay, that's not entirely true. Off the top of my head: He's one of Darkseid's generals...yeah that's about it. He might not even be a General. Maybe he's a Lieutenant, or possibly a Private First Class.

He might even like to dream, yes yes right between my sound machine. No, that's the other Steppenwolf again.

Well, whatever he's into, he was made into an action figure back in the Kenner Super Powers line of the nineteen eighties, and many a decade later ended up in a pile of toys at the flea market, where I plunked down fifty cents for him.

Because you cannot simply pass up a Super Powers action figure, no matter how BDSM he looks. Just kidding, he looks cool, although the comic book version of Steppenwolf looks vastly different than this yokel. Seriously, in the comics he looks like Robin Hood with a mink stole an elf hat:

Well would you look at that...Steppenwolf is actually Darkseid's maternal uncle! I actually remember reading that issue now. He's like, the best hunter in the universe or something, right?

So as it turns out, I've forgotten more about Steppenwolf than most people know to begin with! Except, not now if they read all this. Unless they too forget!

Geez, this post got weird.

Brainiac Trust

I've posted in the past about my DC Superheroes Brainiac and my recently acquired Super Powers Brainiac, but I really wanted to shoot the two together. Each Brainiac is a stand-out in their respective lines and each is a great example of what a cool action figure was/is in their eras.

The 80s Superpowers Brainiac has five points of articulation, an action feature, and a vac-metal coating to simulate a metallic finish. The 200x DC Superheroes Brainiac has a highly detailed sculpt, a shit-ton points of articulation, stands a head+ taller than his 80s counterpart, and even has clear bits on his head and shoulders with 'wires' and other electronic looking parts underneath.

Although I am usually of the 'less is more' camp when it comes to articulation, I must say having so much works well on a character like robo-Brainiac, since the unsightly seams and joints meld into his robotic form effortlessly. Both figures are great, but since I have no emotional connection to the original, having never owned him as a kid, I have to say the more recent version is far superior.

I have Super Powers...

I recently lucked upon a couple super cool and super cheap DC Super Powers action figures at the flea market - Mantis and Brainiac! I don't generally collect Super Powers figures (I still don't even have a Batman from the line!) but Jack Kirby Fourth World stuff is always epic and of course this is one badass Brainiac design, so how could I resist at fifty cents each?

First up is Brainiac. This robot skeletonesque design has grown into my favorite Brainiac design of all time. I have the DC Superheroes version put out way back when Mattel could only make Superman and Batman heroes and villains. Had we only known what the future held for us!

Like all Super Powers figures, Brainiac has a lame action feature. You squeeze his arms and one leg pops out like he's trying out for the Rockettes or something. I couldn't resist humming the 'Start spreading the news' intro every time I did it. I almost made you fine folks a video of that too. Maybe someday.

Another bonus to this figure is tha vac-metal finish. He's all shiny!

My intern helped set up a meeting between Brainiac and Kalibak...

...but they had nothing in common. Kalibak just steamed up Brainiac's finish with his gruntish breathing until Brainiac simply turned and strutted away to the tune of "Start spreadin' the news!"

Next up...Mantis!

This is the re-designed Super Powers version of Mantis. Kirby's original version was more of a bug suited guy with a cape tied to his wrists and ankles. This version is more robotic (or is it a full on robot this time?)

Very Stormtrooperish. I like this design because it is more space-suity but also because it's a neat alternative version of a wacky Jack Kirby character from Apokolips, and you can't have too many of those around the house!

I also like the scale of the Super Powers Mantis against the scale of my DCUC Kalibak. A couple fun Kirby creations indeed!

Kenner Super Powers Batmobile

The Batmobile from the Kenner Super Powers toyline of 1984 has eluded me for years.

Well, to be fair, a cheap one in good condition has eluded me for years.

But no more!

Last weekend I hit the flea market and found this beauty for eight bucks!

It was covered in (almost) literally an inch of dust. Which was a good sign: it had been shelved (not played with) for years and I surmised that if the seller was too lazy to clean it, he would take less than his asking price.

'How much?' I asked. The seller wanted ten. I offered him five. He came back with eight and wouldn't budge. I tried to look at it through the dust, and could tell it was complete and pretty damn 'clean' (you know, except for the freakin' dust!) So I took it.

I cleaned it off immediately once arriving home (now I know how Alfred feels.) I missed a scallop or two (or twenty) so I need to go over it again, but it's probably cleaner than it's been since 1986 or so. Seriously, whomever owned this couldn't have possibly ever have dusted it. Not once. I really should have taken a 'before' picture. Oh well.

Somewhere out there Jason Todd is drooling right now.

Cleaning an old toy can be tricky when decals are involved, so I went light on the interior. But the decals are all here and all complete, so that's just awesome.

Everything works too:

Battering Ram, headlights, criminal catcher. Check, check, check.

No broken levers in the cockpit. No broken anything! Woowoo!

SMASH!

GRAB!

Whatta toy!

This looks like a job for...

Clark Kent!

Clark Kent was released by Kenner in 1986 as a mail away exclusive. I think you had to send a couple Super Powers UPCs and a couple bucks for shipping and handling to get him. He was never sold at retail. He didn't come with any accessories, but I'm sure there's a playmobil phone booth and brief case out there somewhere that I'll need to eventually track down to make this figure complete in my own mind.

Clark isn't impossible to find, but he isn't the cheapest Super Powers figure to acquire either. Imagine my surprise then when I found this farm boy at the swap meet today! AND I was able to knock fifty cents of the asking price - I got him for $1.50! Now that's a deal worth reporting!

I have mentioned in previous posts that I did not have any Super Powers figures when they were first released. In fact, somehow I had not had any Super Powers action figures until last year!

Counting Smallville here, I now have five. I certainly didn't ever expect Clark would be one of them!

"Taxi!"

The best part about this figure is, like all Super Powers figures, he has an action feature. His arms wave back and forth when you squeeze his legs. So you can recreate those subtle rushes to the phone booth!

Up, up and awaaaaay!