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Post by tonebone on Mar 28, 2022 11:08:48 GMT -5
Don’t forget what Crisis did to Donna Troy, or the Hawkman mess ...and the Leigon of Super-Heroes, Power Girl, Huntress, the list goes on....
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Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2022 11:12:58 GMT -5
I, too, collected Super Powers figures with a passion (best toyline ever!). That was sort of my “gateway drug” into DC, although the annuals I bought (UK) were reprinting stuff from the late 70s/early 80s. Earliest memory is a UK annual reprinting the SUPER POWERS mini-series. I was a little "aged out" of the action figure scene by the time Super Powers came around. In your opinion, what makes it so special? Your assessment that it was the best ever is thrown around A LOT in action figure circles, but I could never really pin down what people loved about it. Was it the variety? The faithfulness to the characters? I would love to know, from a fan. The complete package, really, from the José Luis García-López artwork and mini-comics to the accessories and special features. Looked like so much care and attention had been put into producing them, and I think they had a good selection of characters, although there are some omissions that I personally missed (Man-Bat, Riddler, etc). Other toylines had featured accessories, mini-comics and “special features” such as M.A.S.K., Masters of the Universe, etc. But I feel that as a whole, the Super Powers line had enough of the right features to satisfy me. There was also the fact that their size meant I could have them “interact” with Mattel’s Secret Wars figures. Bit hard to get He-Man or Lion-O to go toe-to-toe with Lex Luthor and Joker, but you could certainly have Superman, Batman and Robin take on Doctor Doom, Doctor Octopus and Magneto. On a purely personal level, that line got me reading the comics, so that’s a bonus (prior to that, I’d probably seen the Reeve movies on TV, but it was really the Super Powers line that had me seeking more and more of the comics).
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Post by tonebone on Mar 28, 2022 11:21:57 GMT -5
ALSO: Concerning the timing of Crisis.... ("Why did they wait 8 years after Superman the Movie to do crisis?")
Superman the Movie was a huge hit, the sequels, while profitable, were of diminishing returns. The cash cow was dying, and no one could understand why. So, as Superman IV died, and Superman V couldn't get off the ground, eight years later, enter Crisis. And which character got the most notable revision/reboot? Superman. To WB, he was the ONLY character they knew could carry a movie/franchise, and wanted him to be rejuvenated. His reboot was really the only character to get a full-on high profile reboot. Sure, WW, Batman, and others were either sorta rebooted or gussied up, sometimes years later, but Superman was the real deal.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2022 11:38:45 GMT -5
I was a little "aged out" of the action figure scene by the time Super Powers came around. In your opinion, what makes it so special? Your assessment that it was the best ever is thrown around A LOT in action figure circles, but I could never really pin down what people loved about it. Was it the variety? The faithfulness to the characters? I would love to know, from a fan. The complete package, really, from the José Luis García-López artwork and mini-comics to the accessories and special features. Looked like so much care and attention had been put into producing them, and I think they had a good selection of characters, although there are some omissions that I personally missed (Man-Bat, Riddler, etc). Other toylines had featured accessories, mini-comics and “special features” such as M.A.S.K., Masters of the Universe, etc. But I feel that as a whole, the Super Powers line had enough of the right features to satisfy me. There was also the fact that their size meant I could have them “interact” with Mattel’s Secret Wars figures. Bit hard to get He-Man or Lion-O to go toe-to-toe with Lex Luthor and Joker, but you could certainly have Superman, Batman and Robin take on Doctor Doom, Doctor Octopus and Magneto. On a purely personal level, that line got me reading the comics, so that’s a bonus (prior to that, I’d probably seen the Reeve movies on TV, but it was really the Super Powers line that had me seeking more and more of the comics). I'm going to tag onto this a little as well since I can relate to your sentiment on Super Powers figures. I'm a little older, and started with first wave Star Wars figures. And they're still my sentimental favorite. But I had wished Marvel and DC had had similar robust action figure lines just like these. The Mego stuff wasn't quite the same. Secret Wars and Super Powers (along with MOTU, G.I. Joe, Transformers) were at the very end of my "youthful" toy collecting since I was getting older at that point, but Super Powers particularly stood out because the quality was SO much better than Star Wars (or the cheaper approach Secret Wars took). These were finally the figures that looked like my beloved Super Friends that I had watched for years, in addition to their regular comic books. The little gimmick each one had with an "action" mechanism actually added to the fun playing. And yes, many a cross-battle with the Secret Wars here as well Spider-Man could drive the Batmobile, and everyone could converge on the Tower of Doom. I think the Super Powers line kind of set the standard for what was to come. I actually think they also were better in a number of instances, some figures later on went a little too crazy with all the articulation to my taste.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2022 11:46:32 GMT -5
I had some STAR WARS figures, but in all honesty, did Luke Skywalker look like Mark Hamill? Did Han Solo really resemble Harrison Ford? Did Chewbacca’s fur really resemble the messy, unwieldy fur of the movie version? (I know it’s probably hard to create likenesses in figures)
I did like the Toy Biz DC figures from the late 80s, although I wish they’d had mini-comics. Bob the Goon needed a mini-comic, didn’t he? But there were some flaws. Aquaman, for instance, didn’t have a neck and looked like no Aquaman I’d seen. Had he been on steroids? Still, a decent line, and could do some “cross-pollination” between them and the Kenner/Mattel figures.
So, yes, the Super Powers line kind of set the standard for what was to come. Also, timing. It meant we got Brainiac in his “Terminator” form (the best look ever for me), and Luthor in his battlesuit, although I like Toy Biz’s business attire Luthor.
I think the mini-comics are memorable, too, whether it be Green Lantern and Robin taking on the Joker, Batman and Robin besieged by a city full of Jokers, Superman fighting Wonder Woman, etc. Hey, DC, reprint those mini-comics in a hardback format. Potential customer here!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2022 11:50:06 GMT -5
Hey, DC, reprint those mini-comics in a hardback format. Potential customer here! I'm surprised they haven't done this yet. I've got the Masters of the Universe minicomic collection and it's a delight to have in collected format. Really good call!!
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Post by zaku on Mar 28, 2022 12:06:23 GMT -5
About Hawkman. Actually, all the continuity mess with him is not Crisis's fault. Immediately after Crisis his story had remained practically unchanged. indeed, some stories came out with him as the protagonist even after the release of the maxi-series.
The problem came when (for some reason) they decided that Hawk World, the miniseries that chronicled his origins, occurred chronologically after Crisis. Suddenly they found themselves having to justify all past apparitions of him!
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Post by tarkintino on Mar 28, 2022 12:10:40 GMT -5
Of course, Earth Two was gone. So what? My sentiments, exactly.
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Post by tarkintino on Mar 28, 2022 12:13:07 GMT -5
Question: has anyone ever read CRISIS in one sitting? When I first acquired a volume (90s, I guess), from the look of it - and the pages are crowded - I knew I had to pace myself. I read one issue a day. Slowly. Still felt cramped. I wonder, did anyone ever buy it and read it all in one go? I was buying it as it was originally released (thoroughly enjoying it) and have revisited it and its follow-up History of the DC Universe several times over the decades, usually reading it all through at one time.
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Post by Cei-U! on Mar 28, 2022 12:40:09 GMT -5
I collected the The Kenner Super Powers figures back when they were coming out because I liked how faithful they were to the comics. I had Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, Hawkman, Red Tornado, Firestorm, Captain Marvel, Plastic Man, Dr. Fate, and Mr. Miracle. I bought them for display purposes only, as I was closing in on 30 at the time, though I will admit to my roommate and I occasionally getting high and playing with them. I gave them to my roommate when I moved out, a move I regretted until I got the DC Direct JSA and JLA PVC figurines as a gift a few years back.
Cei-U! I summon the good old days!
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Post by MDG on Mar 28, 2022 13:17:26 GMT -5
I used my oldest son--about 7 at the time--as an excuse to buy a bunch of superpowers figures. I focused on the oddball characters, like Martian Manhunter, Dr. Fate, Red Tornado... I bought enough to send in for the mail-order-only Clark Kent figure, which I still have, along w/ some of the mini-comocs.
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Post by badwolf on Mar 28, 2022 13:38:35 GMT -5
I thought Donna Troy's backstory was a mess before Crisis. Like didn't Wonder Girl start as a young Wonder Woman, and then later she became her own character with no explanation? Something like that.
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Post by zaku on Mar 28, 2022 13:41:40 GMT -5
I thought Donna Troy's backstory was a mess before Crisis. Like didn't Wonder Girl start as a young Wonder Woman, and then later she became her own character with no explanation? Something like that. Exactly. Often people accuse Crisis of sins it is innocent of (Donna and Hawkman are two good examples)
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Mar 28, 2022 14:32:16 GMT -5
I thought Donna Troy's backstory was a mess before Crisis. Like didn't Wonder Girl start as a young Wonder Woman, and then later she became her own character with no explanation? Something like that. The short answer is that DC wasn't overly concerned with logic while trying to sell comics to young kids and vastly underestimating their intelligence. The long answer is this.
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Post by commond on Mar 28, 2022 17:05:21 GMT -5
About Hawkman. Actually, all the continuity mess with him is not Crisis's fault. Immediately after Crisis his story had remained practically unchanged. indeed, some stories came out with him as the protagonist even after the release of the maxi-series. The problem came when (for some reason) they decided that Hawk World, the miniseries that chronicled his origins, occurred chronologically after Crisis. Suddenly they found themselves having to justify all past apparitions of him! That was Mike Gold's decision. You can read more about it here -- www.dcinthe80s.com/2016/06/the-hawkworld-ongoing-series-continuity.htmlYou can't absolve Crisis that easily, however! There was a ripple effect that began with Crisis. In the case of Donna Troy, Wolfman worked so hard to create a backstory for her in Titans, and yet he was the one who destroyed it. I'm pretty sure that everything was supposed to reset in January '86 with hard reboots along the lines of Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, and later Hawkworld, but for whatever reason, they chickened out.
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