Super Heroes Cookies (Nabisco)

Super Heroes Cookies
Nabisco
1982 - 1984

Remember back in the day when cookies were super creative, but yet oddly tasted the exact same? A generic, crumbly, dry, cardboard / vanilla flavor. They were awesome! Though I haven't talked about too many of them here, one in specific which immediately comes to mind were Pepperidge Farm's Star Wars cookies from 1983.

Much like the aforementioned Star Wars cookies, Nabisco's Super Heroes featured various character shapes, featuring DC's classic heroes and villeins. To make them all the more enjoyable, Nabisco released a whopping ten different box variations, each one featuring its own character art.

The boxes are actually quite comical in that they include a blurb on the side panel promoting fruit. "Food Facts - Over 7,500 varieties of apples are grown in the world today." Cause that's what people are thinking about when they grab a box of cookies.

Nah, when they were grabbing one of these boxes they were think of edible Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Batgirl, Shazam, Riddler, Penguin and Joker shaped cookies.

In 1984, Nabisco started the final campaign of cookies which consisted of all new Supergirl shaped cookies and boxes. What made these particular snacks collectible were the various super sized trading cards located on the back of each box. In total, there were fifteen different images to cut out and collect.

Of the various cards, some are definitely much more difficult to track down than others. However, there doesn't seem to be any real rhyme or reason as to why.

While I stated 1982 - 1984 above as the period these cookies were on store shelves, I actually cannot confirm if 1984 was indeed the year these were discontinued. There doesn't seem to be much information out there regarding these snacks in general. As such, the reason I landed on that year was because that was when the Supergirl movie came out.

Regardless of when they ended, I'm sure many a child was distraught the first day mom didn't come home with a box because they were no longer on store shelves. Fortunately, I'm sure there was something else on the market that was equally as exciting for kids. Oreo Big Stuf did come out in 1984 after all. But that's a post for another time.

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Classic Silver Age (DC Direct)

Classic Silver Age
DC Direct
2006

The Silver Age of DC Comics may very well be the most wackiest era of the companies history. It was during this time where characters such as Batman and Superman no longer seemed bound to their roots. A lot of times the stories went off into left field (way far left field), and we got characters such as Streaky the Supercat, and Krypto the Super Dog. Heck, sometimes we got dinosaurs showing up out of nowhere. Let's not forget the time Batman and Robin battled mummies, or Wonder Woman working at Taco Whiz. No rules seemed to apply.

Despite this, classics are classics for a reason, and the likes of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash (and so many others) weathered the storm to maintain their status as some of the most iconic super heroes in comic book history. Thank goodness the 80's were inbound, and many of these characters got redeveloped to bring the DC Universe back in order...For a little while anyway.

In 2006, DC Direct gave the Silver Age a fine salute with its line of multipacks based on the era. Each package included two figures, and in some cases also featured pets - Which is awesome! Where else are you going to get Krpto, Streaky, Batmite and Ace the Bat-Hound? Okay, so you can get them from a couple other lines, but that's not the point.

Superman and Lois Lane

Superboy and Supergirl with Krypto and Streaky

Batman and Robin

Batgirl and The Joker

Catwoman and The Penguin

Bat-Girl and Batwoman with Batmite and Ace the Bat-Hound

Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl

Flash and Kid Flash

Green Arrow and Speedy

There are a few honorable mentions to make note of. The below figures are not part of the Classic Silver Age series, but were advertised on the back of some of the packages. Because these really wouldn't fit in their own post, we've decided to incorporate them here.

Hawkman and Hawkgirl*Aquaman and Aqualad

Shazam! and Billy Batson

Orion and Darkseid*Mister Miracle and Bad Barda with Oberon

Lobo with Cycle

If there's one thing DC does right, it's handle their properties in action figure form. All of these definitely and easily qualify as some of the best they have produced to date.

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Super Queens (Ideal)

Super Queens
Ideal
1967 - 1968

During the 1960's and 70's, Ideal was one of the largest doll-makers in the United States. With familiar characters such as Evil Knievel, Captain Action and Dorothy Hamil (to name just a few), the company was well poised to sell dolls to children of all ages, boy or girl.

In 1967 Ideal produced an all new line - Super Queens. This four doll set featured some of the most popular female heroine's of DC Comics, and even Krypto the Superdog in the case of Supergirl. The overall design of the dolls were in the style of another Ideal line, Posin' Misty. Much like the Misty doll, each Super Queen stood 11.5 inches, and featured rooted hair. Of course, it wouldn't be complete without the signature side-glancing eyes.

What makes these dolls extra special to collectors is that they were the first examples of dolls for these particular characters. It wouldn't be until the 70's that Mego introduced its line of eight inch dolls / action figures based on some of these DC characters.

 Supergirl

 Batgirl

 Wonder Woman

Mera

In general these dolls are not common, nor easy to find. One pops up here and there, but typically it is Batgirl or Supergirl. Wonder Woman and Mera remain far more scarce.

Due to the fragile nature of the packaging these are prone to crushing / bowing on the sides. Because of this, there are very few dolls known to exist in the box in true mint condition. With that said, even the worst of condition one will set you back considerably.

Loose dolls sell at a starting price of $500.00, and mint in the box ones can sell for several thousands. This is certainly no line for the faint of heart, or frugal budgeted collector.

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Kingdom Come (DC Direct)

In 1996 DC Comics under the guise of Elseworlds released a four issue mini series called Kingdom Come. Like wildfire, the series spread across the country, and became one of the highest selling miniseries of all time.


While the series made its plastic debut in 2000 as part of the Elseworlds line up, in 2003 Kingdom Come was garnered its own series of figures. Much like Alex Ross's artwork for the comic book themselves, the figures were amazing looking, right down to the finest detail.

The packaging itself left little to desire, though it fit accordingly with the comics. Black everywhere, with a logo at the top. Towards the bottom, the figures name.

DC Direct released three series in total, which in this humble writer's opinion was not enough. The books left so much more room for more figures that could have been produced. But, DC (it seemed) was on some kind of kick during this time to produce and release as many figure lines as possible (based on the hottest titles in their libraries), and while series often times got a strong push onto the market, they seemed quickly abandoned for the next best thing in the DC world.

The three series included the following figures;

SERIES 1

Wonder Woman
Superman
Green Lantern
Hawkman

SERIES 2

Kid Flash
Shazam!
Batman
Red Robin

SERIES 3

Deadman
The Flash
Magog
Armored Wonder Woman

Two exclusive figures and one "special" set were released to coincide with the line. The two exclusive figures were both Toyfare exclusives. The first, Red Arrow, and the second, Wonder Woman (which was the same as the one from series one, but displayed the all new series 2 figures on the back). Both also sported the Toyfare logo at the top of the package.

Released as a special set was the "Alex Ross's Superman". The three pack was produced in very low quantities, and right from the start was priced much higher than it should have been. We are personally not a fan of toys (or anything for that matter) being produced for the sole sake of being valuable. So when we see high priced items like this, we immediately pass. We call them, "Expensive for the sole sake of being expensive," or "Forced rarity." This particular item fits into both of those categories.

The set includes three variations of the same Superman figure. The first represents the original sculpture. The second represents the test shot prototype, and the third and final is the completed figure as released to the mass market.

As mentioned above, the figures actually debuted in 2000 as part of the Elseworld series of figures, which happen to be these here. As you can see, the packaging is no different from the one released with the actual series related figures. This was generally the case with the Elseworld figures. None of them (regardless of which series they were from) ever fell under the banner of Elseworlds. Instead, each figure was always packaged in unique packaging to the books they represented.

Series two and three contained a total of five figures, one of which was a two pack;

ELSEWORLDS SERIES 2

The Spectre and Norman McCay
Jade

ELSEWORLDS SERIES 3

Nightstar
Aquaman
Blue Beetle

Of course, none of these figures would be around if it weren't for these amazing books below.

The four part mini series took the comic world by storm when it hit shelves in 1996. At the time, the books were some of the most expensive "off the rack" books at $5.99. This however was nothing compared to what the secondary market would see them sky rocket up to. While those prices have since dropped considerably, collecting all four books can still cost you two to three times more than purchasing one of the many collected trade paperbacks of the series which have been released in the past 10+ years.

If you haven't read this series, we highly recommend it.

Join us next Monday for our look at CHiPs!

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Wonder Woman (Mego)

Mego had been distributing "dime store" toys since the 1950's, but never could find its niche until the 70's when it started producing name brand eight to twelve inch dolls. Since then, Mego has dominated the toy isles with figures based on Marvel and DC Comic characters, as well as several various TV shows such as C.H.I.P.S. and Duke's of Hazard.

Linda Carter took the TV world by storm, and awoke an entire generations sexual urges when she portrayed Diana Prince, AKA Wonder Woman on ABC from 1975 to 1979. Clad in tight blue shorts (if not underwear), and a bright red top that allowed men to see for miles at the right camera angle, she was destined to become a sex symbol overnight.


Between 1978 and 1979 Mego produced a small line of dolls based off the hit show. Mego had already been producing various DC comic related dolls, and one based on Wonder Woman had previously been released in the 1974 Supergals assortment. This line however was different both in sculpting, and by design that it was purely geared towards the TV show.

Along with the artwork of Wonder Woman, Ms. Carter was also featured on the package. The overall concept design of the packaging didn't stray far from typical Mego packaging. A large rectangle box with a clear window, and a large tab off to the left was pretty standard for the company in those days. Coupled with its light blue background, and bright red and yellow eye catching logo, it was like a tractor beam to young girls (and some boys) back in the 70's.

Five dolls in total were produced, one of which was a second version of Wonder Woman. The variations between the two dolls are numerous between the packaging and accessories. The most noticeable being that the second version titles the doll as simply "Wonder Woman," while the original claims to be "Linda Carter as Wonder Woman." The first version also came with a set of clothing that allowed you to change her from Wonder Woman to Diana Princes with a dress suit as seen in the show, while the second included a plain pink dress to change into. Ms. Carter's image was also removed from the package design of the second format.


The three other dolls were Nubia, Queen Hippolyte, and Steve Trevor.

Mego originally planned to produce what was known to be a "Wonder Woman Playset." Though a prototype was mocked up, and several photographs exist, the physical playset never came to be. This is most likely due to the TV show ending, and interest in the dolls dwindling at a fairly rapid pace.

The playset appeared to be nothing more than three cardboard cut outs linked together by tabs, and a handful of plastic furniture pieces - Pretty standard, cheap playset production for the 70's and 80's. They were highly fragile, and fairly easy to lose. Perhaps with that said, it's a good thing the playset was never produced. Someone out there could own this prototype if it wasn't destroyed when Mego closed their doors, and if it were to ever surface, it would be a very interesting bidding war to watch.



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Super Powers (Kenner)

Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Lex Luthor, The Joker - All of DC's major cast of characters shaped what is considered to be one of the most thorough and complete lines of super heroes to date. Mainly because these days it seems that every super hero has their own line of toys - Specifically when a new movie hits theaters.

But, back in 1984 when Kenner approached DC Comics, there weren't too many comic book movies around, at least, not any good ones. Instead, Kenner wanted to produce a line of toys based on the height of comic book popularity...At least, the height for that particular decade.

Between 1984 and 1986, Kenner produced thirty-three figures for the now highly collectible line across three series of figures. At the time, this was an incredible amount of figures to produce in such a short period of time. What makes this series even more special to collectors is that Kenner didn't skimp on the detail. One look at each figure, and fans could easily identify them.

Series one contained a major lineup of "main" characters both good and evil from the DC universe.

Superman, Green Lantern, The Flash,
Batman, Robin, Hawkman

Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Lex Luthor,
The Joker, The Penguin

Prior to the second series launching, Steppenwolf, who would be available in the second series was released as a mail away exclusive for five proof of purchases off the back of series one carded figures.

Series two launched in 1985 with eleven new figures.

Red Tornado, Martian Manhunter, Firestorm,
Green Arrow, Dr. Fate, Darkseid

Brainiac, Steppehwolf, Kalibak,
Parademon, Desaad, Mantis

Both series one and two offered collector's the chance to get the excluisve mail away Clark Kent figure. For five proof of purchases, you would get; the figure, a poster (signed by the heroes), the first issue of the fan club magazine (with an offer to join the club), a patch, and a sticker.


When series three was released in 1986, the line was dwindling in popularity. Despite its strong launch, and loyal fans over the prior two years, the children of the 80's were quickly growing up, and action figures were becoming a part of their pasts. Despite plans for a forth series, these next ten figures were the last in the series.

Shazam, Cyborg, Golden Pharaoh,
Cyclotron, Orion

Samurai, Mister Miracle, Plastic Man,
Mr. Freeze, Tyr

Several vehicles were released between series one and two, and while some vehicles were planned for series three, due to the sudden cancellation of the line, they were never produced. A box mock up and an actual prototype for the All Terrain Trapper exist, though it is unknown were these items currently are, or who's collection they are in.

Batmobile, Batcopter,
Supermobile, Justice Jogger, Delta Probe One

Darkseid Destroyer,
Lex-Soar 7, Kalibak Boulder Bomber

While two playsets were planned for the series, only one was ever released; the Hall of Justice. The other playset, Tower of Darkness, was scheduled to be released during series three. Like the vehicle, the All Terrain Trapper, a prototype does exist, but it is unknown where that prototype is today.

To help boost sales, in 1985, Kenner and DC combined forces with legendary cartoon creators Hanna-Barbera who produced the series The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians. To date it is considered to be one of the most faithful adaption of these beloved characters.

Sadly, while beloved by true comic book fans, it didn't click with most children who were moving on from their Star Wars and He-Man years on to more adult themed things. The series lasted only eight episodes. Fans of the series can relive their fond memories via DVD as the entire series was released in 2007.

To date, Super Powers is one of (if not) the best super hero based toy lines. Yeah, they had buttons on their backs for "super moves" that made them a whole heaping fun to play with, but overall, back then, and even these days, they're just really cool to look at. It's no wonder that the Super Powers toy line is so sought out by collectors today. It's just that good.

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