Many action figures are based on existing movies or TV shows, but of course there are TV shows that are created to sell action figures. In 1984 Mattel released The Masters of the Universe. I’m not exactly sure what vintage this Skeletor is but it is certainly old: so old it cannot stand any more. We never got many MOTU figures, and I know that, for myself, the main interest was in their weapons. At one point we got a Castle Greyskull playset at a garage sale, and to my delight it still had not only the weapons rack but all the weapons.
A much more indulged-in line of action figures was Thundercats (1985 -1987), by LJN. There were figures I found adaptable to many playings: the mummified form of Mumm-Ra, the scaly Slithe, or the Tash-like Vultureman were good character types. The goat-like Mongor was full of ze devil. And of course, they all came with their unique weapons.
The year 1990 brought us The
Pirates of Dark Water by Hasbro. They were an excellent variation on many
Fantasy types: the hero Ren could easily be an Elf, Zoolie was a Falstaff expy,
and Konk obviously has Mr. Smee somewhere back in his ancestry. I got them all,
including their pirate ship, The Wraith, which remains in surprisingly good
shape, considering its flimsy plastic sail.
I never watched any of these
shows. As far as Fantasy went, these cartoons were the equivalent of a McDonald’s
hamburger. Alright as far as they went and perhaps appealing to an undeveloped
palate, but I only picked the tomatoes off of the bun, as it were, when I indulged
in the action figures.
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