Retro Review: Super Powers Collection (DC Comics/Kenner)
Nemesis
Once upon a time there was a magical world called ‘The Eighties’. For those of us who were children in this time, we were able to witness the advent of many iconic toy-lines.  Toy-lines, I should add, that have transitioned successfully into the comics while remaining popular in their original form. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe would burst upon the scene and continues strong to this day. She-Ra Princess of Power would also follow suit and has reappeared on the small screen. G.I. Joe was re-imagined in its current form and has never looked back. My Little Pony was a popular toy line that has since spawned TV shows and comic books. Finally, lest we not forget, there was the juggernaut that was Star Wars. Those toys, though spawned in the seventies, made George Lucas wealthy and were the foundation for the Lucas empire and all of the various Star Wars content we have today. However, one company did something daring and different in those heady days. DC Comics, in conjunction with Kenner, brought their characters out of the comic book and into a toy line with the Super Powers Collection. Featuring some character redesigns by some of their most famous artists and including mini comics with each character in the first two series, this toy line was novel and treasured by young fans and collectors alike
DC and Marvel Comics had certainly had toys prior to the advent of the Super Power Collection. However, DC opted out of continuing with Mego Corporation and instead joined forces with Kenner. Kenner had been hugely successful creating “action” toys for Star Wars earlier in the decade and DC wanted to create a similar line. These “action” toys had hidden mechanisms that allowed each figure to perform a dynamic action unique to each character. DC took this concept and used it in each of the mini-comics that featured characters in the first two series of the toy line. Characters that received mini-comics were varied and included such notables as Superman, Wonder Woman, Darkseid, Lex Luthor, Batman, Aquaman, Doctor Fate, Kalibak, Firestorm and others. In addition, Kenner produced some vehicles and playsets to go with the toy line. These included the Supermobile, Batmobile, Hall of Justice, Lex-Soar 7 and others. Each of those vehicles and their corresponding real world actions were included in various mini-comics that were included with figures in the toy line.
Although I have spent some time talking about the toys themselves, I primarily write about comics. With that said, I’d like to talk a bit about the mini-comics included with the figures. Although these comics were not part of the continuity, each comic was stylistically accurate to the comics at the time with some notable exceptions. Jack Kirby (New Gods, Avengers) would redesign his New Gods characters for the toy line and those redesigns would be used in the mini-comics featuring those characters. Additionally, artists George Perez (Wonder Woman Vol2, Avengers) and Ed Hannigan (Legends of the Dark Knight, Hawkman) either redesigned characters for the line or had recent work they had done for DC Comics featured in the toy line. Beyond that, much of the artwork in the books and packaging is based off the work of Mike DeCarlo (Tales of the Teen Titans, Legion of Super Heroes), Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (Deadman, JLA Classified) and Dick Giordano (Green Lantern/Green Arrow). The artwork and action in the books is very much a blend of the period comics of the time and the classic Hanna Barbara Justice League cartoons. In point of fact, the toy-line would spawn another round of cartoons featuring characters in the toy line. Each mini-comic was self-contained with no crossover from comic to comic. However, it was not uncommon for there to be multiple characters in each comic wish some unique pairings. For example, in the Aquaman book, The Penguin is being chased by the Flash and ultimately escapes before being waylaid by Aquaman and some marine companions. These types of pairings are common throughout the books and are rather unique to this series of comic books. The writing in the books is very similar to the type of fare one might find in a Saturday Morning cartoon. There is no deep plot line, no time for it, and the action and dialogue are easy going, fun and dare I say campy. Very appropriate for a children’s toy line and reminiscent of some of the lighter fare of the Silver Age.
These toys and the comic books that went with them were very successful and remain collectible to this day. They had numerous tie-ins from fast food cups, to Underoos and TV shows. Ultimately, however, the toy line only saw the release of three series and sadly only the first two releases featured mini-comics. In recent years, plans and concept designs have been released for series four through six and those plans also included mini-comics. It makes me wonder what might have been. Nevertheless, what we did receive was incredibly entertaining for both the boy I was then and the man I am now. The mini-comics are a wonderful snapshot into the world of DC comics in the early eighties and how that was packaged for kids in the golden age of Saturday Morning cartoons. They are incredibly fun to read and for those of us who are getting gray in our hair, a fun bit of nostalgia. If you can find a copy of these entertaining little books I’d encourage you to put on your Underoos, snuggle up in a blanket, and enjoy some wholesome DC Comics fun.
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Author Profile
Nemesis
Nemesis is a poet, writer and author of the upcoming novel The Long Game. He is a writer of science fiction and supernatural thrillers. Besides novels and short stories he writes for UK based ASAP Comics developing new stories for Level 8 and OPSEC. Nem is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and tries to bring those experiences into his writing.
He lives and works out of his home in Riverside, California with his wife and three children. When not writing he enjoys reviewing comic books and graphic novels for ComicCrusaders.com and living the Southern California life with his family.
