Secrets of Mattel's 1984 Secret Wars Marvel Action Figure Toy Line: When Mattel Made Marvel!

[@bluestripetiger]

As a kid i loved both the Super Powers and Secret Wars action figures. They were both well made and for their time had a lot of detail. i had a Mego Hulk and i loved him but he was quite big. I also had a big Spiderman that had a little hook that would pull it up. I loved that Spiderman figure but it was a little stiff. The small figures were poseable (in a limited early 1980's sense) but above all i could take them with me anywhere, while the big Mego Hulk and Spiderman with hook were home only toys.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Such great toys to grow up with

[@victorcastle5757]

That's crazy that Doom was a pegwarmer! He was the one I wanted most as a kid, because he's pretty much always been my favorite supervillain.

[@spectorcreative1872]

He was one of the biggest pegwarmers of them all!

[@victorcastle5757]

@@spectorcreative1872 I'm shocked! Shocked, I tell you!! He was always my favorite comic book villain since seeing him on the Spiderman & Fantastic 4 cartoons in the early 80s, and in some coloring books & whatnot that I had. My fiancé & I are having a superhero wedding in a few months, & my outfit will be based on him!!

[@jesseperry9602]

@@spectorcreative1872 Kang....Kang was the biggest pegwarmer in my area. Any set up of Secret Wars figures was 3-4 Spider-Men, a couple of Cap and Iron Mans, 15 Kangs and absolutely zero Hobgoblins.

[@georgetrapp6666]

Meh, I think it's because, by most fans eye, he wasn't the Doom they were familiar with. I think I still cringe a bit when I look at his outer-space-looking armor.

[@victorcastle5757]

@@jesseperry9602 yeah, that's what I would think. Hardly anyone knew who he was at the time... including me!

[@SupremeMayo]

I was only 5-6 when l discovered these toys in 1985. Secret wars is what got me in to marvel. Thanks for this video

[@JoJoBearSomaticGuide4men]

I had the whole collection as a kid.. wish I still had em

[@spectorcreative1872]

You were a blessed kid!

[@DanielGarciaNYC]

Me too... Only thing I kept messing up was the hologram card

[@StoneyHoliday]

I still have Iron Man and Cap. I was about 3 years old when these came out and I will never forget getting them. I almost forget that back then the DC characters were more mainstream than the marvel characters but that shifted dramatically in the 90s.

[@joeholtster1891]

Wish this line went further. My all time favorite Marvel line.

[@spectorcreative1872]

It was a classic

[@jesseperry9602]

I have a love/hate relationship with the Secret Wars line. Firstly, some of my most cherished toys from growing up were my Secret Wars and Super Powers figures. It was awesome to have at the same time both Marvel and DC in practically the same scale and led to a lot of crossover playing storylines that I think hooked me on comic book super heroes for life. I read comics before then, but those figures really mean a lot to me. On the other hand...man Mattel really were cheapskates on those figures. Like, Captain America couldn't come with a proper shield? Magneto and Dr. Doom didn't have their capes...hell, Magneto didn't even have EYES! Lastly, the paint apps they used are NOTORIOUSLY bad. I remember when I got Daredevil...literally the same afternoon his DD symbol, his belt buckle, and most of the paint app on his face were gone. Same for Spidey's chest, the red stripes on Cap's midsection, and good luck trying to find an Iron Man that actually has the yellow on his arc reactor. I know Mattel had more overhead than Kenner as you explained in the video, but at some point it just has to be said...The Secret Wars figures were just plain inferior to the Super Powers line, both in scope and construction. But I still love 'em and have a near full line (Just missing Ice Man and Electro...someday!).

[@spectorcreative1872]

It is good to have a someday toy. It makes toy hunting that much more fun. For that one day when you find them for 10.00 at a flea market!

[@rokkvi1]

I agree so much. It was nice to be able to make Marvel and DC figures fight each other and I just really loved having the Marvel characters. I had Wolverine, black Spider-Man, Iron Man, Doom, Kang, Magneto, Constrictor and Doc Oc (whose mechanical arms fell off after not too long, so yeah, again crap quality). I had Batman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman and Hawkman (my preferred DC character, who I frustratingly lost and never found again) from the DC line. I liked my Marvel figures so much more, despite the obvious difference in quality.

[@EdsterIII]

@@rokkvi1 When I was a kid there were some Mego Superheroes I wanted so bad but they never were released. Hawkman was one. The Flash was another, although they did make a Teen Titans set with Kid Flash, Aqualad, Speedy, and Wonder Girl. Doctor Octopus was another, Scorpion, Sandman, Rhino, Doctor Doom, etc. Mego had DC & Marvel at the time and I loved the figures, they didn't have a lot of villains. Batman's baddies were the most DC villains. 🃏🃏Joker🃏🃏, 🐧🐧Penguin🐧🐧, 🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛Catwoman🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛ , and the❔❔Riddler❔❔and on the Marvel side, Green Goblin, and the 🦎🐊Lizard🐊🦎 were pretty much it. Again while I loved the line of figures I always had wished they made more villains. It wasn't until later that it changed and more figures, different figures, or a larger variety of figures were produced. I think Star Wars changed that. They saw that even minor characters were bought and bad guys especially were popular. Darth Vader, Stormtroopers, and the Bounty Hunters were all flying off the shelves. One great thing about Mego was their figures were always well made. My only gripe was that their "logos" were stickers and always came off when you played with them. Batman's 🦇, Robin's ®️, Captain America's ⭐, the Fantastic Four's 4️⃣, Superman's \S/, and even Iron-Man's 🟡 ended up like -->⭕ when the yellow dot popped out. So many of the figures didn't have their logos. Only 🕷🕸Spider-Man🕸🕷, had his logo as part of his costume, and Thor, The Hulk, Thing, Falcon, Green Goblin, Lizard,🃏🃏Joker🃏🃏, 🐧🐧Penguin🐧🐧, and 🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛Catwoman🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛ were sticker free. Otherwise Mego's figures were spot on perfect for the most part.

[@rokkvi1]

@@EdsterIII there were some Mego pocket superheroes out when I was very young. We had one of the versions of Spider Man, which was quite a nice figure. I like that line quite a lot just from looking at the figures and it was nice how they had both DC and Marvel figures in a size compatible with the Star Wars line. Ironically the Mego pocket super heroes were made from better material and had more detail than the Secret Wars figures. Hawkman was by far my favourite Superpowers figure, the second favourite being Batman. Unfortunately, I lost my Hawkman and never found him again. We also never got waves 2 and 3 of Superpowers in Iceland and I remember really liking the Firestorm figure when I got to the US and discovered the 2nd wave.

[@ChapMeifan]

I still love this line all these years later. There's something really basic and fun with the Secret Wars line. I finally found a Doom Roller two years ago and, despite it being kind of goofy, it fits with the whole comic book universe. Great video!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Those vehicles were pretty kick ass!

[@SoberIrishman]

Grew up in this 1984-85 era and it was fantastic being 10 years old. This series was awesome, have all the figures, comics and even lots of customs made from the base figures of the XMEN. :)

[@spectorcreative1872]

Such a cool line

[@freddyvidz]

I LOVED these toys.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Toys are love.

[@fromagenoir7220]

I still have the first wave figures, Dardevil and Black Suit Spidey, the Doom Tower and Freedom Fighter. The shields and accessories are lost to time however. Great video!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yeah those shields have a way of being easily forgotten.

[@davidcarnevale5974]

Great video! Being born in ‘72, I grew up on these toys and comics. Very fortunate to still have most of the comic series as well as many of the figures.

[@spectorcreative1872]

I feel the same!

[@Merylstreep1949]

Very cool and informative. I'm subscribing to your channel because of this video

[@spectorcreative1872]

Nice! Welcome aboard. And thank you

[@georgetrapp6666]

That tears it! So am I, now!

[@Frankh747]

I'm 38 and still have some of these in my collection. Did not realize that was Dr. DOOMs first figure, glad I kept it.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Worth keeping!

[@mjaks78]

Wow! Seeing this i now remember having a few of these! Wolverine, Cap, and Dr Doom, if i recall correctly. Great figures!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Oh you recall totally correctly!

[@mjaks78]

@@spectorcreative1872 Great videos, man! Enjoy them a lot!

[@warface4881]

The first time I ever saw WOLVERINE was his Secret Wars figure. I was like "who is this cool guy?" As I recall they were made a of this rubbery plastic that was kinda an articulation feature on its own.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yeah as the first ever Wolvierine toy this was his character introduction to many kids

[@michaelstreeto3889]

I had him too

[@Goldenbane]

I saw Wolverine for the first time in the Spider-man and His Amazing Friends cartoon series, as well as the old TSR roleplaying game my older brother owned. Funnily enough, it was the Toy Biz Marvel figures when I first saw Venom. I remember getting one of those "toy catalogs" and there was the Marvel figures...and I saw this giant evil Spider-man who looked like he'd been possessed or something! When I finally managed to get a hold of him, it became a love affair that continues to this day!

[@deanmatthews4515]

Exact same for me dude and his suit was the x men standard standard

[@deanmatthews4515]

Wasn't the x man standard

[@kevingonzalez3673]

These toys were so cool. I had them all and would have great battles with them and my GI Joes. I wished I still had them.

[@chrisalan457]

Fascinating video Spectre, I do remember this line as a kid. Doctor Doom was in fact a peg warmer, I remember seeing him still on the pegs 2 to 3 years after the line ended. 😳 Always a great viewing experience, can't wait for the next one!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yeah after Dr Doom sold badly in the first wave he was double packed in the second wave!

[@chrisalan457]

@@spectorcreative1872 That explains why there were so many.

[@sgtbathsoap]

Very funny timing this video was posted, I just watched infinity war for the first time, and then get to see an extremely informative video about the first huge crossover, loved it, keep it up!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Nice. See how perfect the timing is between me and Marvel Studios?

[@toddtaylor6506]

I had Red/Blue Spidey ( my favorite super hero ) , Iron Man and Dr. Doom.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Nice. Toy memories are the best

[@ADAM_COLLECTS]

Love the education about things I noticed as a kid “these guys have the same arms legs and head.. Why.” Cost, standard and expected answer but fun to learn

[@spectorcreative1872]

It usually all comes down to cost!

[@DONTOURAGETV]

Wow I clicked on this video because the Marvel Secret Wars toys are still to this day one of my favorite toy lines and I literally had every figure but watching this video brought me back because I also had some of the DC Kenner toy line as well

[@spectorcreative1872]

Toy memories are the best kind! And if new to this channel, please take a look around, we have tons of great stuff! Welcome aboard.

[@rodrickadamginsburg8960]

I enjoyed these figures very much back in the day!

[@spectorcreative1872]

They were toy-riffic

[@jamescampbell2891]

The iron man shield lenticular still had Tony Stark instead of Roadie

[@oldschooltommyim]

Never thought about that and it’s right there in this video too.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Good point. It is almost like no one was paying attention to the details.. cough cough Wolverine Claws

[@JeffTheFutureJaros]

Great Video as always Guru, man, I used to dig the Secret Wars line back then, great line!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Hoping we can see Mattel bring it back one day. Only a Marvel License away...

[@JeffTheFutureJaros]

@@spectorcreative1872 That would be an Instant Hit with Adult Collectors! Fingers Crossed.....

[@korydoe4813]

I had Spiderman and Dr doom, they got lots of play, my Spiderman has very little paint left these days!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yeah, the paint had a way of disappearing quickly on these figures when played with.

[@favoritemustard3542]

Which Spidey?

[@korydoe4813]

@@favoritemustard3542 the regular red and blue secret wars one

[@archangel5627]

My Secret Wars Spiderman got lots of play too. He’s missing a ton of paint as well. I loved that figure!

[@korydoe4813]

@@archangel5627 if I remember correctly my spent lots of time in the bath tub too! Lol

[@artkingofwholefoods74]

That series was optical magic. The story was AMAZING! I still have my complete set.

[@GrrrwolfWherewolf]

Well done! Thanks for doing these videos!

[@spectorcreative1872]

And thank you for watching and commenting! And help by posting them to friends on social media is most appreciated.

[@mikesoylo1496]

WTH gives this video a thumbs down?! Great job!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Haters gunna hate

[@christopherlockery9629]

I was born on not only the year that 'Secret Wars' came out (1984) but also on the same month that was on the cover of the first issue of the mini series (May) a fun little series and in my humble opinion one of my personal favorite cross over events, be it from Marvel, DC or any other company. Nuff Said!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Clearly Secret Wars was in your destiny

[@Bulbasquirtle]

Great Channel! Glad to see there's more people who care about stuff like this!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Me too! Feel free to share any of these videos on your social media. It helps the channel a ton!

[@cepolt]

Wolverine at the time was one of my favorite characters, but the general public at that time had never heard of him. No one at my school knew who he was.(The Miller/Clairemont series had just come out). I was lucky to have been introduced to comic collecting by an older cousin, 15 years my senior. ) Not until years later did I realize the black claw version was rare; I was lucky to have that one.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Oh yes, this was well before he got popular

[@daniellennane9461]

Awesome video! I once read that there was another wave in the works that featured Hulk, Abomination, Mr. Fantastic, Dazzler, Mystique and some others. The Hulk prototype has some images floating around online too.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Definitely no hulk was prototypes because of the tooling needed. He couldn't use the standard body and all the figures needed to use the standard body

[@daniellennane9461]

@@spectorcreative1872 Check here. toyotter.com/2010/11/the-best-kept-secret/ About half way down the page there is a photo of the prototype. It's next to a few custom pieces. It believe it has been confirmed as official. I wish I could find some better pictures, but I'm 100% sure it's real.

[@scottandrewhutchins]

Kang was a notorious pegwarmer I bought several years later for 50 cents. Despite my love of Marvel, the only others I managed to get were Doctor Doom and Daredevil--that latter was at a drug store and quite surprised me. I got the Tower of Doom for $5 on clearance at Zayre, but I couldn't get the gate to stay open. It also had Kenner Ecto-Plazm spilled on it because that was Zayre. Someone told me that if you press the lever down when it's pulled out, you can make it stay in place, but mine is in storage in the original box in another state because I moved to NYC for grad school and didn't take my toys with me .

[@spectorcreative1872]

Oh yes, Kang and Doom were huge peg warmers. It didn't help that they were re-released in Wave 2!

[@Crowquilll]

I still remember the only time I saw wave 2 in a store. I had birthday money to spend and was thrilled to find Falcon at Walmart. I was headed a few aisles over to show Mom when a thunderstorm knocked out the power. All customers were asked to leave and I never saw one again. Eventually I picked up black Spidey and DD from flea markets, but no luck on Falcon or Hobgoblin.

[@favoritemustard3542]

The gods must be crazy! I _never_ got to see any wave in person... IDK why, I was around!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Some of those are still tough to track down. But I kinda like having an item to hunt for!

[@Spaceprince72]

Loved these growing up. Played with them so much the paint rubbed off on few. My sister used nail polish to give Cap his stripes back. Still have them in a shoe box with all my Super Powers figures.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yeah it is hard to find these figures with all the paint intact these days!

[@scockery]

The paint would rub off on some of them instantly, like Dr Doom's details. It was shoddy.

[@NinjaToyReviews]

Great video Lot of information Thank you

[@spectorcreative1872]

So glad you liked! Share with your friends! It helps the channel a ton

[@Spongemonkey26]

Still have my Wolverine, Capt. America, Doom, and Magneto from my childhood.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Worthy keepers!

[@-Hail-15]

kcirf

[@-Hail-15]

kcirf

[@kyleolson8977]

Invtelivision was not a "notorious failure', or if you really want to use that term it was a 'smashing success' first. The system had been out for 5 years when the 1984 video game crash hit and while it did not sell as well as the Atari VCS (2600), it did ship 3 million units. As Wikipedia notes "Mattel Electronics provided 25% of revenue and 50% of operating income in fiscal 1982". But Mattel Electronics, like Atari, had overspent during 1982, hiring like mad even there were signs that the market would cool and this caused huge losses over the next 2 years even though ME suspended hiring in early 1983.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Well, it was still considered one of Mattel's bigger failures in the big picture. Even if it made some money! The development was very costly.

[@TheNecessaryEvil]

I remember looking in the toy aisle of every store that carried toys for Hobgoblin. Never found him. I think I had all the others

[@FerrisBueller-lj9zj]

Best looking comic book action figures

[@spectorcreative1872]

And a bit ahead of their time in the day!

[@Daveyj666]

I loved these as a kid. I remember Doc Oc's tentacles broke off really easy, think I ended up getting two of them and had the same problem. Don't know about the figures but I remember seeing Dr Doom's base and some the the vehicles in my parents attic, about a year ago.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Doc Ock's tentacles always break no matter the scale!

[@andrewgrant2990]

Another great video sir; your depth of knowledge is impressive! While I may not have had much of these as a kid, over the years the accessories came my way & the Wolverine claws (etc) were used by GI Joe @ times.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Well GI Joe needs all the help he can get!

[@MiKeMiDNiTe-77]

Gosh wish I had these as a kid what amazing looking action figures....on to ebay now to check them out...

[@spectorcreative1872]

Worth it!

[@jamesjustice4515]

Good morning big guy. I tell u what , you do a wonderful show. I learned a few things I didn't know like iron man been rody. U do a beautiful job. U and ur family becareful today. Have fun. God watching over u all.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Thank you and glad you continue to enjoy! Many more to come.

[@BladeStar-uq6xe]

I didn't even start Collecting until 1994, and I still have 4 of these. In fact, I even use the Iron Man as Obadiah Stane because I figure such an ancient Iron Man armor is the best that he can do. I also have Wolverine, Captain America, and Magneto. I gave Magneto the cape of Dr. Mindbender. It's a bit small as it was a 3.75 figure. Tell the truth, I don't ever remember buying them. I remember specifically when I started Collecting. It was April 2nd, 1994, Toys R Us in Chula Vista, Ca. I went in and they still had a large selection of the Toy Biz rerelease of Super Powers and I bought; Superman Batman Robin Wonder Woman Hawkman Aquaman Green Lantern Martian Manhunter Red Tornado Dr. Fate I mean, I have such clarity about that day. Can't fathom where those Secret Wars figures came from.

[@genesanford9412]

Love these guys.I still have a few of them , & some 'Pocket Hero,s ' versions.I had the Batman exploding bridge set ,tho long gone : ( . Great story ,thanks, from a Ol Skool collector who grew up in this era ! :D

[@spectorcreative1872]

We are all old school now!

[@genesanford9412]

@@spectorcreative1872 LOL

[@robertlduncan12]

I was about five the first time I saw these figures, and outside of Spiderman didn't know who they were. But still had Cap, Magneto, Iron Man and Dr. Octopus. I think they were already on clearance by the time I got them, but I'll always have nostalgia for the toy line even if I never really became a big comics fan. I did get the paperback compilation of the Secret Wars series a few years back though simply because of my fondness for the toys.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yeah, these were the introduction to the Marvel Universe for many many kids!

[@razrentals8897]

I had all of these as a kid except Hobgoblin. I loved them back then and I love em now. I had probably 3 Black suit Spider-Man figures because I kept breaking them. The black suit quickly became my favorite costume of all time. They were sold in some discount stores by me in north East pa so it was easy for my parents to buy multiples of the broken figures.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Hobgoblin is worth tracking down!

[@razrentals8897]

@@spectorcreative1872 I have him now and I agree!

[@Skywarp-js9ne]

Wow this video takes me back man I remember secret wars I still own all 12 issues I have number one framed I love that issue I'm Spider-Man yeah these speakers are awesome I was able to find somebody yard sale one time picked them up cleaned them up and put them in a nice little display and there they sit

[@spectorcreative1872]

They are so rememberable huh!

[@Pegwarmers]

I had Cap and Dr. Doom as kid!

[@spectorcreative1872]

You were twice a lucky as me!

[@alanrussette2819]

I still have my Iron Man and Wolverine (Wolverine has his claws intact), but the shields and guns are long gone. I was never a fan of the action features of the Super Powers line. I was fine with Star Wars level articulation and overall sturdiness, so Secret Wars was right up my alley. I was also a bigger fan of Marvel than DC growing up, so that might have been part of my preference for the line.

[@spectorcreative1872]

I think a few small companies make repro parts. You may be able to replace your shield!

[@MikeB12800]

I loved these toys, but I remember the paint rubbing off pretty quick

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yeah toys in the 80's did that

[@georgetrapp6666]

We must remember, the Secret Wars comics were technically the first appearance of the Venom symbiote, at least backward-compatible or written as a retrofit. All superheroes who were collected (abducted?) in their civilian attire were directed to a machine that generated costumes for them. Peter Parker received almost an erroneous costume that more closely resembled Spider-Woman II's, but without the long white gloves and boots. As it turns out, the machine hadn't generated his costume, the costume (symbiote) sort of slithered out nearby, onto Peter.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Oh yes. The suit came from this story, so we have Mattel to thank you Venom.

[@gim95697]

I like that Magneto is in the cross sell as a villain but in the comics hes zapped in with the good guys

[@Anhviet19]

I remember having Cap, Ironman, Dr. Doom, Magneto and Kang.

[@spectorcreative1872]

A wonderful childhood you must have had!

[@robatkinson2125]

Brilliant figures of my youth

[@spectorcreative1872]

Glad you have awesome toy memories of these!

[@Ed-jv3xu]

Oh one more black Spider-Man was my favourite 👍♥️

[@nhaer042]

Do you think you would ever do a video about Kenner's history? I'm very interested in learning about it.

[@spectorcreative1872]

You got it! I'll add it to the list

[@nhaer042]

@@spectorcreative1872 Thanks!

[@georgetrapp6666]

Don't mean to steal your thunder, Spector Creative. But Nick, you can watch the Netflix documentary "The Toys That Made Us", they have great Kenner backstories on 1977 Star Wars figures.

[@nhaer042]

@@georgetrapp6666 okay but I'm also interested in the history of the company as a whole not just their star wars stuff. Thanks for the tip though.

[@AllysonA8281]

This is one of my all-time favorite toy lines and comic series. My favorites were definitely Wolverine, Doctor Doom, Black Suit Spider-man, and oddly Kang the Conqueror. The design was simple but effective. Definite miss on the weapons though. Still a great line anyway. Thanks for this and all the amazingly informative videos. I recently subbed and have been binging. Cheers!😃

[@spectorcreative1872]

I am so glad you enjoyed! Feel free to share with friends. It helps the channel a ton

[@AllysonA8281]

@@spectorcreative1872 Will do! 👍

[@IuriFiedoruk]

Both secret Wars and Super Powers were amazing and made a lot of success here im Brazik brought by Estrela and Gulliver companies. And I am glad to own a few pieces of both lines.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Nice. The foreign releases were awesome

[@ericlewis217]

I remember Kang being the biggest pegwarmer. Found him as late as 1989 at Ks Merchandise.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Doom and Kang were big dust collectors. They hung around in wave 1 AND Mattel shipped them in wave 2.

[@robatkinson2125]

Managed to get some of these figures recently. Black spiderman, spiderman, iron man, captain America.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Some of the best of the bunch!

[@jzachery]

While I love the Secret Wars line in terms of nostalgia I do remember getting them as a kid and wondering why they couldn't be like the Super Powers figures. No capes. Cap didn't have his actual shield. The action poses weren't great. Mattel seems to have a history of getting a license so they can compete and then cutting cost and corners until it can't compete at market.

[@spectorcreative1872]

The lack of capes was a cost saving measure due to Mattel's high overhead.

[@freddyvidz]

These need a remake!!!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Make it happen Hasbro, er Mattel, er Marvel

[@cruizerdave]

I remember seeing those as a kid. They kind of looked like knock offs to me then, so I passed. I think it’s funny they cut the quality and diversity of the line basically so the executives could be paid more. Had they put a little more effort into it. It may have been much more successful. Thanks for the insight!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Glad you enjoyed! Their is always Ebay!

[@aaronwood8012]

These weren’t as good as Kenner super powers but I loved them at the time

[@spectorcreative1872]

All true.

[@ricardomachado6792]

I had a Dr Doom during this time. And I had another Marvel characters but from another company that made figures but without articulation it was a Namor.

[@Clay3613]

I inherited some of the toys from my chiropractor who's a huge comic book fan. Mostly the villains and Doctor Dooms playset.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Nice! Love getting toys from hand me downs. Always some gems

[@RisingBean]

Along with MotU, this was my big early 80's toyline. While I had some of the Superpowers, Hulk and particularly Spider-Man were my favorite heroes. So I played with Spidey until I wore all the paint off and had him replaced a time or two. I also had Wolverine on the good guy side, and my neighbor had Symbiote Spidey and Iron Man. On the villain side I had Magneto, Doom and Doctor Octopus. Doc Ock's arms would break off with any attempt to play with him and while my mom returned him for another, I eventually got stuck with an armless Ock. A Mego Hulk completed my Marvel collection until the 89' Marvel Superheroes came out. Good times.

[@spectorcreative1872]

You know, I have yet to see a Doc Ock figure who doesn't have this issue! Even the Legends toy.

[@RisingBean]

@@spectorcreative1872 The late 80's Marvel SuperHeroes Ock was good if you didn't mind the suction cups attached to two of his arms. The newest Ock is my first since then and his lack of articulation is annoying.

[@Ed-jv3xu]

Meaning had them played with them love them ❤️👍🔥

[@johnalucard7860]

Had a bunch of these.I remember the paint on them being cheap and coming off .

[@spectorcreative1872]

Quality toys of the 80s!

[@ProfessorHurt]

I will always remember attaining Secret Wars Doctor Doom and getting Castle Doom. I didn't get Cobra Commander until Version 3 (the battle armored one). So having THE comic book bad guy was something else.He was my defacto villain the heroes would battle in that scale, and Castle DOOM was his lair (until of course the Cobra Terrordrome was released). I remember I still played with that dang figure until the early 90s when they released a caped version. I still have both the figure and Castle Doom. Both have seen better days (the paint is all gone on the figure and castle doom is missing parts). But I'll always remember the glory days of it when I was a kid.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Nice. He does make a good defacto villain for a lot of toy lines.

[@Chaos-cosplay-is-bord-chaos]

Cool video!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Thanks! Glad for the comment.

[@Metlhd313]

I had the entire first wave of figures save for Wolverine. I also had Kang's glider and the Freedom Fighter.

[@spectorcreative1872]

A good line to still have

[@jeremyburdge8573]

I love this toyline and remember when i got my first one in 1984 when i was 2 it was Spider-Man and it was my first time seeing Wolverine but i could not have him at the time because of the claws but still awesome. :) Then looking up the history of this toyline i found out there was prototypes that were going to be made.

[@spectorcreative1872]

It was so breakthrough for its time! And toy memories are the best!

[@jeremyburdge8573]

@@spectorcreative1872 Very true and i have a collection of them now still need a few more to complete the original line and i am one of those who is adding customs to my collection as well.

[@JediJunkie247]

Only ever had the original Spider-Man. This line was my introduction to the larger Marvel universe.

[@spectorcreative1872]

You share that with many kids in the 80's!

[@DanyTV79]

I got a Captain America from this line. Very cool figure, but I miss the shield.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yeah, he needs HIS shield right?

[@georgetrapp6666]

I always thought it was a cool figure, but I felt his blue was the wrong tint.

[@stephencerhit]

I sill have my Doctor Doom and Kang. Spider-man broke years ago, but still lasted in my collection for many years. I still remember my Granddad had one of Spider-mans vehicles.

[@spectorcreative1872]

I remember his race car quite fondly.

[@rokkvi1]

I was a kid the Superpowers line came out and I got a few of them. I liked the Secret Wars figures a lot more when I later came across them, simply because I liked the Marvel characters and comics a lot more than what came from DC. That was despite how obviously lower they were from a quality perspective.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Hey you can't beat out on what a kid likes. It wins every day.

[@rokkvi1]

@@spectorcreative1872 that´s exactly it. I thought Wolverine was the coolest, best looking and most badass superhero ever and I wanted to play as Wolverine. I had really liked Hawkman as a kid but otherwise I didn´t care that much for the DC characters or their stories, while I had always liked to read Marvel comics. As an adult however, I valued the DC Superpower figures much more for collecting, because of their higher quality. The Marvel Secret Wars ones just don´t look that good to display them for example.

[@nvfury13]

Still have a bunch of these!

[@spectorcreative1872]

They are classic in every way!

[@oldschooltommyim]

Great video. I Only had Baron Zemo that I found on clearance super cheap at Children’s Palace back in the day. Even though comics were my favorite hobby and I loved this series when it was coming out (Mike Zecks art was great) I was never big on superhero figures, I was mainly into MOTU at the time. Techno Dr Doom was ok but we didn’t get a proper Doom with a cape figure till the Toybiz Fantastic Four line I think which I thought was a great figure. And why did he have just a hood and no other “soft goods” on his new costume? I thought it looked kinda silly.

[@spectorcreative1872]

And now we are finally getting even better Dooms from Hasbro!

[@oldschooltommyim]

@@spectorcreative1872 in packaging that looks just like the old Toybiz one no less, would be very cool if they did a similar Secret Wars subline

[@vincentfranklin17]

Doctor Doom didn't have an action figure until Secret Wars? Wow! Mego definitely had figures of the FF! I guess I just assumed Mego made one! Ya learn somethin' new every day, huh?

[@JosephGualtieri]

They were certainly part of my intro to the Marvel U. I had Cap, DD, and Doom. Still have my Doom, and all of that paint on his chest has worn off, which frankly makes him look better.

[@spectorcreative1872]

You know I can totally see that!

[@DCMarvelMultiverse]

To repair my Superpowers, all I needed were a few symbol stickers. For SW, I needed a lot of paint. I found mostly the villains at Ben Franklin in the early 90s. Iron Man and Cap were thr only heroes there.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Those two were some of the highest produced.

[@georgetrapp6666]

Have an early after-market Spider-Man, Wolverine, and Captain America, but early enough in my collecting career, that regrettably, I opened their packaging. But still have all the accessories and all figures do not show wear. Have a few Flea Market finds of various characters, Doc Ock (one missing tentacles, one intact) Doom (one with chest paint wear, and missing that band on his thigh, one clean and with minimal wear) Magneto (one with heavy wear, a second with minimal) Hobgoblin (heavy wear, missing all accessories, especially glider) Kang (medium wear), and I swear somewhere buried away, I have a black-costume Spider-Man.

[@spectorcreative1872]

He will show up. All toys come back that are lost

[@Skywarp-js9ne]

Man I'm ripping a kid and seeing these on the shelf got to text me back I never got these I was still really into Star wars at the time and he man but you know what thing and back now man have been great to get them but marvel legends just redid these figures in a like a nine pack or something so I'll probably pick them up and keep them carded cuz they'll just look amazing on the shelf

[@spectorcreative1872]

They do make a toy shelf happy!

[@AndyC3.0]

I remember reading the secret Wars saga when it first came out via comic books.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Pretty groundbreaking at the time!

[@justbenelson]

Hey, I've been digging deeper into MOTU history, but I know next to nothing about Tops Toys. Maybe there's not much to explain, but I'd like to see a video about their role in manufacturing MOTU toys. Thank!

[@spectorcreative1872]

How is this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gpm8h5durs-Hmqc

[@justbenelson]

@@spectorcreative1872 Ah, I missed this one. Thanks!

[@symbiote1982pk]

Ooooh that kid was brapping up a storm.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Pretty much

[@Jake_E57]

The biggest issues were that Mattel tried to cut too many costs. They may have had a larger overhead, but when comparing the quality and price point of Kenner's Super Powers to Mattel's Secret Wars it wasn't much of a competition. Super Powers often were difficult to stand and figures came with blasters and shields even when they made no sense, compared to the Super Powers line that had action features that rarely detracted from the quality of the figure.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yes, being a smaller company with less overhead, Kenner was indeed able to make superior figures!

[@jamesdlin7]

You wrote Super Powers where I think you meant to write Secret Was in one place.

[@Jake_E57]

@@jamesdlin7 Yes I did, thanks for pointing that out.

[@nathanphillips7787]

Should have mentioned that Mattel later teamed up with DC comics, and when it was time to make a set of Justice League figures for the animated series they made them with limited articulation and ...lenticular shields!

[@mistermort77]

I only miss 2 figures in this line : Electro and the Falcon (Yes, I have Iceman since I was a child in the 80ies. And I still have his shield)

[@spectorcreative1872]

Wow, you were quite lucky! Iceman is gold.

[@mistermort77]

@@spectorcreative1872 Yes, lucky to be french (I think that the figure were only sold in France and Spain, maybe Italy too) The funniest thing is that I lived in a very small burgundian town when I was young. The figure I wanted the most was the classic Spiderman (like any kid, I guess) There was no way to find him in the only toy shop. One day, my mother had to go to Paris and bought me Spiderman from the BHV as a surprise. I was so happy, and played with it heavily (to the point of having him having his two arms broken and loosing every painting detail. Luckily, a friend of mine repaired it and it is now as if it was a new figure). But believe it or not, the Spiderman that you was supposed to find easily was never sold in this little shop, but the Iceman figure was !

[@Nimisiskrash]

Let’s talk about re-gerts yes that’s not a typo When I recently got rid of half my comic/ toy collection 🤦🏾‍♂️ (Collecting comics since I was five and started back toy collecting in 1995....spawn set it back off) I let go a half dozen of un punched card magneto and kang each and a Mexico doom cycle 🤦🏾‍♂️ Had a friend that worked for marvel and dc....at the same time! That’s a story for another time I would get so much stuff from out of print books to suspenders and the kitchen sink All super heroes themed. One day at the marvel warehouse we found a few boxes of sw figures but they just had mag and Kang and the doom tower I would just give the figs away to kids that lived in my neighborhood for good grades and such I sold the rest off in 2018 to midtown comics nyc😢

[@spectorcreative1872]

Well Midtown is an AMAZING store. Hopefully they made it to a great collector home.

[@Nimisiskrash]

I been going to midtown since they only had one store(Times Square) and one floor. At one point I knew were every comic shop was in Brooklyn and Manhattan since 1987 that includes basements and garages 😅

[@RamManNo1]

I hear ya there with the selling regerts!!! I sold off (basically dumped) a big chunk of my comics 12 years ago. About 4000 comics just gone. Because I was running out of space and basically disinterested. Now I have the collecting bug again and almost cry about what I let go😖 Never ever ever sell any of your collectibles because chances are your passion will flair again some day!

[@Nimisiskrash]

@@RamManNo1 I feel the pain...

[@Avenging_Archer]

What do you think of the new 3.75 Marvel retro line of figures?

[@spectorcreative1872]

It is cute. Not for me, but I get the rationale behind it

[@Houseofden]

Do you know how CVS ended up with thousands of cases of series 1 and 2? They had a clearance store called Mark Steven Outlet and they received thousands of these figures and they were eventually marked down to 25 cents per figure. I've wondered why they didn't get series 3 instead of Europe or why Europe didn't get the surplus series 1 and 2.

[@spectorcreative1872]

See this video! kzbin.info/www/bejne/fqi3eZuBj7Sppac

[@vermis8344]

Always enjoy these behind-the-scenes look-backs. The thought came to me halfway through watching: how common are Bruce Banner action figures?

[@spectorcreative1872]

Bruce Banner sell ways less than Batman. Usually 20-30 Batmen to one Bruce.

[@jesseperry9602]

In the various Hulk centric lines you have a fair number of Bruce Banner figures. The number goes down dramatically if it's just a generic Marvel line though, because it's very rare in a non-collector line that you get secret identity figures.

[@shenanitims4006]

I had most, if not all of these as a kid. I was a huge Marvel fan growing up, so my cousins had the DC Super Power figures, but I only bothered with the Secret Wars ones. I kept my alien costume Spider-Man, Hobgoblin, Dr. Oct., and Falcon for a lot longer than I probably should have, but that symbiote suit Spider-Man was just too perfect to give up.

[@spectorcreative1872]

It would be great to see homage figures made in modern style!

[@shenanitims4006]

@@spectorcreative1872 True, but I'm so far out of the game (and country), I'd have to live vicariously through videos such as these. And I figured most of these characters already have updates.

[@RamManNo1]

They actually did the big cross over thing two years earlier with Contest of Champions. Only less issues(3), no toy deals and a lot less hype

[@RamManNo1]

On second thought, I don’t know if counts as an event since it was self contained, not bleeding over into other Marvel books...

[@spectorcreative1872]

And yes, I think your second comment nailed it

[@jasonknight8581]

Rhodey was on the card back, but the shield showed Tony Stark as his secret identity

[@spectorcreative1872]

I know, weird right!

[@jasonknight8581]

@@spectorcreative1872 Confused the hell out of me as a kid lol

[@georgetrapp6666]

Thank you, I was going to say I remembered that, and thought I also spotted that in the video. Good eye, and good recollection on your part, Jason216!