Toy-Ventures: Torpedo Fist from Big Jim's Wolfpack!

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Our focus this week is one of the top agents in the Professional Agents Crime Killers (or P.A.C.K) , the amazing Torpedo Fist.
We talk about the evolution of Mattel's Big Jim, the birth of the PACK, Jack Kirby, the launch of "Double Trouble", Torpedo Fist's origin story and even touch how the character ended up on the Masters of the Universe (sorta kinda?) .
It's a jam-packed Toy-Ventures and one I'm certain you'll enjoy!
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[@deathincorporatedfitnesstr1256]

Christmas 1976.....the lazervette, zorak, big Jim, dr steel......best Christmas ever. I'm 52 now. Still feel that way.

[@ismaelrodriguez6420]

I never had Dr. Steel, but all the others (from when I was a child) are still in my collection to this day. Missing my BEAST, I loved that vehicle.

[@ChapMeifan]

This was a line I LOVED as a kid. Torpedo Fist was always punching my Mego guys in the face before driving off in the LaserVette. I had all of them except the Double Trouble Big Jim which I felt, at the time, had weird hair.I always loved Zorak and played with him for a long time until the GIJoe Team and Star Wars figures replaced that scale.As a bit of an homage to the old Big Jim line, I used to say that Zartan's father was, in reality, Zorak. It made sense as a kid. Zorak, Zartan, Zandar, Zaranna. All could change their appearance and all were called The Enemy on their packaging. Continuity was a big thing to me back then.

[@t.s.180]

I got a Big Jim, probably around '74, and a Rescue Rig. When the P.A.C.K. hit I was enthralled. I definitely had Warpath and The Whip and I got the motorcycle with them. That motorcycle was built to last because it went down the stairs of our house with various people riding it for a couple of years.

[@andrewtaylor940]

I think I had almost the same. Rescue Rig, Motorcycle, Jim, Warpath and the Whip.

[@55pepetube]

Big Jim’s motorcycle was great

[@sns0805]

I had Torpedo Fist and quick change Big Jim. Got them the Vette and dirt bike set for my 6th birthday. LOVED THEM!

[@stofopdenaald132]

Bought an incomplete Torpedo Fist on a fare recently and handmade his striped shirt from an old pair of underpants and made the cap out of blue cloth and toilet rolls. The belt is not excactly the same, just used and cutt some old Barbie horse equipment. Now he looks a bit like his old self again. There's something about this fig, I really dig him.

[@BrickMantooth]

He's got a certain charm, no doubt.

[@RogueTwo]

I can't help but chuckle at the comic. Not because it's bad at all, but because I'm reminded of how GI Joe characters like Shipwreck and Quick-Kick were introduced in the cartoon in the early 80s. Very much them just being in the right place at the right time with some useful skills to assist the Joes, and just like that, they're on the team. So I cut the Wolf-P.A.C.K. Some slack for letting Torpedo Fist in so easily. Cool figure. Very nice. Thank you for sharing.

[@richardwatts4660]

Never unfortunately had any PACK Big Jim toys, but I've certainly loved hearing about them this afternoon ( I came here from watching Dr Steel). Nice to learn about Torpedo Fist, some truly wonderful Jack Kirby artwork here as well; Never realised he did toy packaging too, so something of a revelation there! Great video, thanks for the nostalgia!

[@melvinch]

Torpedo Fist has a really small fist..... Had a Zorak before and the face-change was really cool.

[@KAM1138a]

The Whip has to be my favorite PACK Character.

[@BrickMantooth]

Excellent choice.

[@steveanderson3188]

I absolutely loved this version of Big Jim's pack and was gutted when they stopped producing it

[@mylesstiefvater7402]

I had all of them mainly because I was sucked in by the Kirby art. As a kid I never understood the play value of Big Jim fishing, camping or cooking a meal over a fire. Now international spy/crime fighter, that's a different story. Now I have most of my toys displayed in my basement.( Before kids and I have an understanding wife.) I went to display them without the boxes because of room. Unfortunately, when they were all displayed they looked like the village people. By the way, I put a shirt on Zorak because I thought it was odd that his face was green but the rest of him was flesh colored.

[@wolfsmith2865]

I had Torpedo Fist and the camper set as a kid. I really enjoyed them.

[@brianartillery]

I always liked the idea of 'Big Jim'. Closest I ever got to owning one was in a French toyshop, on a school trip, in 1976. I don't think that they had much of a distribution in the UK. I never knew any kids who had heard of the line, let alone owned any figures from it. Pity, it looks as cool as you'd imagine.

[@petepan1330]

God bless my parents as they had to put up with me telling them over and over again how much TORPEDO FIST was necessary for my massive BIG JIM collection. Both BIG JIM AND TORPEDO FIST only had each other to fight as mom and dad had seven of us critters lol. Thank you for the memories! God bless my parents! By the way I'm a NON competitive bodybuilder who stands 5' 9" and at my largest was 270 lbs. And funny enough, my name is Jim. 💪💪

[@Mic420m]

I had the pack including Torpedo Fist. I even had the black camper truck. My favorite was Dr. Steel. I used to use water paint to do the tattoo on my chest, (sucked when the paint dried and cracked 😅). Unfortunately, my mom had a habit of giving my toys and comics away when I got "too old". All my stuff was WELL used anyway...

[@alexnejako777]

the package art is beautiful.

[@jamesringland6141]

Great video. I only had the Big Jim Leader with blue shirt and white pants as far as the figures go. But, I was fortunate enough to have the LaserVette and the Beast. I did have a lot of the All Star line and sets. My favorite action figure of all time is the Big Jim with Talking Field Radio - basically the Jim figure that was made to accompany the Rescue Rig.

[@Awinst01]

Love the P.AC.K. -one Christmas I received The Beast (a black pickup truck with camper ), the Honda Motorcycle, and Warpath. Later I find a P.A.C.K. Leader Big Jim in the black turtleneck with khaki pants.

[@DevlinDomini]

Cool stuff. Forgot I had so many of those toys. Thanks for the info. What a time-warp!

[@BrickMantooth]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@tonytee5435]

I gotta lot of luv for the big jim line. Great figures great playsets. The PACK part of big jim was awesome my favorite was the whip. They just disappeared in 1976 didnt know know they were still being made in Europe till 86. I like you, collect them now and have Quite a bit, more so of course then I did as a kid ain't gotta ask mom lol. Great review and Big Jim dont get enuff luv from the toy community. Some ppl dont know the connection between big jim and motu. Heman face was taken from Big Jeff.👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽

[@blackafro5906]

I was 10 at the time. My favorite was Dr.Steel!

[@ShadeofJeremy]

Like the G.I. Joe Adventure Team, this is a line I just missed out on. But man I would have loved them as a kid. Maybe one of these days Mattel will give them another chance.

[@SkotNealey]

I have a few Big Jim, but never got them new. they were yard-sale finds. It seems you're a year older than me, but it seems like Big Jim was just before my cognitive time. I remember Mego figures. I got a Catwoman in 2nd grade that infuriated my dad. I was beat-up by a kid at school for having a Batwoman Mego figure to go with the many guy figures i had. I always thought it was weird that people thought having a girl figure was bad. I even played with SuperJoe figures. I wish my SHIELD figure was still intact, but they crumbled. I had Gorr and the green joe...crumbled. But for some reason i do not recall seeing Big Jim in stores or ever wanted one. I even had 1 Action Jackson i got at Sky City. It's weird that I didn't know anything about Big Jim until after they stopped being produced. In college I had a friend named Bob that remembers The Intruders and the GI Joes that came out the year BEFORE I got SuperJoes.

[@BrickMantooth]

I wussed out on Supergirl as a kid and really regretted it as a kid.

[@Desslar]

That box art is amazing. As for the figure, have to wonder about the decision to make him look like a Village People member and name him Torpedo Fist.

[@BrickMantooth]

simpler time.

[@andrewtaylor940]

Many of the people who worked on this line would go on to do He-Man. Creating such memorable characters as Fisto and RamMan. Kinda puts things in perspective now doesn’t it?

[@Desslar]

@@andrewtaylor940 Indeed it does. :)

[@jamesschulziii9098]

My cousin Rick Schulz had the big Jim camper. Oh man grandma Schulz later on in the 80s had an original gijoe with a fair amount of accessories plus the ones I that came with the camper, minus the camper= priceless adventures 😎

[@nosferatu-369]

I was nicknamed Torpedo Fist after I hit puberty!

[@jaysonraphaelmurdock8812]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@georgeelmerdenbrough6906]

I liked The Whip

[@Scottyx0x]

Loved the pack... I got mine after Christmas with the beast lazer vette and I also had the quickchange Jim and Zorak

[@loganjorgensen]

Love that packaging, getting mini comic books with He-Man toys was a treat so having that on a larger scale box sounds even better. Definitely kept up with this cross media marketing in the 80s but the 90s forward had much blander packaging detail. No offense to the previous Big Jim but the Wolfpack was definitely more exciting than a bunch of guys playing sports. I like more far out concepts in fiction like the TV show Wild Wild West which had some unique elements for a western.

[@randydaniels9297]

i had the wolf pack and loved it. Especially Whip - he had all the cool weapons. I had the big jim dojo too. Sadly, I had stored all my toys in the attic & they were ruined by the heat.

[@gavalar7485]

Absolutely love this channel! I never even saw big jim toys as a kid here in the UK (I was born in 74 but have two older brothers so I was blessed with lots of hand-me-downs) we had/have lots of similar 70s figures like Action Man,Mego and fighting furies but I'm surprised my oldest bro never had any Big Jim!

[@BrickMantooth]

Big Jim had a short run in the UK as "Mark Strong" but I think Action Man was just too much for Mark.

[@gavalar7485]

@@BrickMantooth Thanks for the info! I'll have to ask my oldest brother if he remembers Mark Strong!

[@BrickMantooth]

@@gavalar7485 it even had a "Look In" comic strip for a brief time.

[@gavalar7485]

@@BrickMantooth i used to get Look in magazine/comic and still have a few annuals - I'm gonna root through them asap - now you bring it up, it is sparking a few dim memories deep in my noggin!

[@BrickMantooth]

@@gavalar7485 probably around '74 or so.

[@rickytoddbotelho9555]

The wolf pack was great. Love this toy line.

[@suedenim]

Don't ever try to stop a Mexican comics illustrator from adding a sexy lady, even on a Big Jim toy package!

[@BrickMantooth]

It's actually a comic book but yeah.....

[@jerseyhurricane9085]

Really enjoyed this video ! Thanks so much !

[@briancorley1159]

I had Boomerang, but my dog chewed all the flesh off of one arm and exposed the inner workings of the muscle flex mechanism, I thought to myself “cool, now he’s a cyborg”.

[@jaysonraphaelmurdock8812]

Torpedo Fist is a good name for a rock band.

[@JAbell1966]

Had a few Big Jim figures before the P.A.C.K. but they didn't hold much interest for me since I wasn't into sports or outdoor adventure. The P.A.C.K. concept changed all of that. The Whip was my first and I eventually had them all except the Double Trouble Big Jim nor did I get any of the outfits or vehicles though I really wanted the Lazer Vette. Always wondered why Jack, Josh and Jeff weren't part of the team... It's one of those lines that I often think about tracking down again and one I wouldn't mind creating a few new characters of my own to join them. Big Jim and Matt Mason are about the only lines Mattel haven't revived, seems like their day is due.

[@kate4508]

The Camper was bad ass and Dr. Steel

[@AwYeahComics]

I had THE WHIP!

[@IlluminovaNibiru]

Still got my Jungle Patrol Jeep. I should Convert it onto a RC chassis. How bout a Minisode to hold us over, we jonesing. Great video! Pirate guy with striped Yellow outfit real cool. Spikor lives! AutoCorrect said spin off lives isn’t it true though? Klaxon sounds! Gotta bail!

[@richardthehutt4407]

I was only 4 when Big Jim folded, so the only toy I had from that line was the camper, passed down from my brothers. Unfortunately, it was without the figure and half of the accessories. I've always wanted to start collecting BJ, but they're just too pricey for me.

[@bonecos_do_maninho1971]

Parabéns pelo vídeo.

[@brotherkellymatthewbarnes8882]

I Had The 1st 4 P.A.C.K. Figures The Camper Truck Command Center and the off road motor cycle, my favorite was The Whip. I thought the face changers were stupid so I never had interest in the latter line up as a lad. I don't think that anymore though.

[@deopersad2915]

Awesome, I shared a scuba diver big Jim with my sister, and had got extra clothing as a construction worker, and cow boy grear , I just looked at seeing how much they are on eBay and are very expensive now 😞 but one day may be able to get one? 👍🏽

[@jboypacman]

Just got my first PACK figure from Scott Brown at this years Mego Meet , Zorak

[@TheBlindDyslexic]

After the last Suicide Squad movie, started me thinking how the PACK would be a Great spin-off. The Whip connected to Capt. Boomeranger, Dr. Steel with Kantana. Granted They would have to do some Retooling of said characters, DC could do to them what the Batman Animated Series/Spider-Man & his Amazing Friends had done to both Harley Quinn & Firestar,

[@ericswelstad3591]

Love the video - any idea where we can get the loose items (ex: Torpedo Fists blue cap, Warpath's bow?) Thanks!

[@andrewtaylor940]

So Big Jim hired a 1 eyed 1 armed Pilot? The little details you never notice when you are 9. Like how would he work the throttles?

[@BrickMantooth]

Also, why is he dressed like a sailor?

[@KoolKatDave]

Torpedo Fist sounded like an unemployable jerk!

[@BrickMantooth]

Well he knew how to ace the interview though.

[@paolomongon6616]

Your collection may be smaller...but you have boxed samples. All of mine are loose.

[@Cameroo]

Thats how I got my job *and* met my wife!

[@BrickMantooth]

Oh yeah, the ladies love a good "gangway we're dating!".

[@tntsk868]

I just started collecting big Jim figures. The rubber arms seem to have issues and are not good on dealing with time and age. I should send one toy pollio

[@tntsk868]

Toy Polloi (spell correction)

[@BrickMantooth]

I'd be curious if he could figure that out.

[@MPLSprintmaking]

what is the theme music? I like it.

[@BrickMantooth]

it's called Identity Crisis and it's from the movie "Monster Dog".

[@roberterwine7650]

I picked him up in 2022 just missing his hat for $25

[@georgeelmerdenbrough6906]

The action figures' legs would fall of from use . A total let down .

[@tolfan4438]

I out grew big Jim but major Matt mason ended to soon

[@miked6335]

Were these the inspiration for the Village People?