Almost Vintage: Mattel Retro-Action DC Super Heroes Green Arrow

Back in the very early Seventies, a company named Mego began producing some of the very first Super Hero action figures. They produced a wide array of characters from both DC and Marvel comics in a toy line titled "World's Greatest Super-Heroes!" They were 8" tall, colorful, and full of playability. Many "kids" of that era swear by Mego figures as being the best toys ever created. Mego figures may not have been the most durable toys but kids loved them and many grown men (and women) today still do. The way that Mego figures were designed often left the characters looking slightly goofy and "off-model." However, looking back, the quirkiness of Megos lends them their greatest charm.

Over the past ten or fifteen years, nostalgia for Megos has lead to at least two toy companies trying to recapture the "magic" of Super Hero Megos in a 9" format. Two of the things that makes a Mego a Mego are cloth costumes and and a "reusable" base body. In kind, the new 9" "Megos" from Hasbro (DC Super Heroes) and Toybiz (Marvel Famous Covers) had cloth clothing and utilized a "reusable" base body. Both companies succeeded to some degree with both hits and misses in their respective lines. However, both companies were trying to create a product that would appeal to both nostalgic Mego collectors AND to the current generation of children roaming the toy aisles with their parents. In my opinion, by trying to hit both targets, they also missed both to a great degree. The 9" format wasn't truly in scale with the vintage Mego figures that Mego collectors already had AND children were more used to action figures with sculpted clothing and a smaller scale. Both lines did fairly well but began to fizzle after a relatively short time.


Just recently, in 2009, Mattel toys announced that they would partner with EMCE Toys (makers of the fantastic Star Trek and Planet of the Apes Mego replica figures) to resurrect the "World's Greatest Super-Heroes!" toy line by producing brand-new "Megos" in an 8" scale. The figures would be made to closely resemble the style and look of vintage Mego figures. All new characters that Mego never produced would also be a part of the new Mattel line. Mego fans rejoiced at the prospect of having all-new Megos and have been waiting anxiously for the figures to become available. It should also be noted that the "World's Greatest Super-Heroes" name has changed, sadly, and the line is now called "Retro-Action DC Super-Heroes."

The first new "Mego" from Mattel is Green Arrow and he is an online exclusive through mattycollector.com. The following waves of figures will be exclusive to Toys R Us stores and a few online toy sites. Green Arrow just shipped out to collectors last week and is just now arriving to homes, currently.

So, how does this new "Mego" stack up? Let's find out.


Packaging: The packaging on the "Retro-Action" Green Arrow is a definite "nod" to the packaging of vintage carded Megos. It consists of a somewhat flimsy cardboard backer and a simple clear bubble to hold the figure. The figure and accessories are packed in the bubble with nothing to hold them in place. This is exactly how vintage Megos were packed and it definitely adds to the nostalgia factor of this toy to not have twist ties or an insert tray to keep everything in place. The packaging art is also clearly an homage to vintage Mego art using many of the same design cues like the rectangle for the name of the toy line, the white line around the border of the card, and vintage looking drawings of the characters on the front and back. There is also a bit of "distressing" to the card art to help carry over the idea that this is an homage to a vintage toy.


The figure: The figure itself is very Mego-like. The way that the costume and accessories have been produced gives them a quality that is very close to vintage Mego. The costume seems to be made of the same type of material that Mego used and the accessories are molded in a single color (without painted details) just like vintage Mego accessories. His hat, bow, and quiver all look very much like their vintage counterparts with just a slight bit of updating.

Green Arrow's boots are made of a much denser, hard rubber-like plastic that gives them a bit of a different feel than vintage Mego boots. Vintage boots are a bit slimmer and less chunky looking. They were also made of the thinner plastic that almost "rattled" on the vintage figures' feet.

Green Arrow's head is still squishy like a vintage Mego. The headsculpt is also very reminiscent of classic Mego sculpts.

The body used on Mattel's new Megos will probably elicit the most criticism from vintage Mego fans. Clothed, Green Arrow looks quite a bit like a vintage Mego. However, it does have some key differences that do point away from Mego, somewhat. It's limbs and torso are sculpted to look a little more muscular than a vintage Mego. For instance, Mattel's new "Mego" body has a much smaller waist and legs that seem a bit too muscular and "bow legged." However, official word is that the legs will undergo some "tweaking" before the second wave (characters yet unannounced) of these figures hit shelves. Articulation-wise, this new body has the same basic style of articulation of vintage Megos and in the same spots on the figure. That's a plus.

As you can see, the new Retro-Action Green Arrow "hangs" with vintage Megos quite well.

Overall, the Mattel Retro-Action Green Arrow hits almost all of the right buttons and should produce a good dose of nostalgia for anyone that loves the old Mego action figures. I definitely felt a nostalgic rush while cracking open this brand-new "Mego." Much more so, than other aforementioned attempts at bringing back some "Mego Super Hero magic." I, for one, am very excited about the what the future holds for this line.

As I mentioned, Green Arrow is currently available at www.mattycollector.com. This Spring (2010), the next four figures (Superman, Lex Luthor, Green Lantern, and Sinestro) will begin hitting Toys R Us shelves.

I can hardly wait.

Mego 8" Penguin

This is Mego's 8" Penguin from 1974. I believe he was released in tandem with Mego's Joker and Riddler 8" figures.

Penguin was a popular Batman character in the early 1970s. This was due, in part, to Burgess Meredith's fantastic portrayal of the feathered fiend on the Batman television series. In fact, Penguin went on to train a boxer named Rocky to be champion of the world. He trained Rocky under the alias "Mickey" but we Bat-fans knew who he REALLY was.


Mego's Penguin uses a base body that is a bit different than the standard body used on most Mego characters. He's a on a shorter body with a round, fat abdomen. Mego only used this body on a handful of characters (like Dukes of Hazzard's Boss Hogg and Superman's foe, Mr. Mxyzptlk). Since his torso is different, he lacks the usual waist articulation that most 8" Megos enjoy. In fact, he has zero waist articulation. However, all the other usual Mego articulation is there.

Mego's Penguin features a very nice head sculpt that really captures both his sharp wit and maniacal nature. It should also be noted that Penguin's hat is part of the head sculpt and is not a separate accessory.


A complete Mego Penguin should include black shoes, a screen printed nylon body suit (to simulate pants, shirt, and tie), and a nylon coat and tails (which is VERY prone to fraying). His hands should also be molded in white plastic to simulate gloves.

It's really a shame that Mego didn't supply Penguin with some sort of umbrella accessory considering that's a Penguin "trademark." It's really a no-brainer but Mego never was very generous when it came to giving their figures extra doo dads. They got better at supplying accessories by the time figures like Green Arrow were produced but poor Pengy will just have to rely on his wits alone to foil the Caped Crusader.

Mego 8" Riddler

The Riddler is one of Mego's 8" Bat-Villains that was first released in 1974. That makes this guy about 35 years old, at this point. This is some old stuff. Wow. I'm beginning to feel a bit like the old guy down the street with a basement full of Hoppalong Cassidy memorabilia. Oh well, at least Batman and his rogues are still just as relevant today as they were 40 or 50 years ago. When was the last time you heard about ol' Hoppalong?



The Riddler was kind of a second-tier villain in Batman comics until the 1960s TV show popularized the character with Frank Gorshin's fantastic perfomance of the character. Kids watching reruns of the show HAD to have a Riddler for Batman to bring to justice and Mego obliged.


Mego's Riddler has a fun head sculpt but doesn't seem to be modeled after the likeness of Frank Gorshin. He also sports a green jumpsuit with question marks screen-printed all about. He also came with a belt that is the same belt as Mego Batman's belt except that it's molded in purple plastic. The Riddler did not come with shoes...he just runs around in his footy pajamas. It should also be noted that his hands are also molded in purple plastic to simulate gloves.

This is a great, vintage version of the character.

Mego 12" Magnetic Batman

This is Mego's 12" Magnetic Batman from 1978.

After substantial success with their 8" line of action figures, Mego started to go the "foot tall" route with some of their action figure lines. Superheroes were at the top of Mego's list for 12 inchers along with lines like Star Trek: the Motion Picture and the rock group, Kiss.


This particular 12" figure is somewhat unique, in that, it has magnets in its hands and feet. This makes it difficult for the figure to stand on it's own but allows for some fun play on the family fridge and what-not. Mego also produced a Robin with magnets, as well. This allowed Batman and Robin to perform heroic feats... circus acrobat-style. Hey, you could even take Batman for a ride to the supermarket on the hood of your car, if you were so inclined...thanks to his magnetic ability.

Mego, to my knowledge, never produced a 12" Magnetic Spiderman...which would have been an ideal use of the magnetic hands and feet feature. Mego, did produce a 12" Spiderman figure sans magnets, however.


One thing I find very interesting about this figure is the head sculpt. He has a very determined, grim facial expression that wasn't common to Batman figures from the 1970s. Most toys depicted him to be much more mild-mannered and friendly. This is not a Batman you want to mess around with...and don't forget, he's got magnets, too. Getting pummeled by magnets is not fun.

A complete 12" Mego Magnetic Batman should include his jumpsuit with attached cape, belt, plastic forearm covers, and plastic boot tops.

Mego 5" Bend N' Flex Batman

Okay, here's the thing...when a company produced a figure of a Superhero in the 1970s, it was always with the intent that they were producing a toy for children to play with. There were no expensive, high-end Batman statues or sixth-scale figures like the ones that are being produced for the adult collector's market today. There were just toys...and some of them, well, they just screamed TOY!

This is such a figure. It's Batman, no doubt. However, this is Batman at the most simplified, silly, rudimentary level. This is Mego's Bend n' Flex figure from 1973. Mego produced a full line of characters in their Bend n' Flex line that covered such properties and DC/Marvel Superheroes and even characters from the Planet of the Apes films.


My kids just laughed when I showed this figure to them. My oldest son just shook his head in disgust. To them, it was almost inconceivable that a child would want to play with this toy and consider him to be THE Batman. This is Batman at his silliest and he certainly wouldn't instill much fear in criminals prowling around the alleys of Gotham looking like this. However, our standards were a bit lower as children in the 70s and it was always fun to get a new Superhero toy... no matter how abysmal looking it was.


This figure is 5" tall and is constructed in the standard bendy style... rubber/vinyl over a bendable wire armature. It's fun to look at the quality standards for paint work on these cheap toys from back then. On this figure, it's all over the place and looks as if the painters worked on these figures while under the influence.

All in all, these bendy figures were a good alternative to "real" figures when you didn't have enough money for a more expensive toy...or if your Mom was "brick walling" your pleas for a new GiJoe at the department store, you could most often snag one of these guys without too much trouble.

Kidbiz 1989 8" Batman

Okay, I dropped the ball on "Bat Week" last week to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Tim Burton's 1989 Batman film. However, I'm going to go ahead and make the next batch of posts Batman related to make up for it.
This is Kidbiz's 8" Batman figure that was released in 1989. This isn't a toy from the 1970's and I hate to label it "Almost Vintage" as it's already 20 years old. I'm sure that's considered vintage in many people's books. I have a hard time swallowing something from 1989 being considered "vintage" but that's just my age "talking." In kind, I certainly would have considered something from 1969 to be vintage while living through 1989.


This Batman figure was released in Europe and Australia only. I remember running into one at the San Diego Comic Con in 1990 and wondering why we didn't get this one released in the US. I'm sure it had something to do with Toybiz having the US rights to produce their 1989 Batman figure abominations (alright, they're kind of quaint...in hindsight).
Kidbiz's Batman was obviously produced with the Mego line of Superheroes in mind. He's 8" tall and in perfect scale with Mego's 8" figures. He's also designed the same way with an articulated base body with a cloth and plastic costume on top.

This figure is a perfect example of how much of the merchandise of 1989 kind of "rode the fence" between the new movie's interpretation and the comic book's interpretation of Batman. For instance, Batman's head and chest emblem look very much like they were designed with Batman's comic book image in mind. However, his all-black costume, boots, and belt are direct imitations of the costume that Michael Keaton wore in the film.

This figure looks a bit goofy in person. He's got a pair of black briefs over the top of his black body suit that makes him look a little thick in the middle and also makes his legs look fairly stumpy. However, to my surprise, he's actually quite photogenic and looks pretty decent in many photos. One thing I DO like about this figure is the fact that his cape is large enough to wrap around the front of his body. This is a pretty rare trait for any Batman figure from any era or price range. Most toy companies don't bother.

A complete Kidbiz Batman should include his cape (vinyl with a "pleather" collar), black body suit with attached forearm covers, black briefs, boots, and belt.

Mego 8" Joker

This is Mego's 8" Joker. He was first released in 1974. It was great to finally be getting some villains to battle our 8" heroes. Batman was getting a bit tired of hauling in Action Jackson only to find that it wasn't a crime to wear a blue jumpsuit and sideburns.


In recent times, the character of the Joker has been subjected to a bit of interpretation. However, from the character's inception in 1940 all the way up to roughly 1989 when the first Batman motion picture was released, the Clown Prince of Crime had been largely unchanged. Just about every incarnation or depiction of him was fairly consistent. Since then, his look and back story have been evolving somewhat. Jack Nicholson's Joker in the first Batman film looked a bit different than what people typically expected. And of course, 2008's The Dark Knight changed the look and the demeanor of the Joker fairly radically.


Mego's Joker was produced when the Joker's look was still consistent with his original depiction. His head sculpt and costume reflect the look of the Joker from comics and cartoons of the time quite well. He looks like a very happy fellow...a happy fellow that has just tainted Gotham City's entire water supply with gallons and gallons Smilex toxin. He's funny that way.

Mego, instead of producing many layers of clothing, dressed Joker in an overcoat and screen printed body suit that resembled layers of clothing and a tie underneath. I've always thought this was a bit cheap and brilliant at the same time.

A complete Joker includes his overcoat, bodysuit, and pair of brown shoes. Also, take note that Joker's hands should be molded in white plastic to resemble gloves.

Maybe it's Maybelline.

Mego 12" Incredible Hulk

In late 1977, the Incredible Hulk live-action TV series started airing and it was a huge hit. Even though my kids can't fathom how the show had such a huge following (they can't believe how small and human-looking Hulk is), it was one of those "must see" shows for many kids in the 1970s.


Mego, having already produced an 8" Hulk figure, released their 12" Hulk figure in 1978... right on the heels of the popular TV show. Sure, Mego's Hulk looks nothing like Lou Ferrigno's Hulk, but the synergy between the toys and tv show was there, all the same.


Mego's 12" Hulk features an excellent comic-book-accurate face sculpt. He also features quite a bit of articulation. To be complete, he should have both his purple pants and white (factory torn) shirt.




The Hulk is one of the "high marks" in Mego's 12" Superhero line of figures. Although, I don't like him when he's angry.