Action Figure History

Comic books have been making collectors and readers alike stir-crazy since the debut of Superman in Action Comics number one in the summer of 1938. Reading a comic book gives readers a sense of the superb and exotic, mixing reality with the super-human and –natural. Not long after comic books started being ripped off the shelves, someone came up with crazy notion that men (some grown) would love to become even more involved with comic book characters. Stan Weston proposed to Don Levine of the (then named) Hassenfeld Brothers Company to start making action figures, or “moveable men of action.”

These were no ordinary dolls; no, these men of action would be coming from and to battle, saving humankind from eminent destruction and mayhem. G.I. Joe “A Real American Hero,” was thus born, actually named from a movie about Ernie Pyle. Joe hit the stands in 1964 and the legend was born. The design came from a Walter Hansen and Phil Kraczkowski, and included scars and other more masculine traits to discriminate it between the early and wildly popular dolls, like Barbie. The Hassenfeld Brothers had a hit on their hands, and four years later shortened their name to Hasbro. In the 1970s, however, it would be another action figure giant that ruled the market.

A corporation by the name of Mego had been around for almost fifteen years when G.I. Joe was released. David Abrams’s company mainly produced figurines and toys for smaller chained dime stores. Like many toy manufacturers, Mego tried to catch the G.I. Joe bandwagon with their creation of Action Jackson. When that didn’t come into fruition, Mego bought the rights to Planet of the Apes, Marvel and DC comics and Star Trek. To say the least, Mego ruled the roost in the 1970s and changed the six-inch action figures to eight inches. In the early 1980s, Mego closed down after turning down the rights to a small movie years before called “Star Wars.”

It was a company by the name of Kenner that owned the rights to the always-famous Star Wars series. Because of the war, plastic had become an expensive commodity. The action figures suddenly became less than half their original eight-inch size. Kenner whittled down action figures to a mere 3-¾ inch. They even did so to the G.I. Joe action figures, which took off again in the 1980s because of all the play sets and vehicles that accessorized any collection. Kenner Products soon sold out to Hasbro, so the inventors of action figures owned the rights of all these toys.

As popularity of something increases, laws are lifted and bans are done away with. Way back in the 1960s, it was illegal to make an action figure based from a cartoon. In 1983, just as Mego closed its doors, the FCC lifted the peculiar ban on toy manufacturing and all sorts of toys were created. This time, action figures were created from the comics, not the other way around.

You may remember the time of He-Man, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Transformers, Thundercats and the like. Recently, super hero action flicks have breathed new life into these closet-shelved warriors. With these new films, come new action figures and new action figure manufacturers. When the old action figures become sought after again, collectors could make small fortunes from their collection. Gone are the days of action figure playing, however, and ushered to stay is action figure collecting. Collecting and not playing (except perhaps in video games) is where action figure companies are taking their marketing campaigns. The royalties just keep pouring in.