The 25 Greatest Action Figures of the 80′s

Toys define a generation. They are part and parcel of our youth. When we reminisce about our childhood we are remembering a time of innocence and fun when we played for hours with our favorite toys. Kids today don’t get to do that so much – toys come and go, and most don’t sell well, because kids sit in front of the computer all day long.

But in the 1980s, kids had some of the best toys ever. So what I’ve done for today’s article is bring you the 25 greatest of that decade – which in this case meant leaving out toys that started in the 70s (like Star Wars). I’ll also tell you why they weren’t so good.

So sit back and enjoy a trip down memory lane. And if you aren’t old enough to remember this stuff, just ask your older siblings – or in some cases, mom and dad.

WWF Wrestling Superstars

This 8″ action figure toyline based on the wrestlers of the WWF. They were made by the toy and video game company LJN from 1984 to 1989. The toys were made of solid rubber and were very accurate in appearance to their real life counterparts, however they did not have any articulation. For kids who were fans of wrestling – they were a dream come true.

Why they rocked

WWF Wrestlers that you could not break. ‘Nuff said.

Why they sucked

The paint came off these figures faster than a fat man could clean out a buffet.

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons

For reasons unknown to this day, instead of Hasbro or Mattel picking up the license for AD&D, it went to LJN. Despite a poor track record with most of their toy lines until that point, they managed to put out a massive amount of AD&D toys that (despite their garish coloring) were mostly fantastic and great quality. Mostly.

Still, having actual figures from D&D was an amazingly cool thing for this young geek.

Why they rocked

Do I really need to explain why D&D toys rocked? If I do, you’re on the wrong site.

Why they sucked

As anyone with one of their winged figures can attest – they couldn’t hold up to much play. And the versions with “action features” blew goats.

Voltron: Defender of The Universe

I’m talking about the Matchbox version. Not the horrid Panosh Place or the knockoff quality Trendmasters. Matchbox released Japan’s Armored Fleet Dairugger XV (the superior “Voltron 1″ – known as “Vehicle Voltron” or “Car Voltron”), the kind-of shitty Lightspeed Electroid Albegas (known as Voltron II)  and Beast King GoLion (known as “Votron III” or “Lion Voltron”) and pretty much took over the toy market. Like a lot of toy lines from the time, it helped that there was a really awesome cartoon that still holds up to the test of time.

And yes, I did refer to Voltron 1 as being the superior version. Come on – 15 vehicles that combined into 3 super vehicles that combined into a giant ass-kicking robot? Total win.

Soon we’ll be seeing a new series called Voltron Force – unfortunately on Nicktoons (who have nearly destroyed modern animation) and I’m not hopeful that the toys will be much better.

Why they rocked

Awesome vehicles that make an awesome (and heavy) robot? Sign me up.

Why they sucked

Honestly – they didn’t. Voltron was one of the greatest ideas ever, and this original toyline was superb.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

The premiere series launched in 1988, included the four Turtles, Splinter, April, Shredder, Rocksteady, Bebop, and a Foot Soldier. This massive toyline lasted 10 years in its original run and solidified Playmates as not only a producer of really quality toys, but also as a force to be reckoned with in the action figure market.

Why they rocked

Mutants. Ninjas. It was a recipe for greatness.

Why they sucked

For the most part, the line was awesome. But there were a lot of “stinker” figures made – and too many gimmick figures.

ThunderCats

LJN produced the ThunderCats action figures from 1985–1987. The ThunderCats line was based on the animated series which was actually created in 1982. Due to difficulties, it would not air until 1985 (The toyline actually lasted longer than the television series itself)!

Each figure had an action feature of some sort, and the line also included a unique “laser” light-up feature that interacted between the Cats’ Lair playset, some figures, and some accessories. Lion-O’s eyes and Mumm-Ra’s eyes would illuminate when a special battery-powered key ring that came with the figure was pressed into a slot in their backs. PVC companions were packaged with some figures in 1986, including WilyKat with Tygra, WilyKit with Cheetara, Snarf with Lion-O, and Ma-Mutt with Mumm-Ra. The PVC companion figures were also produced as full size articulated figures.

Why they rocked

While the writing was (in retrospect) incredibly silly for 90% of the episodes of the series, it was still a great base for a toyline. Becoming attached to the on-screen characters allowed you to play out what you saw on the tube in your own back yard.

Why they sucked

In all honesty, most of the toys were actually pants. The paint wasn’t applied well, the limbs became loose after a short time, and the “action features” (which is often a death knell for toys) couldn’t take much play.

The Super Powers Collection

In 1984, DC Comics awarded the master toy license of their characters to Kenner Products, hot on the heels of Mattel’s “action feature” heavy He-Man toy line. Winning the license away from Mego Corporation and Mattel with their emphasis on action and art, Kenner devised hidden mechanisms within the figures that would trigger an action when the figures legs or arms were squeezed. Unlike many rival toy lines, the action features didn’t interfere with the playability of the toys – which were complete awesome.

Each figure in the first two series were also packaged with a mini-comic featuring that character’s adventures. Comic creator Jack Kirby received some of the only royalties of his long career for redesigning his characters for Kenner. Artist George Pérez also received royalties for his design of Cyborg and redesign of Lex Luthor. Most all other designs (and much of the packaging artwork) were based on José Luis García-López’s classic DC Style Guides (other artwork used appears to be the work of Dick Giordano).

In all, three series of figures and accessories were released (in 1984, 1985, and 1986), but after three years of production the line collapsed… but to this day it is probably the best ever superhero toyline released (sharing that space with the later Batman: The Animated Series toys)

Why they rocked

Superheroes, man! Read the comics, see the ‘toons, and then play with the toys. It really didn’t get much better than this.

Why they sucked

This is actually one of the few lines that did not suck. While comparing these to newer, more articulated figures does make them seem silly – at the time these were just amazing. And they really still are.

Starriors

Starriors was a robot toyline created by Tomy in association with Marvel Comics in 1984. They were based on Zoids, but had a new storyline that U.S. Zoids didn’t have at all. Four Marvel mini-comics were distributed with the toys.

The toys were not successful. After the initial wave, there were only eight more toys produced, and only two additional mini-comics, though most of the new toys came with the old ones. I’m not really sure why they failed – they were as awesome as Zoids, had a far superior backstory, and were not at all expensive. They should have done well – but in an over-saturated robot toy market – they just didn’t cut it.

Why they rocked

It is pretty much hard to go astray with 80′s robot toy lines. Starriors were solid and fun.

Why they sucked

My only honest complaint is that there weren’t enough of ‘em.

Sectaurs

Sectaurs was a line of toys released by Coleco in 1985. The figures and insect companions were packaged together in a window box with weapons, a mini comic book and instructions. Some of these companions were large enough for the Sectaurs to ride, and were actually “puppet like”, in which you could place your hand inside a glove that made up the lower body of the beast to manipulate the legs and an action feature.

A second series of figures were designed and pictured in dealers’ catalogues, but never produced due to the line’s cancellation. The toy line did not do well – rumored to be because of the intimidating appearances of even the heroes and their companion beasts, but most likely due to price points well above other action figure lines in stores at the same time… thanks to the packaging and size of the toys.

Why they rocked

Honestly, how great was it to have giant bugs to play with? These were toys that every boy I knew had.

Why they sucked

The figures themselves felt a bit… “cheap”. They weren’t, but there was just something a bit “off” with them.

Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars

The Secret Wars toyline was a short lived tie-in to Marvel Comics’ Secret Wars comic book mini-series. The line was produced by Mattel and saw two series of action figures released (along with vehicles and playsets) in 1984 and 1985, as well as a third series of figures released outside of North America. Figures typically came with shield accessories that could hold lenticular images.

Why they rocked

Black Costume Spidey. I loved the suit the first time I saw it, and getting him in toy form was great.

Why they sucked

The figures were unfortunately too large to “play” along with Star Wars and G.I. Joe. They also suffered from poor paint application on the harder plastic midsections of the figures.

Robotix

Robotix was a Milton Bradley/Hasbro toy property (a construction toy similar to Erector set and K’Nex, that included motors, wheels and pincers) from 1985. Little known fact: it actually continued to exist in toy form up until 2002 thanks to Learning Curve (the Thomas & Friends people), winning awards as an educational science toy.

The Robotix toy line featured modular building sets that generally resembled space combat vehicles and were marketed as such. Each came with a very generic “Fisher-Price”-type pilot – but they could accommodate pretty much any 1/18th-scale figure. You can bet I did just that!

Why they rocked

I like construction sets, and getting to build sturdy robots with them makes it all the better.

Why they sucked

These things cost a shitload of money new. No cartoon or comic could help sell these things.

M.U.S.C.L.E.

M.U.S.C.L.E., (Millions of Unusual Small Creatures Lurking Everywhere), was a toyline of 2-inch tall monochromatic PVC gum wrestling figures produced in the United States from 1985 to 1988. The toy line itself was straight forward (think “gotta catch ‘em all” and collectors continue to make the line a viable hobby. The American line included 236 official figures, a boardgame, a NES game entitled M.U.S.C.L.E., a championship belt figure holder, and a wrestling ring playset. The figures were distributed in clear, blister-packed random 4-packs, semi-opaque garbage can 10-packs, and boxed fixed sculpt 28 packs.

Why they rocked

M.U.S.C.L.E. was great. Not only because they were cheap, but because some of the lil’ wrestlers looked like something from The Inhumanoids. And the championship belt figure holders were used in our hometown backyard wrestling organization. Someday I’ll tell you that story.

Why they sucked

They didn’t. Period.

 

M.A.S.K.

M.A.S.K. (Mobile Armored Strike Kommand) was the name of the toyline sold by Kenner. One of the greatest ever toy lines of any decade, it was the perfect hybrid of the popular-era cartoon-based lines G.I. Joe and Transformers.

The original series focused mainly on the vehicles and characters from the original 1985 toy line. More characters were introduced as the line expanded with a second wave in 1986. The format for the last season of the show featured a racing theme to correspond with the theme of the third wave M.A.S.K. toys. A major difference from the first season is by the second, V.E.N.O.M. agents knew the personal identities of the M.A.S.K. team, whereas V.E.N.O.M. did not know their identities during the first season. The second season lasted for only ten episodes. There is a storyline difference in the mini comic books which came with each toy. In the comics, Miles Mayhem knew the identity of Matt Trakker and had originally helped start the M.A.S.K. team but betrayed him later. This was very similar to the second series of the cartoon.

Due to the short-lived nature and new format of the racing series, many characters from the first season were given reduced roles to establish the new cast members and their vehicles, or to reintroduce older characters with new masks and vehicles. Buddy Hawks began using the name “Clutch” and gained a more prominent role with a double-act partnership with agent Boris “The Tzar” Bushkin. Matt Trakker and Miles Mayhem’s rivalry remained strong, but the two usually only appeared in their own focus episodes. Other V.E.N.O.M. operations against M.A.S.K. agents were now exclusively handled by Vanessa Warfield.

The toyline’s fourth and final wave went to one other variation, “Split Seconds”, in which the vehicles sold under the line would split from one whole into two different vehicles for a M.A.S.K. pilot and a “clone” holographic partner (a transparent version of the same figure carried with the vehicle), but the cartoon was not renewed for the fourth wave.

Why they rocked

It was Transformers and Joe all in one. This toyline was a boy’s dream come true in the 1980s.

Why they sucked

Some pieces on some of the vehicles were notorious for problems with the spring-driven change action. I knew many owners of broken Thunderhawks.

Inhumanoids

1986 brought us The Inhumanoids,incredible creatures from beneath the earth want to control the world and destroy mankind. The Earth Corps, a courageous team of scientists, must do everything in their power to stop them. The scientists figures each had an action powers and all figures had “glow in the light” features. Metlar, Tendril and D’Compose were 14″ figures and are still the most sought-after of the line. Tendril was first released with longer fangs which were later shortened due to safety reasons. There was also an Inhumanoids cartoon series (which was pretty scary for some kids), as well as a short-lived comic series.

A second series of Inhumanoids figures was in the works at the time of the line’s cancellation. The only character confirmed to reach the prototype stage by an ex Hasbro employee was Ssslither. A set of these prototype figures were said to have been sold on Ebay in the early 1990s, but there are no pictures or collectors stepping forward to confirm which other characters made it to the prototype stage.

Why they rocked

Metlar, Tendril and D’Compose were fugging awesome. Especially Tendril. And the show was great, too.

Why they sucked

Magnacore sucked. The human figures sucked. The vehicles sucked. The Granites sucked. Basically, if not for the 3 big guys and the Redwoods, this whole toyline would have been a giant turd.

 

Masters of The Universe

Launched in late 1981, Mattel’s Masters of the Universe toys were led by macho superhero He-Man, the “Power Punch”–packing fighting machine. Powered by rubber-band pull-and-release body movements, He-Man took on toy enemies while partnering with pals Stratos, Teela and Mat-At-Arms until they all received TV deals. Their cartoon success fanned their popularity as action figures, and by the 1983 Christmas season, He-Man was atop every little boy’s list.

For 7 years – until 1988, the Masters of The Universe toyline was one of the kings of toy shelves – and none of the follow-up series (the embarrassing The New Adventures of He-Man, the fragile He-Man and the Masters of the Universe – with accompanying horrible fan-fiction comic but awesome cartoon, and the current overpriced Masters of the Universe Classics can even come close).

Why they rocked

The damn things were indestructible. They also gave all of us boys a bad ideal body image. Basically, win-win.

Why they sucked

The original MoTU toys were awesome. No suckage was to be found. Of course, Mattel revived the toyline and ruined all of that. The bastards.

 

Gobots

The Gobots toyline was based on figures produced by Popy of Japan (later Bandai), named Machine Robo. In 1983, Tonka decided to import the line into America after realizing Hasbro was doing the same with Takara’s Diaclone and Microman’s Microchange lines, which became Transformers after crossing the Pacific. In another similarity to Transformers, Tonka decided to make the figures sentient robots, rather than human-piloted mecha as they had been in Japan, and divided them into two factions – the good Guardians and evil Renegades (although early figures were simply described as ‘Friendly’ or ‘Enemy’ on the packaging). The figures were all given individual names, in contrast to the simple designations they received in Japan.

Introduced in 1983 by Tonka Inc., the Gobots toys created the robot sensation that swept the nation for a short time, and paved the way for Transformers and the like. Though they only lasted until 1987, they put out some awesome figures (Leader-1 and Turbo, to name two).

Why they rocked

Do I need to explain why robots that change into vehicles and back are awesome? I think not.

Why they sucked

The mostly-metal Gobots got really loose around the joints after just a short time. And damn, there were a lot of ugly friggin’ robots in this line.

Transformers

The Transformers is a line of toys produced by the American toy company Hasbro. The Transformers toyline was created from toy molds mostly produced by Japanese company Takara (now known as Takara Tomy) in the toylines Diaclone and Microman. Other toy molds from other companies such as Bandai were used as well. In 1984, Hasbro bought the distribution rights to the molds and rebranded them as the Transformers for distribution in North America. Hasbro would go on to buy the entire toy line from Takara shortly after giving them sole ownership of the Transformers toy-line, branding rights, and copyrights, while in exchange, Takara was given the rights to produce the toys and the rights to distribute them in the Japanese market.

The premise behind the Transformers toyline is that an individual toy’s parts can be shifted about to change it from a vehicle, a device, or an animal, to a robot action figure and back again. The taglines “More Than Meets The Eye” and “Robots In Disguise” reflect this ability.

Probably one of top 3 most successful toylines ever, there have been Transformers on the shelves consistently since 1984 – thanks to large stocks filling in the gap years between releases.

Why they rocked

There are almost too many reasons to list – and a look at just about any Transformer from G1 will show you that. Even my first Transformer, Gears (pictured above).

Why they sucked

I don’t think they did. I have loved every toy version of Transformers since they started (after overcoming my, “they look like ripoffs of Gobots” first impression). Despite varying qualities of the different TV shows, the toy lines have been outstanding.

 

Dino-Riders

In total there were four series of Dino-Riders toys: Series 1 (1988), Series 2 (1989), Series 3 and Ice Age (1990). In contrast to the rest, the Ice Age line focused on Ice-Age mammals rather than dinosaurs.

The larger toys in the range also had a motorized walking action with the dinosaurs head swaying from side to side. Each Rulon faction toy came with a different selt-automated trap.

The dinosaurs were acclaimed for their highly detailed bodies and color and impressed the Smithsonian Institution who contacted Tyco to reproduce the dinosaurs for their “Dinosaur and other Prehistoric Reptile Collection”. In contrast to the Dino-Riders versions, all mechanisms such as motorized walking action and wheels were removed.

Why they rocked

Dinosaurs that shoot missiles and fire lazers.

Why they sucked

The human and alien figures were dumb, but that is all forgiven considering how cool the dinos were.

Crystar

The Saga of Crystar, Crystal Warrior was a 1983 11-issue fantasy-based Marvel comic book with an associated toy line from Remco, consisting of seven figures, some vehicles and accessories. Marvel marketed the concept to various toy companies in the early 1980s and it was picked up by Remco. Eight figures, five mini playsets, two dragons and one castle were produced.

The toys hit the shelves in late 1982; the Marvel Comics series was first published in the spring of 1983. Since the toys were released first, many assumed the comic had been a licensed adaptation of the toyline, but Crystar and all of the characters in the toy line and comic book were created and owned by Marvel Comics, which had created the concept with the express intent of licensing it out to a toy company.

The comic book series was set parallel to the Marvel Universe and featured guest appearances by Doctor Strange, Nightcrawler and Alpha Flight. The cover of issue #8 of The Saga of Crystar, drawn by Michael Golden, features a skull logo that was later used by the bands Samhain and Danzig.

Why they rocked

Fantasy awesomeness aside – see-through figures have always been a kick for me.

Why they sucked

They didn’t. The whole line was a goldmine.

 

C.O.P.S. ‘N’ Crooks

C.O.P.S ’n’ Crooks was a line of action figures produced by Hasbro and sold between 1988 and 1989. These figures are made up of police and criminals of the future and uses the tagline: “Fighting Crime in a Future Time.”

In the packages containing the C.O.P.S. figures, only the C.O.P.S. logo is shown while the packages containing the CROOKS figure features only the phrase “N’CROOKS” shown right next to the logo. Each figure, fully articulated and poseable, standing about six inches tall on the average, came with cap gun accessories that allowed kids, who played with them, to fire off their weapons by pulling back the trigger and releasing it to cause a spark and a popping noise when the trigger slams into a strip of cap firing paper.

Each figure also had a file card printed on the back of the package that contained a biography of the character. These file cards were written by Larry Hama, who also wrote the file cards for Hasbro’s G.I. Joe action figures. The artwork made for each package is illustrated by Bart Sears, Mark Pennington, and McNabb Studios.

Several female C.O.P.S. and Crooks characters (Mainframe, Nightshade, Mirage, and Ms. Demeanor) appeared in the cartoon and the comics, but were never released as action figures.

Why they rocked

The stylized look of the figures was really amazing – and the cap-firing action was pretty neat, as well.

Why they sucked

Too. Damn. Big. Come on, Hasbro. Stick with a scale!

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero

The year 1982 saw the highly successful relaunch of the G.I. Joe product line in a smaller, 3¾-inch scale, of the same type employed by the wildly popular Star Wars figures. The 1982 relaunch pioneered several tactics in toy marketing, combining traditional advertising with an animated television mini-series and an ongoing comic book. The decision to use a smaller 3¾-inch scale for the figures also made it possible for Hasbro to produce a variety of matching vehicles and play sets that further expanded the appeal and commercial potential of the line.

G.I. Joe’s increasing popularity supported an array of spin-off merchandising that included posters, t-shirts, video games, board games, and kites. In 1985, both Toy & Lamp and Hobby World magazines ranked G.I. Joe as the top-selling American toy.

The original (and superior) 3¾ inch line was canceled at the end of 1994. This was also the 30th Anniversary of G.I. Joe and accordingly, Hasbro released a series of 12-inch and 3¾ inch figures based on the Original Action Team figures from 1964.

Why they rocked

Hands down, the best articulation and sturdiness of a toyline ever. The early releases were very believable and were accompanied by a great cartoon and comic (which is certainly not the case today).

Why they sucked

Despite still having awesome articulation, the colors of the line after, say, ’86 or so took a nosedive. Why we needed orange military vehicles is still beyond me.

The Other World

The Other World was a toy line created by Arco in 1982. Arco made a lot of “weird toys” in their day, so when they released these dodgy looking figures to capitalize on the sword and sorcery craze of the early 80s, they got passed up by a lot of people. But when you actually got hands-on product, you could see just how really nice the whole line was.

Why they rocked

Fantasy toys with a whole lot of weapons. And those weapons glowed in the dark.

Why they sucked

Awesome as they were, the damn things were ugly.

 

Army Ants

Army Ants were a fantasy toy soldier line from Hasbro in much the same venue as the M.U.S.C.L.E. and Monster in My Pocket lines. It featured an army of humanoid ants.Released in 1987, Army Ants were originally released in “squadrons” (sets) of three or eight figures, set on card-backed blister packs. The individual soldiers had various themes, including officers, international soldiers (such as French Foreign Legion soldiers and English guards), and aviators (in the form of flying ants).

Army Ants were organized into two opposing armies: an Orange Army led by “General Patant” and a Blue Army led by “General Mc-Anther.” There were 5 sets for each army: 4 of three figures and 1 of eight figures, which also contained the general for the army.

Why they rocked

They were cute (in a manly way), sturdy, and cheap. And the theme song from the commercials was catchy as hell.

Why they sucked

I can’t really say that they did. The whole series was incredibly silly, but that was kind of the point.

 

Battle Beasts

Battle Beasts were created by Takara of Japan in 1987. Tomy Co., Ltd., aka K.K. Takara-Tomy, still owns the worldwide rights to the property. The heyday for the toyline came during the period in which it was licensed to Hasbro for distribution outside of Japan when Hasbro marketed the toys in America and many other parts of the world. Although in the Japanese market Takara branded the toys as a spin-off of Transformers and even named the toys “BeastFormers,” their tie-in to the Transformers universe was not part of the Hasbro story or marketing. As part of the Takara strategy, many of the Battle Beasts appeared in the episode “Rebellion on Planet Beast” of the Japanese Transformers cartoon series Transformers: The Headmasters.

Battle Beasts came out in the late 80′s and like most toys of the era, had a gimmick to help sales. Each Battle Beast had a heat sensitive sticker on his chest which, when rubbed would reveal the warrior’s strength. The symbols would represent either fire, wood or water and could be used in a rock, paper, scissors type game—fire beat wood, wood beat water, water beat fire. Later a fourth emblem was added, the Sunburst, and it would beat all other types. The Sunburst was extremely rare, in a ten pack in Japan, or Pirate Leo was available in America as a variant, despite claims that there were others of that affiliation. Each Beast also carried his own distinctive weapon which could be identified to its Beast with the corresponding number.

In the U.S. Battle Beasts came in a packages of two, usually (but not always) in numerical order. It was impossible to tell which figure had a rub of fire, wood, or water until the package was opened. That came in handy with marketing, as their slogan was, Fire! Wood! Or Water!… You’ll never know until you own them!. Also listed on the packages starting with Series 2 was the possibility of getting the Sunburst Warrior. There was a total of three series adding up to 76 Battle Beasts beginning with #1, Pirate Lion and ending with #76, Ossified Orangutan.

Why they rocked

I can give so many reasons, but having a figure named “Horny Toad” is complete awesomeness.

Why they sucked

They didn’t. Battle Beasts were awesome.

 

Robo Force

Robo Force was a toy line released by the Ideal Toy Company in 1984. The toy line featured robot action figures with suction cup bases and “crusher arm” action. In addition each figure, which basically resembled a customized Dalek, also included another gimmick or two such as a hook or extendable guns.

Why they rocked

Really quality materials made these toys sturdy as a Tonka truck. And the gimmicks were really cool.

Why they sucked

Compared to other robots on the shelves at the time, they looked like ass. You really didn’t look so cool to your friends with these things in your room.

Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light

In 1987 Hasbro produced a set of figures after the cartoon and comic series of the same name had already ended. The figures had hologram stickers on both their chests and staffs.

The toy line only lasted one year, with 12 figures (all the male Spectral Knights and the male Darkling Lords complete with weapons and power staffs) and 4 vehicles produced. Each of the vehicles was packaged with an exclusive figure.

Why they rocked

Holograms, man. Those are a seller. The toys also had awesome articulation and a really good cartoon series (by Sunbow, of G.I. Joe, Inhumanoids and Transformers fame)

Why they sucked

4 1/2″ tall. They were in scale with nothing – and despite being articulated very close to G.I. Joe were worthless in play value unless it was with other Visionaries toys.