The look may not be what you remember, but the faces remain the same. For Comic-Con this year, Mattel Creations will bring back giants of their toy lines in the 60s and 70s. Big Jim. Pulsar. And the one so cool that Tom Hanks wanted to make a movie adaptation — Major Matt Mason.
Announced on their Instagram account as part of their “12 Days of Fandom” event, Mattel has taken their classic figures which were of various sizes and styles and revamped them as 1980s action figures. There’s a cool factor to them, perhaps, and nostalgia built in. No doubt they’ll sell out — both at Comic-Con itself and online. In-person sales commence on Preview Night, 7/20. On Friday, 7/22 at 9 a.m. PT, you can order them on mattelcreations.com.
Some of us fans remember Pulsar, mostly for his gimmick of a transparent chest that would “breathe” and pump blood when you squeezed his back. In the early 1970s, Big Jim gave G.I. Joe decent competition, initially introduced as a well-rounded athlete toy with karate action, and then as leader of P.A.C.K. — with box art (and comics ads) by the legendary Jack Kirby. It’s this incarnation of Big Jim being adapted to this “Back in Action” set, and there’s a sample of Kirby art in the background. It would be cool if the inside of the package has one of the King’s original ads.
As for Major Matt Mason, created at the height of the Space Race, this is probably a sturdier version than the original toy. He and his crew were made of rubber and wires, essentially bendy figures except for the carefully sculpted heads. He’s now 4.5″ tall with 5 points of articulation instead of flexible as all get out. Note that does mean this version will hold up better if you actually play with it. So far it doesn’t look like he comes with a helmet, which was a key part of the original version.
I wouldn’t count on this being a major relaunch of the properties; like Hasbro’s Comic-Con exclusive retooling of the Micronauts and ROM a few years ago, it’s for older fans. And they’ll buy it.
None of them are the figures as they were (also like Hasbro’s set tying into an IDW alliance), so even though there’s some coolness here, it’s not as cool as they once were.
That’s nostalgia for you. It never really is as cool as it once was.
