A Blast from Christmas Past: The MEGO Superheroes!

As a lad in the mid-70's, the top of my Christmas wish list was usually reserved for the the Mego Superhero Action Figures (action figures, mind you....not dolls!).

Between my friends and I, we had just about the entire line with the exception of a few oddball (or scarce) figures. Heck, we even had The Invisible Girl, owned by the paperboy down the block (back then, paperboys were rolling in the dough). Of course, nobody had much to do with her since she was essentially a Barbie doll in a Fantastic Four costume (and perhaps an uncomfortable reminder of just how doll-like all of the Mego heroes actually were).

Despite those vague misgivings, we spent plenty of summer afternoons creating action-packed scenarios for our band of Mego superheroes (and villains), each one more elaborate and outlandish than the last.

Well, imagine how pleasantly surprised I was when I stumbled across a vintage TV commercial for the Mego Superheroes on YouTube. If you've got high speed internet service, click on the screen below to relive your own Mego memories or, if you're too young, to see what you missed out on.

Before you begin, a few things to watch for:

1. The "authentic" settings for some of the heroes, such as an Aquaman figure nestled near a lapping shore and a tiny Spider-Man figure unceremoniously stuck to a concrete wall.

2. What appears to be a phone cord strung across the frame featuring Captain Marvel, simulating what could only be...a magic lightning bolt?

3. Green Arrow is apparently "the crimefighter from the forest".

4. "The Falcon, that great black superhero!" (their words, not mine)

5. The Human Torch is revealed to be "faster than the speed of light" (coming as news to Fantastic Four fans everywhere).

6. According to Mr. Announcer Guy, Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Girl both have the power of invisibility, with no mention of Reed's stretching abilities. Oops!

7. Conan's "sword of justice"? More likely his sword of blood and gruel-caked vengeance!

8. "Thor...using his viking power against evil!" Listen, I live in Minnesota, and if there's one thing we Minnesotans are sure of, it's that Vikings really aren't all that powerful (as any glance at NFL stats should confirm).

Anyway....enjoy the video!

Comments

[John Phelan]

That was trippy.

So much for the reasearch department at that toy company!

And that phone cord was weird.

Does Conan even know about the word justice?

[Loren]

Oh, what a blast from the past! One of my biggest regrets is that I let my mom send all my MEGO superheroes to the Philippines! I had all of them. Now, they're worth buku bucks on eBay...not that I'd sell them. But, I'd LOVE to have the Wonder Woman and Batgirl ones.

[Mark Engblom]

I can never get over how crappy the production standards were back in the day. I mean, at the time they certainly seemed up to par, but man...time has not been good to 1970's TV commercials. From the shakey camera work to the 5th-grader copywriting, it was some pretty amateurish stuff. At the same time, it managed to sell a hell of alot of action figures, so it looks like they got the last laugh.

I'm glad you guys enjoyed that little blast from the past. Yeah, those action figures are priced beyond reason today, but I'm glad I had the opportunity to enjoy them AS TOYS, and not as dust-gathering trophies for aging fanboys.

[Jim]

That's awesome!! I remember my Batman and Robin from when I was a kid. Ah, memories. Thanks for sharing the video.

[Mark Engblom]

Glad you liked it, Jim. Now if only I knew what happened to my OWN mego dolls....I mean "action figures".