The Postman Cometh (Retro-Action DC Super Heroes)

I've not bought stuff from overseas in a long time as I've been getting all my fix from the local store but I recently ordered my new fix from America and it arrived last Saturday via USPS (United States Postal Service) and SingPost. It certainly brought a BIG smile to my face as I'd ordered these about a week or so back and had been eagerly anticipating its arrival.

Growing up I remember seeing quite a bit and getting one or two of the old Mego 8-inch (200 mm) scale figures. Mego released the very first ever comprehensive line of DC and Marvel character action figures and coined the term "World's Greatest Super Heroes!" to umbrella the name for all the figures released in this line. The popularity of this line of 8" figures created the standard scale for the 1970s and featured several popular superhero and villain figures. In my family, we never keep stuff :( everything was thrown out as we moved from house to house. Needless to say, all the toys were gotten rid off the moment I grew out of childhood.


So when Mattel decided to re-release these Retro-Action DC Super Heroes, it meant the return of Mego figures and more! A wave of nostalgia has swept over me. I finally could get my hands on them again. And now I finally have my Flash figure :) The DC Direct 13-Inch Flash figure is just too big for my liking so this Mego-style 8-inch Flash figure does it for me.

The GREAT thing about this new release or re-release of these DC Super Heroes 8" figures is that almost every hero comes paired with a villain. For the Flash, it's Captain Cold (not to be mistaken with Mr Freeze). Captain Cold, also known as Leonard Snart, is one of the archenemies of Flash. He is a bitter enemy to the Silver-Age Flash Barry Allen.

Mattel's Retro-action DC Super Heroes Wave 3 also includes 8-inch Wonder Woman who shows off more skin than any other figure. In the old days, most of the Mego women (except Isis) wore full body suits which covered their entire bodies and flesh-colored fabric was sewn on the parts where their skin (the arms and legs) was supposed to be. It ended up looking like Wonder Women wore a long sleeve sweater which had flesh-colored sleeves and pants with flesh-colored legs. Oddly enough, Robin the boy-wonder was allowed to show off his naked legs (huh?!). Even Tarzan was not spared and was covered from neck to toe with the skin-colored body suit. I think Mego didn't want their outfits to fall off during play but it certainly didn't help with their look and feel.

And finally Cheetah rounds off this quartet. Popularly regarded as the archenemy of Wonder Woman, the Cheetah first appeared in 1943 in Wonder Woman #6 (volume 1). Since then, the character has undergone several updates as comic book continuities have evolved and shifted.

Although Captain Marvel is featured on the card, he's not part of this wave. Because Marvel Comics trademarked their Captain Marvel comic book, DC has instead used the trademark Shazam! as the title of their comic books and thus the name under which they market and promote the character.

What started the ball rolling for me was the second wave of this "Retro-Action DC Super Heroes" line. Black Manta looks to be one of the coolest super villains to me, with his all black wetsuit and bug-eyed helmet (in the comics, it could shoot blasting rays from its eyes).

Black Manta is the archenemy of Aquaman. Aquaman is an Atlantean, could breathe underwater with gills, had superhuman strength enabling him to swim at high speeds, and could communicate with sea life and have them do his bidding.

And of course, BATMAN - my all-time favorite super hero. Batman needs no introduction. The Caped Crusader a.k.a. The Dark Knight comes with removable mask / cowl. He wears the traditional blue and gray suit from the comics.

Interestingly enough, the super villain paired with Batman is not the Joker (archenemy of Batman) but Two-Face: Once Harvey Dent, District Attorney of Gotham City and an ally of Batman, he goes insane after a criminal throws acid in his face during a trial, hideously scarring the left side of his face. That's rather refreshing since the Joker, Penguin and Riddler had been released in the original Mego line of figures.

I wasn't that keen for the figures in Wave 1 except for the Green Lantern. I just don't have a thing for Superman and don't believe in collecting ALL in the series just because it's out there - different strokes for different folks, I guess. Can't wait to take these out of their packaging and blog about them.