Thanks to a series of successful movies, Marvel Comic’s Iron Man is now a household name. Ol’ Shell-Head has been around almost as long as Marvel itself, but merchandising the character hasn’t always been easy.
Created in 1963 by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Don Heck, Iron Man was an unlikely hero for the times — a millionaire playboy munitions manufacturer providing weaponry to the U.S. government wasn’t exactly someone kids could relate to. The book’s blend of wonky science fiction, soap-opera drama, and Cold War intrigue made for an uneasy marriage, but Lee and company somehow made it work. Tony Stark’s mortality, bonded to his restless intellect and willingness to throw himself into trouble at the drop of a hat, created the archetypal Marvel hero: limited, imperfect, better than most men, and yet failing to meet his own (perhaps impossible) standards.
In 1966 old Shell-Head was included in the Grantray/Lawrence-produced Marvel Super Heroes cartoon anthology series. Fondly remembered for its crude animation style and catchy theme song, the cartoon was Iron Man’s first exposure to a world outside of comics. Due to it’s cheap production values and lack of “A-List” Marvel characters like Spider-Man and the Fantastic 4 (who already had their own cartoons), Marvel Super Heroes only lasted one season, but ran for years in syndication. If you wanted a toy to emulate Shell-Head’s adventures back then, you had only one option.
This plastic statue by MARX was part of a set that included Captain America, Thor, and Hulk. The statues were molded in a number of different colors, and have been reissued many times over the years. While this Iron Man is a neat little figurine, I can’t help but think a more iconic pose could have been chosen. I mean, it’s pretty much impossible to “play” with this guy. All he can do is stand there with his chain while the other statues do the exciting stuff. I can see it now:
CAPTAIN AMERICA: We’ve captured the Hulk! Iron Man, bring your chain over so we can tie him up!
IRON MAN: I, uh, broke it.
CAPTAIN AMERICA: (sigh) Damn it, Tony…
It would be eight years before Iron Man was represented in plastic again. While Marvel mainstays like Captain America and Spider-Man received Aurora Models and Captain Action costumes, Iron Man warmed the bench. Then, in 1973, the Mego Corporation introduced their wildly-successful WORLD’S GREATEST SUPER-HEROES line of action figures.
Cap and Spidey had been strong sellers since their release in 1973, so Mego added more Marvels to the mix. In 1975, Tony was part of the second assortment of Marvel heroes, shipping alongside the Hulk and the Falcon. Iron Man was by far the most popular character in the assortment, although Mego would move quite a few Hulk figures once his hit CBS TV show aired a few years later.
Iron Man was issued on the standard Mego body and featured a newly sculpted head, belt, boots, and gauntlets. His bold color-scheme and futuristic accessories really made the figure pop next to characters like Tarzan (a guy in a flesh-colored bodysuit.) It’s a great version of Iron Man that captures important costume details like his power-pods and unibeam. Yet there’s still something off about him, something unsettling. What could it be?
Ah, yes — Iron Man’s nose. The story goes it was all Stan Lee’s idea, though he later claimed innocence. For whatever reason, between June of 1974 and April, 1976, Iron Man sported a nose in the pages of his monthly comic, so that’s what Mego gave us. It’s a little frustrating to come so close to an iconic figure only to have it marred by such a transitional design element. The addition of the nose (as well as the oddly-painted eyes) make Shell-Head look less like like a super-hero and more like a grimacing sociopath in a Halloween costume. Other than that, a swell toy.
Mego only produced their Iron Man figure until 1978, so there was a six-year lull before the Golden Avenger returned to the pegs. When he did it was with usual suspects Spider-Man, Captain America, and newcomer Wolverine in Mattel’s Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars. Conceived as a direct answer to Kenner’s DC Super Powers line, the figures featured limited articulation and shared much of the same tooling, but fans starved for Marvel characters bought ’em anyway. While lacking the action feature that all Super Powers figures had, the Marvel heroes did come with lenticular shields that revealed the heroes’ identity — I never understood how that was a good thing.
Tony was busy getting his liquor on during the Secret Wars, so his good pal James “Rhodey” Rhodes filled in as Iron Man. Subsequently, it was Rhodey that was drafted into the toy line-up, making this the first Iron Man toy that wasn’t meant to be Stark. It’s weird because Tony is on the shield, but the package claims otherwise.
Yep, it says right there: James Rhodes. Someone’s owed an over-sized shield with their face on it. Make it happen, Matty — pack it with Nekron’s staff.
Secret Wars Iron Man is a terrific little figure. A little on the lean side, perhaps, but this version of the armor always was form-fitting. I remember hitting mine with matte black spray paint to emulate the “Stealth” armor first seen in Iron Man #152. The lack of color really brought the sculpt to the fore, its minimal detail remarkably sharp and even. The figure is almost elegant in its construction; on the flip side, it’s tough as dirt — go ahead, try and break one. It’s almost impossible. Mattel used a nice sturdy plastic that could both hold the sculpt and withstand hard play. A kid would like it, a nerd would like it, a dog would love it. In short, this is a perfect toy. Accept no substitutes.
Sadly, the line never made it past a third series here in America, and once again Marvel characters vanished from the shelves. Then, in 1990, ToyBiz acquired the license to produce Marvel toys. No one knew it, but this was the beginning of Shell-Head’s glory days. After a shaky start there would be no going back; Tony was about to hit the big time.
Anyone remember this beast? Even then it seemed goofy, but Quick-Change Armor Iron Man was the forerunner to the modular armor system that would be featured in Shell-Head’s future toy line. Sure, the oversized pieces had ugly snaps and hinges, but I’d be lying if it wasn’t awesome to pop off the helmet and see ’80s-era Tony Stark. He’s smooth.
Once again, Iron Man was firmly in the middle, shipping as part of the second wave; no Marvel-based toy line ever seemed comfortable leading with him. In spite of his Avengers membership, his long-running comic, and his status as the most toyetic superhero ever created, Iron Man stubbornly remained on the B-list. But one man was determined to change that.
Avi Arad, CEO of ToyBiz, was a lifelong comics fan. His childhood love of the Marvel characters translated into an adult desire to see them reach their true potential as marketable commodities. Working closely with Marvel, he produced a series of Saturday morning cartoons — Hulk got one, as did the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, the X-Men… oh, and Iron Man, too.
Since he basically owned a toy company, Arad saw to it that each series had its own toy line. It was a remarkable period for both Marvel and action figures in general. Arad had brought a synergy to the Marvel universe; if you liked the cartoon, you could walk into any toy store and buy action figures based it. One supported the other, with comic books now merely icing on the cake. I mean, Iron Man never wore this, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a killer figure.
The toys themselves were quite nice; featuring spiffy vac-metal snap-on armor pieces that could be traded between figures, it was an ambitious approach that never quite worked out. The vac metal was brittle and the paint was often unevenly applied and prone to chipping. Still, it wasn’t a lame flicker shield or an oversized arm cannon — the concept of interconnecting modular armor pieces was ideal for both the character and a toy line. It didn’t sell quite as well as Spider-Man or X-Men, but it did something more important than that: it put Iron Man in the front row where he belonged all along.
I bought every figure in the line. Okay, actually I bought every Toy Biz figure, period. What can I say? They were cheap and plentiful back then. For $10 you could buy Iron Man, Super-Posable Spider-Man, and Tiger-Stripe Wolverine and still have enough for the bus ride home. Toy Biz kept the figures coming — soon they would add new lines like Ghost Rider, Silver Surfer, and Generation X, but Iron Man was definitely the high point for me. Unfortunately, series five was never produced, which is too bad. The designs are odd but compelling — the weird colors and concepts really stand out and would have looked great on the shelf.
Toy Biz made the canny move of issuing the original “2-up” sculpts in a 10″ series as well. When they ran out of actual armors they just started inventing crap, like this bizarre and nonsensical version of the Deep Space Armor. Why exactly are his legs transparent? I’m guessing he’s burning up in re-entry, but please post your thoughts at the bottom of the page.
The animated series and its accompanying toy line ended, but Toy Biz wasn’t done with Iron Man yet. He was about to become the stuff of Legends…
Look for Part Two this Friday!
Jason R Mink is the Man in the Ant Hill! – 04/23/13