These days, it’s not unusual to see Thor, Iron Man, or Wolverine merchandised alongside Marvel Comic’s other well-known properties. And why not? These long-running characters have escaped the four-color ghetto of comic book obscurity and are now certified movie stars. We live in an age where it’s perfectly normal for a claw-weilding Canadian psychotic to sell cereal to schoolchildren, but back in my day it was a little different. If you were a Marvel Comics fan, you were stuck with two (sometimes three) guys. No matter how absurd or incongruous the product, you could count on seeing it shilled by Spider-Man and Captain America.
Pretty silly in retrospect, but the addition of those two clip-art heroes turned this 39 cent piece of disposable crap into little Billy’s favorite thing ever — or at least until Billy’s Mom threw it away because it was getting disgusting. Seriously, ever try and clean a Super Straw? You need a lot of time, patience and really thin fingers. Use it once and it’s essentially trash, is what I’m saying. And hey, give little Billy’s Mom a break; she gets a bad enough rap for throwing away all of his comic books and baseball cards.
Marvel was quick to capitalize on the success of their new superheroes and licensing deals were made quickly and cheaply. This lead to some memorable products, like these Aurora models from 1966. Alongside Cap and Spidey is the duo’s unofficial “third wheel,” the Hulk. I get the sense he’s viewed as more of a mascot to the other two at this point; it would be years before Marvel could sell product based on the Hulk alone.
How about this little motorized Marvel from the machine-smiths at MARX? The ol’ Wall-Crawler is advertising his partner right there on the hood of his car. I guess it’s painted at eye-level as a merciful distraction, so Spider-Man’s engorged head isn’t the last thing you see before he runs you over. Thanks, I guess?
I don’t know about you, but I find this set really off-putting, though it’s hard to articulate exactly why. I’m okay with Captain America having a nigh-invulnerable disk he can throw hard enough to decapitate someone, but the idea of him coming at me with a snub-nose pistol (with his own face on it!) and a set of cuffs is just ooky.
Never mind the old saying about whistling in the dark, this is actually a clever little combo. I haven’t crunched the numbers, but I’m pretty sure I’m actually losing money in the long run by not combining my whistle and flashlight needs. I don’t know if the combination can be described as heroic per se, but hey, Spidey seems to like his. Too bad the company that manufactured this little beauty couldn’t be bothered to put a sticker on it or anything — once it’s out of the package no one is going to believe you when you tell them it’s a Spider-Man flashlight. That’s okay, though. When the bully down the street kicks your ass for lying you can blow the whistle to call for help.
So. “Head Rings.” I guess they’re supposed to… what? Keep your child from drowning? Maybe it’s just me, but a tight-fitting vinyl collar worn around the neck that obscures one’s vision seems more like a detriment than a swimming aid — Hell, the kid in the ad isn’t even using one. He knows the score. On a less ominous note, look at the heroes. Cap and Spidey seem normal enough, but something is seriously wrong with the Hulk. I’m not sure who to call about it, but he does not appear to be well. Also, Captain Marvel looks a little too much like Harvey Kneeslapper for my liking:
Just say no, kids.
Ol’ Jade-Jaws was appearing more and more with the Boys, as this 1976 calender shows. Visually, the Hulk provided some contrast to the red-and-blue duo, and his towering physique gave artists a newly fluid canvas to paint the other heroes against. This now-iconic image simply wouldn’t have worked without him — compare it to the original by Archibald Willard.
Captain America’s profile was given a boost by America’s year-long bicentennial celebration, and Marvel pushed hard to exploit this. Cap spread his little head-wings and flew solo for two made-for-TV movies, but the less said about those, the better.
Nice suspenders, Jethro. How’s the swimmin’ down at the ce-ment pond today?
As we’ve seen, Marvel was always looking for ways to shoehorn their other characters in alongside Spidey and Cap, but the cover of this postcard book takes it to a whole ‘nother level. Here’s the Smartest Man in the Marvel Universe… inside of a mailbox. Obviously dignity isn’t one of Mr. Fantastic’s super-powers. Reed, buddy — just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Say, what’s in that pipe anyway?
Remember back in issue #233, when Captain America lost his powers and he had to use this “sparkle gun” to fight crime? No? Me, neither (sigh). It’s interesting to note that the Marvel heroes are never seen using guns on the packages of these rack toys. Not even Doctor Doom, who’s been known to carry a piece. Did Marvel put their foot down when it came to showing their properties acting in an uncharacteristic fashion, or is it simply the fact that that these toy packages were made up of clip-art and none of the characters shown ever really used guns? The world may never know…
Unlike his patriotic partner, ol’ Web-Head’s television outing was a huge success. CBS’s The Amazing Spider-Man was one of the top twenty shows of 1978, and even reruns brought high ratings. This put Spidey on common ground with his old friend the Hulk, who’d gone on to having a successful CBS TV show of his own. For the next few years, it would be Cap who was the odd man out; toy manufacturers were more interested in Marvel’s TV stars, and if the Sentinel of Liberty was included, he was little more than space-filler on card art. For example:
The “Ball Blaster” ladies and gentlemen. Movin’ on…
In the early 1980s, Kenner came to DC Comics with a crude set of action-feature-based prototypes that would soon evolve into their successful Super Powers Collection. Unwilling to lose out on their share of the potentially lucrative comic book market, Mattel made a quickie deal with Marvel that resulted in the ill-conceived Secret Wars line. Instead of focusing on articulation, character-specific-sculpts, or action features, Secret Wars gave every figure in their line a “Secret Shield.” Lenticular paper inserts showed story-specific battle scenes, as well as revealed the character’s secret identity. Who’s the tactical genius who thought shields that gave away your biggest secret was a good idea? This ad from Marvel Comics at the time shows Spidey’s puzzlement.
“No, Cap, I’m asking. I missed the briefing and I can’t understand these new shields — it’s like a toy company designed them or something. Anyway, the battle is starting and… Cap? Hello? Cap, come back!”
The Secret Wars figures are fondly remembered today, but the fact that every figure is built on what is essentially the same body really puts any misplaced nostalgia in perspective. They’re cool for what they are, but they might have been so much more.
Mattel instigated the Secret Wars comic, but once the concept was launched, other manufacturers jumped on the bandwagon. Or balloon, as the case may be.
You’ve got to appreciate the sheer audacity of some toy manufacturers. Take Fleetwood Toys here. Forget the toy, just look at the card — it takes clip art to a whole new level of absurdity. As consumers, we’d seen those pictures of Cap, Spidey, and the others dozens of times by that point. Doesn’t matter! Just chop ’em in half and stick ’em in the baskets! Cap must have been amputated below the knee to fit in there…
At the same time Mattel was producing Secret Wars, Gulliver Toys was putting their own spin on things with this rad Miami Vice-style speedboat. Everything looks normal at first glance, just one friend giving another a ride in their new boat. However, if we look closer something a little… unusual seems to be going on:
“WHOA! Uh… boundries, Cap? Seriously, if this is what it takes just to get a ride to the airport, then you can let me out here.”
And along those same lines:
Wow, the Sentinel of Liberty sure is handsy. And that grin. Now we know why he carries handcuffs, I guess. I… can’t look anymore.
Ah, the Ricochet Racers. From the moment I saw this, I knew I had to have one. I wasn’t big into cars or guns, but, once again, it was the simple addition of superheroes that hooked me. The “Racers” were simply spring-launched projectiles on wheels, with the “web” as a tear-away target. Here’s a nice MIB example.
The toy is just all right, but it was this ad that ran in dozens of Marvel comics that made it a must-have for young Anthill.
Your tax dollars at work, ladies and gentlemen. The next time you find yourself grumbling about how much the government has taken out of your paycheck, console yourself with the knowledge that at least it’s being well spent.
I can’t tell you how cool I thought these two panels were as a kid. The fact that the action happens in complete silence really added a sense of weight and importance to the event. The second image of the army soldiers in action was really striking; it was rare to see superheroes in such a real-world context. Also, the fact that the guns were perfectly scaled to use with those little plastic army men every kid owned was not lost on the canny marketers of this toy. I know I recreated this scene more than once in my back yard.
“Wait, wait did you mean by that? Get back here, you little twerp!”
So what was it about Captain America and Spider-Man that made them such a marketable duo? Out of all of Marvel’s properties, why two that were so chromatically similar? Over the course of this article I’ve come to believe Cap was marketed not to kids, but to adults. Think about it — Cap was Marvel’s legacy character, the one property the company owned that was as well-known as DC’s Superman or Batman. Pairing him with the (relatively) new Spider-Man during the 1970s provided Marvel something familiar to offer wary grandparents who didn’t like the idea of mutants and Inhumans. Cap was also clearly an authority figure, there to keep a close eye on Spider-Man in case the ornery youngster got out of hand. It was an interesting dynamic and one that worked for both Marvel and their licensors. These days, the two heroes don’t have much in common, but there was a time when the duo was ubiquitous.
Hope you enjoyed this look back as much as I enjoyed writing it!
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Jason R Mink is the Man in the Anthill