Who was around in 72?

[HardyGirl]

I turned 6 in July of '72. Earlier that year, while I was still in kindergarten, I got a black Action Jackson, (after much begging and pleading). I fondly remember seeing the commercials on TV, and walking past Stationery's toy store on Broadway and 156th St. in NYC and looking longingly in the window. I also recall taking AJ to kindergarten for Show & Tell, and all the little boys whom I couldn't stand 'cos they used to tease me all wanted to be my friend that day! Ha!

[HardyGirl]

Bravo! Author! Author! That's it exactly! And I seem to remember a cereal company (maybe Post?) having mail-aways for the Dawn doll and Action Jackson. I hadn't gotten AJ yet, but I had my mom cut the picture off the back of the cereal box (It was like the drawing on the Mego package), and playing w/ that until I got AJ. But yeah Tom...the molded, painted little figures are one of the things that divide the 70s kids from the 80s babies. I'm so glad I was the former. (no offense, 80s babies!)

Another great observation. If you really think about it, the Mego phenomenon was something that only lasted for roughly five years. So if you were part of that demographic during that period, it really came across as a big event because there had never been anything like it before. It filled a huge deficit in my life as a child because I was a big fan of comics and growing up watching the '67 Spider-man first run and then in syndication. Add to that the Batman television show, and his various incarnations in cartoons and there was this very odd void of merchandise since the idea of "action figures" was still very much in it's infancy. I can remember quite clearly sitting on my mom's lap and watching her draw Batman or Spiderman and then cut them out so I had something to play with. It's very ironic to me now when I think back on it, because I was essentially role playing the action figure experience before they existed (at least in terms of how we define them today).

So you can imagine how floored I was when I actually saw a Mego RC Batman. It was life changing (as ridiculous as that sounds) because I finally found something that translated exactly into the very thing I had imagined when all I had were essentially homemade paper dolls. But Mego took it too crazy fun levels with removable masks and costumes. And that right there is where you get the big generational divide with some. You have people a generation before Mego and then a generation AFTER Mego that are almost uncomfortable with the cloth outfits because it defines what they see as a "doll experience" related to Barbie. I understand that in a very fundamental way, but at the core of it's play value I see it quite differently. What it did, especially for my generation, is role play an entire comic book. Batman could be Bruce Wayne. Robin could be Dick Grayson. You could take your Shazam and let him be Spider-man unmasked by putting that costume on him. It even allowed you to create characters that didn't exist yet. So the art of customizing was something I think we all did. But at the end of the day it just brought a new level play value to an industry that specialized in accessories. GI Joe had his mission outfits. Big Jim had his outdoor wear, and Mego superheroes had REAL costumes. It played to that rationale back then, so it never EVER felt awkward to people like me.

So it also reasons how disappointed I was when I see a movie like Star Wars expecting this wave of Mego-styled figures and playsets, but instead get handed...little plastic painted figures. It ran completely opposite to my ideas of what playtime looked like. That also helped push me out of my era of childhood, because as those little figures became more prevalent, nothing really came in to assume the Mego mantle. The hero line had died out and television/film choices became oddities for me, especially since by that time I was getting into high school in the late 70's and early 80's. So if you weren't at a prime age to enjoy Megos during their heyday, it was quite easy to miss that period altogether and enter into the age of plastic molded figures. So it was a very special period to be a kid and it's disappearance from toy shelves for decades really underscores why we have such diehard collectors who either developed companies to make them again or (like me) become the stout supporter of new lines since I spent decades thinking they were relics never to be seen again.

Today I get to be that kid all over again. All sorts of characters I never thought I would see are being made for me to hold and look at with wonderment. For me that is the value of my purchase and why I'm excited every time companies make a new announcement. I'm getting to see something I could only imagine before and it's very refreshing to have moments like that again when your walking through life in your 50's. I have no hesitation in saying we live in magical times once again.

[daz71]

i was 1 year old my first mego wgsh was batman in 1976 from a market.

[Wee67]

5 years old and headed to kindergarten in the latest 1972 fashions! I don't really remember my first Mego (though I assume it was Batman given my love for the character).I just kind of remember Megos just being a big part of my life by 1974.

So it also reasons how disappointed I was when I see a movie like Star Wars expecting this wave of Mego-styled figures and playsets, but instead get handed...little plastic painted figures. It ran completely opposite to my ideas of what playtime looked like. That also helped push me out of my era of childhood, because as those little figures became more prevalent, nothing really came in to assume the Mego mantle. The hero line had died out and television/film choices became oddities for me, especially since by that time I was getting into high school in the late 70's and early 80's. So if you weren't at a prime age to enjoy Megos during their heyday, it was quite easy to miss that period altogether and enter into the age of plastic molded figures. So it was a very special period to be a kid and it's disappearance from toy shelves for decades really underscores why we have such diehard collectors who either developed companies to make them again or (like me) become the stout supporter of new lines since I spent decades thinking they were relics never to be seen again.

Hadn't thought about, but I have to agree. Kenner's domination coincided with me simply getting too old for toys by the time I was 9 or 10. Plus video games really started to get my attention. Or perhaps, i had simply entered a phase where I had become not old enough for toys.

[MegoMark71]

Like the name says, I was born in 71. No memories at all. I believe it was Christmas of 75 where my brother and i got our first megos. Iron man, Batman and Ponch and Jon. Iron Man and Batman are still my favorite megos to this day.

[SKotK]

Today I get to be that kid all over again. All sorts of characters I never thought I would see are being made for me to hold and look at with wonderment. For me that is the value of my purchase and why I'm excited every time companies make a new announcement. I'm getting to see something I could only imagine before and it's very refreshing to have moments like that again when your walking through life in your 50's. I have no hesitation in saying we live in magical times once again.

Many people go through life never getting to fulfill any of their dreams. But most people also let go of their childhood dreams, leaving them unfulfilled. When you still hang onto your childhood dreams and you realize as an adult that you can finally fulfill those dreams, it's a wonderful thing. Just a couple weeks ago I fulfilled one of my earliest dreams when I finally completed all of the first-run Mego 8" Star Trek collection: a new-in-box U.S.S. Enterprise bridge, and the full set of new-on-card (but cracked open, so I can actually play with them) bridge crew figures, plus the Klingon. I am still giddy from the joy of satisfying the last 40 years of longing. As a child, I never got to have *any* of the Mego figures, let alone the Star Trek ones (which I obsessed over).

5-year-old me is looking at 45-year-old me from across the decades and grinning ear-to-ear...and 45-year-old me is doing the same. High-five, kid...we finally did it!

--SKot


P.S. - And now I can also have Chekhov and Sulu to add to my bridge crew. This is truly another golden age!

[Iron Mego]

I was 3 in 1972, but by Xmas 1974 I was full bore into Mego. However, I had NO concept that this was a phenomenon about to happen, or that Megos were new and special. They just WERE. They were in the stores when I went to them. I saw them in ads in comics, and probably on TV. I came to really love them, as we all did, or why would we be here? But there was no conscious thought about them being anything other than cool toys. Cool toys that I never really forgot about.

[Makernaut]

I know my first Mego was an RC Batman in Summer of '73 followed closely by a boxed Supes and Aquaman for Christmas 1973. Megos for me (as well as for many, many other kids of our era) coincided with "Super Friends" so it was a great tie-in even if it was only a coincidence.

[VintageMike]

I was only when one. Mego would not enter my life (that I'm aware of) until 76 possibly 77 when I got Spider-Man which I still have to this day. Interesting side bit to some of the stuff mentioned here. Being born later Mego Superheroes had this mystery allure. We knew there were characters out there from the comic ads and the card art but if you actually saw a character outside the core group, it was special. Being a huge Spider-Man and Batman fan I wanted a Green Goblin and Joker like there was no tomorrow completely unaware they were discontinued by the time I asked for them. I was sold enough to see the Star Wars stuff from day one so while it holds a special place in my heart I saw/owned every figure right from year one. FINALLY getting a Green Goblin after almost 30 years? The kid inside me was ecstatic!

[Nostalgiabuff]

I was only when one. Mego would not enter my life (that I'm aware of) until 76 possibly 77 when I got Spider-Man which I still have to this day. Interesting side bit to some of the stuff mentioned here. Being born later Mego Superheroes had this mystery allure. We knew there were characters out there from the comic ads and the card art but if you actually saw a character outside the core group, it was special. Being a huge Spider-Man and Batman fan I wanted a Green Goblin and Joker like there was no tomorrow completely unaware they were discontinued by the time I asked for them. I was sold enough to see the Star Wars stuff from day one so while it holds a special place in my heart I saw/owned every figure right from year one. FINALLY getting a Green Goblin after almost 30 years? The kid inside me was ecstatic!

much the same for me. I had and have many Mego figures but the core figures were all you could easily find by the late seventies. Green Goblin was a grail for me as an adult collector. I was 5 when Star Wars came out. I had pretty much every toy in the line, figures and playsets/vehicles. SW will always have a special place in my heart but the toys that have the nostalgic value for me are Mego and GI Joe Adventure Team. I guess I was coming of age right on that dividing line between cloth outfit action figures and small painted toys with minimal articulation

[huedell]

Another great observation. If you really think about it, the Mego phenomenon was something that only lasted for roughly five years...

Undeniable---and, as you acknowledged, Mego may have been short-lived, but it had a huge influence that changed how TV, comics and film franchise media licensing was approached (particularly the action figure genre we love), an influence consistently exponentially growing up to this moment in time.

American entertainment/capitalism in motion.

I was just born back then (at the end of 1971), but I'm going to make a bold statement, and say that I believe a significant aid to Mego's "work" furthering that action figure/overall franchise toy licensing "crusade" that occurred in that very same time period was, ironically, the birth of "blockbuster" movies.

It's an ironic & bold statement because the two films that really kicked the blockbuster phenomenon off didn't have any ACTION FIGURE toys---not until just recently with Jaws...and, like, ever (I think) with The Poseidon Adventure.

[chalwa]

I was 6 but didn't get a Mego until two years later. Small town and all that.

[wise guy]

The summer after 3 rd grade I wen't to Kmart to get a birthday present for a friend and they had an end cap full of Supermam , Aquaman, Robin, R.C. Batman (all T-1 bodies)
My aunt said I could get one for my friend and none for me(not my birthday). I thru a fit , and ended up getting a Superman, and R,C Batman, and the friend got Aquaman . I never
regretted acting like a brat that day in 1972

[Ninersphan1]

I was 5 in '72 do not remember when I got my first Mego, but I'd bet it was '74. and I KNOW it was RC Batman. I have always been a HUGE bat fan and once he was mine I was in for all the Bat stuff. Had Robin, Joker Penguin, Riddler, Bat mobile, Bat Cave, Bat Copter and Bat cycle (black). Never had any of the ladies though. These were joined by many of the Marvel Megos and Spock, who was a Villain.

[Imdareaper]

I was 7 in 72. Got my one and only Action Jackson around 1970 and he is still with me today.
He went on travels around the country back then, and had many adventures. I didnt have any bought outfits for him but Mum made me some.
In the last 5 years, he has got quite a few friends now.. even found a couple Blond/Red Heads .. and the Superheroes have been joining the group, Hulk has just moved in and Falcon is flying in from the USA now.. should be here this week, so the Avengers will be complete......the Western 6 have joined in a couple weeks ago....
The Mego's rule ....
And now the FTC Retros want to join the party.... so many to get...