Whether you’re actually retro enough to remember, or just retro cool enough to have discovered him along the way, you already know the line of Captain Action toys produced by the Ideal Toy Company are among the most prized treasures from the 1960s.
Why?
First of all, Captain Action himself, a 12” action figure, designed by toymaker genius Stan Weston, (the man behind G.I. Joe!) is hands down one of the coolest looking heroes you’ll ever see. He has a classic comic book action hero look that reminds me of Alex Toth’s work on Space Ghost, a look so cool—it’s bulletproof. I wouldn’t change a thing, and that, for me, says a lot. I can’t think of any modern creative project that I wouldn’t want to tear apart and rebuild.
We also have to keep in mind that Captain Action came on the scene over a decade before toy lines had the benefit of their own TV shows to snake oil their product. A Captain Action cartoon would have been great …
The original Captain Action commercial (1966).
However, without a multimedia backup, Action carried a mysterious quality to him. Who was he? Where did he come from? I specifically remember thinking, the first time I came across a friend with this super cool action figure: Wow! Who is that? What did I miss? Is he from some far-out comic book that I’m somehow not hep to?
We knew despite the fact that Captain Action already had a "boss" costume + pistol + sword—he could change into other heroes that we did know from comic books, comic strips, and TV: Aquaman, Batman, Buck Rogers, Captain America, Flash Gordon, the Green Hornet & Kato, the Lone Ranger & Tonto, the Phantom, Sgt. Fury, Spider-Man, Steve Canyon, and Superman.
That’s a who’s who of the pop culture “A” list crowd.
How @#$%^&* cool is that?
Yet another awesome feature of this toy line existed in its quality. You can’t buy a better-articulated action figure than Captain Action. I’m almost sorry to say this, but the Captain actually has better articulation than G.I. Joe. Sorry, Joe!
Nevertheless, Joe didn't have much to worry about (other than the Captain steppin out with Barbie on the set of Star Trek). G.I. Joe was easy to identify with: a sailor, a soldier, an air-force pilot, or a marine. Okay, we get it. But Captain Action carried a different vibe, and as with most deeply remarkable creations, the public didn’t quite connect with this new multiple personality toy. The Captain fell out of action within a 2 ½ year period. Like Major Matt Mason or the Colorforms Outer Space Men, Captain Action was destined to a short shelf life, a life that would only add to his mystery and treasure-like excellence. When you don’t get hit over the head with a product it sure is easier to like.
I remember one time a neighbor friend said in a mysterious whisper: “I have a Dr. Evil still in the original box inside my closet.”
This statement came only a few years later in the early 70s, but the Captain had already taken on aspects of toy legend.
“No way …” I said.
“I’ll show you.”
He then brought out the Dr. Evil action figure in its shoebox-shaped tomb like a sacred sarcophagus and opened the lid …
Dr. Evil, a crazy-looking blue-skinned alien in quasi science fiction hippy clothes was every bit as cool as Captain Action himself, a very worthy villain.
Captain Action also had a sidekick named Action Boy, but none of us kids could ever figure out why the fat cats thought we wanted a kid version of the heroes we admired. We wanted to be Batman, not Robin. The only sidekick equal to his partner was Kato, but that’s another story.
Now, the good news! Our pals over at Moonstone Books are creating NEW Captain Action comic books! No foolin’! To date, only 5 Captain Action comics exist, a short run produced by DC Comics in 1968. So Moonstone really has a fresh slate to work with and a wonderful opportunity to breathe new life into this pop culture icon. We wish them all the luck, but we’re sure their Captain is bound for action packed adventure!
For updates on the new Captain Action comic book, please see: moonstonebooks.com and click the link below to read the Captain Action Interview with the new Captain Action comic book team: Fabian Nicieza and Mark Sparacio.
