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The Super Powers Collection was a line of
action figure An action figure is a poseable character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game, television program, or sport; fictional or historical. These figures are usually ...
s based on
DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...
superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...
es and
supervillain A supervillain, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...
s that was created by
Kenner Products Kenner Products, known simply as Kenner, was an American toy brand owned by Hasbro. Kenner Products began as a toy company founded in 1946, going on to produce several highly recognizable toys and merchandise lines including action figures for t ...
in the 1980s.


History

In 1984, DC Comics awarded the master toy license of their characters to
Kenner Products Kenner Products, known simply as Kenner, was an American toy brand owned by Hasbro. Kenner Products began as a toy company founded in 1946, going on to produce several highly recognizable toys and merchandise lines including action figures for t ...
, hot on the heels of
Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company headquartered in El Segundo, California. Founded in Los Angeles by Harold Matson and the husband-and-wife duo of Ruth Handler, ...
's "action feature" heavy
Masters of the Universe ''Masters of the Universe'' (sometimes referred to as the ''He-Man'' or ''She-Ra'' series) is a sword and planet-themed media franchise created by Mattel. The main premise revolves around the conflict between He-Man (the alter ego of Prince A ...
toy line. The initial pitch seemed to be heavily influenced by Kenner's popular Star Wars toyline with multiple playsets dedicated to individual franchises like
Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...
,
Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
,
Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superheroine who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''All Star Comics'' Introducing Wonder Woman, #8, published October 21, 1941, with her first feature in ''Sensation Comic ...
,
Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...
,
Teen Titans The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to DC ...
,
Lois Lane Lois Lane is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1 (June 1938). Lois is an award-winning ...
, and the
Super Jrs. Super Juniors are a group of fictional DC Comics characters based on members of the Justice League of America, designed as baby versions to appeal to younger audiences and introduce them to the publisher's most popular properties. At Kenner's requ ...
Winning the license away from Knickerbocker and Mattel in 1982 with an emphasis on action and art, Kenner devised hidden mechanisms within the figures that would trigger an action when the figure's legs or arms were squeezed. This emphasis on each figure's "super power" led to the naming of the line: "The Super Powers Collection". Each figure in the first two series were also packaged with a mini-comic featuring an adventure with a spotlight on that character. The figures also included a cut-out collector's card on the back of each package. With his Apokoliptian
New Gods The New Gods are a fictional extraterrestrial race appearing in the eponymous comic book series published by DC Comics, as well as selected other DC titles. Created and designed by Jack Kirby, they first appeared in February 1971 in ''New Gods'' ...
characters like
Darkseid Darkseid () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer-artist Jack Kirby, the character first made a cameo appearance in ''Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen'' #134 (December 1970), before being fully in ...
judged ideal antagonists for the line, comic creator
Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...
received some of the only royalties of his long career for redesigning his characters for Kenner. Artist
George Pérez George Pérez (; June 9, 1954 – May 6, 2022) was an American comic book artist and writer, who worked primarily as a penciller. He came to prominence in the 1970s penciling ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' and ''The Avengers (c ...
also received royalties for his design of Cyborg and redesign of Lex Luthor.
Ed Hannigan Edward Hannigan (born August 6, 1951) is an Americans, American comics artist, writer, and editor for both Marvel Comics and DC Comics. Career Ed Hannigan's first credited comics story was published in Marvel Comics' Brand licensing, licensed ' ...
had already redesigned Brainiac in ''Action Comics'' the previous year (June 1983). Most of the other designs (and much of the packaging artwork) were based on
José Luis García-López José Luis García-López (born March 26, 1948) is a Spanish people, Spanish-Argentines, Argentine comics artist who works in the United States, particularly in a long-running relationship with DC Comics. In addition to his storytelling art, he pr ...
's classic DC Style Guides (other artwork used appears to be the work of
Dick Giordano Richard Joseph Giordano (; July 20, 1932 – March 27, 2010) was an American comics artist and editor whose career included introducing Charlton Comics' "Action Heroes" stable of superheroes and serving as executive editor of DC Comics. Ear ...
, who was known to ink Garcia-Lopez's art for the publications, and Mike DeCarlo). Alex Saviuk provided box art for the line save Shazam. In all, three series of figures and accessories were released from 1984 to 1986. The line was abruptly cancelled in February 1986. Two toys pictured on the back of the third wave packages were never produced: the All-Terrain Trapper Vehicle and the Darkseid's Tower of Darkness playset.


Tie-ins

Once the line was on the market, a vigorous merchandising campaign took place, with DC Comics and Kenner striving for the ''Super Powers'' logo to become ubiquitous. DC Comics produced three comic book mini-series featuring characters from the toyline, one during each year of the toyline's existence. The first series of comics in 1984 was plotted by
Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...
, who also provided covers, wrote and penciled the last issue, and went on to pencil the second series. (These two series were collected and reprinted in 2013 in ''The Jack Kirby Omnibus Vol. 2'', in 2018 in ''Super Powers by Jack Kirby'', and in 2019 in ''DC Universe: Bronze Age Omnibus by Jack Kirby''). The third and final series was penciled by
Carmine Infantino Carmine Infantino (; May 24, 1925 – April 4, 2013) was an American comics artist and editing, editor, primarily for DC Comics, during the late 1950s and early 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comic Books. Among his character creations are ...
. In 1986, DC Comics published ''The Super Friends: Super Powers'' which reprinted "Bad Weather for Supergirl!" from ''Super Friends'' #37 (October 1980) along with coloring pages on the inside front and back covers illustrated by José Luis García-López of Batman and Robin and Wonder Woman, respectfully. The cover of the comic reprints that of the ''Super Friends'' issue but with the addition of the Super Powers bursting stars logo. The same year the first series was published, Federal Comics in Australia also published the original issues and the first issue of the second series but numbered it as the series' sixth issue. Beginning in 1985, French publisher Arédit reprinted the first mini-series to start off its DC Flash series. From 1986 to 1996, Brazilian publisher Editora Abril reprinted various DC Comics in a book called Super Powers for 37 issues, so far as using the Super Powers logo (or a variation of it) for the first ten issues. In 2017, the original Jack Kirby series was reprinted by Panini Brasil in ''Lendas do Universo DC: Super Powers''. Tom Scioli produced a Super Powers back-up series in the pages of '' Cave Carson Has a Cybernetic Eye'' in 2016.
Art Baltazar Arthee "Art" Baltazar (born 1968) is an American comics artist and writer who currently works for DC Comics. Career Art Baltazar started making comic books with his self-published comic book, ''The Cray-Baby Adventures''. Since then he has cr ...
and
Franco Aureliani Franco Aureliani is an American comic book writer/artist, best known for writing the DC Comics series '' Tiny Titans'', for which he won two Eisner Awards in 2009 and 2011. ''Tiny Titans'' also won a Harvey award in 2011. He was also nominated ...
created a Super Powers mini-series in 2017 as a follow-up to their ''
Tiny Titans ''Tiny Titans'' is a comic book series by Art Baltazar and Franco Aureliani.2009 Eisner Award winners< ...
'' and '' Superman Family Adventures''. These comics were separate from the continuity of the regular comics featuring the characters.
Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ; formerly known as H-B Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and H-B Production Co.), simply and commonly known as Hanna-Barbera, was an American animation studio and production company, which was acti ...
also produced two animated television series (a refreshing of the venerable ''
Super Friends ''Super Friends'' is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes which ran from 1973 to 1985 on ABC as part of its Saturday-morning cartoon lineup. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera and was based on the Justice League of Am ...
'' concept), called '' Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show'' and '' The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians''.
Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment; formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the American home video distribution ...
used the opportunity to issue episodes of ''
Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...
'', ''
Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
'', ''
Superboy Superboy is an identity used by several fictional superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. These characters have been featured in several eponymous comic series, in addition to ''Adventure Comics'' and other series ...
'', and ''
Aquaman Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 (November 1941). Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles ...
'' produced by
Filmation Filmation Associates was an American production company founded by Lou Scheimer, Hal Sutherland and Norm Prescott in 1962, before closing by Group W Productions on February 3, 1989. Located in Reseda, California, Filmation produced animated ...
in 1966 on
VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...
and
Betamax Betamax (also known as Beta, and stylized as the Greek letter Beta, β in its logo) is a discontinued consumer analog Videotape, video cassette recording format developed by Sony. It was one of the main competitors in the videotape format war ag ...
video cassette in 1985 under the ''Super Powers'' label (and also as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations of their sister company DC Comics), reissuing them again on VHS in 1996 (and were still available into the early 2000s until the end of the
VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...
format). At the 1984 Toy Fair, DC Comics through LCA (Licensing Corporation of America), Warner Bros licensing company, distributed a fourteen page handout with the heading "Fighting for you in the aisles, on the shelves and at the registers..." to apply the Super Powers brand to a multitude of products. This saw the application of the art and logo to the likes of lunchboxes, 3-D puffy stickers, party supplies, paintable figurines, Underoos, coloring and activity books (''Secret of the Frozen City'', ''Superman'', ''Lex Luthor'', ''The Joker'', ''Batman'', ''The Penguin'', ''Wonder Woman'', ''Villains'', ''Superman and Batman'', and ''Superman and the Super Powers''), ''The Super Powers Anti-Coloring Book'' () by Susan Striker, Stain-A-Sticker, Justice League of America Skyscraper Caper game, sunglasses, playhouses, belt buckles, sneakers, signature stamp sets, coloring play mats, drinking glasses/tumblers, MPC model kits, soap, stain painting sets, calendars,
Play-Doh Play-Doh, also known as Play-Dough, is a modeling compound for young children to make arts and crafts projects. The product was first manufactured in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, as a wallpaper cleaner in the 1930s. Play-Doh was then rewor ...
sets, cube game, jointed wall figures, wrist watches, jigsaw puzzles (Jaymar and Craftmaster), Give-A-Show projectors, backpacks, gym bags,
Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...
paraphernalia, kites, pajamas, card games, sticker albums, sleeping bags, wall cling decorations, inflatable punching bop bags, bed sheets, clothes, windsocks, greeting cards, View-Master theatre sets, nut and fruit mix, sidewalk artist sets, temporary tattoos, SunShiners, galoshes,
Nerf Nerf is a toy brand formed by Parker Brothers and currently owned by Hasbro. Most of the toys are a variety of Foam weapon, foam-based weaponry, with other Nerf products including balls for sports such as American football, basketball, an ...
wrist flyers, duffel bags, lip balm, slippers, crayon sets, planners, school supplies, belts, baseball caps, flashlights, bumper stickers, pins, jewelry, embroidered patches, and posters. Kenner offered several mail-in promotions including a flexible
vinyl record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English) or a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog signal, analog sound Recording medium, storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, ...
called ''The Darkseid Saga'', child-size Superman plastic cape, and an 18" by 24 " color poster.
Burger King Burger King Corporation (BK, stylized in all caps) is an American multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacks ...
produced cup holders and meal packs as part of the promotion. I.J.E., Inc.'s Kid Vid Productions produced three See & Read books for Super Powers under their Kid Stuff line named ''Battle At the Earth's Core'' (), ''Darkseid… of the Moon'' (, art provided by the aforementioned Alex Saviuk), and ''The Battle for Apokolips!'' () available as a picture book with
audio cassette The Compact Cassette, also commonly called a cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog audio, analog magnetic tape recording format for Sound recording and reproduction, audio recording and playback. Invented by L ...
, vinyl record (reminiscent of Power Records), or VHS tape (similar to Golden Book Video). I.J.E., Inc. also released a Listen 'N Look book (which included an audio cassette) for the line called ''The Adventures of Superman'' (reprinting the Golden Look-Look Book of the same name from 1982).
Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...
produced a series of four Which Way books for the Super Powers line titled ''Superman: The Man of Steel'' (), ''Supergirl: The Girl of Steel'' (), ''Justice League of America'' (), and ''Batman: The Doomsday Prophecy'' ()/(distributed in the UK by Carousel).
DuPont Dupont, DuPont, Du Pont, duPont, or du Pont may refer to: People * Dupont (surname) Dupont, also spelled as DuPont, duPont, Du Pont, or du Pont is a French surname meaning "of the bridge", historically indicating that the holder of the surname re ...
Pharmaceuticals and the National Association of Retail Druggists commissioned ''Super Powers: Good Health Activity Book'' (1986) which promoted fitness and health education for children. This black & white book went through four printings up to 1989 though later editions were titled ''DC Comics Super Heroes: Good Health Activity Book''. The "DC Comics Super Heroes" logo would replace the Super Powers logo on merchandise when the line died out (especially in 1989 when Toy Biz reused many of the action figure molds for their DC Comics Super Heroes line). Only the toy line carried the "Collection" tag; all other merchandise would have a solo "Super Powers" logo. Superman: The Game would acquire the Super Powers logo in later releases. The
DC Heroes ''DC Heroes'' is an out-of-print superhero role-playing game set in the DC Universe and published by Mayfair Games. Other than sharing the same licensed setting, ''DC Heroes'' is unrelated to the West End Games ''DC Universe'' or the more recen ...
role-playing modules were advertised under the Super Powers banner and featured the logo on its printed materials. Select boxes of
Heinz The Kraft Heinz Foods Company, formerly the H. J. Heinz Company and commonly known as Heinz (), is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Henry J. Heinz in 1869. ...
Superman Sugar Free Hot Cocoa Mix with NutraSweet were packaged with a Super Powers sticker. These stickers included Brainiac, Captain Cold, Lex Luthor, and three variants of Superman. Canada Fancy Superman French Fries featured a mail-in offer for the Clark Kent action figure and a sweepstakes to win a figure from the line. Canadian Shell Gasoline Stations offered a promotion for a coupon for a specially carded action figure from the line for purchasing 25 liters. According to the ''1984 Consumer Promotions Catalogue'', Sunnyland Refining Co. Superman brand Peanut Butter would offer coupons for action figures, Supermobile, Lex-Soar 7, and Batmobile. However, the jars never appeared to surface with the promotion. Some aspects of the line persist even in recent history, such as in 1993 temporary tattoos and eight pins (featuring Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the Flash) sold by the Warner Bros. Studio Store, a 2009 calendar in Australia, comic strip-like pajamas offered at
Target Target may refer to: Warfare and shooting * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artille ...
in 2009, underwear briefs and boxers, and school supplies. In 2011,
Sideshow Collectibles Sideshow Collectibles is an American specialty manufacturer of movie, film, television and collectible action figures, statues, and high end pieces. Sideshow's licenses include ''Star Wars'', DC Comics, Marvel Comics, ''The Lord of the Rings'', D ...
and Mondo Tees offered a 24" by 36" screen print drawn by Tom Whalen featuring the characters of the Super Powers toyline limited to 250 pieces. In 2015, Huckleberry announced a Super Powers line of Otaku Mini-Posters with sixteen character posters. In 2017,
Cryptozoic Entertainment Cryptozoic Entertainment is an American publisher of board and card games, trading cards and collectibles based on both licensed and original intellectual properties. The company is well known for its "Cerberus Engine Game", the catch name for i ...
released a Super Powers set of six pennants using art from the line's cardbacks. Later that year, carded Super Powers figures of Superman and Mr. Mxyzptlk are shown in the background of a panel in ''Action Comics'' #975. In 2018, peppermints were released in a Super Powers collectors tin. For the ending credits of '' Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (2019), a poster drawn by Jack Kirby promoting the first ''Super Powers'' mini-series of comics is parodied featuring the
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), D ...
, Batman, Robin, and Batgirl vs the Joker, Penguin, Mr. Freeze, and Brainiac (the latter two in their Super Powers design). In April 2021, Trident Studios republished the initial twelve mini-comics in ''Super Powers Mini-Comics Collection - Volume 1''. This was followed in August 2021 with a second volume with the next eleven mini-comics. In February 2025,
DC Studios DC Studios is an American film and television production company that is a division of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). It is responsible for the production of live-action and animated films and television series, as well as video games, based ...
announced an animated series adaptation of the toyline was in development with
Warner Bros. Animation Warner Bros. Animation Inc. (abbreviated as WBA) is an American animation studio which is part of the Warner Bros. Television Group, a division of Warner Bros., which is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery and serves as the animation divis ...
. Titled ''DC Super Powers'', the series follows a group of new students at the Alliance School for Heroes—
Lightning Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...
,
the Flash The Flash is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date, cover-dated Jan ...
,
Plastic Man Plastic Man (Patrick "Eel" O'Brian) is a superhero featured in American comic books first appearing in ''Police Comics'' #1, originally published by Quality Comics and later acquired by DC Comics. Created by cartoonist Jack Cole (artist), Jack Co ...
, Aquagirl,
Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...
, and
Terra Terra may often refer to: * Terra (mythology), primeval Roman goddess * An alternate name for planet Earth, as well as the Latin name for the planet Terra may also refer to: Geography Astronomy * Terra (satellite), a multi-national NASA scient ...
—who hope to evolve their powers and graduate to become the next generation of heroes while being supervised by their principal
Martian Manhunter The Martian Manhunter (J'onn J'onzz) is a superhero in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Joseph Samachson and artist Joe Certa, the character first appeared in the story "The Manhunter from Mars" in ''Detective Comics ...
. Matt Beans was set to executive produce the series while Michael Chang was the supervising producer.


Lineup

Based on definitive style guide artwork, with moderate articulation and hidden action features, the Kenner Super Powers Collection eventually released 34 figures, eight vehicles, one playset, and one carrying case. In addition, Latin and South American toymakers introduced three characters not available in the US. In Argentina, toy company Pacipa (and later Play Ful) produced El Acertijo (Riddler), which was a Green Lantern figure in different paint. It was released in
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
under the Coleccion Super Amigos (Super Friends Collection) brand. Brazilian toy company "Gulliver Juguetes" produced El Capitán Rayo (Captain Lightning, but anglicized simply 'Captain Ray' on the card face), and his unique nemesis 'Hombre de las Nieves' (Abominable Snowman). Though most of the nine Gulliver Super Powers characters were branded 'Super Powers Collection' (the characters that Kenner also made), the unique Captain Ray and Abominable Snowman were released under the 'Super Heroes Collection' brand to distinguish them. They were available in
Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
. El Capitan Rayo was composed from a repainted Aquaman head on a Superman body. 'Hombre de las Nieves' was a Mego Pocket Hero
Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...
figure cast in white and gray plastic.


Series one


Series two


Series three


Mail-away exclusive


Foreign, non-Kenner


Vehicles


Playset


Unproduced figures

The Tower of Darkness playset featuring the likeness of Darkseid was far along in development yet never appeared on store shelves. Featured on action figure cards of the third wave, the set was previewed at the 1986 Toy Fair. After 10 years of chronicling the history of the Super Powers Collection, in 2003 toy historian Jason Geyer's ToyOtter website & collector James "Sallah" Sawyer revealed the never-before-seen designs for the unmade Series Four, Five, and Six, along with vehicles, playsets and a deluxe "Power Plus" figure line. Proposed action figures with supporting artwork revealed were
Man-Bat Man-Bat (Dr. Robert Kirkland "Kirk" Langstrom) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Introduced in ''Detective Comics'' #400 (June 1970) as an enemy of the superhero Batman, the character belongs to t ...
,
El Dorado El Dorado () is a mythical city of gold supposedly located somewhere in South America. The king of this city was said to be so rich that he would cover himself from head to foot in gold dust – either daily or on certain ceremonial occasions � ...
, Quadrex/Insecta Six/Bio Bug, Shockwave, Silicon, Blue Devil,
Bizarro Bizarro () is a supervillain or anti-hero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Otto Binder and artist George Papp as a "mirror image" of Superman, and first appeared in ''Superboy (comic bo ...
, Creeper,
Metallo Metallo () is the name of different supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an List of Superman enemies, adversary of Superman. All versions of the character are powered by kryptonite and are partially ...
, Executioner,
Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. Th ...
, John Stewart, Kid Flash, Manhunter,
Vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating, and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante is a person who practices or partakes in vigilantism, or undertakes public safety and retributive justice ...
, Mister Mxyzptlk, Black Vulcan, Reverse Flash,
Deathstroke Deathstroke is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, the character first appeared in ''The New Teen Titans'' #2 (December 1980) as Deathstroke the Terminator. In his co ...
,
Obsidian Obsidian ( ) is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed when lava extrusive rock, extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth. It is an igneous rock. Produced from felsic lava, obsidian is rich in the lighter element ...
, Black Racer, Atomic Knight, Howitzer, and variants of Superman ( Robot Superman and
Kryptonite Kryptonite is a fictional material that appears primarily in Superman stories published by DC Comics. In its best-known form, it is a green, crystalline material originating from Superman's home world of Krypton (comics), Krypton that emits a u ...
Superman). The Power Plus Line featured Superman, Batman, Firestorm, Cyborg, Rocketman, Darkseid,
Wonder Twins The Wonder Twins (Zan and Jayna) are a fictional extraterrestrial twin brother and sister superhero duo who first appeared in Hanna-Barbera's American animated television series '' The All-New Super Friends Hour''. The pair can activate their ...
, Robin, and an unidentified hawk person. Vehicles include All-Terrain Trapper, Brainiac Brain Ship, Cyborg Crawler, Fist Fighter, Jump Jet, Snooper Scout, Superman Glider, and Plasticman Car. Further, there was a golden assortment for Superman to represent his 50th anniversary with a golden repaint of Superman, the Supermobile, and collector's case. Much like how Steppenwolf was originally a mail-away figure that later formally joined the line, card art of Clark Kent surfaced indicating the figure would have joined the line in the fourth wave. While a
Catwoman Catwoman is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, she debuted as "the Cat" in ''Batman (comic book), Batman'' #1 (spring 1940). She has become one of the superhero Batman' ...
action figure was long believed to be in the works, no material discovered supports its existence beyond the initial pitch of Kenner to acquire the license. Other figures were suggested to be in development but no tangible evidence has surfaced to support their existence. Amongst these were Blue Beetle,
Booster Gold Booster Gold (Michael Jon "Booster" Carter) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Dan Jurgens, the character first appeared in ''Booster Gold (comic book), Booster Gold'' #1 (February 1986) and has be ...
,
Batgirl Batgirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, depicted as female counterparts and allies to the superhero Batman. The character Bette Kane, Betty Kane was introduced into publica ...
, Solomon Grundy,
Swamp Thing Swamp Thing is a superhero and antihero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, the Swamp Thing has had several different incarnations throughout his publication. The ch ...
, Metron, Lightray,
Power Girl Power Girl, also known as Kara Zor-L, Karen Starr, and Paige Stetler, is a superheroine appearing in American comic books by DC Comics, making her first appearance in ''All Star Comics'' #58 (January/February 1976).''Who's Who in the DC Unive ...
, Dream Girl, and
Dawnstar Dawnstar is a superheroine appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, primarily as a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th and 31st centuries. She was created by Paul Levitz and Mike Grell, and first appeared in ''Superboy and ...
. It was suggested that the Snare Arm Swamp Thing from the
Swamp Thing Swamp Thing is a superhero and antihero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, the Swamp Thing has had several different incarnations throughout his publication. The ch ...
toyline was made from a figure slated for the Super Powers line but this was shown to be false. The ''Toys That Time Forgot Volume 2'' by Blake Wright featured a chapter on unproduced Super Powers toys.


Influence

Prior to the Super Powers Collection, one manufacturer (in this case, the Mego Corporation) licensed both DC and Marvel characters for action figures. When the
Secret Wars ''Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars'', commonly known as ''Secret Wars'', is a 12-issue American comic book Fictional crossover, crossover limited series published from May 1984 to April 1985 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Jim Shooter ...
toy line by Mattel, came onto the retail toy scene, it was set up as direct competition for the Kenner line. These figures, similar in scale to the Super Powers Collection, introduced a competing marketing strategy between manufacturers of Marvel and DC action figures. This started the trend of Marvel and DC using competing toy manufacturers to produce their toys—a trend that continues to this day.


1985

In 1985, DC Comics named Kenner as one of the honorees in the company's 50th anniversary publication '' Fifty Who Made DC Great'' for its work on the Super Powers Collection.


1986

In 1986, discount retail chain Zayre produced a Christmas commercial depicting Batman and Robin based largely on the earlier live action television series. However, the costumes the Dynamic Duo wore were almost exact copies of the Super Powers action figures (Batman's powder blue coloring of particular note) during what ended up being the toyline's final run on stores' shelves.


1988

Beginning in 1988, Hamilton Gifts produced a line of poseable dolls with stands using similar designs to the Super Powers line. Released under their Presents and, later, Applause banner, the figures ran from thirteen to fifteen inches in height and included Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, Flash, and Joker (with the release of the
Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
film, the Batman doll was repainted black). With the release of ''
Batman Returns ''Batman Returns'' is a 1992 American superhero film directed by Tim Burton and written by Daniel Waters (screenwriter), Daniel Waters. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, it is the sequel to ''Batman (1989 film), Batman'' (1989) and th ...
'', Penguin and Catwoman dolls were also manufactured. Similar to Mego, Hamilton also produced other popular fictional franchises such as Marvel and ''
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...
''. Miniature PVC figurines were also produced based on those designs of Batman, Robin, Joker, Superman, Wonder Woman, and the Penguin (designs based on the characters in ''Batman Returns'' were also made which included Catwoman). Also in 1988, Canadian discount retail chain
Zellers Zellers was a Canadian discount store chain founded by Walter P. Zeller in 1931. It was acquired by the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) in 1978, and after a series of acquisitions and expansions, peaked with 350 locations in 1999. However, fierce ...
produced a series of animated commercials depicting Batman and Robin battling their foes in the Joker, Penguin, Catwoman, and the Riddler. The Joker and the Penguin used the Super Powers color scheme notably including the Penguin's red, yellow, and blue umbrella.


1989

The Super Powers line, in many ways, inspired the 1989 Toy Biz DC Super Heroes toyline in design. This line, merging with the
Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
toyline (where the Batman and Joker prototypes were Super Powers repaints and some versions of those finished figures borrowed elements from the Kenner toys) would borrow design elements from many of the Kenner figures, most notably Superman, Robin, and Penguin—who were near identical copies of the Kenner Super Powers figures. In Brazil, the Estrela Batman figure was a repainted Super Powers with the Toy Biz card. Coinciding with Toy Biz's line, Ertl produced the DC Comics Superheroes miniature die cast metal figurines line using the same branding and model design. Figurines included Batman (2 poses), Superman (2 poses), Robin, Joker, Penguin, Green Lantern, Shazam, and Supergirl. In a throwback to the Super Powers line, figurines came with a collector card reprinting a classic comic book cover reminiscent of Kenner's mini-comics. Hamilton Gifts produced Christmas ornaments of Superman, Batman, and Robin using their classic designs as part of the DC Comics Superheroes line. A La Carte/Saydah also released a beach towel of Batman and the Batmobile which used the Super Powers design of the vehicle. The same year as Toy Biz's DC Super Heroes, Comics Spain began to produce a series of PVC figurines based on their appearance in the Super Powers and DC Super Heroes lines. Released from 1989 to 1992, figurines included Superman (with two different poses), Batman (as well as a black variant based on the 1989 film), Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Wonder Woman, Starfire, and Green Arrow. The line finished out with Batman, Catwoman, and Penguin figurines based on ''Batman Returns''.


1990

Kenner would use the Super Powers Joker's body with a new head sculpt and different color scheme for its Sky Escape Joker from its 1990 Dark Knight Collection. Elements of that Joker evolved over the years into the Dark Knight Collection's Knock-Out Joker (1990), Warner Brothers Studio Store exclusive Batman Movie Collection's Batman vs. the Joker Joker (1997), and Hasbro's Wal-Mart exclusive World of Batman Plasma Glow Joker (2000). The Dark Knight Collection's Batcopter was also a repaint of the Super Powers one. Kenner also acquired the license for ''
The Flash The Flash is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date, cover-dated Jan ...
'' and produced a prototype until the show's cancellation saw the toyline similarly concluded (Australian company LHT re-released the Toy Biz Flash with a card using Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez' style guide art for the show). Kenner then gained the ''
Swamp Thing Swamp Thing is a superhero and antihero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, the Swamp Thing has had several different incarnations throughout his publication. The ch ...
'' license and made toys for the brand. Separate lines for Batman, Flash, and Swamp Thing would have aligned with Kenner's original pitch to make toylines for DC's different franchises.


1991

Kenner's 1991 ''
Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...
'' toyline was largely made using parts from the molds of the Super Powers line, predominantly Green Arrow. Both Robin Hood figures used Green Arrow's body and figures like
Little John Little John is a companion of Robin Hood who serves as his chief lieutenant and second-in-command of the Merry Men. He is one of only a handful of consistently named characters who relate to Robin Hood and one of the two oldest Merry Men, alo ...
, Dark Warrior, Azeem, the Sheriff of Nottingham, and Will Scarlett were created by combining parts of figures including Green Arrow, Hawkman, Batman, Captain Marvel, Lex Luthor, Robin, and DeSaad. Some other known molded parts came from Star Wars and
RoboCop ''RoboCop'' is a 1987 American Science fiction film, science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen (actress), Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Dani ...
.


1992

Kenner's 1992 ''Batman Returns'' toyline featured a repainted Super Powers Penguin action figure to match a color scheme more in line with the film's themes.


1994

Kenner's 1994 ''
The Shadow The Shadow is a fictional character created by American magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by Gibs ...
'' toyline employed similar mechanisms and scale to the Super Powers figures. Some collectors consider the Lightning Draw Shadow figure to be something of a lost Super Powers addition (similarly to Kenner's 1990 Snare Arm Swamp Thing). Under its P&M brand, Gulliver released action figures for Superman and
Superboy Superboy is an identity used by several fictional superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. These characters have been featured in several eponymous comic series, in addition to ''Adventure Comics'' and other series ...
under the brand Super Powers in 1994.


1996

In 1996, Kenner once again began producing an expansive DC Comics toyline with Batman Total Justice. Like with Super Powers, DC Comics published a tie-in comic book. Kenner produced fourteen figures before the line ended but in 1998, several figures from Total Justice (as well as unreleased figures) were re-issued for the JLA toyline.


1997

In 1997, Christian M. Lagore opened Super Powers Inc. in Calgary as a carpet cleaning and moving company. The business name and its logo is a homage to the toyline.


1998

In 1998, CustomCon was founded as an online event to display customized action figures as if they were being presented at a Toy Fair or Comic-Con. Since its inception, Super Powers has had a dominant presence as part of the event.


2003

In 2003, DC Direct produced a Super Friends line of action figures but they were based on the original Alex Toth designs rather than the José Luis García-López art that Super Powers was based upon. The DC Direct line included Superman and Lex Luthor (with miniature Hall of Doom), Batman and Scarecrow (with miniature Batplane), Robin and the Riddler (with miniature Batmobile), Wonder Woman and
Cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large Felidae, cat and the Fastest animals, fastest land animal. It has a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The head is small and rounded, wit ...
(with miniature Invisible Jet), Green Lantern and
Sinestro Thaal Sinestro () (or simply Sinestro) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, particularly those featuring Green Lantern. Created by John Broome and Gil Kane, Sinestro is a former Green Lantern Corps member w ...
(with miniature Hall of Justice), and Aquaman and Black Manta (with miniature Manta-Sub). By 2005, DC Direct began re-releasing figures as part of their Reactivated line with Super Friends making up its third wave. Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman were re-released in 2007 singularly with the addition of the Flash.


2008

Mattel's DC Universe Classics line also draws inspiration from the Super Powers figures. Several figures that were redesigned for the Super Powers line (Mantis, Parademon, Steppenwolf, and Mister Freeze) were produced for DC Universe Classics in both comic-accurate and Super Powers-accurate versions. In addition, figures for Cyclotron and Golden Pharaoh were released as part of DC Universe Classics, even though both characters only appeared as part of the Super Powers line. The Penguin released in the first wave is set to be re-released with a new head sculpt and repaint matching the Super Powers figure. In total, every figure produced for Super Powers has also been produced for DC Universe Classics and associate lines and much of the figures set to be produced for Super Powers prior to the line's cancellation has also been produced for DC Universe Classics. In 2014, Mattel produced a special series of DC Universe Classics-style figures for their online store, MattyCollector.Com, on enlarged Super Powers packaging. The assortment consisted of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, now with color schemes matching their Super Powers incarnations, a gold-uniformed Superman, which was reportedly in the works for the original Super Powers line to commemorate Superman's then-50th anniversary, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) recolored as the Riddler as he was in the South American line (complete with color variances in the green), and an all-new figure of Mr. Mxyzptlk. There was also a "Collect-and-Connect" figure of Kalibak in his Super Powers color scheme. In 2017, Mattel as part of its DC Comics Multiverse line produced Wal-Mart exclusive Super Friends figures for Aquaman, Batman, Superman, and Green Lantern.


2011

A light-up Bearbrick based on the Green Lantern's lantern battery sold exclusively at the 2011
San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...
to tie-in with the Green Lantern feature film features card art based on that of the Super Powers toyline. A Bearbrick in similar fashion was produced for SDCC in 2012 for Batman, Robin, Superman, and Plastic Man, 2013 for Cyborg and the Riddler, and 2014 for Joker and Green Lantern. Also in 2011, Downtown Bookworks released ''My First Batman Book: Touch and Feel'' by David Bar Katz in its DC Super Heroes series which employed the Super Powers design of the Batmobile and made heavy use of depictions of DC characters from the DC Comics Style Guide by José Luis García-López. Two years later, Downtown followed this with ''The Official DC Super Hero Cookbook: 60+ Simple, Tasty Recipes for Growing Super Heroes'' by Matthew Mead which used the Super Powers shooting stars graphics inside its pages. The next year, ''Super Heroes: My First Dictionary'' by Michael Robin depicted the Super Powers design of the Batmobile and Batcopter. 2015 brought the DC Super Hero Starter Kit whose logo for the box set used a variation of the Super Powers logo. The set collected four DC Super Heroes concept board books in ''ABC 123'', ''Colors and Shapes'', ''Opposites'', and ''Busy Bodies'' by David Bar Katz. There were two variations of the box set art both featuring the variant Super Powers logo. Subsequently, the publisher released more books in the series in 2016 in ''The Big Book of Superpowers'' by Morris Katz and ''On the Go!'' by Julie Merberg depicting the Super Powers design of the Batmobile (as well as the Super Powers Batcopter in the latter). Then in 2017, ''Awesome Activities for Super Heroes'' by Sarah Parvis saw the Super Powers design of Mr. Freeze (misidentified as Dr. Freeze) and ''The Big Book of Batman'' by Noah Smith featured several images of the Super Powers designed Batcopter. 2022 brought ''Colors and Capes, Sizes and Shapes'' by Morris Katz which featured the Super Powers Batmobile. 86HERO in 2011 produced Super Powers brand covers for the iPhone 4. These include covers with the symbols and colors of Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, and the Flash and clear covers with José Luis García-López style guide art and a symbol stand for Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern.


2012

Westland Giftware produced a Batmobile cookie jar based upon the Super Powers design in 2012. The '' Robot Chicken DC Comics Special'' logo borrows heavily from the Super Powers logo. The Super Powers Hall of Justice is used but is painted white to be more in line with the Super Friends.


2013

In 2013, Medicom released an advertisement for its Previews-exclusive DC Heroes Sofubi figures of Batman and the Joker using the Super Powers card art graphics as its background. Packaging and promotion for the anime '' Wanna Be the Strongest in the World'' also used a variation of the Super Powers card art for its character backgrounds. Also in 2013, Trevco Child Code produced a t-shirt entitled DC Universe that presented a multitude of DC Comics characters from the style guide art of José Luis García-López. Depicted included the Super Powers versions of Mr. Freeze, Kalibak, Orion, Mantis, Steppenwolf, and Parademon as well as Super Powers characters Cyclotron and Golden Pharaoh. 80sTees.com also produced a variation of the same collage.


2014

In 2014, Figures Toy Company announced production of a line based on Mego's World's Greatest Superheroes called World's Greatest Heroes but with Super Powers cardbacks including the brand's logo. The figures have a switch on their back that makes the arms fling up-and-down reminiscent of the original line. Two series were initially revealed with Superman, Aquaman, Green Arrow, and Shazam and Batman, Robin, Joker, and the Riddler. The line grew to include the Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Plastic Man, Hawkman, Red Tornado, Firestorm, and Doctor Fate. A carrying case for the figures was also produced for the line. Darkseid, Kalibak, and DeSaad have been announced to be in development. By 2015, Figures began production of a separate Super Friends line with dozens of figures. Kidrobot announced Super Powers mini-figures in 2014 of Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Arrow, Shazam, and Firestorm.
Singapore Post Singapore Post Limited, commonly abbreviated as SingPost, is an associate company of Singtel and Singapore's designated Public Postal Licensee which provides domestic and international postal services. It also provides logistics services in th ...
announced the DC Comics Justice League & Batman 75th Anniversary MyStamp Collection in 2014 which featured a modified Super Powers logo with the Justice League of America shield logo wrapped in the shooting star Super Powers border. The cover also included images from the DC Comics Super Powers Style Guide. Mexican retail chain Máscara De Látex produced five phone cases of DC characters with Super Powers-inspired packaging in 2014. The cases depicted Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Joker, and assorted DC super heroes, respectively.


2015

In 2015, Kotobukiya announced an ArtFX+ collection of statues based on the Super Powers toyline that included Superman, Batman, Robin, Green Lantern, Flash, Hawkman, Aquaman, and Wonder Woman.


2016

In 2016, Monogram produced a Super Powers line of 3D figural keychains featuring Superman, Batman, Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Darkseid, Shazam, Martian Manhunter, Hawkman, Plastic Man, Firestorm, and Doctor Fate. That same year, Huckleberry announced a Super Powers line for its Yubi's Fingerines brand. Announced figures included Batman, Robin, Joker, Penguin, Flash, Aquaman, Darkseid, Parademon, Firestorm, Plastic Man, Mister Miracle, and Samurai.


2017

In 2017, Decopac released a cake topper based on the Super Powers Batcopter called Batman Chase is On DecoSet.


2018

In 2018,
Sideshow Collectibles Sideshow Collectibles is an American specialty manufacturer of movie, film, television and collectible action figures, statues, and high end pieces. Sideshow's licenses include ''Star Wars'', DC Comics, Marvel Comics, ''The Lord of the Rings'', D ...
announced the Super Powers Collection maquette series by Tweeterhead featuring Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Joker, Supergirl, Catwoman, Harley Quinn, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Donna Troy, Starfire,
Bud and Lou Abbott and Costello were an American comedy duo composed of comedians Bud Abbott William Alexander "Bud" Abbott (October 2, 1897 – April 24, 1974) was an American comedian, actor and producer. He was best known as the straight man in ...
, Mr. Mxyzptlk, Shazam, Batgirl, Gleek, Steppenwolf, Cheetah, Black Adam, Darkseid, and variants of Batman and Cheetah. Also in 2018 at Designer Con, DKE Toys produced a limited run of twenty action figures by Bombermat Toys of BADMAL, a parody of Batman depicted on a Super Powers inspired cardback. Instead of Super Powers, the logo read "No Soy Tu Super Amigo." Also in 2018, PinRaiders began to produce the Super Pin Powers series of decorative enamel pins. The pins based on the Super Powers action figures and sold on cards inspired by the original packaging, characters produced thus far include Wonder Woman, Superman, Green Lantern, Flash, Aquaman, Hawkman, Robin, Batman, Martian Manhunter, Darkseid, Reverse-Flash, Batman Beyond, Man-Bat, Joker, Bizarro, Diana Prince, Steve Trevor, Brainiac, Cheetah, Penguin, Kalibak, Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, Giganta, and DeSaad with a multitude of variants. Batgirl, Riddler, Wonder Girl, and more variants are in development. A cork pin board in the image of the Hall of Justice playset emerged in 2021 with a Hall of Doom board on the way and Invisible Jet board teased for the future.


2019

The mini-series ''Sister Powers'' by Mario Wytch and Jeff McClelland from Keenspot uses a logo inspired by the Super Powers logo.


2020

In 2020, Hasbro began to produce the Marvel Legends Retro 3.75 line. Resurrecting the Kenner brand for the figures, the series acts as almost something of re-imagining if Kenner had the Marvel license rather than Mattel during the 1980s (forming something of a Super Powers/Secret Wars hybrid). The line persists in 2023 with nearly four dozen figures. Brazil-based Sequela Boards has announced it will be releasing eight skateboards using art from the Super Powers cardbacks for its Sequela Powers line. Characters Aquaman, Batman, Cyborg, Flash, Joker, Robin, Superman, and Wonder Woman will be featured.


2021

ManOrMonster? studios announced an expansion to its Warlords of Wor line of Glyos figures in Power Tribes. Inspired by Super Powers (both in design and packaging), thirteen figures are planned with the initial wave including Power Arm (Cyborg), Swamp King Bog-Nar (Swamp Thing), Nuclear Man (Lex Luthor), and Technodemon (Parademon). This was followed with wave two in Rocket Shot (Tyr), Astro-Punch (Orion), Mister Kismet (Doctor Fate), Monsieur Fyth Dee (Mr. Mxyzptlk), and Action Archer (Green Arrow) and wave three with Atomic Man (Firestorm), Quiver (Speedy), PVC Man/Monster (Plastic Man), Benthicman (Aquaman), and Terminus (Deathstroke).


2022

In 2022, Boss Fight Studio announced the Power Stars toyline. Inspired by Super Powers and initially featuring characters from
King Features Syndicate King Features Syndicate, Inc. is an American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product License, licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, columnist, newspape ...
, including
Flash Gordon Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established ''Buck Rogers'' ...
and
The Phantom ''The Phantom'' is an American adventure comic strip, first published by Lee Falk in February 1936. The main character, the Phantom, is a fictional costumed crime-fighter who operates from the fictional African country of Bangalla. The char ...
, Power Stars uses a similar scale and appearance as its name itself is a nod to Super Powers. The line was expanded in 2023 with "Male Blank," a customizable figure. Fresh Monkey Fiction and Toy Otter similarly announced a Super Powers-inspired toyline in the Longbox Heroes Collection. Teaming with Big Bad Toy Store, buyers decided with their dollars which action figures were produced by a buying threshold. Characters included the Tick, Grendel, Goon, Madman, Cassie Hack (''Hack/Slash''), and Mr. Monster. The Rocketeer proved so successful, it developed something of a subline with the Black Phantom, Onslaught Trooper, Oblivion Trooper, Hellfire Trooper, Subzero Trooper, and Badlands Trooper.


2023

In 2023, PinForce started a Super Powers series of DC MicroHeroes pins. Thus far, the line includes the Penguin, Golden Pharaoh, Brainiac, Cyclotron, Rocket Man, and Quadrex. DeSaad, Parademon, Silicon, Mantis, and the Super Powers logo are slated for release next. Trends International produced a poster entitled DC Comics - The Lineup featuring many of DC's characters predominantly pulled from José Luis García-López' style guide art. Included in the collage were the Super Powers depictions of Kalibak, Steppenwolf, Parademon, Mantis, and Mr. Freeze as well as the Super Powers character Cyclotron.


Foreign production

Kenner Products produced figures packaged for the US domestic market and, as with their Star Wars master toy license, also sub-licensed production of the Super Powers Collection brand, characters, and toys around the world. Just as Kenner/DC Comics created the characters Cyclotron and Golden Pharaoh to augment the Super Powers franchise, so too some sub-licensees took it upon themselves to produce characters/figures beyond those available in the domestic Kenner lineup. Interestingly enough, the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
sold in its gift shop in 1988 as part of its "Superman, Many Lives, Many Worlds" exhibit celebrating Superman's 50th birthday bagged Estrela Superman figures with a unique design on his cape.


Bootlegs and custom figures


Extra Powers

Scott Fleming of Scooter's Custom Works produced a limited line of custom action figures based on the Super Powers Collection so far as to print a color catalog of his wares advertised in the newspaper Toy Shop in the early 1990s. He hand-produced cards in the Super Powers style using bubbles from the line to attach the figures to the cards. When figures from the line appeared on eBay, they were speculated to be knock-offs possibly from Mexico until corrected by Julius Marx of Action Figure Insider who clarified the line's history. Some known figures include Batgirl, Catwoman, Kid Flash, Blue Beetle, John Stewart, Atom (Ray Palmer), Captain Atom,
Guy Gardner Guy Gardner may refer to: * Guy Gardner (astronaut) (born 1948), United States Air Force officer and former astronaut * Guy Gardner (character) Guy Darrin Gardner, one of the characters known as Green Lantern, is a superhero appearing in American ...
, Animal Man, Metamorpho, Booster Gold,
Black Canary Black Canary is the name of two superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. As one of the earliest female superheroes in the DC Comics universe, the character has made numerous appearances in prominent team-up titles, ...
, Nightwing, Aqualad, Speedy, Wonder Girl, Alan Scott, Atom (Al Pratt), Spectre, Dr. Mid-Nite, Man-Bat, Lobo, The Demon, Black Manta, and Supergirl. Marx's figures were numbered to be of a lot of 91 produced.


Industrial Toy Werks

In 2009, several action figures claimed as a lost wave of Super Powers to be found overseas began to appear on
eBay eBay Inc. ( , often stylized as ebay) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that allows users to buy or view items via retail sales through online marketplaces and websites in 190 markets worldwide. ...
. Further, they were said to be produced by Industrial Toy Werks in
Astana Astana is the capital city of Kazakhstan. With a population of 1,423,726 within the city limits, it is the second-largest in the country after Almaty, which had been the capital until 1997. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim ...
,
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
. Julius Marx of Action Figure Insider purchased a
Mirror Master Mirror Master is the name of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is a recurring foe of the Flash (comics), Flash with considerable technical expertise and skills involving the use of mirrors. Three ...
from the line and discovered it to be composed of repainted parts of the Flash, Doctor Fate, and Shazam with a custom sculpted head cast in solid resin (heavier in weight than the original line). CantinaDan, also of Action Figure Insider, bought The Dragon and learned its body was a repainted Doctor Fate with a custom sculpted head and the parts held together internally by a rubber band. The back card of the figure lists Blue Beetle, Captain Marvel (without cape), Supergirl, Gleek, Zan, Jayna,
Black Lightning Black Lightning (Jefferson Michael "Jeff" Pierce) is a superhero who appears in American comic book published by DC Comics. The character, created by writer Jenny Blake Isabella with artist Trevor Von Eeden, first appeared in ''Black Lightning'' ...
, The Dragon, Booster Gold, Apache Chief,
Captain Atom Captain Atom is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books, initially owned by Charlton Comics before being acquired in the 1980s by DC Comics. All possess some form of energy-manipulating abilities, usually relating to nuc ...
, Wendy, Marvin and Wonder Dog, Mirror Master,
Sinestro Thaal Sinestro () (or simply Sinestro) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, particularly those featuring Green Lantern. Created by John Broome and Gil Kane, Sinestro is a former Green Lantern Corps member w ...
,
Black Adam Black Adam (Teth-Adam) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He was created by Otto Binder and C. C. Beck, and first appeared in the debut issue of Fawcett Comics' '' The Marvel Family'' comic book ...
, Riddler, Brainiac (in Silver Age appearance), and
Black Manta Black Manta (David Milton Hyde) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Bob Haney and artist Nick Cardy, the character first appeared in ''Aquaman'' #35 (September 1967). He has since endured a ...
as part of the so-called unknown line. Figures claimed to feature either "Wind-Up and Release Punching Action" or "Magnetic Power Parts" though Marx found his Mirror Master purchase to not have the magnetic claims. A "Display Environment" called "Darksied's Fortress" icwas also purported.


Other non-licensed

In the Spring of 1997, a bootleg line of Super Powers figures began appearing out of Canada and Mexico packaged with a "Made in China" logo. Featuring Superman, Batman, Robin, and
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...
, the size of the figures were more like the traditional Mego line (perhaps going so far as to use them as a basis) and only the Superman figure was packaged with the official Super Powers logo.


Gentle Giant

Toy manufacturing company Gentle Giant, who uses 3D scanning technology to closely reproduce older toys at different scales, announced in 2015 it would produce a 12" Jumbo line of Super Powers initially teasing Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Robin, Joker, and the Flash. Green Arrow, Lex Luthor, and the Penguin were also later announced but the latter two were never produced. So-called "prototype" jumbo Superman and Batman featuring gray figures with colored capes was produced exclusively for San Diego Comic-Con in 2016 on slim cardbacks. Micro 3" figures of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Joker, Flash, and Lex Luthor were also produced (Luthor was Walgreens exclusive).


McFarlane Toys

5" Figures from a Super Powers line from McFarlane Toys began to appear unannounced in
Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...
stores in 2022. The initial release included Batman, Superman, and Darkseid as well as vehicles in the Batwing and Supermobile. A second wave emerged soon after including John Stewart, Batman Who Laughs, and the Flash. At New York Comic-Con, it was announced wave three including Deathstroke, Wonder Woman, and Nightwing as well as the Batmobile and Invisible Jet will be hitting stores in Spring 2023. Overseas retailers indicate for 2024, the series will expand with variants for Batman (gold), Superman (Lord), Flash (gold), and Batman of Zur-En-Arrh as well as figures for Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) and Sinestro (Superfriends).


Variants


Box Sets


Store exclusives


Vehicles


See also

* List of Super Powers minicomics *
Super Jrs. Super Juniors are a group of fictional DC Comics characters based on members of the Justice League of America, designed as baby versions to appeal to younger audiences and introduce them to the publisher's most popular properties. At Kenner's requ ...


References


Further reading

*


External links


Jason Geyer's Super Powers Archive

Super Powers Collection


on X-Entertainment.com
Kenner Super Powers Blog 1

Super Powers Blog 2


by Thomas Wheeler on MasterCollector.com
Super powers? Sure, why not?
(analysis on fake figures) on ToyNerd.com {{Superhero toy lines DC Comics action figure lines Hasbro products Batman toys Super Friends 1980s toys Products introduced in 1984 Justice League in other media Products and services discontinued in 1986