Remember The Short-Lived 1987 Action Figure Line SUPER NATURALS!?
There were a lot of toy lines in the ‘80s. Some of them were popular, like G.I. Joe and Transformers, and there were many others that, for some reason, didn’t quite catch on. Some of those that weren’t very popular were still really cool like Super Naturals!
Super Naturals were launched in 1987 by Tonka, and they ended up being canceled after only just one wave of figures were released. It’s kinda sad! I enjoyed these figures. I’ve always been a fan of horror, even as a kid I was into horror and fascinated by the supernatural, so these figures spoke to me.
The Super Naturals action figures featured flattened chests and faces, and they included a spooky holographic sticker on those surfaces. These figures were darker and more sinister than most toys at the time for kids as the hologram stickers revealed the characters as ghosts, skeletons, and mummies. There were a few other hologram toys in the ‘80s including the Visionaries, which came out after, but I’ll talk about that line another time.
I also loved the packaging with the spooky forest backdrops. I just had to own these! They were described as "Ghost Warriors with double-channel holograms."
The story behind the Super Natural was told via the back of the packaging and they also came with mini-comics that came with each figure. They were a group of hero and villainous warriors who were sealed in the Tomb of Doom, only to be released hundreds of years later. As ghosts, these foes are destined to do battle once more.
The heroes were led by Lionheart and the villains were led by Skull. The six main characters came with a glow-in-the-dark weapon and a holographic shield. These figures also had a chest piece and helmet which hide the hologram beneath. These bigger figures also came with a chest piece that clipped over the hologram and a helmet, and they looked so cool when all the accessories were snapped on.
The smaller figures, which were cheaper, were called “Ghostlings” and there were eight of them. These eerily cloaked figures came with glow-in-dark swords and the plastic cloak could be removed. I owned a few of these figures because they were the cheaper ones.
It’s the holograms that really made the figures, though! That’s what made them special and that’s the reason why I wanted them. The hologram art was also incredibly detailed. Some of the designs included magicians that could transform into a rabbit holding a top hat, that had a tiny version of himself inside the hat. The evil villains were a lot more creepy, with the character Skull, transforming from a bare chested, one-eyed warrior into a decomposing skeleton.
The toy line also included a series of vehicles and an action playset. That playset came with a removable coffin that laid underneath a helmet-clad, skull. The coffin came with an escape hatch, which would make any figure placed in it, disappear, revealing an eerie ghostly hologram instead. I loved the macabre style of this line!
The reason the toy line failed was because the figures were expensive to make, and they didn’t sell very well. It’s a shame because they were very unique at the time, and they stood out, at least for me.