Steel Monsters were a toy series from the Tonka company in the 1980s
Produced in 1986 and 1987 by Tonka, they were well-made and colorful 3-3/4" figures, each having its own mini-comic. Sub-labeled as "The Only Survivors", they were very reminiscent of the Mad Max genre, with Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome coming out the year before.
Individual carded figures came with a mini-comic book to introduce the character. They were broken down into good/bad guy teams, the Survivors (the good guys - their vehicles were tan-colored) and the Marauders (the bad guys - their vehicles were black).
Mad Max 2 is a 1981 Australian post-apocalyptic dystopian action film directed by George Miller. It is the second installment in the Mad Max franchise, with Mel Gibson reprising his role as "Mad Max" Rockatansky. The film's tale of a community of settlers moved to defend themselves against a roving band of marauders follows an archetypical "Western" frontier movie motif, as does Max's role as a hardened man whose decision to assist the settlers helps him rediscover his humanity. Filming took place in locations around Broken Hill, in the Outback of New South Wales.
Bucky O'Hare is a fictional character and the hero of an eponymous comic book series and spin-off media, including an animated TV series and various toys and video games. He was created by comic book writer Larry Hama and comic book artist Michael Golden between 1977 and 1978 and made its publishing debut in Echo of Futurepast #1 in May 1984 Continuity Comics.
Kenner Products, known simply as Kenner, was an American toy company founded in 1946. Throughout its history, the Kenner brand produced several highly recognizable toys and merchandise lines including action figures like the original series of Star Wars, Jurassic Park and Batman as well as die cast models. The company was closed and merged by its corporate parent Hasbro in 2000.
Tonka is an American producer of toy trucks. The company is known for making steel toy models of construction type trucks and machinery. Maisto International, which makes die-cast vehicles, acquired the rights to use the Tonka name in a line of 1:64 scale, featuring mostly trucks.
Masters of the Universe is a sword and planet-themed media franchise created by Mattel. The main premise revolves around the conflict between He-Man and Skeletor on the planet Eternia, with a vast lineup of supporting characters in a hybrid setting of medieval sword and sorcery, and sci-fi technology. A follow-up series, She-Ra: Princess of Power revolves around He-Man's sister She-Ra and her rebellion against The Horde on the planet Etheria. Since its initial launch, the franchise has spawned a variety of products, including multiple lines of action figures, six animated television series, several comic series, video games, books and magazines, a daily newspaper comic strip, and two feature films.
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome is a 1985 Australian post-apocalyptic dystopian action film directed by George Miller and George Ogilvie and written by Miller and Terry Hayes. It stars Mel Gibson and Tina Turner in a story of a lone roving warrior who is exiled into the desert, and there encounters an isolated child cargo cult, centred on a crashed Boeing 747 and its deceased captain.
Spiral Zone is a 1987 American science-fiction animated series produced by Atlantic/Kushner-Locke. Spiral Zone was animated by Japanese studio Visual 80 as well as South Korean studio AKOM. Based in part from a toy line made by Japanese company Bandai, the series focused on an international group of soldiers fighting to free the world from a scientist who controls much of the Earth's surface. It only ran for one season, with a total count of 65 episodes.
Big Jim was a line of action figure toys produced from 1972 through 1986 by Mattel for the North American and European markets. He was renamed Kid Acero in Latin America and, for a short period of time, Mark Strong in Europe. Originally inspired by G.I. Joe, the Big Jim line was smaller in size and each figure included a push button in the back that made the character execute a karate chop action. The action figure's arms were made of a soft plastic/vinyl material and contained a mechanism that simulated the bulge of a biceps when the elbow was bent. Big Jim was less military-oriented than the G.I. Joe line, having more of a secret agent motif, but also had a large variety of outfits and situations available including sports, space exploration, martial arts, hunting, western, camping, fishing, and photography.
GoBots is a line of transforming robot toys produced by Tonka from 1983 to 1987, similar to Hasbro's Transformers.
GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords is a 1986 American animated science fiction action film based on the GoBots line of toys. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and released to theaters in 1986 by Clubhouse Pictures, the last film the company released. It featured the first appearance of the Rock Lords, who were given their own toyline after the film.
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero is a military-themed line of action figures and toys in Hasbro's G.I. Joe franchise. The toyline lasted from 1982 to 1994, producing well over 500 figures and 250 vehicles and playsets. The line reappeared in 1997 and has continued in one form or another to the present day. It was supported by two animated series as well as a major comic series published by Marvel Comics.
Max Rockatansky is the title character and antihero protagonist of the Australian post-apocalyptic action film series Mad Max. Created by director George Miller and producer Byron Kennedy, the character was originally played by actor Mel Gibson in the first three films from 1979 to 1985, and later Tom Hardy in the fourth in 2015.
G.I. Joe Extreme is a line of military-themed toys that was sold in retail from 1995 to 1997. The toys were produced by Kenner following their acquisition by former competitor Hasbro and was intended to succeed the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero line, which was discontinued the previous year. It was supported by a syndicated animated series that ran for two seasons and a series of comics.
Minimates are a block-styled miniature action figure originally created by Art Asylum in 2002 and now released by Diamond Select Toys. The basic Minimate figure design has a 2 in (51 mm) tall body that resembles an extremely simplified human form with 14 points of articulation, higher than average for block figures. Released in both specialty stores as well as mass-market retailers, Minimates are made for both kid-friendly and adult-oriented properties, giving them a diverse fan base. The best-known and longest-running series of Minimates is based on Marvel Comics, with over 81 waves of figures in existence, but lines of Minimates have been released for numerous other comic books, TV series, movies and video games.
The Super Powers Collection was a line of action figures based on DC Comics superheroes and supervillains that was created by Kenner Products in the 1980s.
Batman Total Justice is a line of toys produced by Kenner based on Batman and other, connected, DC Comics characters.
Kid Acero(which translates as Kid Steel) was the name CIPSA – a regional Mattel subsidiary – used to distribute and sell the popular Big Jim line of action figure toys for the Latin American markets. While most of the toys were exactly the same as the American versions, few of them were retooled or repainted, and sold using different names. These variations are hard to find, even in the local market, and most of the series was focused in two completely different characters: Kid Acero and James Bond. For over five years, a comic book dedicated to the Kid Acero toy line was produced.
G.I. Joe is an American media franchise and a line of action figures owned and produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier, Action Sailor, Action Pilot, Action Marine and later on, the Action Nurse. The name is derived from the usage of "G.I. Joe" for the generic U.S. soldier, itself derived from the more general term "G.I.". The development of G.I. Joe led to the coining of the term "action figure". G.I. Joe's appeal to children has made it an American icon among toys.
M.A.S.K. is a media franchise created by Kenner. The main premise revolved around the fight between the titular protagonist underground task force and the criminal organization V.E.N.O.M.. After its initial launch in 1985, the franchise spawned a variety of products and presentations, including four series of action figures, an animated television series, video games, comics, and a live-action theatrical film currently in development by Hasbro Studios and Paramount.
Supernaturals was a short-lived line of action figures produced by American toy company Tonka in 1987.