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10/17/2008: Halloween Countdown ‘08: Super Naturals!

I’ve written about Super Naturals before, but never with one of the actual toys on hand to verify that what I’m writing wasn’t based on artificially sweetened memories. This time is different, and I was right. Super Naturals is one of the best action figure lines of all time.

Made by Tonka in 1987, everything about Super Naturals was unique. Well, except for the primary gimmick of holographic images indicating each figure’s totem animal power, which it shared with Hasbro’s Visionaries collection. (Not sure who ripped off who, but for the sake of what I’m covering, let’s say that Visionaries was the copycat line.) But everything else was unique. Maybe I should rethink this paragraph.

Due to its lack of a corresponding animated series, a recap of the storyline is in order. The Super Naturals were groups of heroic and evil warriors who escaped their foreboding spirit world to war against each other on Earth. (Conveniently, the spirits escaped from the eerie “Tomb of Doom,” which doubled as the line’s only playset.)

You know how most action figure lines include more than a few “loser figures” that you wouldn’t dream of buying unless you’d already collected everyone else? That wasn’t the case here — all of the figures felt like stars.

Still, even the lousiest Super Naturals figure was worth the money, all due to those righteous holograms. Each figure’s torso was saturated with a holographic lenticularistic wonder that alternated images between the character’s natural state (like, a king or a pirate) and the character’s secret power state, represented by everything from snakes to lions to creatures made entirely of lightning. The holograms were extremely effective in making Super Naturals feel like they should’ve cost far more than whatever their original MSRP was.

I said that all Super Naturals figures felt like stars, but this guy was my favorite by far. Not just from this collection, but out of the hundreds of action figures I’ve owned throughout my sad and meager existence. “Burnheart” is his name, and despite his positively leaderesque look, he somehow played second fiddle in the pecking order to another one of the villain characters. I call bullshit.

During my youth, all toy-related adventures were staged from within a series of action figure playsets that were set side by side, connected by cardboard bridges and any other available materials. (It was the only way to identify Castle Greyskull and the Ewok Village as a singular entity.) A group of villain figures from various lines shared control of this ultimate fortress, including the six characters shown above: Jabba the Hutt, Mumm-Ra, Cravex, Megatron, Louie the Plumber (he looked more impressive after you ripped his hat off) and Emperor Palpatine. Burnheart was part of this elite and exclusive club, which ran my toy universe without issue for years and years.

There were power struggles, of course. I recall one storyline where Jabba and Mumm-Ra had a tiff and tried to separate the Superstar Seven into factions. Jabba enlisted Palpatine (they felt they shared a bond) and Cravex, while Mumm-Ra allied with Louie and Megatron. Burnheart would’ve been the deciding vote, but he refused to take sides, ultimately coaxing everyone to work together again. He was that special to me. He got to be the problem solver.

The holograms were amazing. They worked really well, and they seemed somehow “adult” with their realistic visages that felt like they were pulled from a bunch of creepy old horror movies. Burnheart’s hologram switches from a zombie knight to a hideous fire monster. Since most of the other Super Naturals characters morphed into eagles and simple shit like that, I always put my money on the guy who turned into fire-with-eyes.

Beyond the six original figures shown above, there were also Super Naturals Ghostlings, which shared the hologram gimmick but lacked legs. (Seriously, they were the top halves of action figures…no legs.) All of the figures came with some kind of glow-in-the-dark weapon, but larger ones like Burnheart also included a holographic shield.

Truly one of the most unsung collections of my childhood, there’s never been better proof that toys need corresponding TV shows and movies to have a chance at success. Super Naturals were not popular toys. They don’t even have a Wiki article. Even those of you who are the same age as me might not remember them, and this makes me sad.

Super Naturals’ connection to Halloween may be tenuous, but I dunno. They’re spooky, they’re kinda scary, and they came packaged with a little sweepstakes form that allowed kids to enter for the chance to win a “Halloween Vacation” to Los Angeles. I do not feel that I’m stretching things. Tomorrow, when I write about my disdain for orange Tic-Tacs and call it Halloweeny due to the color connection, then I’ll be stretching things. But not tonight. Tonight I have done my duty.


Posted by Matt. E-mail me!

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Discussion Thread: 92 comments

i love these guys – i have "GHOST" ones that wear cloaks – i never knew what this toy line was called!

Ghosted by Ippo @ 10/17/2008 8:15 PM EDT


Super Naturals were the only things to ever really scare me.

Ghosted by Timewaster @ 10/17/2008 8:28 PM EDT


I totally agree, these totally seemed like an adult line when I was little.

Ghosted by drew do @ 10/17/2008 8:35 PM EDT


fourth.

i had a couple of these… excellent toyline.

Ghosted by Andrew @ 10/17/2008 8:36 PM EDT


I remember these but, like so many other toys, I never had them.

Ghosted by The Manimal @ 10/17/2008 8:37 PM EDT


as a kid i was all about me some Visionaries.. – now that i see these i’m realizing i really missed out.. – holographic snake shields? – there is a god!

Ghosted by Review the World @ 10/17/2008 8:53 PM EDT


Totally remember these…my bro had a ghost one.  with a cloak.  It was like eggplant blue colored with green hologram body.

Ghosted by mandy_dancing skeleton _Reeves @ 10/17/2008 8:55 PM EDT


Wasn’t there a dragon in this line? I seem to remember a black dragon with red armor, and the hologram was an eyeball. I remember seeing it at Kaybee toys but never getting it. I think it was a vehicle for the villians.

Ghosted by goththom @ 10/17/2008 8:58 PM EDT


Oh! OH! I loved Super Naturals. I don’t remember these particular action figures though. I passed up a Battle Damage He-Man trade for my Super Natural. That speaks volumes.

Ghosted by Bill @ 10/17/2008 8:59 PM EDT


Say, Matt!  If you’re looking for ideas, why not review the Halloween-themed Circus Animal cookies?  And I still have that Children’s Halloween book I found at the Rite-Aid if you’re interested! 

Ghosted by Hoverbored @ 10/17/2008 9:01 PM EDT


They were really cool….I had Lionheart.

Ghosted by Loneman1 @ 10/17/2008 9:06 PM EDT


I don’t recognize the packaging or name at all, but I definitely had a Ghostling. Completely forgotten about until seeing the pic you posted, and I immediately got a warm, fuzzy feeling, which is something I rarely experience when thinking about old toys, and said “Holy s#it! I had one of those!” I think I scared my wife.

Ghosted by G @ 10/17/2008 9:15 PM EDT


I vividly remember getting the Lionheart figure.Infact I think I prob still have it in a toybox at me mums along with all my old wwf figures. As has already been said unsung heros these guys :(

Ghosted by Blazer @ 10/17/2008 9:24 PM EDT


Hate to post off-topic, but I still can’t listen to Sounds of the Seasons through MusicChoice’s web site. Is anyone else having that problem?

Ghosted by TB Tabby @ 10/17/2008 9:31 PM EDT


I only had one of them. An Invisible Man one. Hey Matt, here’s a good topic for tommorow’s SNT. Keeping with Halloween. Tell us which is
your favorite movie death scene. It doesn’t have to be from a horror
movie. It can be things like Dick Jones being shot by Robocop, and
falling out of the building. Maybe Brad getting hit by the Green
Goblin truck in Maximum Overdrive. Or Gaston falling to his death
in Beauty and The Beast. It’s your choice.

Ghosted by LoneStar76 @ 10/17/2008 9:42 PM EDT


go go power rangers

Ghosted by ashley @ 10/17/2008 9:44 PM EDT


LoneStar76: That works for me, we’ll do that tomorrow. :)

Ghosted by Matt @ 10/17/2008 9:45 PM EDT


Well played, you have fullfilled your obligations to the Halloween Countdown. Supernaturals were great and I recently found two ghostlings when moving and a full sized figure that sadly, has some major damage to the hollogram sticker, you can’t even tell what it is, just shiny. My ghostlings are a goblin jester that tuns into a ghost and one that is a werewolf. The holograms are awesome, I can’t stop looking at them now, when I was a kid they were pure magic. Thanks for drudging up yet another gem from the past.

Ghosted by Fox @ 10/17/2008 9:55 PM EDT


Fox: I didn’t want to say anything negative, but most of the holograms are like that due to age.  This one was.   The images only turned up under the power of flash photography.  I couldn’t see them otherwise.

Ghosted by Matt @ 10/17/2008 9:57 PM EDT


Well, I’m watching the Travel Channel and they are investigating a demonic haunted bar. I’m not going to bed tonight. :|

Ghosted by Bill @ 10/17/2008 10:08 PM EDT


Oh wow, I’ve gotta go try that. And upon futher inspection, it is Burnheart that I have along with the ghostlings Spooks and Weirdwolf. My Burnheart is damaged though, and has no armor on the front, that is long gone. Off topic, but found while I was looking these guys up, is Inhumanoids, which I know you’ve covered before Matt. I had every one of these figures, but really can’t remember ever being into them. Why would I have all the figures but not remember really doing anything other than having the giant monsters be the boss fights for my other toys?

Ghosted by Fox @ 10/17/2008 10:10 PM EDT


Bill: Your story in the previous thread didn’t actively scare me when I read it, but a short while later, I totally had that “something is watching me” feeling.

Fox: I loved Inhumanoids so much.  After seeing the commercials and falling in love, I’ll never forget the first time I actually saw them in person, at the Christmas section on the top floor of Macy’s back when they actually sold toys at Christmas.  The spread was insane — they had dozens of each Inhumanoids toy, and I was a complete asshole to my parents who absolutely refused to buy me one.  I found out why a few weeks later when I opened up Tendril on Christmas.

Ghosted by Matt @ 10/17/2008 10:18 PM EDT


Thanks Matt. :)

Ghosted by LoneStar76 @ 10/17/2008 10:19 PM EDT


OF COURSE they’re HAlloween! Just look at the FLAMING SKELETON!

Ghosted by PlantMonster @ 10/17/2008 10:19 PM EDT


I’ll be honest with you, when i went back to my hotel I slept with the TV on that night.I don’t know what bothered me more; the stairs that weren’t there or the fact that what ever it was, it was looking at me for a while. The bartender said that happens at least a few times a week.
Sorry to give you the heebs.

Ghosted by Bill @ 10/17/2008 10:30 PM EDT


Bill: What creeps me out most is that you never actually saw what the figure looked like, so I envision it as a sort of humanoid shape, but all shadowed out — like a swirly silhouette or something.  And that’s super frightening.  If you looked up, I assume your face would’ve contorted into a green prune in between shots of Naomi Watts making her eyes gigantic while driving speedily.

Ghosted by Matt @ 10/17/2008 10:32 PM EDT


I had Lionheart too, he had a giant glowing sword.

Ghosted by seel @ 10/17/2008 10:43 PM EDT


I never really thought of it that way. That is creepy!
The stupid bartender kept teasing me saying that the ghosts usually follow people home and show up in their bedroom at night. I still get drunk texts from her. Those are the best.

Ghosted by Bill @ 10/17/2008 10:43 PM EDT


The Burnheart figure that is the main one displayed reminds me of Rev.  I just picture her wearing a helmet like that every time she posts a comment.  I am looking forward to seeing and hearing about orange tic tacs.  They have a new meaning since the last rant about them, after the movie Juno that is.

Ghosted by Goob @ 10/17/2008 10:46 PM EDT


It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a non-Congo toy review from you, Matt. Where’s Ghost With The Most to complete my Halloween fantasies?

I’m going to ask where Cravex is from: Is he a Visionary?

Ghosted by Invader Norbert @ 10/17/2008 10:47 PM EDT


I had almost the whole set when I was a kid, including the Tomb of Doom. As an adult. I have two of the “ghosts” MOC on my wall and a MIB Tomb of Doom

Ghosted by superrecoome @ 10/17/2008 10:50 PM EDT


Don’t know if anyone has posted this yet or not, but Amazon has the Nightmare on Elm Street box set on sale for 23 bucks.  It is out of stock now but will be in stock by the 24th. 

Ghosted by stonetumbler @ 10/17/2008 10:54 PM EDT


I don’t remember these guys at all, or Visionaries either, but I sure wish I did. I really like the pirate guy with the skull hologram and the X-ray vision and the Viking with the lightning shield.

We used to do similar things with our few playsets, Matt, only they would have been scattered all over the living room instead of connected. Our main villains were Pizzaz and Roxy from Jem, the Emperor, Duchess Raven Waves from Lady LovelyLocks, the bird-like bad guy from Thundercats (can’t remember his name now), and Skeletor. We also came up with massive, weird, some times soap-operatic storylines that managed to encompass everything from wooden Little People in Indian headdresses to Luke Skywalker to Barbies to Jem. (Also note that the Emperor was the only male here. We were a mostly female household until my brother was born in 1992, and the majority of our action figures, except for a few scattered He-Man, Star Wars, and Thundercats toys, were girls. In our house, the girls ALWAYS saved the guys. Always. That lead to some odd situations when Barbie would go after Luke Skywalker while riding a My Little Pony.)

Ghosted by starwenn @ 10/17/2008 10:56 PM EDT


Norbert: Yes, Cravex is from the Visionaries line.  Even after I lost his helmet and holographic chestplate, he remained cool enough to be among the Super Seven.

Ghosted by Matt @ 10/17/2008 10:57 PM EDT


My kid brother had some of these– he loved ‘em.

Weirdly, I actually bought a few of these, still on the card, from a local hardware store only a few years ago. Their toy aisle was WEIRD– it was like stepping into a time warp. I bought two Super Naturals and a Captain Power figure. Sadly, this was before I really knew about eBay (though I did sell the S.N figures not too long ago) or else I would have made a serious killing.

Sadly, no My Little Ponies, though.

Ghosted by LemonWitch @ 10/17/2008 11:01 PM EDT


LemonWitch, your story scared me. I live about 20 minutes from Spokane. Yikes. Washington is known for their serial killers, eh?

Ghosted by Bill @ 10/17/2008 11:08 PM EDT


And a fine job ya did there, Matt.  And I agree, they art spooky, they art Halloweeny.

Ghosted by Captain Will @ 10/17/2008 11:12 PM EDT


I actually found myself scanning this review because it is so a boys toy!
I have a big ol’ place in my heart for childhood nostalgia, but boys toys have always bored me (except Star Wars figures) and always will.
I highly recommend reviewing some PUnky Brewster episodes asap.

Ghosted by valerie @ 10/17/2008 11:23 PM EDT


Valerie: You’ve come to the right site!  Foot in mouth

Ghosted by Matt @ 10/17/2008 11:29 PM EDT


Bill, thanks and it scared me, too. Man, Spokane?? Watch your back! I’m in Ellensburg; if you’ve ever gotten gas going to Seattle you probably stopped here. ;)

And as a fellow Washingtonian I expect you understand about the serial killers, huh?

Ghosted by LemonWitch @ 10/17/2008 11:30 PM EDT


I’m actually in Coeur d Alene, Idaho but it’s close enough. ;)
I’m going to Leavenworth tomorrow for Oktoberfest!!! I just got my lederhosen back from the cleaners. Beer and Brauts!

Ghosted by Bill @ 10/17/2008 11:45 PM EDT


That’s really funny; there’s a creepy German guy in my ballroom dancing class who was hardcore pimping Oktoberfest in Leavenworth! Have fun!

Ghosted by LemonWitch @ 10/17/2008 11:56 PM EDT


I had all of the bad guys(the pictures on the back don’t do Snakebite justice, his headgear was a rad cobra head-think Serpentor, but more awesome) and the Thor clone, plus the Tomb of Doom, which had this badass coffin with a disappearing figure gimmick, but when they disappeared, a huge hologram of this nightmare vision was in it’s place.
 
This was like fucking Lovecraftian shit, like this big mountain with all these zombies, it was totally freaky for a kids line.

I didn’t have any of the vehicles.  They were all trucks, which made no sense until you think about who made the line.

Ghosted by Tromataker @ 10/17/2008 11:57 PM EDT


I’m going to admit that I skipped the last thread, partially because I’m behind and didn’t want to read all of that, and partially because I didn’t want to scare myself shitless.  :)

I’ve never heard of these, but they are pretty cool.  The world needs more holograms.

Ghosted by Cameron T. @ 10/18/2008 12:15 AM EDT


This looks like such a fun line.

You’d think it would at least have a comic or something. I can’t believe any 80s toy (even an awesome one) would try to gain a following without something to back it up.

Ghosted by Tetsu Deinonychus @ 10/18/2008 12:22 AM EDT


Oh my God! Although I may dispute the validity of this as a Halloween post (sorry), I am incredibly excited about it nonetheless. Upon seeing the figure with a hologram on front, I was reminded of a toy I had once, and when I saw the scan of the picture of the whole set, I realized that I had Eagle Eye from this line. For the longest time I have seen it in my old toy bin and wondered what on earth it was, but I always thought the hologram was awesome. I just have to thank you for this article. What a weird coincidence. Without it, I may have forgotten about that little treasure forever, and I certainly wouldn’t have ever known what on earth it was. I’m pretty sure his shield is gone, though. Man, I’m going to have to look for him next time I’m home… he may have been lost to rummage sale donations :(

Ghosted by Chris @ 10/18/2008 12:42 AM EDT


none of the figures look familiar to me, yet i vividly remember owning Burnheart’s shield, and from the looks of the pictures, Skull’s mace, which was a glow-in-the-dark femur with a spiked eyeball. 
that was my favorite toy weapon, but most figures couldn’t actually hold it.

Ghosted by snotty @ 10/18/2008 12:58 AM EDT


Matt, I know that we covered scary things on the last blog, though I want to add just one more. Just hours ago, I was walking in a park
near my home. Near my feet, I saw that I came close to stepping on
a syringe.  Close call for me. For all I know, some crackhead with
a disease I don’t want to get might have used it not long before. I
am not going back to that part of the park anymore. Lighter side,
Hasbro has re-released some of my favorite GI Joe vehicles from
the Eighties. 2 of which are the Vamp and the Cobra Rattler. I’m
gonna try and get both.

Ghosted by LoneStar76 @ 10/18/2008 12:59 AM EDT


My grandparents had a small box of action figures (usually He-Man related) that they kept for when we came to visit, and when of them was of Snakebite. He was cool. 

Ghosted by JLAJRC @ 10/18/2008 1:22 AM EDT


I had this whole series.  6 full figures, 8 ghosts, castle, and 2 trucks.  I sold it all on eBay in 2000, which sadly sold for the minimum of $9.99.  But at least I do have thorough pictures.

Ghosted by Jerry @ 10/18/2008 1:28 AM EDT


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