Supernaturals (toy line)

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Supernaturals[a] was a short-lived line of action figures produced by American toy company Tonka in 1987.

Overview[edit]

Supernaturals was one of several 1980s toy lines to use holographic technology, similar to Hasbro lines Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light and Battle Beasts. Like many action figures of the period, it was split into two prosaic Heroic and Evil factions. Large Warriors, smaller Ghostlings and a selection of playsets and vehicles were released.[1] Tonka launched Supernaturals with a large hologram display at the 1987 New York Toy Show.[2] The use of holograms on a line of toys attracted considerable attention at the time.[3][4][5]

The Warrior figures featured holograms on both the upper body and shield accessories, as well as 'glow-in-the-dark' weaponry.[6] The upper body was cast in flat plastic, with the hologram giving the appearance of three dimensions; clip-on upper body armour was included to hide the hologram - simulating the Warriors being able to hide their 'real' visages, and the expression of the hologram face would change depending on the angle the toy was viewed from. Only a single wave of toys was issued before the Supernaturals was cancelled,[7] and the line was a financial failure for Tonka.[8]

Toy line[edit]

Heroic Warriors [9]
  • Eagle-Eye (Native American War-Chief; Soaring Eagle) [1]
    • WEAPONS: Spear; Eagle-shield
    • POWER: Sees into the future
  • Lionheart (Medieval King; Powerful Lion) [1]
    • WEAPONS: Sword; Lion-shield
    • POWER: Fierce strength
  • Thunderbolt (Viking Overlord; Lightning Spirit) [1]
    • WEAPONS: Hammer; Shield of Lightning
    • POWER: Controls thunderstorms
Evil Warriors [10]
  • Burnheart (Medieval Knight; Fiery Spirit) [1]
    • WEAPONS: Flamethrower; Shield of Fire
    • POWER: Controls fire
  • Skull (Pirate Captain; Skeleton with X-ray Eye) [1]
    • WEAPONS: Mace; Shield of Vision
    • POWER: Sees through anything
  • Snakebite (Snake-Charmer; Deadly Cobra) [1]
    • WEAPONS: Cobra-staff; Snake-shield
    • POWER: Hypnotism
Heroic Ghostlings (with swords) [11]
  • Hooter (Wise old owl-wizard) [1]
    • POWER: Night-sight
  • Mr. Lucky (Illusionist; Giant rabbit) [1]
    • POWER: Magic
  • See-Thru (Transparent scientist) [1]
    • POWER: Invisibility
  • Spooks (Silly court jester) [1]
    • POWER: Walks through walls
Evil Ghostlings (with swords) [12]
  • Rags (Ragged Egyptian mummy) [1]
    • POWER: Wraps up victims
  • Scary-Cat (Hissing cat-witch) [1]
    • POWER: Casts spells
  • Vamp-Pa (Swooping vampire-bat) [1]
    • POWER: Night-flight
  • Weird Wolf (Teenage wolf-punk) [1]
    • POWER: Screeching sound
Playsets and vehicles
  • Bat Bopper (Evil) [1]
  • Dark Dragon (Evil) [1]
  • Ghost Finder (Heroic) [1]
  • Lion Wings (Heroic) [1]
  • Tomb of Doom[1]

Comic[edit]

Supernaturals
The cover of Supernaturals #5. Art by Ian Kennedy.
Publication information
PublisherFleetway Publications
ScheduleFortnightly
FormatOngoing series
Genre
Publication date31 October 1987 – 4 March 1988
No. of issues9

In America, the toy line's backstory - featuring centuries-old warriors reviving in the Tomb of Doom - was explained by text included on the toy packaging[7] and a pack-in mini-comic.[13] However, in Britain a licensed fortnightly comic was produced by Fleetway Publications, featuring in-house material created to promote the line for Tonka. The series was previewed by a free comic given away with the 31 October 1987 editions of Fleetway's top selling weekly boys' comics, 2000 AD and Eagle. The first regular issue of the 32-page 40p comic was issued at the same time, with a 'Double Mask' based on the character Skull included; the second included a similar giveaway. John Gillatt, Sandy James and Jim Watson were among the artists.[14]

In line with a pattern used in many British children's comics of the period, the comic had a fictional editor, the Ghostling Spooks. The lead strip was "The Legend of the Supernaturals" and the lighter "Ghostlings!". Also included were non-Supernaturals strips, including ventriloquist dummy story "The Doll" (written by Peter Milligan) and self-contained 'creepy' stories reportedly chosen by another Ghostling, Scary Cat. Profile material and toy adverts also featured heavily in the comic.[14]

While the comic was produced under the auspices of IPC boys' adventure group editor Barrie Tomlinson he had very little memory of working on it when writing his autobiography.[15] Like the toyline, the comic was not a success - lasting just nine fortnightly issues before being cancelled. Some of the material was reprinted in the hardbacked Supernaturals Adventure Book, an annual issued in 1988.[14]

Reception[edit]

Toy historian Mark Bellomo included the line in an article for Mental Floss about 12 1980s toys that didn't take off, noting that the then-innovative hologram technology made the figures prohibitively expensive for many of the children of the time.[13]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Sometimes referred to as Super Naturals due to the logo, though Supernaturals is consistently used in Tonka material.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t "Super Naturals". 2 April 2019.
  2. ^ Ultra-Realistic Imaging: Advanced Techniques in Analogue and Digital Colour Holography. CRC Press. 19 April 2016. ISBN 9781439828007.
  3. ^ Holosphere. Museum of Holography. 2 March 1987.
  4. ^ "Popular Photography".
  5. ^ Holographic Visions: A History of New Science. OUP Oxford. 6 April 2006. ISBN 978-0-19-857122-3.
  6. ^ "Super Naturals".
  7. ^ a b "Remember the Short-Lived 1987 Action Figure Line SUPER NATURALS!?". 22 December 2022.
  8. ^ Children's Business. Fairchild Pub. 1988.
  9. ^ "Super Naturals Skull Action Figure Tonka 1987 Vintage 80s for sale online".
  10. ^ "Tonka Supernaturals Action Figure Toy hologram Super Naturals MOC Lionheart Lion".
  11. ^ https://www.ebay.com/itm/276146551746?hash=item404b9dfbc2%3Ag%3AUAQAAOSwfaxlRrfM&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4NopH6NZtfhIA%2F4NyhTixoqrsHGQbuPEuf4dEm8uzSo3s%2F0d37qebtXDtcPxoBfowiTmHeda6XpWbfgsjtpeUjL4gVVU18bvY7FpN%2BvDOMXCjwCIT67w2W77gVKBnW1DZjjxVsy2fB4dKeT%2FFnLVNuMvZC37eswyb50Po%2FuuQuKEcGGxnzhafUrKSdd5rPH37UZsjams9rD5HO0diM5WzLU8vu%2FWglmE5JaQZNNUrlSVsX6oXZZuFEYAlPwaoJh%2FrTOeabwYZl4501OclsUQjNvbkCJYCDJaMzv1i5uWmryU&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&siteid=0&campid=5338495936&customid=&toolid=20003&mkevt=1
  12. ^ https://www.ebay.com/itm/285545029487?hash=item427bcf5f6f%3Ag%3Af4wAAOSw-65lRrdD&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4GYbvP04gmkgvjnYS0JoYyecHAt1kCJiyXbwLFAI1RngGYjO%2FftGTmgae7o456o0yvNLv7Cv7TE84ogtUhzvDMU5FN3FURO%2FecNjIMC4omvmdLZIiCD18BmNW%2FRklYdYQ%2BR%2FZP51qRrifNm%2BIY%2BlnGUtnPJapQrf59SXx6EJGNrqT3BiEgu6utupQjMFCu2QO%2BBOcH%2FS1sYrPLnqECX19GW0bdEOe0bo56Flh%2FGj2JxRSQr8OAZZ4QPNyY1a3ryks6sIWBb85EoANKBBxKKxXBwBhF7Hc1qOMGwv1HSXm1CE&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&siteid=0&campid=5338495936&customid=&toolid=20003&mkevt=1
  13. ^ a b "12 Toys from the 1980s That Didn't Take off". 12 December 2012.
  14. ^ a b c Holland, Steve (2002). The Fleetway Companion. Rotherham: CJ & Publication.
  15. ^ Comic Book Hero. Pitch. 24 September 2017. ISBN 9781785313585.
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