Captain Action
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Captain Action was an action figure from 1966, that came with separate costumes to change into Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, Captain America, Aquaman, the Phantom, The Lone Ranger (and Tonto), Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, Sgt. Fury, Steve Canyon and the Green Hornet. Captain Action was Ideal Toy Company's answer to Hasbros' GI Joe, and had the same person behind him, toy and idea man Stan Weston. It was Stan Weston who first came to Hasbro's Don Levine with the idea of an articulated doll in the form of a solider, marketing a basic figure and limitless accessories. Levine and his Hasbro team took hold of the concept, making it into GI Joe, the first modern action figure for boys (and the first to carry that name, an attempt at making it more acceptable to boys and their parents). Weston took his money from GI Joe and started his own licensing company, representing DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and King Features Syndicate.
Stan Weston's company, Leisure Concepts, took the idea of a new 12" articulated action figure to Ideal Toys, who were looking for an answer to GI Joe to remain competitive in the market. Weston proposed Captain Magic, a many-in-one hero, who could adopt the guise of several heroes (all of whom happened to be represented by Leisure Concepts). The name was changed to Captain Action, and was first marketed in 1966.
The figure itself had a rather sad and worried expression, a strange shaped head (so the masks of the various heroes could fit over it) and more detailed musculature than GI Joe. The original doll line included Captain Action in his blue and black uniform, with lightning sword and ray gun. Separate Superman, Batman, Lone Ranger, The Phantom, Flash Gordon, Spider-Man, Captain America, Sgt Fury, Steve Canyon and Aquaman costumes (with assorted accessories) were made available; the next wave (1967) added Buck Rogers, Green Hornet, and Tonto, with a Blue Lone Ranger variation and collectible flicker rings in each box.
Captain Action proved popular enough to come back in 1967 with an expanded line, adding a sidekick, Action Boy, and a mortal enemy, the blue skinned, exposed brain, bug-eyed alien Dr. Evil. Also he picked up a vehicle, the Silver Streak, a two foot long amphibian car with missile launchers. Added to the line as well were several sets meant to be used by Captain Action in his Captain Action identity. Captain Action now had a four foot working parachute, a jet mortar, a jet pack, weapons arsenal, and several other secret weapons to add to his Action Cave, which the box for the Streak could convert into. This signaled an attempt by Ideal to build the line and focus on Captain Action as a hero in his own right, rather than just a base figure for other heroes, but served more to confuse the brand.
National Periodical (DC Comics) licensed the character and published five issues of Captain Action in 1968, illustrated by some of the top talent in the field, first Wally Wood, and then Gil Kane with Jim Shooter was the first scripter. After Shooter left with #2, Gil Kane provided his own scripts for issues three through five. The comic book story line that was provided for the main characters had little to do with the toy concept, thus the ability to change into different super heroes was dropped (for the obvious reason that some of the heroes involved in the toy concept were not owned or published by DC, such as Spider-Man and Captain America, which were Marvel Comics characters). Instead, the hero came to be in possession of magical coins, each of which provided him with a spectacular power (shades of the original Captain Marvel).
The toy line saw a decline in sales, and in 1968 Ideal discontinued it. Even though the Captain Action line survived only a two and a half year production run, the characters and accessories have become amongst the most fondly remembered, and expensive, action figures from the 1960s. ToyFare magazine once listed the Captain Action: Spider-Man mint-in-box set as the most valuable action figure on the market at $15,000. It is estimated that only 17-22 exist of Spider-Man in its original box. Likewise, the comic series, which was little heeded at the time, has become quite rare and valued.
Throughout the 1970's, Captain Action kept popping up with leftover uniforms and boots on cheap knock-off figures from China (where the original Cap was cast and assembled) and Ideal used the original body molds once again to rush a Star Wars knock-off toy to the market, The Knights of Darkness, in 1977. Captain Action collectors bought the figure (cast in black plastic) and often used the hands to replace the sometimes missing hands of the vintage figures. George Lucas sued Ideal, claiming unfair competition and violation of copyright, but lost. Because the figure was made up of previously released parts, the case was dismissed.
Captain Action Returns
Captain Action was revived in 1998 by retro toy company Playing Mantis. Captain Action as the Lone Ranger, Flash Gordon (with new figure Ming), Green Hornet, and Kato returned to the shelves as well as Dr Evil. The line met lackluster sales, and a retooling had the costumes issued separately, along with a revived Action Boy (now called Kid Action, due to Hasbro owning the rights to the name Action Man) and the addition of retro long box packaging. It made little difference in the general sales and the line was discontinued. The second coming of Captain Action ended in 2000.
Captain Action Today
Currently, Captain Action Enterprises holds the licensing rights to this toy icon, recently inducted into the Toy & Action Figure Hall of Fame. CA Enterprises is working to produce a wide array of new Captain Action items, including statues, toys, comics and apparel.
