The 10 Best Kenner Super Powers Toys

<— See The Best Kenner Super Powers Toys #20 – 11

10. Hawkman (with Flight Wings and Mace)

Hawkman is a ridiculous superhero. One could argue that he’s no more ridiculous than Batman or Aquaman, but those characters were never deemed “Radioactive” by their company, and had to lay dormant for the better part of 20 years until everyone forgot their histories so they could start over.

image via Cool Toy Review

As ridiculous as he may be, Hawkman is also one of the best designed superheroes ever created, with a distinct, colorful golden age look that is more Flash Gordon than the Flash. The best part about the Kenner Super Powers Hawkman is that it captures the essence of a character better than any figure on this list.

Conclusion: The costume is completely “on model”, it grabs your attention on the rack, and it comes with a friggin’ MACE.

9. Clark Kent (Mail-in Exclusive)

This is one of the most unique ideas brought into the Kenner Super Powers line: The Alter Ego. There had already been a mail-in exclusive figure (Steppenwolf – Darkseid’s General, redesigned by Kirby for the line. Steppenwolf was officially released to the public in Wave 2).

Clark Kent was the only Kenner Super Powers variant produced in the line in the United States. He’s a classic 80s style Kent, with more than a hint of Christopher Reeve in his form. Classic blue suit, red and black tie, and those trademark HRG’s.

Conclusion: Definitely cool.

8. Green Arrow (with Archery Pull Action, Bow)

Oliver Queen hasn’t always been a household name. Before “Arrow” and “Smallville”, he spent the Golden Age of Comics as an also-ran, and didn’t become relevant until the 1970s when he started calling his buddy Hal Jordan on his B.S. He became the face of the socially conscious, progressive superhero.

Dressed like Robin Hood, Ollie Queen was well within the “1% “ but stood up to his fiscal peers as a champion of the less fortunate. Green Arrow is one of my favorite superheroes. He probably doesn’t deserve to be this high on a list of Kenner Super Powers, but I love this figure and this character. Also, his bow looks like it was made out of Green Lantern Energy. BONUS!

Conclusion: I like Green Arrow. Perhaps, so much so I ranked him too highly. Oh well. YOLO!

7. Orion (with Power Astro-Punch and Changing)

Orion is a very special Kenner figure for a few reasons. First, he has TWO, count them, TWO POWERS that work at the same time:

One: his face changes (from angry to PISSED), which is sort of comic accurate. Orion makes his face look more “normal” using a magic smartphone called a Motherboxx, so his father DARKSEID (who apparently, never attended a Sex-Ed course in middle school) will not recognize him as he beats the asses of the various Apokalyptian goons and lackeys thrown the League’s way.

Two: this figure, and all the New God figures in the line are special because they mark the first time Jack Kirby received royalties for his superhero work. There’s a lot of Kirby Estate v. Marvel lawsuits still going on today, but it’s good to know that while under the DC roof, Jack got a little green for redesigns of his own characters.

Conclusion: In the words of Key and Peele: “His face was straight changin’!”

6. Mr. Miracle (with “Wrist Lock” Escape)

The big selling point of Kenner’s Super Powers line was their attention to detail. Mr. Miracle’s power action includes his ability to escape his manacles. What’s so great about that? It’s true to the character.

Mr. Miracle is the only New God not redesigned for the line. He’s a physical manifestation and tribute to Kirby’s original genius. Frankly, I can see how his inclusion in the Justice League a year later was a natural choice.

Conclusion: This may have been the boost Scott Free needed to pull off the greatest escape of all: the escape from relative obscurity!

5. Argentinian Exclusive: The Riddler (con mi Super Gulpo de Mano!)

After the initial run of the Super Powers Line, Kenner loaned out it’s license to several different, mostly South American manufacturing companies that produced versions of the Super Powers figures in a number of different countries. A company named Pacipa from Argentina, realized they could produce an entirely NEW figure from an existing one: simply repaint ol’ Green Lantern to look EXACTLY LIKE THE RIDDLER.

It’s honestly one of the most brilliant things I have ever heard: a simple repaint of a Kenner figure doubles their profits with a “new” figure. These are extremely hard to find, and worth a fair amount of money if you can get your hands one. Fun Fact: “Gulpo de Mano” translates into “Hand Blow” in English, which is kinda saucy for a kid’s toy.

Conclusion: Thinking outside of the box, or the carded bubble, in this case, can bring joy to those around you.

4. Dr. Fate (with Mystic Spell Cast)

Dr. Fate? Really? So high on your list, Kap? But forever why?

I’ll tell you why, home-skillet: Dr. Fate is the sole JSA member in the Kenner line (minus the Big Three, who, in Pre-Crisis Silver Age continuity, were completely different people on another earth where Batman died in the 1950’s. Fact Bomb: DEPLOYED). While Kenner was cranking these bad boys out, DC was running a series of comics called Crisis on Infinite Earths to clean up their continuity, bringing all of their characters into a single plane of existence.

image via Once Upon a Geek

Dr. Fate, like Mr. Miracle, was promoted to Justice Leaguer within a year and a half of his appearance in the Kenner line, leading me to believe either A) DC was sweet on Fate from the get-go, and wanted to push him into the spotlight again, or B) somebody at Kenner was a fan of Fate, and chose to include him in the line to bring him into the hearts and minds of kids across the world. I like to think it was the second choice. Also, his color scheme is fantastic, and he is the sole magic user in the whole line.

Conclusion: Dr.Fate is great, no need for debate.

3. Cyborg (with Power Action Thrusting Arm, 3 arm attachments)

In its last incarnation, the Superfriends TV show was called Galactic Guardians, and featured a lot of familiar faces. Two new teen heroes filled out the roster: Firestorm, who we covered earlier, and Cyborg, who was at the height of his popularity as a member of the best selling Teen Titans book, which was wiping the floor with JLA, Avengers and X-men alike in the mid eighties.

Including Victor Stone in the Kenner Super Powers collection was a natural choice, and resulted in one of the coolest figures to have been produced in the series. Not only does the Kenner Cyborg figure have a “thrusting arm” (again, it’s just a “punch”, guys) and a shiny metallic body, but his thrusting arm has THREE attachments. One of them looks like cattle prod, but it is listed as a “Drill Hand” and looks like something they might sell in the back of a Spencer’s Gifts a “back massager” *wink*. One is a claw hand, which if I was Cyborg, would use to retrieve stuffed animals from claw machines, and the third is a regular robot hand, so he could punch dudes and drink milk and stuff, I guess. If I hasd this figure as a kid, I would have been stoked to have so many hand options for him.

Conclusion: The playability factor is super high, and he looks BADASS.

2. Aquaman (with Deep Sea Kick and Trident)

Before we get too far into this one, I’m gonna explain some stuff. I’m a huge Aquaman fan ( Halloween costumes, contributing to my friend Robb’s AquamanShrine, avid Aquaman memorabilia collector and official F.O.A.M. member). I tried not to let my fandom get in the way of my choices…but I actually have an excellent reason as to why Aquaman is so high on the list (besides the fact that he’s the super-powered king of 70% of the planet). It’s not actually the figure itself, or the power action (Deep Sea Kick? Alright. That’s cool, I guess).

image via Cool Toy Review

I’m talking about his trident, and how a little piece of plastic literally changed how we perceived a classic DC Character. Up until Kenner Super Powers, Aquaman had already been portrayed a number of ways: Adventurer, King, Hero, Icon. And rarely, if ever, except for in his kingly state, did we see the sea king carry his trident outside of Atlantis. But after his action figured was carded with a trident accessory, the Sea King started to carry a trident more and more, until the 90’s, where he literally had a hook attached in place of a hand. I can’t imagine what New 52 Aquaman would look like without brandishing his trademark trident , (which he recently used to stab Darkseid in the face). Aquaman’s trident is a symbol of his royal status, and thanks to the groundwork Superfriends laid down, Aquaman has regained his status as a major player in the DCU.

Conclusion: Aquaman rules, literally. Deal with it.

1. The Hall of Justice Playset

I would have killled to have this playset as a child. It’s got so much cool stuff. You could literally play with this thing for hours when you were a kid. Or today.

This playset has so many great features, it’s impossible for me to pick my favorite one. Just to name a few: a launch pad for your vehicles, a few transporter chambers, straight outta Star Trek. It has a fold down computer bank, a working elevator, trap door, jail cell, storage bins…but the best feature is that it doubles as a storage case. You could take your whole collection of figures with you to a friends house, or even just to a different part of your house, without fear of losing pieces or figures along the way. It’s so awesome!

Conclusion: This may be the most wonderful playset ever created.

image via stretcharmstrongworld.com

I only own a few pieces of the Kenner Super Powers line, but it’s something I love and am very passionate about, and you can bet I plan to get more in the future. I’ve drooled over these toys for so long. You can find more cool information about Super Powers at KennerSuperPowers.com.

Conclusion: In the words of Toyman from the Legion of Doom: “I want more toys!”

Did I mention your favorite piece? Did I skip your favorite? Let us know what you think about the Super Powers line in the comments!

Special thanks to Cool Toy Review, as we borrowed so many of their images for this list. We usually try to spread the love, but they have hands down the best pics of the Kenner Super Powers collection on the internet.

Kap El is an illustrator from the midwest. He has a two day head start on you, has friends in every town and village from here to the Sudan, speaks a dozen different languages and knows every local custom. He’ll blend in, disappear. With any luck he has the grail already. He once got lost in his own museum. You can reach him on Twitter@Kap_L or on Tumblr at AKapellusch.tumblr.com