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The Story of DC Comics toys is a long one and a bit complicated. Unlike other mainstream franchises, DC Comics toys were cranked out by a few different toy companies along the way, but it all began with Mego in 1972. Mego acquired the toy rights to produce action figures based on DC Comics and Marvel characters in the early 70’s, and the rest, as they say, is history, as the World’s Greatest Super Heroes line went on to become their flagship franchise and one of the most successful selling action figure lines of the decade. During its run, Mego gave us truly iconic action figures for the World’s Greatest Super-Heroes line from, which included some of the biggest names in the DC Comics Universe, All together, there were 20 different DC characters made into action figures, or 23 if you want to count the three DC Secret ID figures. In addition, Mego truly set the bar with iconic playsets, vehicles and accessories along the way. The World’s Greatest Super-Heroes line included Batman, Robin, Superman, Aquaman Shazam, Penguin, Joker, Riddler, Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Green Arrow and many more.

After Mego’s run ended in 1981, the DC Comics toy license was back up for grabs and Kenner happily snatched them up. Since their iconic Star Wars toy line was coming to an end, they needed another big time franchise to step in, so the DC Super Powers Collection launched in 1984. The world of DC comics was doing quite well at the time, and with so many iconic characters to chose from, a superhero line just made sense. The premier wave of the Super Powers line posted some big sales numbers, which proved that DC Comics could definitely sustain a new toy line for Kenner. Two more waves followed in 1985 and 1986, but interest in the Super Powers line began to wane at the end. This was mainly attributed to the series being front loaded with the more well known characters and following waves being filled with secondary characters that just didn’t resonate with kids. In addition, there was intense competition for space in the toy aisles due to GI Joe, Transformers, M.A.S.K.

After Kenner’s Super Powers Collection ended in 1986, a new company named Toy Biz swooped in to produce DC toys. Toy Biz was looking to make a splash in the toy world and what bigger way than to latch onto the biggest blockbuster movie of the year, Batman! They launched their DC Comics Super Heroes line in 1989 with two more waves of DC characters to follow. The DC Comics Super Heroes line sold fairly well at first, but just could not hold the momentum after the Batman hype died down. Kenner returned to the world of DC Comics with several Batman themed lines in the early 90’s, but turned their attention to Superman in 1995 with the Man of Steel line. This series was heavily inspired by the Death of Superman aftermath period of that time. Several new characters were introduced in this line, such as Superboy, Steel and even Doomsday. The Man of Steel line proved to be popular enough to eventually lead to the Total Justice line the following year. Kenner used the Justice League roster and dressed them in an armor of sorts called “Fractal Tech Gear”.  The Total Justice line was a bit odd, but had stellar sculpts with great detail. DC did publish a comic book series to tie-in with the toy line, but was short lived. The character selection was a nice mix of the heroes and villains from that series. The Total Justice lasted three waves, until 1997, which included a total of 14 figures and, strangely enough, no accessories at all.

Superman: The Animated Series began its four season run in 1996 and ran 54 episodes until 2000. Kenner had just finished their “Man of Steel” toy line the year before, so they kept it rolling with a new Superman line based on the animated series. Kenner released two waves of figures and accessories in the U.S market before releasing the final waves overseas as European exclusives. In total, there were 18 standard figures, 5 Deluxe figures, 2 Multipacks, 2 Large Sized Figures and a few vehicles released for the Superman Animated Series toy line. The series did have some success, but it never really made it to the level of the Batman Animated Series. Kenner continued their DC run in 1998 with the JLA action figure line. Kenner utilized the body and head sculpts from the Total Justice (1996-1997) line, but with new repaints and less accessories. One of the biggest positives from the Total Justice series were the beautiful sculpts, so with no “Fractal Tech Gear”, we finally get to enjoy them! These figures were a shared exclusive between Diamond Distributors and KB Toys.

Over its long and storied history many quality DC Comics products were released from 1972 to 1999 by Mego, Toy Biz and Kenner. Just like every toy line, the values of certain items can greatly fluctuate over time. This is based on several factors, including the item’s time period, scarcity, consumer demand and overall condition. The good news for DC collectors is there always a demand for these items, as Mego and Kenner created some truly iconic pieces. Loose individual Mego figures can still be found on the secondary market in varying degrees. The same goes for the playsets and accessories. Carded or boxed items can still fetch quite a bit of money. Kenner’s Super Powers line has gained a cult following by DC fans and has remained insanely popular. The Toy Biz line still holds nostalgia for many fans and collectors, but can be easily found on the secondary market. The remainder of Kenner’s DC toy lines of the 90’s (Man of Steel, Total Justice, Superman Animated Series, JLA) can all be found at very affordable prices. Values on DC Comics items remain steady with values and prices always inching up each year. The market remains strong due to an ever present nostalgia and a rabid fan base. The figures, playsets, vehicles, and other accessories from the various DC lines will only increase in value as these figures and sets become harder to find in the future, especially with James Gunn’s new DCU hitting theatres this summer with a new Superman movie.