Flash Gordon (Mattel) 1979-1980

Flash Gordon (Mattel) 1979-1980

Flash Gordon is the main hero and antagonist of one of the most popular and beloved comic strips ever created. The series was created back in 1934 by Alex Raymond and became an overnight sensation. Since Mego’s toy license had just expired and a new live action movie was on the horizon, Mattel snatched up the licensing rights to the Flash Gordon franchise in 1979. Their toy line was based on Filmation’s new Flash Gordon animated series that aired on NBC from 1979 to 1982. It featured three waves of figures (Flash Gordon, Dr. Zarkov, Ming the Merciless, Thun The Lion Man, Beast Man, Lizard Woman, Captain Arak, Vultan) and two new vehicles. This was line lasted two years and remains very popular to this day with collectors.

For more information about Mattel’s Flash Gordon line, see bottom of the page for a complete summary.

Flash Gordon (1979): Series 1 Action Figures

Mattel released four figures for the first wave of their Flash Gordon line in 1979. There was Lizard Woman, Thun The Lion Man, the villainous Ming the Merciless and of course the main character Flash Gordon. Each of these figures came in a 3.75″ format, which had been made the new norm by Kenner’s Star Wars line since 1977.

Flash Gordon

Market Value:
Carded $160 – $235
Loose $35 – $55

Flash Gordon
Accessories: White Laser Pistol
Years Released: 1979
Difficulty To Find: Moderate Difficulty – Takes some patience and appears less often
Notes: Flash Gordon is the title character of the Filmation animated series and was voiced by Robert Ridgely. This is a great sculpt of Flash from the series and really captured the classic Flash Gordon look. Flash comes in his classic colorful outfit that includes his red shirt and blue pants with a white laser pistol as his lone accessory.

Lizard Woman

Market Value:
Carded $140 – $210
Loose $35 – $55

Lizard Woman
Accessories: White Spear
Years Released: 1979
Difficulty To Find: Moderate Difficulty – Takes some patience and appears less often
Notes: The Lizard People (made up of males and females) are reptilian humanoids dedicated to Ming the Merciless. The sculpts of the Lizard Woman is fairly basic and very green. The Lizard Woman comes with a white spear as her lone accessory.

Ming The Merciless

Market Value:
Carded $125 – $175
Loose $30 – $45

Ming The Merciless
Accessories: White Laser Pistol
Years Released: 1979
Difficulty To Find: Moderate Difficulty – Takes some patience and appears less often
Notes: Ming the Merciless is a ruthless tyrant who rules over the planet Mongo, making him the main bad guy of the Flash Gordon stories. In the animated show, Ming was voiced by voice legend, Allen Oppenheimer. This is a great sculpt of Ming from the show and really captured the look. Ming the Merciless comes with his lone accessory of a white laser pistol.

Thun, The Lion Man

Market Value:
Carded $120 – $170
Loose $30 – $45

Thun, The Lion Man
Accessories: White Spear
Years Released: 1979
Difficulty To Find: Moderate Difficulty – Takes some patience and appears less often
Notes: Thun is a Lion Man of Mongo and one of Flash’s most trusted allies. In the animated show, Thun was voiced by Allan Melvin. Thun is portrayed as a King in the show, but interestingly enough, no other Lion Men are ever seen. Thun comes with a white staff as his lone accessory.

Flash Gordon (1980): Series 2 Action Figures

Series Two of Mattel’s Flash Gordon line was released in early 1980 with only two new figures. The new figures were the vicious looking Beast Man and Flash Gordon’s loyal friend, Dr. Hans Zarkov.

Beast Man

Market Value:
Carded $150 – $225
Loose $30 – $45

Beast Man
Accessories: None
Years Released: 1980
Difficulty To Find: Moderate Difficulty – Takes some patience and appears less often
Notes: Beast Man is a member of the Beast Men of planet Mongo. They are a race of primitive humanoids who are controlled by Ming, This is actually a fantastic sculpt of Beast Man from the animated series. Unfortunately, Beast Man does not come with any accessories.

Dr. Zarkov

Market Value:
Carded $100 – $140
Loose $22 – $35

Dr. Zarkov
Accessories: None
Years Released: 1980
Difficulty To Find: Moderate Difficulty – Takes some patience and appears less often
Notes: Doctor Hans Zarkov is a brilliant scientist and friend to Flash in the series. In the animated show, Dr. Zarkov was voiced by voice legend, Allen Oppenheimer (who also voices Ming). Dr. Zarkov comes dressed in his classic outfit that includes his blue shirt and pants. Dr. Zarkov comes with no accessories.

Flash Gordon (1980): Series 3 Action Figures

Series Three of Mattel’s Flash Gordon line was released in 1980 with two more new figures. The new figures were Captain Arak and Vultan, the leader of the Hawk Men. Both figures were produced in limited quantities since this was at the end of the toy line, but Vultan remains the hardest to find item from the entire Flash Gordon line.

Captain Arak

Market Value:
Carded $250 – $350
Loose $75 – $100

Captain Arak
Accessories: Laser Pistol
Years Released: 1980
Difficulty To Find: Moderate Difficulty – Takes some patience and appears less often
Notes: Captain Arak was created for the Filmation Flash Gordon show, as a captain in Ming’s army on Mongo. Captain Arak comes with his colorful outfit of Red and Yellow Mongo armor. Arak comes with his white laser pistol.

Vultan

Market Value:
Carded $1,200 – $1,600
Loose $300 – $400

Vultan
Accessories: Removable Wings
Years Released: 1980
Difficulty To Find: Hard to Find – Occasionally listed, and usually sells quickly
Notes: Vultan is the ruler of the Hawk people of planet Mongo, and is referred to as a King in the series instead of the usual Prince title from other mediums. This Vultan figure has wings that can be removed, but no other accessories. Vultan was voiced by Alan Melvin in the animated series, who also voiced Thun the Lion Man. Vultan is the most difficult to find of Mattel’s Flash Gordon toy line.

Flash Gordon (1979-1980): Accessories

Mattel did release a couple of vehicles, but no other action figure related accessories.

Flash Gordon (1979-1980): Vehicles

There were two new vehicles released by Mattel for their Flash Gordon line, with Ming’s Space Shuttle and the inflatable Rocket Ship. Both vehicles can be tough to track down on the secondary market nowadays.

Ming’s Space Shuttle

Market Value:
Boxed $650 – $800
Loose $125 – $175

Ming’s Space Shuttle
Accessories: Space Cannon, Decal Sheet, Instructions
Years Released: 1979
Difficulty To Find: Hard to Find – Occasionally listed, and usually sells quickly
Notes: Ming’s Space Shuttle is one of two different vehicles released for Mattel’s Flash Gordon line. The ship was able to fit up to two figures inside, via an opening canopy. A separate Space Cannon was also included that could be used off to the side of the ship. The ship was fairly simple and really not much to it. Ming’s Space Shuttle remains a tough find on the secondary market and commands a pretty high price.

Rocket Ship

Market Value:
Boxed $750 – $950
Loose $125 – $175

Rocket Ship
Accessories: Detachable Shuttle, Detachable Nose Cannon, Decal Sheet, Instructions
Years Released: 1979
Difficulty To Find: Hard to Find – Occasionally listed, and usually sells quickly
Notes: The Flash Gordon Rocket Ship is an inflatable vehicle for Mattel’s Flash Gordon line in 1979. It inflates to over two and a half feet long and comes with a detachable shuttle that sits atop the Rocket Ship itself. The shuttle can hold two figures. In addition, the nose cone also detaches as a separate cannon. The Rocket Ship can be tough to find on the secondary market nowadays.

Flash Gordon (1979-1980): Exclusives

Mattel released a total of 8 figures during their run of Flash Gordon figures. Towards the end of that run, retail giant Sears sold two sets of four figures each in their 1980 Sears Catalog. One set contained Zarkov, Ming, Beast Man and the elusive Vultan, while the other set included Flash Gordon, Thun, Lizard Woman and Captain Arak. This was mostly done to jettison all the surplus Flash Gordon figures towards the end of the line. These sets pop up every now and then, but do not come up very often.

Sears Exclusive Pack 1

Market Value:
W/ Original Packaging $1,400 – $1,800
Loose $375 – $475

Sears Exclusive Pack 2

Market Value:
W/ Original Packaging $850 – $1,050
Loose $175 – $250

This Flash Gordon action figure line included a total of eight figures broken down over three waves. Wave one included Ming the Merciless (Main bad guy in the Mongo Universe), Thun The Lion Man (Ally to Flash) Lizard Woman, and of course the main character Flash Gordon. Wave two had only two figures with Dr. Zarkov and Beast Man. Wave three also only had two figures, but this wave is much harder to find on the secondary market due to low production numbers at the time. This wave included Captain Arak and the elusive Vultan. Each of these figures were made in the standard 3.75 inch format, which was the new norm at the time. In addition to the figures, Mattel also gave us two new vehicles with Ming’s Space Shuttle and the inflatable Rocket Ship. Despite not great sales during its release, Mattel’s Flash Gordon line has certainly gained quite a bit of respect over the years and is highly coveted by collectors of that era.

The packaging for Mattel’s Flash Gordon action figures was very colorful and eye catching. The figures used a carded blister pack, which was the norm at the time. The figure itself was to the left of the card, while the right side was adorned with a classic Flash Gordon illustration of all the characters from the show. All cards had the same illustrations on it. The name of each character was directly above the figure in colorful letters, with the classic Flash Gordon logo on the top of the right side. The overall scheme was a really nice looking card that worked well with the logo and accents.

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