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Pocket Super Heroes 1978-1980

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Mego’s Comic Action Heroes line began in 1976 and was considered to be a successful series, but was re-branded in 1979 to the Pocket Super Heroes. The lineup was slightly modified, as well as the figure design. Several vehicles and one playset, the Batcave, were released for the series. The packaging actually went through three different variations during its run. The first was a plain red card, followed by a more artistic white card and finally with the denim packaging. 

For more information about Mego’s Pocket Super Heroes line, see bottom of page for a complete summary.

Pocket Super Heroes (1978-1980): Basic Figures

Mego re-branded their Comic Action Heroes line into the Pocket Super Heroes line in late 1978. They were basically re-purposed Comic Action Heroes figures with straight legs instead of the slightly bent legs. Shazam, Joker and Penguin were replaced in this line with General Zod, Jor-El and Lex Luthor. It definitely should be noted the later issued white carded Pocket Heroes are much more difficult to find on the secondary market.

Pocket Heroes – Denim Packaging

The denim style versions of the Pocket Super Heroes remain a bit of a mystery to most collectors. The red card and white card Pocket Super Heroes were widely available in North America, but these figures were not. Some people suspect they may have been distributed as a foreign exclusive or perhaps a small rollout in certain test markets. Either way, these figures are very difficult to find on the secondary market and command high prices when they do appear.

Pocket Super Heroes (1978-1980): Playsets

Only one playset was released for Mego’s Pocket Super Heroes line, and it was the Batcave Playset, released in 1980. Another set, Spiderman’s Alley, was also intended to be released with the Batcave, but was unfortunately never made it to retail.

Batcave

Market Value:
Boxed $325 – $450
Loose $100 – $150

Batcave
Accessories: Computer Console Station, Chair x 2, Bat Pole, Jail Cell Door
Years Released: 1980
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on the secondary market
Notes: The Batcave produced for the Pocket Super Heroes line was basically a re-branded version of the Enterprise playset from the Star Trek the Motion Picture line. It was made of a very cheap vacuum formed plastic and most definitely a step down from what Mego had been giving their fans for many years. The set came with a jail cell to house Batman’s enemies, along with a computer console station and Bat Pole.

Pocket Super Heroes (1978-1980): Vehicles

Mego only released two vehicles for the Pocket Super Heroes line, along with six new “Shuttle” vehicles that were basically re-branded Micronauts vehicles. All of the shuttle vehicles were released under the Lion Rock brand and not actually Mego. This reason for this is really anyone’s guess, but probably just a way for Mego to get rid of old stock still sitting around.

In 1976, Mego was the unofficial King of the toy world, with their massive success of some iconic action figure lines, such as the World’s Greaterst Super Heroes, Star Trek, and Planet of the Apes. In fact, the 8 Inch WGSH line was doing so well, that Mego wanted to further capitalize on its success by branching out to a new but similar medium. Mego already had some good success with their 12 Inch line, so they now decided to shrink their super heroes down to a 3.75 Inch size. This was a significant move because that size of action figure had never been done to that point, and Kenner’s Star Wars line wouldn’t begin releasing figures in that format until 1978. Mego had also released their 3.75 Inch Micronauts line in 1976 (which ran until 1980), so when it comes to the 3.75 Inch action figures……Mego set the standard at that time. The Comic Action Heroes line ran from 1976 until 1978, but re-branded the line to the Pocket Super Heroes in 1979. The main difference of the two lines was the Comic Action Heroes figures had bent legs, while the Pocket Heroes came with straight legs. The same upper bodies with the bent arms were used on both versions of figures. Later versions of the Pocket Super Heroes line saw the characters released with straight arms instead of the bent version. Both lines came with the same characters, more of less.

For its first run of Comic Action Hero figures, Mego decided to go with a modified and smaller roster than their WGSH line. Twelve figures were released for the line, with eight of them being from DC Comics, and four being from Marvel. DC gave us Batman, Robin, Aquaman, Shazam, Joker, Penguin, Superman and Wonder Woman. From the Marvel side, we got Captain America, Hulk, Green Goblin and Spiderman. When Mego re-branded the line to the Pocket Super Heroes in 1979, they dropped Shazam, Joker and Penguin, and replaced them with three characters from the Superman Movie (Jor-El, General Zod, and Lex Luthor). The three Superman Movie characters only ran for one year before they were also dropped for the final wave of figures in 1980. The Pocket Super Heroes line saw only one playset (the Batcave) and two legitimate vehicles. Six more “Shuttle” vehicles were also released, but under the Lion Rock brand. This brand was usually reserved for Mego’s distribution of foreign products but they actually saw a domestic release in 1980 on a very limited scale. Suffice it to say that these vehicles are extremely difficult to locate in any form.

The packaging for the Comic Action Heroes line was bright and eye catching, yet remained fairly simple in design. Gone was the elaborate art work that Mego had been known for to that point. Each blister pack was done in a sky blue color with the Comic Action Heroes logo on the top of the card. The character’s name was directly underneath the logo, and the figure itself sat dierectly in the middle. Some packaing had small art clips of certain characters to each side of the bubble, and others did not. Beginning in 1979, the Comic Action Heroes line ceased to exist and was re-branded to the Pocket Super Heroes. The 1979 version of this line had a plain red blister card, with the Pocket Super Heroes logo on the top center of the card. Strangely enough, each character’s name is nowhere to be seen on the packaging. It’s anyone’s guess as to what Mego was thinking with this lackluster packaging, but it could have had something to do with the urgency to get the figures out in time for the new Superman Movie. The Pocket Super Heroes line changed its packaging in 1980 to a more colorful and attractive white blister card. The Pocket Heroes logo was diagonal, across the top left corner in big letters, and the figure itself was positioned in a blister bubble on the right side. Mego decided to add the character’s name above the figure bubble. Depending on whether the character was Marvel or DC, determined which set of painted characters shared the card with the figure.