Supernaturals was a short-lived line of action figures produced by American toy company Tonka in 1987.
Overview
Supernaturals was one of several 1980s toy lines to use holographic technology, similar to Hasbro lines Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light and Battle Beasts. Like many action figures of the period, it was split into two prosaic Heroic and Evil factions. Large Warriors, smaller Ghostlings and a selection of playsets and vehicles were released. Tonka launched Supernaturals with a large hologram display at the 1987 New York Toy Show. The use of holograms on a line of toys attracted considerable attention at the time.
The Warrior figures featured holograms on both the upper body and shield accessories, as well as 'glow-in-the-dark' weaponry. The upper body was cast in flat plastic, with the hologram giving the appearance of three dimensions; clip-on upper body armour was included to hide the hologram - simulating the Warriors being able to hide their 'real' visages, and the expression of the hologram face would change depending on the angle the toy was viewed from. Only a single wave of toys was issued before the Supernaturals was cancelled, and the line was a financial failure for Tonka.
Toy line
- Heroic Warriors
- Eagle-Eye (Native American War-Chief; Soaring Eagle)
- WEAPONS: Spear; Eagle-shield
- POWER: Sees into the future
- Lionheart (Medieval King; Powerful Lion)
- WEAPONS: Sword; Lion-shield
- POWER: Fierce strength
- Thunderbolt (Viking Overlord; Lightning Spirit)
- WEAPONS: Hammer; Shield of Lightning
- POWER: Controls thunderstorms
- Evil Warriors
- Burnheart (Medieval Knight; Fiery Spirit)
- WEAPONS: Flamethrower; Shield of Fire
- POWER: Controls fire
- Skull (Pirate Captain; Skeleton with X-ray Eye)
- WEAPONS: Mace; Shield of Vision
- POWER: Sees through anything
- Snakebite (Snake-Charmer; Deadly Cobra)
- WEAPONS: Cobra-staff; Snake-shield
- POWER: Hypnotism
- Heroic Ghostlings (with swords)
- Hooter (Wise old owl-wizard)
- POWER: Night-sight
- Mr. Lucky (Illusionist; Giant rabbit)
- POWER: Magic
- See-Thru (Transparent scientist)
- POWER: Invisibility
- Spooks (Silly court jester)
- POWER: Walks through walls
- Evil Ghostlings (with swords)
- Rags (Ragged Egyptian mummy)
- POWER: Wraps up victims
- Scary-Cat (Hissing cat-witch)
- POWER: Casts spells
- Vamp-Pa (Swooping vampire-bat)
- POWER: Night-flight
- Weird Wolf (Teenage wolf-punk)
- POWER: Screeching sound
- Playsets and vehicles
- Bat Bopper (Evil)
- Dark Dragon (Evil)
- Ghost Finder (Heroic)
- Lion Wings (Heroic)
- Tomb of Doom
Comic
| Supernaturals | |
|---|---|
 The cover of Supernaturals #5. Art by Ian Kennedy. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Fleetway Publications |
| Schedule | Fortnightly |
| Format | Ongoing series |
| Genre | |
| Publication date | 31 October 1987 – 4 March 1988 |
| No. of issues | 9 |
In America, the toy line's backstory - featuring centuries-old warriors reviving in the Tomb of Doom - was explained by text included on the toy packaging and a pack-in mini-comic. However, in Britain a licensed fortnightly comic was produced by Fleetway Publications, featuring in-house material created to promote the line for Tonka. The series was previewed by a free comic given away with the 31 October 1987 editions of Fleetway's top selling weekly boys' comics, 2000 AD and Eagle. The first regular issue of the 32-page 40p comic was issued at the same time, with a 'Double Mask' based on the character Skull included; the second included a similar giveaway. John Gillatt, Sandy James and Jim Watson were among the artists.
In line with a pattern used in many British children's comics of the period, the comic had a fictional editor, the Ghostling Spooks. The lead strip was "The Legend of the Supernaturals" and the lighter "Ghostlings!". Also included were non-Supernaturals strips, including ventriloquist dummy story "The Doll" (written by Peter Milligan) and self-contained 'creepy' stories reportedly chosen by another Ghostling, Scary Cat. Profile material and toy adverts also featured heavily in the comic.
While the comic was produced under the auspices of IPC boys' adventure group editor Barrie Tomlinson he had very little memory of working on it when writing his autobiography. Like the toyline, the comic was not a success - lasting just nine fortnightly issues before being cancelled. Some of the material was reprinted in the hardbacked Supernaturals Adventure Book, an annual issued in 1988.
Reception
Toy historian Mark Bellomo included the line in an article for Mental Floss about 12 1980s toys that didn't take off, noting that the then-innovative hologram technology made the figures prohibitively expensive for many of the children of the time.
Notes
- Sometimes referred to as Super Naturals due to the logo, though Supernaturals is consistently used in Tonka material.
References
- ^ "Super Naturals". 2 April 2019.
- Ultra-Realistic Imaging: Advanced Techniques in Analogue and Digital Colour Holography. CRC Press. 19 April 2016. ISBN 9781439828007.
- Holosphere. Museum of Holography. 2 March 1987.
- "Popular Photography".
- Holographic Visions: A History of New Science. OUP Oxford. 6 April 2006. ISBN 978-0-19-857122-3.
- "Super Naturals".
- ^ "Remember the Short-Lived 1987 Action Figure Line SUPER NATURALS!?". 22 December 2022.
- Children's Business. Fairchild Pub. 1988.
- "Super Naturals Skull Action Figure Tonka 1987 Vintage 80s for sale online".
- "Tonka Supernaturals Action Figure Toy hologram Super Naturals MOC Lionheart Lion".
- https://www.ebay.com/itm/276146551746?hash=item404b9dfbc2%3Ag%3AUAQAAOSwfaxlRrfM&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4NopH6NZtfhIA%2F4NyhTixoqrsHGQbuPEuf4dEm8uzSo3s%2F0d37qebtXDtcPxoBfowiTmHeda6XpWbfgsjtpeUjL4gVVU18bvY7FpN%2BvDOMXCjwCIT67w2W77gVKBnW1DZjjxVsy2fB4dKeT%2FFnLVNuMvZC37eswyb50Po%2FuuQuKEcGGxnzhafUrKSdd5rPH37UZsjams9rD5HO0diM5WzLU8vu%2FWglmE5JaQZNNUrlSVsX6oXZZuFEYAlPwaoJh%2FrTOeabwYZl4501OclsUQjNvbkCJYCDJaMzv1i5uWmryU&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&siteid=0&campid=5338495936&customid=&toolid=20003&mkevt=1
- https://www.ebay.com/itm/285545029487?hash=item427bcf5f6f%3Ag%3Af4wAAOSw-65lRrdD&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4GYbvP04gmkgvjnYS0JoYyecHAt1kCJiyXbwLFAI1RngGYjO%2FftGTmgae7o456o0yvNLv7Cv7TE84ogtUhzvDMU5FN3FURO%2FecNjIMC4omvmdLZIiCD18BmNW%2FRklYdYQ%2BR%2FZP51qRrifNm%2BIY%2BlnGUtnPJapQrf59SXx6EJGNrqT3BiEgu6utupQjMFCu2QO%2BBOcH%2FS1sYrPLnqECX19GW0bdEOe0bo56Flh%2FGj2JxRSQr8OAZZ4QPNyY1a3ryks6sIWBb85EoANKBBxKKxXBwBhF7Hc1qOMGwv1HSXm1CE&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&siteid=0&campid=5338495936&customid=&toolid=20003&mkevt=1
- ^ "12 Toys from the 1980s That Didn't Take off". 12 December 2012.
- ^ Holland, Steve (2002). The Fleetway Companion. Rotherham: CJ & Publication.
- Comic Book Hero. Pitch. 24 September 2017. ISBN 9781785313585.