Suckerman : a review 23 years in the making!

   





I will be the first to say that I have very few wants that go unanswered. It's the result of a lifetime having to budget myself and using my hobby to feed my hobby by selling lesser pieces for something more desirable. I often do hit walls where certain toys are just either not worth the price tag to me or just simply having eyes bigger than my wallet; sometimes you just have to let go of the desire to have a 4 foot tall Gamera in your living room. I've nearly had my hands on everything I ever wanted by having a really good working relationship with other sellers and collectors, mainly because I understand everyone needs to make money and not being afraid to put money on the table for something I really want. But there's been one piece that's eluded me for years, just because it's importance slipped further and further down my want list. I happily added him to the collection this month for $15.

Suckerman was released by Mattel in 1978 to combat the influx of space and alien themed toys brought on by the Star Wars craze. Granted Mattel was riding the wave of their imported Shogun Warriors, but was dabbling in some house brand characters to lead their sales. In this time they created unique boys toys like Grey-Gory the Vampire Bat and Krusher but they needed an alien to spearhead an outerspace line up. Aptly named Suckerman, his rubery, lanky body is covered in 26 suction cups, giving him the uncanny ability to stick to nearly any smooth surface with ease. Sadly though, Suckerman was the only character in the line. He was released in a rainbow of different colors, hardest to find in black and glow in the dark but easier to find in other colors.

(you can tell it's Mattel!)

With Mattel's history being a predominantly girl brand company they had some success in the late 60s with a little line known as Major Matt Mason, which would have been perfect for a reboot in the late 70s but Mattel opted for something fresh. It was a cool idea, the package encouraged you to throw him against the wall and watch him in action and the sculpting was really decent; you could tell they had a lot of faith in Suckerman not failing them at retail. The more I look at him, to me he screams 60s sci-fi with his scaly skin and fanged bat-like head. Suckerman's legacy at Mattel wasn't as illustrious as say He-Man but it's still a worthy footnote in toy history, he just had the rotten luck of being created in the wrong decade.

In person, Suckerman lives up to the hype I created in my head over this toy. I can imagine being much younger I would have had a ball with it. As an adult, I mostly use it to creep my wife out by sticking him to the wall in the shower or to the bedroom ceiling fan, which is equally fulfilling to my inner child. Suckerman looks great next to the toys of that era like Stretch Armstrong, Grey-Gory, Krusher, Micronauts, and assorted Mego and other 8 inch figure lines of the era. The only problem I've encounted so far is properly displaying Suckerman. He doesn't stand on his own and the suction cup gives out after a little while, so I'm stuck on how to display him.

Great Mazinger Shogun Warrior by Mattel

(cartoons without subtitles, use your imagination)

The legend centers around the character of Tetsuya Tsurugi, an orphan raised by none other than Kenzo Kabuto. Kenzo is the once thought dead father of Mazinger Z pilot Kouji Kabuto. Kenzo Kabuto is the creator of the new and improved version of Mazinger by refining his father's Chogokin Z (Super Alloy Z) into a stronger form with better weapons to take on humanity's new enemy; the Mikenese Empire. This evil empire is led by the Great General of Darkness and his army of Warrior Beasts, which have little more than domination on their minds. Kenzo gives the Great Mazinger to Tetsuya to pilot, who is accompanied by a new token girl Jun Hono (an orphaned half Japanese, half black girl) in her female robot Venus A.
Both Great Mazinger's and Tetsuya's training are completed just in time to come to Kouji's aid as the Mycene Battle Beasts overwhelm Mazinger Z. With the original Mazinger destroyed, Kouji went to America to study space travel and left Japan's defense in the hands of Tetsuya and the Fortress of Science. Tetsuya battles the Mycene Battle Beasts and even their mighty generals, cumulating in a bitter final battle with the Mycene's Great General of Darkness; Ankoku Daishogun. After the Great General of Darkness' defeat, the Mycene forces are rallied by Dr. Hell (the villain from Mazinger Z) back under the guise of the Great Marshall of Hell.

(because every good intro credits deserves some kick ass end credits)

(I'm not sure what the fuck he just said but we better give him all of our money b/c that toy looks awesome!)

The series also includes some other cast members from the original Mazinger Z show like Shiro Kabuto (Koji's little brother) and comic-relief robot; Boss Borot. The show, unfortunately, wasn't as successful in Japan as the original and it was never aired in the United States. But as usual, good portions of South America and Europe got to see the show unedited and in its entirety ( like Mazinger Z, because the show we got here was watered down from it's original cuts).

My all time favorite Shogun Warrior, Great Mazinger. I always like him because of all the play features; firing finger missiles with racks of backup missiles on both legs and shoulders, removable swords that stowaway into the tops of the thighs and a removable “brain” ship. How can you not love a robot that can flip you the bird and then shoot it right at you! Of all the revisions done to this particular Shogun Warrior, this one is my favorite and I actually refused to buy anything but this version. From what I've found, this one would be considered revision one. Revision one had the raised red “V” on it's chest and the removable “brain” ship while later versions went to a flat “V” sculpted on the chest accented with a red sticker and a stationary “brain” ship.

Definitely a restoration piece, when I received it in the mail it required a considerable amount of cleaning and it was missing the missile firing hand. Luckily for me, I had found an missile firing hand a few months prior to purchasing this piece in a local collectibles shop for a very good price. When completing Jumbo Machinders, you learn to pick up extra and sometimes unnecessary pieces when you find them. Most of the time they are used for trade against stuff you do need down the line to complete robots in your own collection or to help out a fellow collector. But then again, some of that is the very nature of toy collecting in general. As you're reading this right now, I've already got reproduction swords and missiles on order and I'm waiting to find an original “brain” ship to complete my Mazinger. Looking forward to bringing everyone pictures of the final product.

Voltron Giant Commander from LJN Toys

(80's toy commercials, also known as your parents' arch nemesis)

LJN brought some of the coolest toys to toy store shelves in the 80s. Everything from the top bruisers from the WWF to our favorite Saturday morning cartoon hits like Thundercats and Tigersharks (but shockingly not Silverhawks, go figure). In 1984 LJN brought the Mighty Lion Force Voltron to America, most memorably for me the Giant Commander. A two foot tall, remote control replica of everyone's favorite combiner outside of Transformers. It was a real treat for fanboys old and young considering the original one had only been available in Japanese / Oriental markets prior to LJN getting their hands on the license and they didn't skimp on the extras for it's American debut.

(he's seen things, as has his box. I wish I looked this good for being almost 30 years old too.)

First of all the package is big, bright and impressive. The box is just over 2 foot tall and has a large window so you can see exactly what you are getting. A standard nesting "coffin" lid is the only thing that stands between your grubby hands and the most impressive Voltron collectible this side of the Pacific ocean. Out of the box; Voltron comes with two sticker sheets, an instruction manual, a remote control base (which is fully removable from the robot) and the Blazing Sword. I mentioned earlier this is different than the Popy version (for those not hip to the lingo, Popy is a company that produced a lot of cool robots and monsters for the Japanese market. Feel free to Google or eBay search for them, they made tons of the jumbo style Shogun Warriors and whatnot.), their version had firing hip missiles but didn't come with the Blazing Sword, "grasping" hands or remote control base. Some people will argue for ages which one is the best, I put my money on the LJN release.....USA, USA, USA, USA!

(the crime scene)

(nice sword, overcompensating for something?)

(these hands are made for pinching)

The remote control takes two fresh C cell batteries for fun to begin. The remote control base is fun, but only in small doses. Like most cheaper remote control toys it has two directions; forward and turning right in reverse. Luckily, only a few screws stand between you and liberating the Giant Commander from his bondage. With Voltron free from his base, it hits you; damnit, this toy feels really light and cheaply made. This Voltron is made like the Jumbo Machinders (or jumbo Shogun Warriors) of the late 70s, blow molded  plastic similar in composition to your average shampoo bottle. The only difference between Voltron and his Jumbo Machinder brothers is the feet aren't weighted, mostly because they never planned on kids taking him off the "fun" remote control base.

(complete waste of plastic for an adult, hours of fun for a child)

Voltron is articulated at the neck, shoulders, wings, elbows and hands. The figure grips the Blazing Sword quite well but some movement is hindered by the "grasping" hands. The base, in my opinion, is garbage and I  won't be using it for display of the Giant Commander. The paint and stickers help pull off a fairly good likeness of it's cartoon counterpart and in my mind is the definitive vintage Voltron collectible next to the Castle of Lions playset. He's also a great Jumbo Machinder brother from another mother and displays well with the rest of my 2 foot tall club. Overall, a great collectible and worth picking up if you like Voltron or Shogun Warriors.

(high quality scans of the stickers and instruction manual, b/c my fans deserve more)

(a really cool 5 foot tall standee used to lure children into asking for this monstrosity of a toy. Needless to say, it worked.)