Rudy Panucci On Pop Culture

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Captain Action News Out Of Chicago

The sleek new CA packaging

I don’t need to go into the long history of Captain Action and PopCult here. I’ve been writing about the toy since my first month blogging.

Things are progressing very nicely with the new revival of the classic 1960’s action figure line. The good Captain will continue to stalk toy store shelves and he will continue to have cool uniform sets that will allow him to be dressed as classic super heroes, all thanks to Captain Action Enterprises and Round 2 Corp.

However, out of the C2E2 Expo in Chicago last weekend, we have even more exciting info on new uniforms, new figures, a new comic book series and an animated show.

First up, the next two uniform sets, Iron Man and Wolverine, will be hitting stores in a matter of weeks. With these sets, the deluxe/basic packaging will end.  All uniform sets will now be one low price, loaded with accessories and they still will include the “Build-A-Uniform” pieces you’ll need to complete the Hawkeye outfit. The Iron Man and Wolverine sets will be re-solicited through Diamond Previews to reflect the new, lower price.

Also, the basic Captain Action figure will be released in a cool, thinner, box, with all the available Marvel uniform sets shown on the front, a throwback to the 1960’s box design. There will be no deluxe sets, but each uniform set and basic figure will retail for $20 and will still include loads of accessories and a “Build-A-Uniform” piece.

A package mock-up for the Golden Age Superman

These will be the changes in the way all the uniform sets are sold starting with Iron Man and Wolverine. The first DC Comics sets, Superman and The Joker (a uniform for Dr. Evil),  will still include tons of accessories and a “Build-A-Uniform” piece. The “Build-A-Uniform” outfits will now be completed in four sets, instead of six. The first four DC Comics outfits will contain the pieces you need to build Aquaman.

It looks like the first four DC sets will be The Silver Age Superman, The Joker, Batman and The Golden Age Superman (possibly not in that order, and probably with the Golden Age Superman being replaced with another DC uniform set). Package art was shown for Lady Action uniforms, which is a pretty solid indicator that a female companion for Captain Action is on the way. Outfits shown for Lady Action included Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Batgirl and Catwoman.

Promotional artwork for the DC Comics uniform sets

Word is that Round 2 (under their Forever Fun imprint) plans a uniform release (probably two at a time) every four months. 2013 and 2014 will focus on Marvel and DC Comics characters, but in 2015, characters from Dynamite Comics, the new comic book home for Cap, will enter the fray, with Red Sonja in the forefront.

The Dynamite Comic was described in an email by Captain Action Enterprises’ Ed Catto, “Dynamite will start with a 5 (maybe 6) issue miniseries that will tell the tale of Captain Action just before he officially becomes Captain Action. It’s set in the sixties and teams him with some great heroes. And you can be sure he’ll have to assume their identities throughout the story too. Some of the heroes are ones that you’d expect and have been clamoring for (like Green Hornet and Kato) will some will be unexpected but will very cool (American Crusader).”

The complete Hawkeye “Build A Uniform” set

Catto continues, “We’ll also be including Black Venus, a sexy female heroine and aviatrix (who Captain Action will not be assuming the identity of). Dr. Evil will be the villain of this miniseries. And for this one we’re going total 60’s- spies, secret island headquarters, groovy chicks, wild gadgets – it’s going to be awesome!”

Captain Action is also invading the world of animation in a series by animation house, G7, under the direction of lead writer, Marv Wolfman (co-creator of The New Teen Titans, Blade, Tomb of Dracula).

With loads of new Captain Action stuff on the way, you can be sure that the PopCult Toybox will keep an eye out and keep you up to date.

A test shot from the animated series

1 Comment

  1. Elvis Capone

    HAWKEYE looks like Ben Kingsley as the Mandarin. Is that crazy or what?

Leave a Reply to Elvis CaponeCancel reply

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