Batman Action Figures - Mego/Kenner Transition

Mego/Kenner Transition

Realizing the success of the 8" line of figures, and always thinking of ways to reduce costs of production, Mego Corp. released a smaller plastic line of action toys called Comic Action Heroes! in 1975 that had the costumes molded onto the figure, thus eliminating the extra cost of creating the suits. The Comic Action Heroes were the first ever all plastic smaller scale action figure. The line featured Batman, Robin, The Joker, and The Penguin as well as other DC Comics characters. Later, in 1979, Mego re-released the line under the new name Pocket Super Heroes, a name that would return more than 20 years later as part of DC Direct's super hero line of figures (see below). After Mego made the fatal mistake of not securing licensing for Star Wars, Kenner scooped up the licensing and banked on success for the next 30 years. The figures they made were also smaller and all plastic, thus creating a new standard size and style for the action figure.