My first memory of DC's cosmic warlord Tyr was his appearance as an action figure in Kenner's third series (1986) of Super Powers action figures.
Three decades later, it remains a mystery to me why Tyr was chosen for the Super Powers line. According to Jake Rossen, following the wind down in popularity of Star Wars figures, Kenner was looking for the next big thing.
They thought they'd found it in the deep bench of DC super characters; and the first two series of figures seemed to vindicate that belief. Anchored by cultural icons like Batman and Superman, and tying in directly with the Super Friends cartoon--which had been airing under one name or another since the 70s--most of the figures were familiar, at least to Saturday morning cartoon junkies like me.
And then came the third round. I always enjoyed seeing new action figures...but it really frustrated me when they never made their way into the cartoons. Eventually, even a naive kid like me was bound to start suspecting the producers were more interested in making a quick buck than in making high quality art/entertainment.
As I later learned, Tyr had always a Legion of Superheroes foe. This made his inclusion in the Super Powers Collection even more baffling. All the other villains were classic enemies either of the Super Friends as a group (e.g., Darkseid), or individual members of the team (e.g., Penguin, Mr. Freeze). What was the point of randomly including a villain from faaaaaar in the future who never fought any of these guys?
One might hypothesize that this was a first volley in some strategy to expand further into the DC canon. Yet even if this were the case, the Tyr decision still doesn't make sense. If they wanted to enter the world of the Legion, it would have made way more sense to start with some heroes (e.g., maybe the original three--Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, and Saturn Girl).
Furthermore, even if--in some bizarre drunken stupor--a Kenner exec actually convinced himself that starting an expansion with a villain would be a great idea, why the heck Tyr?! Wouldn't a higher-profile LSH foe like the Time Trapper or the Fatal Five have been a far more solid choice?
[I refer you, dear reader, to the following two videos on the topics of "greatest villains of the Legion of Superheroes." Wanna guess who doesn't get mentioned in either of them?]
So what do you say? Can someone with either more insight into the DC universe, or an insider perspective on the action figure biz, provide a rationale for this decision?
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Under the influence of toy lines like Masters of the Universe, I just assumed his name should be something like Laser-Arm.
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They thought they'd found it in the deep bench of DC super characters; and the first two series of figures seemed to vindicate that belief. Anchored by cultural icons like Batman and Superman, and tying in directly with the Super Friends cartoon--which had been airing under one name or another since the 70s--most of the figures were familiar, at least to Saturday morning cartoon junkies like me.
And then came the third round. I always enjoyed seeing new action figures...but it really frustrated me when they never made their way into the cartoons. Eventually, even a naive kid like me was bound to start suspecting the producers were more interested in making a quick buck than in making high quality art/entertainment.
As I later learned, Tyr had always a Legion of Superheroes foe. This made his inclusion in the Super Powers Collection even more baffling. All the other villains were classic enemies either of the Super Friends as a group (e.g., Darkseid), or individual members of the team (e.g., Penguin, Mr. Freeze). What was the point of randomly including a villain from faaaaaar in the future who never fought any of these guys?
One might hypothesize that this was a first volley in some strategy to expand further into the DC canon. Yet even if this were the case, the Tyr decision still doesn't make sense. If they wanted to enter the world of the Legion, it would have made way more sense to start with some heroes (e.g., maybe the original three--Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, and Saturn Girl).
Furthermore, even if--in some bizarre drunken stupor--a Kenner exec actually convinced himself that starting an expansion with a villain would be a great idea, why the heck Tyr?! Wouldn't a higher-profile LSH foe like the Time Trapper or the Fatal Five have been a far more solid choice?
[I refer you, dear reader, to the following two videos on the topics of "greatest villains of the Legion of Superheroes." Wanna guess who doesn't get mentioned in either of them?]
So what do you say? Can someone with either more insight into the DC universe, or an insider perspective on the action figure biz, provide a rationale for this decision?
 |
| Sure ya will, buddy...just keep swingin' for the fences. |
Strange choice, but I have a soft spot for Tyr, as I loved those first couple of appearances by him, as well as his appearances in the Baxter Legion series.
ReplyDeleteWhat was it that appealed to you? Did you just like the idea of a guy with a laser cannon arm, or was there something else?
DeleteI didn't necessarily like the idea of a guy with a gun for an arm, but I loved the art (Dave Cockrum might be my all-time favorite Legion artist) plus I enjoyed the story in general and I love the Bronze Age Legion, so those things make me have a soft spot for Tyr. Although, I did think it was cool when, in his second appearance, his gun turned out to be independent and wreaked some havoc on its own.
ReplyDeleteHow much (if at all) did you keep up with the Legion after the Bronze Age? I didn't really care about much put out after the late 80s...maybe the very early 90s. Did Tyr ever get a renaissance as an important Legion villain? By the time I was into the comics, you always heard about Mordru, the Fatal Five, the Time Trapper, Starfinger, maybe the Dominators...but Tyr seemed to be basically a footnote. (Of course, I was never a HUGE Legion collector...so maybe I was just missing the issues he appeared in.)
DeleteHonestly, I didn't keep up much with the Legion aftter from Bronze Age, in facy after Magic Wars ended the Baxter series. I got a few random issues of 5 Years Later, which I didn't much care for, then much more recently, I picked up the first two TPB's for Waid's threeboot Legion, which was better than 5YL, but still wasn't really my cup of tea. I also got Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes and Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds, which I thought were pretty good. Finally, I did pick up the TPB for the beginning of the Reboot Legion of 1994 (I think it's called the "Archie Legion" and I actually did like that. I thought it was fun and somewhat of a return to the early days of the Legion, and I liked Gates and Monstress. I don't know, but I'm pretty sure Tyr never became an important villain, so it is a mystery as to why he got his own action figure.
ReplyDelete