Howdy folks…welcome to another highlight of the best vintage line around…Super Powers! I can’t really call it Kenner Super Powers anymore, simply because of the vast differences that make the foreign variations so wonderful to pursue. Obviously, if you’ve followed my previous blogs you’ll know one of those lines is Gulliver. Here’s a prime example of how wonderfully goofy a release from a foreign company can be : the Man of Steel, Superman
As one of the rarer characters to find MOC, I don’t think it’s been brought to light just how pencil-necked this geek really is. Until I was finally able to acquire one I had no idea…going off the grainy figure line up on the back of the card it’s not as prominent. Hopefully my pictures will bring a tear to your eye and a knot in your stomach as to how badly ol’ Clark has been mistreated here.
Immediately evident on this example is the condition of the piece. Gullivers have very thin bubbles that become brittle easily in adverse conditions and are difficult to find not only clear but in case-fresh shape. Between that and the unpunched hang tab…well, let’s just say I’m happy that the toy gods like me to the degree that they do. Unlike the Robin and Wonder Woman releases, Superman uses the same art as all the other worldwide versions of the character.
The card back remains the same as all the other heroes. It only changed when the company released El Capitan Ray and changed the logo from "Super Powers" to "Super Heroes." As you can see, Superman doesn’t look that bad here…probably because the original mock-up was just a repainted Kenner figure. Make sure you beware the deadly "Kruptonite!" 
The less said about the following pictures, the better. They really screwed him over with the final finished product, eh?
The battle scars were from his last tussle with Brainiac, I’m assuming. He also doesn’t pencil his eyebrows very well. This crappy paint work is typical of nearly all of the Gulliver releases.
Free posters for all! The posters that came with each Gulliver figure featured the card art over a different colored background..a replica of the artwork behind the figure.
I had no idea there even WAS a Portuguese translation for Mr. Mxyzptlk! You learn something new every day, eh?
The prototypes on the back of the card actually look pretty nice. "Lost in Translation" ain’t just a movie, kids.
Welp, that’s all for this round, but stay tuned for another highlight very soon! I’ve got lots of cool items, both figure and non, to showcase in the coming weeks. Thanks again for reading!
Peace,
Chip
“Kruptonite!” – funny. Another great installment, Chip!
My mother was frequently a substitute teacher in my high school while I was attending. One long stint was for the chemistry teacher who went out on materninity leave. My mom was frequently annoyed by students who tried to tell her that “Kryptonite” was an element on the periodic table. The element is Krypton, which is in its normal state a gas.
interesting how the translation on the foreign versions of the line seem almost similar to english like krypontina though the figure ssems to have been done on the cheap side.
Awesome pictures on some rare items in this and your last few blog posts. It’s good to hear the seller could help you fill some holes in your collection. I’m sure he was glad to see them go to a true collector
Thanks for the article, Chip. The figure looks so bad because it was made circa 1995. The original figures made in Colombia were avaliable in 1986, and the quality of the figures was much better in face paint, the “s” shield decal. Even the plastic cape included the shield in the back. Of course, the neck was fragile and easily broken.
In 1987, in Colombia was avaliable a box set that included the 8 figures (even the infamous “Capitan Rayo”), that used the Garcia Lopez artwork. Superman figures were given as a gift for the first 5 kids in every cinema that featured “Superman IV: The Quest for peace” in Bogota, on the 1988 christmas. (That’s rigth, fellas. That movie was premiered in my coutry 18 months after their release in USA).
The line survived in Colombia until 1995, and both, Supes and Bats remained as the best seller figures in the line. In the christmas of that year, Gulliver made two Superman figures: The Man of Steel (with the infamous mullet) and the Superboy clone. Each figure included 10 points of articulation, and I pressume, they were only avaliable in Colombia.
Superman95!
Can you verify that the Superman Gulliver card is in Spanish
and made in Columbia (or is it in Portugese and made in Brazil)?
Also, on a related note, can you shed any light on the two different
versions of Captain Ray’s chest emblem? Thanks!
Thanks, Chip!
That Supes looks weird without the knees. That bothers me more than anything else! LOL
Keep these coming, they’re cool.
The vinyl capes are an interesting alternative, remind me of the later Megos – same material. And the included posters would have been a great thing to do the U.S. line.
Also find it interesting that bootlegs have such a value now, as I always thought these poorly made figures we’re considered not desirable — only desirable in the package I suppose…
How crazy would it be if you were one of the guys that actually made these things, put little to no effort into painting them, kept a bunch of them in a big suitcase somewhere and are now selling them for I’m sure unbelievably crazy profits?
It’s funny that the Prototypes look so much better.