Kenner's Superpowers Firestorm

I'm not sure what it is about this costume or character that I like, but I always thought this was a cool figure. this represents one of the few Kenner Superpowers figures that I own (The other two being Batman and Robin). I never really considered myself a Superpowers collector, but I truly love this line of toys. I am always on the look out for a decent Joker, Flash, and Aquaman.

Firestorm here, while not one of my most favorite of heroes, does hold a special place in my collection. Not only because of the cool costume but because he was one of the first action figures I purchased open from a comic shop, purchased open from anywhere really at the time. This was way before Ebay was all the rage, maybe even before toy collecting became so big.

I would frequent a group of comic shops one of them being an up and coming shop called Heroes and Fantasies. Heroes and Fantasies is now a chain of shops in the city, and has kind of lost it's way since it's inception in my opinion. Anyway, I had seen this figure on a few of my trips there and after about a month of thinking about it, I purchased him for eight bucks. At the time I thought that was a little pricey, now just a drop in the bucket.

Firestorm is from a time when action figures really meant action. Each of the Superpowers toys had a great built in action feature, Firestorm's is a punching action. Along with the action features, this line also had comic and cartoon tie-ins and featured some of the greatest mix of DC Superheroes and Villains to date. Standing at about 3 3/4 inches tall this is one of the best lines as far as hiding the mechanisms in such a compact and well executed form. To me these figures still stand the test of time as far as look and playability, even compared to all the super articulation of today. This line is by far a shining example of the right amount of articulation, gimmick, character mix, and marketing can produce.

One of the first toy guides to surface on line was created by Jason Geyer and features an amazing look into the different series of figures, playsets, vehicles, and behind the scenes prototypes. I recommend checking this site out if you have the time, as it is one of the few that is the most comprehensive in it's field on the subject of Superpowers.