Remember the short-lived 1987 action figure line SUPER NATURALS!?

There were many toy lines in the 80s. Some of them were popular, like GI Joe and Transformers, and there were many others that, for some reason, didn’t catch on. Some of the ones that weren’t very popular were still very good Super Natural!

Super Natural they were launched in 1987 by Tonka and ended up being canceled after only one wave of figures were released. Its a bit sad! I liked these figures. I’ve always been a horror fan, even as a kid I was into horror and fascinated by the supernatural, so these figures spoke to me.

The Super Natural the action figures featured flattened cases and faces, and included a ghostly holographic sticker on those surfaces. These figures were darker and more sinister than most toys of the time for children as the hologram stickers revealed the characters as ghosts, skeletons and mummies. There were a few other hologram toys in the 80s, including the Visionaries, that came out later, but I’ll talk about that line another time.

I also loved the packaging with the spooky forest backdrops. I just had to own them! They have been described as “Ghost Warriors with dual channel holograms”.

The story behind the Super Natural was told through the back of the packaging and they even came with mini-comics that came with each figure. They were a group of heroes and evil warriors who were sealed away in the Tomb of Destiny, only to be released hundreds of years later. As ghosts, these enemies are destined to fight once more.

The heroes were led by Lionheart and the villains were led by Skull. The six main characters were equipped with a glow weapon and a holographic shield. These figures also had a breastplate and helmet that hide the hologram underneath. These larger figures also had a chestplate that clipped to the hologram and a helmet, and they looked so cool when all the accessories were clipped on.

The smaller figures, which were cheaper, were called “Ghostlings” and there were eight of them. These strangely cloaked figures were equipped with glow-in-the-dark swords and the plastic cloak could be removed. I owned some of these figures because they were the cheapest ones.

It’s the holograms that really made the figures, though! That’s what made them special and that’s why I wanted them. Even the hologram art was incredibly detailed. Some of the designs included wizards who could transform into a rabbit holding a top hat, which had a small version of itself inside the hat. Evil villains were much creepier, with the character Skull, transforming from a shirtless, one-eyed warrior into a decaying skeleton.

The toy line also included a variety of vehicles and an action playset. That playset came with a removable coffin that lay under a helmeted skull. The coffin came with an escape hatch, which would cause any figure placed inside to disappear, instead revealing an eerie ghostly hologram. I loved the macabre style of this line!

The reason the toy line failed was because the figures were expensive to make and didn’t sell very well. It’s a shame because they were very unique at the time and stood out, at least for me.