1973 Introduction

Mego Sales page 1973 with prototype Superman

It's no surprise that Mego would start with the character that truly originated the word "Superhero" in the first place. Superman was also the first Mego WGSH ever produced as evidenced by the Prototype Superman featured in the 1973 Mego catalog.


Variations

Superman remained in the WGSH offering from the beginning to the end. Unlike Batman and Robin, who share that distinction, Mego Superman was the only figure who stayed essentially the same.

Because of Mego running the same character for nearly ten years at different production facilities, there are some minor variations of Mego Superman in material texture, though no vinyl capes have been discovered. The major variation is the Large S Solid box/Kresge Superman (see below).

Superman Mego with purple costume

This Type 1 Superman is in a costume that appears to
have faded to lavendar.

Superman Type2




Group Shot

A line up of the many different ways Mego marketed Superman. Courtesy of Brian. Be sure to check out the Bend N Flex, 12 Inch and Pocket Superheroes galleries among others for more Mego Superman.

A number of Superman figures were produced in other formats by Mego. Of particular note would be the Super Softies , Bend N Flex and Comic Action Heroes but if it was a Superhero item made by Mego, Superman was there.


Solid Box

Superman 1973 Solid Box and Large S Figure

Solid Box Superman is the earliest Superman figure produced. Some very rookie issues with this figure is his very large logo and his suit which is somewhat purple in color. These type 1 figures have satin like shorts, skinny boots and the same stirrup suit as Removable Cowl Batman. Mego VP Neal Kublan mentions that early Superman figures were being sent from Hong Kong with "S" upside down, regrettably as of this writing, no examples exist.


One nice detail that was found on early Superman
and not on subsequent releases was the cape sticker.
(thanks to Scott Arendsen for this photo)


uperman 1973 Solid Box by Mego The front and back of a solid box are identical and match the back of a standard box. Identify at a glance by the placement of the flap.
Window Boxes

This first version Window box features Captain America on the masthead and Cap and Tarzan on the sides.

This version Superman features all eight of the WGSH, whether they were Marvel or DC. The correct figure for such a box would have a type 1 body. Later boxes would remove the Marvel characters.

Superman Box 1976 Mego

This is a late issue Superman box. Shazam has replaced the Marvel characters on the sides and mastheads. Note that the Character item code (1300, 1301, etc) have been updated with a 5 (5/1300).


Kresge Card

On the left is an early large sticker Superman and on the right a corrected version. Both figures are on the earliest Kresge cards (Note the heroes in the header) and shows that the Large S Superman was an early variant that was quickly changed. (Photos courtesy Scott Arendsen)

The next Kresge Card in this progression shows the two newest heroes to the Mego Roster, Captain America and Tarzan. As with all Mego WGSH packaging, the artwork would be further altered to not have the DC and MArvel heroes intermingling. The estate of Edgar Rice Burroughs seemed to have no problem with Tarzan sharing the spotlight with Superman however.

Later Kresge cards (not shown, yet) would have revised headers to feature Green Arrow and would contain a type 2 Superman, we are working on bringing those to you.


1976 Card

Superman Mego MOC 1976
1977 Card


1979 Card

Supermn 1979 Card

Palitoy UK

Palitoy the UK distributor for the WGSH created their own unique packaging for their "Super-Heroes" line of figures, it involved single character cards with striking artwork. Superman is very sought after by collectors and is not commonly found.


Fist Fighter UK

Fist Fighting Superman was exclusively made by Palitoy for the UK market and came on this unique die cut card.


Lili Ledy Mexico

Not drooling yet? Well then check out this rare Mexican Superman produced by Lily Ledy. Ledy had the rights to produce Mego figures on their own soil, a MIB example is hard to find. Courtesy of the super great Luis Felipe.

BASA Peru

BASA made three heroes for the Peruvian market including Superman pictured here courtesty of Rudy Zerbi.


Popy Japan

The Japanese Superman box. Distributed by the Popy Company of Japan this box bears no mention whatsoever of the Mego Corp. These are standard Megos. Look in the Spiderman and Batman Galleries for more Japanese packaging.

Superman Mego Japanese Popy Box with Neal Adams art

The box art on the Popy figures is some of the best you'll see on a Mego box, and that's saying something. leave it to the Japanese to design a killer Mego box. Dig the classic Neal Adams Batman.

Superman Mego Japanese Popy Box with Neal Adams art