Forgotten Lore is a feature focusing on toys that were planned but never produced.
Whenever action figure fans wax tragic about the action figures that never got the chance to see the light of day, you can be sure someone will bring up Ra from Stargodz.
Stargodz was a short-lived comic book published in the late 1990s by Dean Zachary, Scott Clark, and Dave Beatty. It last just two issues before going the way of most independent comic books of the time, but in the heady, hype-filled world of the Boom Era when venture capital flowed like wine, there was a prototype figure created of a character named Ra.
Having never read Stargodz, I have absolutely no idea what this guy’s story is, but I do know an awesome action figure when I see it. Given the comic’s quick death, it’s not surprising Ra never made it to the production stage, but in his vanishing a legend was born.
Ra may look a bit tame by today’s standards. Stylistically, McFarlane in particular has produced a number of figures that look a lot like him (I’m thinking of the various manga and robot figures from the series 10-25 era, a.k.a. “the good McFarlane years”). In terms of articulation, we’ve seen work like this on many Marvel Legends. But in 2000? This was hot stuff, arguably something collectors had never seen before, and thus Ra is, for many fans, a hole in their collection that can never be filled.
Poe
@PrfktTear: They did! I had Darkwing myself. They were actually pretty cool. It's the second series that they never produced.
PrfktTear
Did they ever make Darkwing Duck toys? I seem to remember something from them… or am I just making things up?
Reilly
Ra never appealed to me.
The Darkwing Duck toys however… *sigh*
Thomas B
sigh….darkwing duck…one of the BEST disney cartoons…
Poe
Hey, it's not going to be easy for me to write either–as a kid I would have cockpunched myself for a Gizmoduck.
Heli
The Darkwing article is going to depress me, too. Negaduck and Liquidator scream for justice.
Poe
@Timmy-Joe, Reprobate: Sorry Joe, but that one's on my list…
Timmy-Joe, Reprobate
Whatever you do, just don't bring up the unproduced Darkwing Duck second assortment. I … I may cry. 🙁
dayraven
say what you will… but i'd buy one today if they made him.
Thomas B
meh at the time this RA figure was kinda cool.
now it looks like something you'd find MOC and shoved in a bargain box at a comic store like most of the 90s toys.
PresidentJuggernaut
Egyptian mythology meets robots… looks good to me.
Ben
I meant other indie stuff. I'm specifically remembering awful stuff like Double Impact, Hellina, Pandora, etc. And they made countless variants that no one wanted. Ugh. Skyboltz Toys, there's a reason they're no longer in business.
UltraForce got a GREAT toyline, although Galoob went a little too direct market/comic store exclusive happy, which I think turned people like me off.
MechaShiva
It has that 90's "Onslaught"look to him.Only Egyptian themed toys I remember that was cool was "Mummies Alive!".
Poe
@Ben: Wait–there were Stargodz figures that were actually made? Or do you mean other indie comics–like UltraForce, Lady Pendragon, those Rendition "Snowman" figures and so forth?
For the record, I own the Lady Pendragon Merlin figure, and he's pretty neat.
Ben
I love how the subhed for that particular issue of Tomart's AFD is "Greatest Figures Never Made." DRAMATIC IRONY!
I remember walking into any given comic book store in the later part of the 1990s and just seeing HUGE selections of various independent comic book figures. The comics served as an excuse to make a figure, because that was the hot thing to do at the time (as McFarlane Toys proved). Ra was impressive, but now when I scour flea markets, people can't give them away. No one remembers the characters because the comics didn't succeed, and the figures were cheap with poor paint aps, scultping, and articulation, so no one cares about owning them now.
I love discussing the unproduced stuff. Can't wait to see what else you dig up!