American pop culture nostalgia tends to go through generational cycles. In the 1970s, everyone watched Happy Days; in the 1990s we had another Woodstock; in the early “naughts” we had That ’70s Show.
The same holds true for toys. In the 1990s, there was a resurgence of popularity for Mego and Star Wars, lines whose heyday was in the 1970s and early 1980s. Now, we’re seeing feature films of The Transformers and G.I. Joe, while lines such as Transformers Classics, 25th Anniversary G.I. Joe and the 2002 Masters of the Universe revamp show that 1980s nostalgia is big business right now. NECA’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Mattel’s latest attempt at resurrecting He-Man, Masters of the Universe Classics, are more examples of action figure lines intended to cater to collectors who were kids in the 1980s.