While my first action figure that I can remember getting was a Mego Superman, that one disappeared at some point shortly after I got him, sometime in 1973.
A couple of years before I got a Six Million Dollar Man action figure, I got one of these, which I believe I picked up at a flea market.
Action Jackson!
He was Mego Corporation’s answer to the Hasbro’s GI Joe Adventure Team and Mattel’s Big Jim. Except smaller. He was 8 inches tall, like the rest of Mego’s line of action figures.
For the record, I also had a Big Jim at some point.
I don’t think I called him anything other than Action Jackson. He went everywhere with me when I was 7-8 years old.
Around the same time that I got Action Jackson, this oversized comic came out. Inside there was a page featuring Batman’s utility belt, and what appeared to be a full sized drawing of a batarang.
I traced the batarang, cut out a template, drew the batarang on heavy cardboard, attached some string, and I had my own batarang. When I wasn’t using it as a batarang, I strapped it onto the back of Action Jackson, so he could fly.
And then that figure disappeared.
Flash forward to the year 2000, whena company named Playing Mantis came out with a new version of the classic Action Jackson.
I picked up this one, and possibly another, both of which are in storage, somewhere.
This year one of the original Presidents of Mego Corporation launched a limited edition of some of their products, directly to Target.
Among them is Action Jackson.
As you can see, he is very close to the look of the original Mego figure. Moreso than the 2000 PM edition.
I couldn’t find him in any local Targets, so I ordered him online.
Welcome home, old friend. Perhaps I’ll make a new batarang for you.