The Ghostly History of Super Naturals: A Retro Toyline With a Hologram Gimmick
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- Опубліковано 25 чер 2024
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Get ready to relive your childhood as we take a trip down memory lane to explore the history of the beloved and hauntingly fun Super Naturals hologram retro toyline of the 1980s.
Join us as we take a closer look at the ghostly characters, the collectible figures, and the hologram technology that made these toys so unique. Whether you're a collector, a fan of ghost-themed toys, or just have a nostalgia for the supernatural-themed toys, this video is a must-watch.
So join us and let's discover the ghostly history of Super Naturals- A Retro toyline that haunts your memory
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When I was like 7, I was in some office waiting room with my dad. There was a bucket of toys to play with, and I was instantly intrigued by this robed figure with a hologram inside. They let me keep it, and for 25 years, I’ve had no clue what it was.
This is the second video in like a month that’s answered one of my mysteries. Love your stuff.
Yeah, that is absolutely how I always encountered these. There was always one in a bucket with other figures or something. I remember thinking it was a he-man figure until I saw that there was more than one.
Am I the only one who never got his action figures in waiting room's toys bins (which I never knew existed)?
That may be one of the most hardcore toy commercials ever.
If these things weren't successful, I'd blame that commercial. Those kids hiss whispering "sssssupernaturalsssss" made my skin crawl and my stomach reject all nutrients I've had all day.
I’d wager at least one of those kids had run-ins with the law, a psychiatrist, or both later in life 😅
Hologram pictures, the Magie Eye paintings of the 80s :D
I did collect a couple of supernaturals toys, not because of the figures, but because I wanted the holograms, and those "artsy" shops wanted hundreds for a framed picture of one.
There were these, used here and Visionaries. Then those foil stickers we loved that came with GoBots for a while.
You could also use them to blind entire populations on a sunny day.
This Larry is all over my bundies
Ello you
Hey you! Like your uploads bud! 👍🏽👌🏽
I 100% thought Supernaturals were the villains from Visionaries as a kid. It wasn't until I was an adult that I learned different.
Yeah, I guess I knew they were different but I definitely associated them with each other.
YES! One of my all time favorite "obscure" lines. It's one of those lines that I am still so nostalgic for. Great episode, guys!
Thanks Dan!
I feel the same way
Skull was my favorite as a kid. Him and the real Ghostbusters mummy
Hey! It's Pixel Dan! Guys, I'm dying to go to a toy show or flea market!!!
Yeah, I was actually just thinking about these last week. Such neat toys.
Wow this is so obscure my mom didn't even bother to tell me it was the devil.
My mom did.
Had a few of these guys as a kid. Had totally forgotten about them. Once again, Toy Galaxy reaches deep into my subconscious
That brief moment where you wonder whether they actually got Vincent Price to do the commercial V/O.
I used to stare at the eagle on my dads credit card for what seemed like hours entranced by the power of holograms!!!
This is the episode I've been waiting for. I loved these as a kid. My grandma would surprise me with a new one every couple months. So much nostalgia. Thanks for this one.
Had one that terrified me as a 4 year old and made my mom throw it out. Saw the gates of hell in those holographic eyes
I actually have vivid memories of this line, but couldn't tell you anything about Visionaries. It's almost...supernatural! ...I'll see myself out...
I always thought the Supernaturals ghost toys made more sense than the new-age knight toys of Visionaries.
The holograms are better integrated. The whole "carry it around on a banner pole" seems like a half-hearted attempt.
Full torso zombie skeleton hologram pirate mercenary trumps 1 inch hologram of a hermit crab every time.
@@segapig Yeah. The holograms were bigger and better in Supernaturals, and that's the real reason we bought them.
Marginally, yes. I also found the division of the line into both types so odd.
I always liked these particularly the Ghostlings. But I think they made a mistake in not having normal faces attached to the chestplates, so the figures wouldn’t look weird from any angle other than straight on.
Holy crap, ‘The Doll’ is a real comic? I thought I’d dreamed it. I saw it in the Eighties but not in Supernaturals - I read it in a copy of the MASK comic - complete with that “what happens next?” ending! Who the hell made this thing and got it into these comics.
Yep, yep - pretty sure that's where I read it too. I couldn't remember which comic it was in, it wasn't my usual transformers or gi-joe. It was definitely a "shut up whilst I do this adult task purchase"
Same here, terrifying stuff!
Don't you realize "The Doll" is a rip off of the Goosebumps story, Night Of The Living Dummy, The Doll is the literary Slappy The Dummy from Goosebumps, so Tonka's Super Naturals is a rip off of R.L. Stine's Goosebumps.
@@brendenesguerra8488 I am pretty sure the "The Doll" came out almost half a decade before the first Goosebumps books were written.
@@Frosty7575 but whoever wrote it, wanted it to be a Children's anthology horror series, and the evil ventriloquist dummy is a hell of a lot like Slappy, and I'm pretty sure the dude who wrote that story is R.L. Stine, and when his story for Tonka's Supernaturals got rejected and Tonka was acquired by Hasbro in the 90s, he reworked it for Goosebumps, into Night Of The Living Dummy, and the Supernaturals themselves were prototype versions of the Goosebumps monsters, like Curly The Skeleton, Prince Khoru The Mummy, The Mud Monster from "You Can't Scare Me", Amaz-O The Magician, The Lord High Executioner of Terror Tower, etc., and Supernaturals does give me a Goosebumps vibe, in fact if "The Doll" came out almost half a decade before the first Goosebumps books were written, Goosebumps is actually a rip off of Tonka's Supernaturals, so Tonka's Supernaturals were the original Children's anthology horror series, not Goosebumps, however, I'm pretty sure though Tonka's Supernaturals and Goosebumps are connected, the same way Transformers and Gobots are connected, you know.
I totally had some of these when I was a kid. I never knew any of their backstory. While I knew the name of the line, they were always just like "those hologram guys" to me.
The Doll story could have been 10x better if at the end a Medieval Knight who transformed into a Lion Man saved the day.
The year these came out I got all of these figures for Christmas, including the coffin play set. I always wished there was a cartoon.
I have never so intensely envied a stranger on the internet before.
Hopefully you still have all of them.
I had the Lionheart figure as a kid. It really was very well made high quality toyline. Hugely underrated.
Lol! I remember the commercials back in the day. I also remember that some of those writers & artists who worked on the Supernaturals comic (which I owned) also worked on a U.K. horror comic 'Scream'. It was a fantastic comic with stories like 'The Dracula File,' 'Monster' and the fantastic '13th Floor'. Ah, way back in '84/85. Those were the days. :)
Loved Scream. Great comic and had some genuinely great stories.
Considering how IPC/ Fleetway operated at the time, I wonder if The Doll was a leftover Scream title and they had to publish it somewhere.
This is just what I needed today Dan, thanks! My young imagination exploded with amazement when I got my first Supernatural. It was Snakebite and he formed a fierce triumvirate with King Hiss and Serpentor.
"Good guys, bad guys, conflict; when you hear the bell, come out swingin'"
It's brilliant insight like this that keeps me coming back to this channel.
Cripes, what a shame. I dug these toys as a kid and I still like the holograms. I'd love for them to get retconned in with the Visionaries in Hasbro's next reboot.
I relive my childhood everyday by watching this channel 💪😎❤️
Ooh, the comic. I remember getting the preview with an issue of 2000AD. Didn't last for long! I think Ian Kennedy's artwork was just the covers. Main thing I remember him for is Dan Dare, when Eagle got revived. Still drawing, after all these years.
I think The Doll might have been intended for the horror comic Scream!, or possibly Eagle when it was merged with Scream!, although that may have been phased out around then.
Okay, two things. One: old school holograms rule and it sucks that enamel pins took off instead. Two: I totally ripped off the Ghostlings for the villain of my childhood comic.
Enamel pins?
@@thetallmaninyourecloset5276 Yeah, I guess that isn't a logical leap! I'm thinking in terms of cool collectibles that people could get made the way they do stickers or patches or pins.
Basically, I immediately searched for printers who could offer holograms and nope. Not one.
@@HelloMisterJAMWAH Try Toyhax.com. No promise but I think they do the heat-signs from Transformers.
I loved Supernaturals. There was a 1-800 number you could call to get a recording of each of the characters, and my friends and I called it up many times and recorded them to tape. I remember it being free, but maybe it was only free to me because I didn't pay the phone bill.
This channels makes me thankful for being an 80s child. We had some of the coolest toys, cartoons and movies
Such a well written and in depth analysis of a short lived concept that has for decades only been a vague half memory for so many of us. This is why we love your channel!
The Doll scared the crap out of me as a kid. I couldn't believe it was part of a children's comic.
SuperNaturals were better than Visionaries!
"Change to fight, with Ghostly might!"
I had one of these as a kid, but could barely remember anything about them. Given that holograms are made by bouncing laser light off a 3D object, I'd love to see the original models they used to create the images for these.
My favourite part of watching these videos about old action figures is seeing a toy that I actually had in my collection back in the day but completely forgot about - in this case, the Skull guy!
I’m so glad you did this one! The Doll has always been stuck in my head in a vague frightening memory and I couldn’t remember where it was from. I thought maybe Madballs comic. Thank you for ending that mystery!
I have Snake Bite - he was and still is really cool. The holograms still look really great. These guys and Inhumanoids should have a crossover - both obscure but really cool.
I was waiting for this, I had these, remembered them but had no idea what the hell the were called. Awesome 👏
Oh lawd, this just catapulted me back to my childhood.
In 1987, I was four years old and a Jem and the Holograms fan. So, I didn't even know that this existed until now. I'm a Jem Girl for life! 💗🌟🎤🎶🎼📺
outrageous
I was seven then and when I'd go watch cartoons at my buddy's house. He had sisters and they loved that cartoon. We hated it and made fun of it and them for liking it.
@@forceghostburtreynolds7597 totally
I've got a few loose accessories and 1 figure in a smashed card, I love them. Finding them in the wild is always a cause for celebration.
These were really impressive in person the only problem was it required just the right angles and right lighting. But if you got it, the effect was amazing. Better than most of the other holograms I saw. Only surpassed when that 3D hologram arcade game Time Traveler came out.
Played that. Wow, that was a waste of money. But actually, the memory of playing it is actually worth the 10 bucks I probably spent on it, before the charm wore off.
Is it just me, or does every toy line that overwhelmingly fails in the US go on to be substantially more successful in the UK?
Yeah, or somewhere in South America.
I've noticed that too.
The Hasselhoff effect.
@@TheRobotAssassin Well sure, if you're only talking about his music career.
@@TheRobotAssassin why do Americans not like him very much? iv never seen a bad side to him. he seems like a very positive character
I was given the tomb of doom and two of the figures, in '92 by a friend's older brother I loved them as hand me downs back when I was little
I never had the time or energy to distinguish these from “Visionaries”. Kind of like I how I still can’t tell the difference between Gil Gerard or Robert Urich.
Gil was Buck Rogers and Megatronus Prime.
Robert Urich was Spenser: For Hire and captain of the second Love Boat.
"Teenage wolf" sounds a bit like "Mr. Manager." "We just say teen wolf." "Kind of like how we just say 'Hogan Family' now?"
I don’t care what anyone else thinks, those are pretty cool figures. I would’ve loved them had I known about them. Only had one Visionaries figure, and I thought it was awesome. Holograms are still rad.
The very first time I visited America, the Super Naturals toyline had just come out, and I was in love with the toy commercials. I never did get the toys themselves, but I never forgot about them, and I learned all about the rest of the toys and the comics later on come the internet age.
This is how I like my toys. Left in the 80's with no chance of IDW fucking them up.
I Absolutely LOVED Super Naturals.. and Holograms.
i mean, i still DO.. but damn they was so cool in the 80s!!
This was a fun watch. As much as I loved Marvel & DC Comics, I did enjoy our British stuff and would regularly pick up IPC/Fleetway stuff, as well as DC Thomson and Marvel UK.
Supernaturals was beautifully drawn. The stories were a bit flat, but the artwork was great.
The Doll however was really good. I always got the impression that it was a left over strip from Scream, IPC/Fleetway's brief horror comic from about 1984/1985.
It was still a relatively common practice then for UK comic artists and writers to not have credit on their published work.
There were also many artists were hired from Spain and Brazil by IPC/Fleetway at the time.
I can't believe nobody has figured out who the artist is for The Doll, but even some of the identified creators don't seem to remember working on Supernaturals either.
I know I've seen the style before.
Thanks for the dive into this obscure toyline and its even more obscure UK comicbook.
I hope you do more on UK comics. There's a strange, yet interesting history there 🙂
Oh man!!!! I’d forgotten all about these. I had one. I remember them being one of the most mind blowing things ever to my kid brain when they came out.
Great episode sir! I remember having a few of the super naturals and told my wife about it. Her comment was “you had a lot of toys growing up huh”? This was my escape and the holograms were amazing for the time period back then.
Found some ghostlings in an old box of toys my mom saved from when I was a kid and had no idea what they were. I figured they must be visionaries after watching your video on that toy line. Thanks for solving the mystery!! I love your channel!
I had a couple of these as a kid. For the life of me I couldn’t remember what they were called. Thanks for the awesome video!
ABSOLUTELY ADORED the mythology and would LOVE some new figures (minus the holograms... just have different body parts for the change)
The UK comic was PHENOMENAL
Memory unlocked! I have been trying to remember the name of these toys forever. Now it's time to hit eBay, and get some of that sweet childhood nostalgia.
This definitely belongs in the "I think I saw this on the Toy Shelf briefly" category.
I had the snake guy and his ghost buddy for most of my childhood. They were two of my favorite toys!
It's nice of Dan to do these videos so I can identify the random toys I had kicking around my room that I got at flea markets and yard sales with no real way to identify what they actually are. Apparently it's a "ghostling".
This line is legit one of the reasons I subscribed to your channel, hoping you had a video on it. They've been in my head as one of the most memorable/cool toys from when i was a kid even though I never owned one. Watching now, I still think they're cool as hell and I'm glad you finally tackled them.
I freaking love the supernatural toy figures it brings me back to my childhood I have a couple of those fingers still around today just not in great condition.
I bought all 9 issues of the comic when I was a kid, it was great. I remember The Doll to this day so it was a surprise to see this pop up after so long!
I had a few of those as a kid 😄 the weird large Skeleton guy and one of the robed dudes. My friends in Kindergarten thought they were the coolest toys ever cus of those hologram stickers 🤣😂. Glad to see some love shown
I had one of these guys, the skeleton one. He was pretty cool looking I guess, but the figures were chunky. That Tomb of doom looks cool though, plus props for getting Vincent Price in the commercial!
Remember seeing the commercials for these and the toys in Consumer catalogs. I bet my son would love these because he's really into Halloween and spooky stuff.
The doll!!! I remember reading it as a kid and honestly thought I'd imagined it, because I couldn't remember where I'd seen it and there's scant information online!! I guess it made more of an impression than the main comic.
Ghosts! Monsters! Glow in the Dark weapons! Transformations! Holograms! THE TOMB OF DOOM! Supernaturals checked off every single feature I wanted out of a toy as a kid. It was the first time I ever experienced the sensation of a company making a product I didn't even know I wanted until they had it ready to try to sell to me (through my parents.)
Okay, I normally don't care about those freemium games doing promotional crossovers, but the fact that the GI Joe and Cobra tanks have visible molding lines, like they're actually toys, is a really nice touch.
I would have liked if they had just used the HISS but oh well, still cool.
I think Supernaturals used the hologram gimmick better than Visionaries. And that Vincent Price (or sounds like) commercial really sold it!
Supernaturals were really cool toys that RULED my toy aisles in the 80s in Germany ( I always thought of them as Scareglow& Skeletor merged together!) I'm not gonna lie, it became super hard to pick out toys as a kid with these, thundercats, he man, TMNT, robotech and transformers staring you down!
I haven’t thought about those toys for a long time, but the adverts were playing in my head two minutes into this video
I had both Supernaturals and Visionaries as a kid but never knew what they were. They were my older brother's toys that I played with when he stopped caring about them. I remember always being super weirded up by the Snake Guy that we had.
Thanks for showing the UK ads! I remember them quite well even after 34 years.
Oh, man. Had a few of these and absolutely loved them. Those holograms were the coolest.
My younger brother had a few of these. The little ghostlings had the coolest of the holograms for the line.
Gotta love that Vincent Price for the Toy ad
I had both Supernaturals and Visionaries toys. When I got older, I noticed the two had a fair amount of differences, and frequently wondered what was up with the two different lines (I was 2 when they came out), and didn't know the name Visionaries until about 8 years ago, and I think I figured out Supernaturals about a year or two after that.
I love watching these videos and realizing; "that's where that weird toy from my childhood came from!"
I really enjoyed those comics at the time. Reminded me of the Scream comic.
Can't believe I forgot about the Doll.
Oh my word, you just tapped into a part of my brain I haven't accessed in thirty years. I had several of these toys, and I loved them! The holograms really freaked me out.
I loved these as a kid. I had all of the large figures and if I didn’t have all of the ghostlings I had most. When these didn’t take off they apparently got bought up by discount stores which is how I was introduced to them. There was a discount store a few blocks away that my mom and grandma shopped at which is where I first saw and asked for these. Afterwards it seemed like every Easter Basket, St. Nicholas Day, Halloween etc would land me one. My favorite was the pirate. Unfortunately I broke his arm off which got super glued into place.
i had a couple of these toys! Wow its crazy how i had so many things you guys talk about.
loved supernaturals had all the figures. will even be giving this video a thumbs up as you barely insulted the line or people involved so that made a nice change
Snakebite is one of my all time favorite figures and I have it on display. I still love it.
I been wracking my brain for years to remember the name of these! Thanks so much Dan !!! 😎👍🏼
This episode brought back sooo many memories. Thanks Toy Galaxy ❤️❤️❤️
Yes! One of my all time favourite toylines from way back. I have all the figures several times over and the Tomb and vehicles. Being in the UK I also have the comics. Most issues came with a double sided cardboard charecter mask. Fun times.
HELL YES. I had three of the main figures and two of the ghosts. I loved them. The weapons also worked well with MOTU figures :D I had some of the comics too (I think I was 7ish at the time) and loved how dark they were. Great stories. I found the promo comic for a few pennies in a charity shop a few years ago and it made me so damn happy. Then, because money, I flipped it. I really wish I hadn't.
I remember that comic! Completely forgot it was anything to do with Supernaturals. It was awesome.
For years, decades even... I thought these toys were Visionaries! I loved them. I'm sure at the time I knew what brand but over the years my adult brain merged the two franchises. The hologram Mandela effect!
Supernaturals and visionaries came out when I was getting out of toys. Until this video both lines merged together in my mind (I remembered supernaturals as visionaries villains until this video refreshed my memory). The one thing I remember most of all about the holographic toys was, as you said, holograms were everywhere in the 80’s and when an action figure gives up molding and articulation to be what is basically a Cracker Jacks sticker on a flat surface under a plastic hood, it looked cheap compared to other toys. On one hand you have a sculpted articulated figure which a gimmick, on the other hand a gimmick without much sculpting or articulation.
I had the main bad guy and his "ghostling" (not that I knew which side they were on back then) and the Tomb of Doom, got them for Christmas in 1987. I saw the television advertisements for them and thought they looked awesome...and yes, they were and I loved them. Wouldn't mind tracking some down again, they are still just as badass today as they were back then.
God! I loved these as a kid. One of the few lines where I had a lot of them because you could find them cheap.
And holy crap, do I need to find those comics!
It was only recently that I learned what these things were called, its nice to rediscover a piece of your long lost childhood.
At first I was like “Supernaturals? I don’t remember those.”
Then I saw the figures and I had to laugh. I remember them. My best friend at the time had a few.
They were no MOTU or TMNT, that’s for sure.
Thanks for this.
Also thanks for the link to the article, I’m going to have to hunt down this story lol
I grew up super poor so I didn't have many toys, but I had a couple of these! Thanks for bringing back those memories of toys I cherished so much! Great episode. Now off to ebay I go!
Oh my god! I had some of those! I've never actually known what I.P. they were supposed to go with, because they were really different from Visionaries.
God, we really need to bring holograms back. I've looked into how those were made before, and the methods are difficult and require specialized equipment that almost no one has anymore today.
When I was a kid. There were only three kinds of toys. Star Wars, GI Joe and Masters of the Universe. The Visionaries were GI Joe's to me and the the Super Naturals fought He-man.
I think there might still be a Snakebite figure lurking somewhere in my parents' basement. Probably in the same box as the D'Compose and Metlar toys.
Yes!! I knew I hadn't imagined that damn doll!!! I too have trawled for information on a half remembered obscure comic that I was bought as a shut up whilst my mum was in the hairdresser's.
This makes me itch for rewatching 'Grimm' despite having just finished the entire series..to be honest Dan you kinda resemble David Guontoli yourself making me think I will give it another run. What a shame they never made a decent video game for it.
This channel is such a UA-cam hidden gem. Ggs n glad to see the sponsorship!