Before Peggy Charren gave us boring "Edutainment", Margaret Loesch was the face of Children's Television, who listens to the people and gives them what they want, especially when making our childhoods so awesome.
As Hasbro continues to expand with their catalog of toys, they decided to expand it even further with other media, particularly with television. Although Saturday Morning Cartoons wasn't new (which goes way back to the 60s or a little bit earlier than that), our government's Federal Communications Commission, or FCC for short, put a stranglehold on that media, forbidding companies and distributors of promoting their products, such as toys, through cartoons. All that changed in 1981, when then President Ronald Reagan appointed Mark Fowler as the commissioner of the FCC at the time. Thus, deregulating the strict rules the FCC placed, allowing the aforementioned companies and distributors to promote their product through other media, such as cartoons. From Filmation with He-Man and theMasters of the Universe to promote the toys from Mattel to World Events with Voltron promoting the Matchbox toys (which were imports of the Golion and Dairugger XV toys respectively), it takes Hasbro long to follow suit. Regarding toy-based shows like G.I. Joe, Transformers and My Little Pony, they relied on two famed animation studios, talented voice actors and writers, and most importantly, producers who became well-known names in the later years like Tom Griffin, Joe Bacal, Nelson Shin, Lee Gunther, Tom Tataranwicz and last, but certainly not least, the very person who truly became the queen of children's television for a span of 4 decades, the one, the only, Margaret Loesch.
(MK3 VS. Screen Fanfare)
Born on March 28, 1946, Margaret Ann Loesch started her career working for ABC in 1971 and then later with NBC in 1979. Around that time, she was vice president of programming, then later becoming executive vice present for the famed animation studio, Hanna-Barbera Productions, back when all cartoon characters, including then mascot Yogi Bear and friends, were treated equally and not treating Scooby-Doo like a god. It was not until 1984, that she reached a new high when she joined Marvel Productions as their president and CEO. Under her leadership, along with other important people I have mentioned before, she lead Marvel Productions, along with their counterparts at Sunbow Productions, to providence with some of our favorite cartoons, whether there from Sunbow or Marvel or a little bit of both like Muppet Babies, Jem and the Holograms, Inhumanoids, Dino-Riders, the animated version of Fraggle Rock, Defenders of the Earth, My Little Pony 'n Friends, Pryde of the X-Men (which was the pilot of a failed attempt to an X-Men cartoon), RoboCop: The Animated Series, and of course, the aforementioned G.I. Joe and Transformers, among other things.
After she left Marvel Productions, she joined FOX as president of the newly launched FOX Kids block on September 8, 1990. Just with the cartoons in the 1980s, when running FOX Kids, Loesch gave us even more animated goodness with shows like Bobby's World, Fox's Peter Pan & the Pirates, Tom &Jerry Kids, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, Taz-Mania, Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Eek! The Cat (later renamed Eek!stravaganza), The Tick, Spider-Man (1994) and of course, two of our favorite animated shows of all time, Batman: The Animated Series and X-Men: The Animated Series (which eclipsed the failed Pryde of the X-Men pilot). And it wasn't just animation alone, they also got some live-action shows and anime with assistance from Saban Productions, such as Mon Colle Knights, Flintthe Time Detective, the first anime Transformers: Robots in Disguise, Digimon (which was their answer to Pokémon, when it was aired on Kids WB!), Beetleborgs, Masked Rider (but I prefer Kamen RiderBlack RX), and finally, the very show that became a "Morphinomenon" so to speak, Mighty MorphinPower Rangers, which combined American footage with those from Japanese Super Sentai or any other Tokusatsu show.
After her time there, she was president of the Jim Henson Television group for Odyssey Channel around 1998 until rebranding it into the Hallmark Channel (named after the famed greeting card company) in 1999.
Other than her other business ventures, including forming The Hatchery, a family entertainment and consumer product company in 2003 alongside Bruce Stein, things for Ms. Loesch were slowing down. That is until she was hired by Discovery Communications around 2009, where she became the CEO of the very network that was launched a year later. By October 10, 2010, just like with her previous business ventures, Margaret Loesch brought everything, and I mean everything, together, when she ran the joint Discovery/Hasbro hybrid that became simply known as...The Hub.
(The Hub Network jingle)
To Be Continued...
In memory of:
Kevin Conroy
(November 30, 1955 - November 10, 2022)
Jason David Frank
(September 4, 1973 - November 19, 2022)
Next Time: Part 3: Slow and Steady: The Hub's Early Beginnings!
It is no secret that I am a fan of Jennifer Walters aka The Sensational She-Hulk. Having a blood transfusion from her cousin, Bruce Banner aka The Incredible Hulk, Jen went from a petite, shy young lawyer to a confident Amazonian goddess who is tall, lean and evergreen. But what if, what if Jen ended up stuck halfway between herself and being She-Hulk? Where am I going with this, you ask? Remember the two-parter from the 70s Incredible Hulk TV show called 'Prometheus'? You see in this one, after his exposure to a meteor that contain high amounts of Gamma radiation, David Banner ended up stuck in midtransformation between himself and the Hulk, which may fans referred to as the Demi-Hulk. Inspired by that two-parter and some of the artwork from a Deviantart user named Loki-667 and with the art of photomanipulation, I present to you my small collection of a savage, feral Jennifer Walters, stuck in midtransformation. Enjoy.
BEHOLD! Jennifer Walters, stuck in midtransformation as a savage, feral cavegirl-like creature!
Wild, untamed and almost unrecognizable, Jen has no control over herself.
While in hiding, the savage, feral Jen encounters her own father, Sheriff Morris Walters. Only this time, Sheriff Walters, aware of her savage condition, wants to help her, unaware of that in her feral state, Jen can't talk like a normal human being.
"GRRRR!! ARRRGH!! (What has happened to me!! WHY CAN'T I CHANGE BACK!!!)
Other heroes like Iron Man, Spider-Man, and even Mr. Fantastic are pondering about Jen's Demi She-Hulk form and how to reverse it before being stuck as a wild, feral cavegirl, possibly forever.
Damn!!!! The Reaper never rests. First it was Legendary Batman VA,Kevin Conroy,Then Legendary Comedian Gallagher,and now Another Legend has fallen. A person that we all thought was gonna live for a long time - Jason David Frank aka Tommy Oliver aka The Chuck Norris of Power Rangers.
JDF's death came as a shock to the world. Even more shocking is that he took his own life. Even I still can't believe that he's gone and that he commuted suicide at age 49. Damn!!!!!
JDF is best known as Tommy Oliver,the face of the Entire Power Rangers Franchise. He was the Mighty Morphin' Green Ranger (one of the coolest rangers),The Mighty Morphin' White Ranger,The Red Zeo Ranger aka Zeo Ranger 5,The Red Turbo Ranger (for a very short time),and The Black Dino Ranger.
Due to his overall popularity,Tommy Oliver became the face of the entire Power Rangers Franchise. After Power Rangers and various failed acting gigs,JDF got into Mixed Martial Arts,where he won 4 armature fights and 1 pro fight.
Martial Arts was the Man's passion,ever since he was young. JDF has an 8th Dan Black Belt in Shotokan Karate,a Black Belt in Wado-ryu Karate,a Black Belt in Taekwondo,a Black Belt in Judo,a Purple Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu,and an Ajarn Degree in Muay Thai.
Wow. what an accomplishment,huh?. He even created his own Martial Art,Toso Kune Do is an eclectic martial art and self-defense method. He even has his own Martial Arts Academy,The Rising Sun Karate School.
JDF was one of the greatest Martial Artists in the World and a Hero to millions of Power Rangers fans. Retro Rebellion salutes the life and career of The Legendary,Jason David Frank. Thank You for everything,JDF. We will all miss you.
RIP Jason David Frank 9/4/1973 - 11/11/2022
Also,sinse Jason didn't cover him..I Will. Gallagher was a Fun Stage Comedian who smashed things (mostly watermelons) with his trusty wooden sledgehammer as the main part of his routine. Gallagher was most active during the 80's and early 90's,though he did some stuff after those years. For more than 30 years, he played between 100 and 200 shows a year,destroying tens of thousands of melons with the sledgehammer he called the "Sledge-O-Matic".
Thanks for the laughs and memories,my friend. You were a true Entertainment Legend.
R.I.P. Leo Anthony Gallagher Jr. 7/24/1946 – 11/11/2022
(10 bell salute for both Gallagher and Jason David Frank)
This just in (and I thought I would not bring this up).
Character actor and voice artist, Kevin Conroy has died on November 10th, 2022, 20 days shy of his birthday. He was 66 years old. A Julliard scholar, he started his career in the early to mid 80s in both theater and in television. But it was not until 1992, he became the voice the very character he has immortalized for years to come, as the Dark Knight himself, Batman. His voice for Batman displayed the type of character he truly is, the playboy rich socialite womanizer of Bruce Wayne and the dark, brooding, determined Caped Crusader himself. From Batman: The Animated Series all the to video games like Batman: Arkham Asylum and the Injustice series, Conroy voiced the character for about 30 years (the very 30 years since he first voiced the character). So much so, many fans like myself consider him to be the heart and soul of Batman. Whenever we read comics with Batman, we would always hear his voice when he speaks. He died of cancer. He was survived by his wife. So long as I have my Batman poster hanging on the wall, I will always think of him. Godspeed, good sir. You truly are the vengeance and the night, for you are Batman forevermore.
"We all have to honor our vows. To the living...and to the dead." - Batman
Kevin Conroy November 30th, 1955 - November 10th, 2022
The Main Cast: Jughead, Betty, Archie, Veronica, Reggie, Dilton and Hot Dog
Hiya Toonsters!
Halloween is just around the corner, and it is time for another review before All Hallow's Eve. Last time around, it was about Mummies Alive!. But now, we have gone from mummies to mysteries, WEIRD mysteries, that is, which is the subject of this review. Before that, let give a little backstory to the very cartoon and the characters that I will be talking about.
It is no secret that I am big fan of comics. Even though I am a big fan of comic superheroes, there is one comic series that I also like, and those are from the universe of Archie. Created in 1939 by John L. Goldwater and Bob Montana, the Archie comics revolves around teenage high school student, Archie Andrews, who has adventures (and sometimes misadventures) with his dear friends, including Jughead Jones, his best friend since their childhood, Betty Cooper, the girl next door, Veronica Lodge, the rich socialite, and Reggie Mantle, sometimes his friend, sometimes his rival. They have their fun and adventures in their hometown of Riverdale. Sometimes for a crazy adventure, or teaching Reggie a lesson after all the pranks he pulled or get together for a band, simply named The Archies. Even though I don't have a big comic book collection, let alone those from Archie Comics, I was introduced to Archie, by means of television. My first introduction to Archie was in the late 80s with The New Archies, where Archie and his friends were 10-year-old kids, compared to the teens that we normally see. That's right, Archie had his share of animated adventures since 1968, with the Filmation Archie cartoons which included Dallas McKennon, best known for voice the iconic clay figure Gumby, as the voice of Archie and John Erwin, who later became the voice of the most powerful man in the universe, He-Man, as Reggie. It is because of The Archies that Sugar, Sugar became one of the most popular songs in the late 60s, especially being an Archie fan. Anyway, I am getting ahead of myself. My review is that of another Archie cartoon, but an Archie cartoon of a different sort. Unlike the other Archie cartoons, this one was leaning towards something out of Scooby-Doo, but without revealing the criminal behind the mask. This one is a little darker than all the previous cartoons combined, but not as dark as Riverdale a few decades later. Before the aforementioned Riverdale, this show was the precursor of things to come. So don in your trusty beanie and start typing on your laptop for the weirdness that is going to happen, and I mean, "Weird". This is Archie's Weird Mysteries.
Archie's Weird Mysteries is a 40-episode animated series, produced by Les Studios Tex and DIC Entertainment, released on October 2nd, 1999 (Why 40 episodes instead of either 13 or 65 episodes, I'll never know). This was DIC's first Archie cartoon since The New Archies back in 1987. Unlike the previous Archie cartoons, such as the Filmation cartoons and the aforementioned New Archies, Archie's Weird Mysteries takes it to a different direction, for this show borrowed elements from Scooby-Doo (minus the unmasking), The X-Files and everything B-Movie related, including movies such as Attack of the 50-ft Woman and Invasion of the Body Snatchers, among others. It could be science-fiction, it could be horror, it could be a mystery to solve. Either way, in a small town like Riverdale, things are about to get weird, in more ways than one.
Story: I know there isn't much in story, since the show is 40 episodes long, but according to some of DIC's promotional commercials, the only logical explanation is this. After a botched experiment at the Physics Lab in Riverdale High, strange, or more accurately, weird stuff is starting to pop all over the town. Riverdale itself is being overrun by ghosts, vampires, werewolves, aliens, sea monsters and everything in between. And it is up to Archie and his friends to overcome all the insanity around the town (as long as he has an article to finish for the Riverdale High News).
Premise: Since this show only lasted 40 episodes, the format goes as follows. We get a sneak peek of the episode in question, almost in the style of a "B" Movie. After the title intro, the usual weird mystery of the day begins, Archie and his friends try to solve (and sometimes done in multi part episodes) and it all ends with Archie writing the weird mystery article for the Riverdale High News, lather, rinse, repeat. Not much to say here, too. So, let's move on to the characters.
Characters: I know we got a whole lot of characters in Archie Universe, especially side characters like Mr. Weatherbee, Mrs. Grundy, Big Moose, Big Ethel, Pop Tate, and Hot Dog. The only characters I will focus on are the main characters themselves, starting with...
Archibald "Archie" Andrews: The main character of the Archie universe himself. The red-headed, freckle-faced teen of Riverdale High. For the majority of his life, Archie is a bright high school student who always get into crazy adventures. One minute he's trying to balance out between his studies and trying to go on a date with Betty or Veronica and the next minute, trying to teach Reggie Mantle a lesson after being pranked on, typical teen stuff. Not to mention, he is also the lead singer of the Archies. Not in this cartoon (to the best of my knowledge). Archie serves as the eyes and ears to every mystery that is popping up all over Riverdale. Archie does his Weird Mysteries column for the school paper at Riverdale High. With the exception of one episode, Archie's main outfit is a black t-shirt, blue denim jeans and a brown bomber jacket. Archie was voiced by voice actor and stage performer Andrew Rannells, who was best known for doing voice overs on the 4Kids anime dubs, including Yu-Gi-Oh, as the voice of Mako Tsunami aka Ryouta Kajiki aka "That Freaky Fish Guy!"
Forsythe Pendleton "Jughead" Jones III: Forsythe Pendleton Jones III, but his friends call him Jughead, has been Archie's best friend since their childhood. Sometimes cynical but mostly laidback and smart, Jughead always helps out Archie when Arch has a problem he couldn't handle himself. Even though he is not a hopeless romantic like Archie, it didn't stop him from being friends with some, especially Betty and Veronica. He is sometimes accompanied by his sheepdog, Hot Dog. One of Jughead's favor things is eating some hamburgers, which he usually eats that Pop Tate's Malt Shop. In the comic, we usually see him with a squinty face. But in this show, his eyes are wide open. And he wouldn't be Jughead without his favorite beany crown on his head. His best moments in the show were not only overcoming the ghost of a deceased librarian in the episode, "The Haunting of Riverdale", but also resisting the temptations of that evil megamall to save his friends in the episode "Mega-Mall of Horrors". Jughead was voiced by Chris Lundquist.
Elizabeth "Betty" Cooper: The girl next door and another close friend of Archie since childhood. Bright, smart, caring and head of the cheerleading squad at Riverdale High, Betty was the ideal All-American girl. She is both best friends with Veronica Lodge, and she is also one of two possible love interest to Archie, the other being the aforementioned Veronica. Her appearance is that of a white blouse, red dress jacket, red miniskirt to contrast Veronica's blue dress and of course, her blond ponytail. Her moments in the show were befriending a cute alien, which turned out to be an intergalactic criminal in the episode, "Extra-Terror-estrial", learning from her mistakes due to her lack of judgment when doing good deeds in the episode. "Misfortune Hunters", and along with Veronica, saving Archie from the humanoid sea monster Dorsa Finn in the episode, "Green-Eyed Monster". Betty was voiced by actress, producer, director, writer and stunt performer America Young, who is best known being the second voice of Barbie, second only to Jodi Benson herself.
Veronica Cecilia Lodge: The rich socialite daughter of billionaire Hiram Lodge, Veronica (or Ronnie as she is called sometimes) can be a bit spoiled and self-centered sometimes. Despite her status as a spoiled, rich girl, Ronnie prefers to hang out with her otherwise normal, sometimes middle-class friends, including Archie, who she affectionally calls him "Archiekins." She is also a possible love interest to Archie himself, the other being her best friend/love rival, Betty Cooper. Where Betty is a blonde, Ronnie is a raven-haired brunette, and her blue dress is the contrast to Betty's red jacket/skirt combo. In the original Filmation cartoons, she spoke with a southern accent and in The New Archies, she sounded like a valley girl. But in this show, she speaks like the starlets of the Golden Age of Hollywood, including Lauren Bacall (Jessica Rabbit much?). Her spotlight moments on show were dealing with multiple versions of herself in the episode, "Me! Me! Me!", turning into an evenly spoiled giantess in the episode, "Attack of the 50-Foot Veronica", and trying to deal with love-struck zombies in the episode, "Zombies of Love", among other things. Veronica was voiced by Camille Schmidt.
Reginald "Reggie" Mantle: Sometimes his friend, sometimes his rival, Reggie Mantle is the Joker to Archie's Batman, but in a kid-friendly kind of way. He is sarcastic, mean-spirited sometimes, known to make practical jokes and when it comes to sports, especially at Riverdale High, Reggie is far better athlete than Archie. But his arrogance and his pranking often backfire drastically, whether it is from Archie playing back at him or by his own doing. Cases in point, being possessed by a cursed medallion and being obsessive over treasure in the episode, "Ship of Ghouls", being replaced by aliens with a duplicate of himself in the episode, "Reggie or Not", having his own Weird Mystery stories becoming real in the episode, "Compu-Terror" and being wrapped up in the situation involving a werewolf in the episode, "Fleas Release Me", among other things. In short, despite his inferiority complex and his narcissism, Reggie is just an innocent bystander/unwilling victim who always shows up at the wrong place, at the wrong time, especially being involved in some of all the weirdness in Riverdale. Reggie was voiced by Paul Sosso.
Dilton Donald Doiley: The smartest kid in Riverdale High, Dilton has an I.Q. of 198. Spending most of his in the science lab in Riverdale High instead of his garage, he sometimes helps Archie and his through a problem that is not normal for an ordinary human being, from trying to bring Veronica back to normal size to fixing problems from his experiments gone wrong. His catchphrase is "I'll be super-amalgamated!" Dilton was voiced by Ben Beck.
Animation and Music: Since being a DIC production and co-produced by Les Studios Tex, the animation is a mixed bag, some of it colorful (mostly in the daytime) and some of it dark, but the character designs stay true to how they looked in the comics and in the previous Archie cartoons. As for the music, mostly plays a spooky vibe to it, but nothing memorable, so we will leave it at that.
Differences with Riverdale
As we all know, Archie's Weird Mysteries pre-dates Riverdale 18 years. But the only difference between the two is while Weird Mysteries is a bit dark, but a bit kid-friendly, being animated and followed the guidelines of the E/I quota, Riverdale, as a whole, is much darker. While no one got hurt in Weird Mysteries, Riverdale, on the other hand, you get hurt, very badly or even worse. Dark cults, mass-murderers, alternate realities, this what separates this Archie show from the previous. Not to mention adding more characters that were never in the previous one, including Cheryl Blossom, who is in the comics (just to add tension in Archie's relationship issues), but never in any other Archie media until Riverdale. Cheryl Blossom became a show regular, mostly involved in many of Archie's escapades against all dark forces that threatened Riverdale, including the first season, which involved the murder of her twin brother, Jason Blossom. Unlike her comic counterpart, Cheryl isn't pining for Archie's affection like Betty and Veronica does. She is quite an enigma. One minute, she acts like a spoiled brat with an inflated Valley Girl-like ego, and the next minute, she becomes a pyrokinetic superheroine fighting evil. That girl is something else. Another difference is Veronica's father, Hiram Lodge. In most Archie media, he is just another rich socialite. But on Riverdale, he is rich, but he is mostly portrayed as a crime boss and archenemy to Archie, which cause some tension within the relationship with Veronica. Did I forget to mention that Ronnie and her family were reimagined as Latino, especially being played by Camilla Mendes and Mark Consuelos respectively? And one more example is Sabrina the Teenage Witch herself. Even though Sabrina Spellman had her own show and multiple cartoons, with the exception of the Filmation cartoons, she never joined up with Archie and his friends until appearing in the Riverdale universe, whether it's in her own spinoff, Chiling Adventures of Sabrina or appearing the in main show itself, especially when things go bump in the night and trying to help Archie stop a powerful mage from destroying Riverdale itself. Bottom Line, Riverdale's dark atmosphere makes Archie's Weird Mysteries look like another Scooby-Doo mystery. Very dark, indeed.
Overall, Archie's Weird Mysteries may have been different from the previous Archie cartoons but with a dark, 'B' Movie twist (and not so violent and gory), but if it wasn't for this, there wouldn't be no Riverdale. Indeed, that show was a sign of things to come. If you are a fan of Archie, or into anything related sci-fi, horror, mysteries and anything in between, this show is for you. Usually, I end my blogs simple and straight forward. But in this one, I will end it in a way that ends every episode of Archie's Weird Mysteries. Happy Halloween, Toonsters!
Archie: "Talk about a long, dark journey. In my quest for knowledge and recreation, I have stumble across many worlds as I go. Just like in the comics, my world has multiple realities that differ from one another. Whether it's in a happy reality where Sugar, Sugar was thing, a world where we are pre-teens, or in a dark, twisted reality, almost straight from a Nancy Drew story. Either way, no matter what reality we live in, one thing is for sure, strange things happen here...In a little town called Riverdale".
Legendary stage performer and character actress, Angela Lansbury has died on October 11, 2022. She was 96 years old, 4 days shy of her birthday. A recipient to numerous accolades, including six Tony Awards, six Golden Globe awards and Primetime Emmy nominations, among other things, Dame Lansbury was best known for playing amateur sleuth, Jessica Fletcher in the CBS adventure mystery drama, Murder,SheWrote. Even though I wasn't much of a fan of stage, especially Gypsy, Sweeney Todd and The King and I, Lansbury appeared in many memorable movies, whether it's playing a villainous mother, Eleanor Iselin in The Manchurian Candidate to co-starring with Elvis Presley in Blue Hawaii. However, there are two movies that introduced to me to this posh, elegant stage legend, and both were made by Disney. The first was Bedknobs and Broomsticks in 1971, where she played aspiring witch, Eglantine Price. I use to watch this movie very proudly, especially its musical numbers, including The Beautiful Briny, which, along with the underwater scenes, were the inspiration for the song, Under the Sea, for The Little Mermaid. Speaking of the Disney Renaissance, Lansbury was also best known for being the original voice of Mrs. Potts in the original animated version of Beauty and the Beast. Her elegant singing voice, when singing the title song, is as memorable as the movie itself.
In short, Angela Lansbury is the one actress I think of as my honorary grandmother. She will be missed. Thank you, Dame Angela. Thank you for helping me guide me to the age of believing. Believing in pure imagination is the greatest gift of all. Godspeed, ma'am.
In 1996, Discovery Kids became the gold standard for children's programming (for the most part). But due to all the politics and backstabbing, everything fell apart. From their block removed from NBC due to contract disputes to being a bit more repetitive with their programming, just like other channels like USA (before removing cartoons due to their paranoia and fears of regulations from the FCC), and it was like that for 13 whole years. But by 2009, everything changed. Discovery ended up with an unlikely partnership with the most unlikely of companies. A toy company that rivals that of Mattel, known for Hot Wheels, Masters of the Universe and, of course, Barbie. And just like with their successes in the 80s, they decided to take another crack in television. And because of their partnership, by 2010, Discovery Kids became the very network that we all knew and loved. But before we talk about the very network itself, let us take the way back machine and talk about the history of the very toy company that brought everything together, Hasbro.
(MK3 Vs. Screen Fanfare)
Founded in 1923, in Providence, RI, formerly called Hassenfeld Brothers, the company was formed by the aforementioned brothers, Herman, Hillel and Henry Hassenfeld. Originally known for making pencils and pencil cases, they didn't become a toy company until 1942, when they produced modeling clay and doctor and nurse kits. It was not until 1952, when they created their first toy, Mr. Potato Head, back when they used actual fruits and vegetables as the faces when putting plastic eyes, ears, noses and mouths on them before using the plastic potato we use today. And then, by 1964, and as an answer to Mattel's Barbie, they gave us the first action figure for boys, G.I. Joe (more on that later). The name was shortened from Hassenfeld Brothers to Hasbro in 1968 and it's been like that ever since. Today, Hasbro is one of the biggest toy companies in the world. Not only with Power Rangers, Mr. Potato Head, Jem, M.A.S.K., the various Star Wars toys (originally from Kenner), and the various board games they got (which were originally owned by debunked companies like Milton Bradley and Parker Brothers), but also by their main three franchises that kept the company alive today, G.I. Joe, Transformers and My Little Pony.
Hasbro's Holy Trinity: Optimus Prime, representing Transformers, 1st Sgt. Conrad S. Hauser aka Duke, representing G.I. Joe, and Twilight Sparkle, representing My Little Pony.
G.I. Joe: Created in 1964, G.I. Joe was Hasbro's answer to Mattel's Barbie dolls. The first of many to be called action figures, just to avoid calling them dolls, just like Barbie. The name, G.I. Joe, was a form of slang for the military. That, or named after the movie, The Story of G.I. Joe. The first line were originally soldiers, each of them straight from the branches of the military, complete with camouflage, weapons and dog tags, among other things. The brand changed in the 70s, due to the unpopularity of the Vietnam War and G.I. Joe became an adventure team of sorts, just like Jonny Quest. Those figures included the now famous Kung-Fu Grip. Not even changing its brand didn't save this line. That is until 1982, when the G.I. Joe toys came back. Only this time, they weren't 13" action toys, they were shrunk to 3.75" figures, just to capitalize on the success of the Star Wars toys, among other things. Not only that, but the name G.I. Joe went from a name of a generic soldier into what Jackson Beck describes and I quote:
"G.I. Joe is the codename for America's daring highly-trained special mission force. Its purpose: to defend human freedom against Cobra, a ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world."
In other words, G.I. Joe is now a name of a team of soldiers fighting against the aforementioned terrorist organization, Cobra. And you can thank the likes of Larry Hama for giving us the comics from Marvel to give backstory to this relaunch, now officially dubbed as "A Real American Hero." It isn't just the comics, but it is also in the cartoon, as well, thanks to our friends from Sunbow and Marvel Productions. And to this day, although it is dormant, (along with other reinterpretations through more cartoons and movies), whenever evil terrorists strike, one day, they will hear the two little words that will take them down:
YO JOE!!
But G.I. Joe isn't the only one who got the comic/cartoon treatment.
Transformers: Originally two separate robot toys from the Japanese toy company Takara (later renamed Takara Tomy), namely Diaclone and Micro Change, Transformers came to our shores in 1984. Like with G.I. Joe, Transformers not only have a comic book series from Marvel, but also a cartoon, as well. Even though both continuities are different, the premise is the same. Far off in the universe, lies the planet Cybertron, where it is fallen apart due to a war between two factions, the heroic Autobots and the treacherous Decepticons. Their war raged so long, it drained Cybertron of all its energy. But it was not until they crash-landed on Earth, their battle began anew. For the toys in general, what a concept, two toys in one, transforming from a car, truck, radio, or dinosaur into a robot and back again. Since then, just like G.I. Joe and any other stuff from the 80s, Transformers has become one of the greatest franchises, not just in toys, but in all media. I am so glad that I have Optimus Prime as a father figure. His quote, "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings", couldn't be more true. Anyway, time for us to ROLL OUT...to the third and final franchise in Hasbro's long line of toys.
My Little Pony: Created by Bonnie Zacherle, this toyline, originally aimed for little girls was released in 1981, but it was called under its original name, My Pretty Pony.
The Rock (mocking Randy Orton as a kid): "OH NO! THIS IS MY PRETTY PONY! DON'T TOUCH MY PRETTY PONY!!"
It was not until 1982 it became the very toyline that we know today. Unlike G.I. Joe and Transformers, it didn't have a Marvel comic. However, it did have their first outing in animation in the mid 1980s, with three movies, Rescue at Midnight Castle, Escape from Catrina and My Little Pony: The Movie before having their weekly show, My Little Pony 'n Friends in 1986, which including segments with from other Hasbro franchises around that time, such as the Glo Friends, Moondreamers and the Potato Head Kids. For many decades, we got multiple universes, from those from My Little Pony Tales (Generation 2) to those from the Direct to Video specials (Generation 3).But it wasn't until 2010, that we got the most well known generation that defined MLP for years to come, Generation 4 aka Friendship is Magic (which we will talk about later in the chapter). Like Transformers, MLP continues on after Gen 4, but since I haven't seen it since 2014, I will leave it at that.
You see, Hasbro's endeavors weren't just into toys alone, as I mentioned before with G.I. Joe, Transformers and MLP, they also had a hand in television. And you can thank the very person who at the time, was the Queen of Children's Television, who defined a generation not once, but multiple times. And we wouldn't know the existence of such a vast universe, if it wasn't, for Margaret Loesch.
To Be Continued...
Next Time - Part 2: Margaret Loesch: The Queen of Children's Television!
