Top 10 BEST Vintage MEGO World's Greatest Super Heroes

Top 10 MEGO World's Greatest Super Heroes!

Starting in 1972 and lasting a decade, The MEGO Toy Company released The World's Greatest Super-Heroes line of 8" action figures.  This phenomenal series of toys gave thousands of kids in the 70s their first opportunity to own figures of their favorite Marvel and DC characters!  In total, there were 37 figures in the World's Greatest Super Heroes line if you count the Secret Identities figures (Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, and Peter Parker).  They all had a certain campiness about them, but to me, that's part of what gave them their charm.  Here is my list of the TOP 10 Vintage MEGO World's Greatest Super Heroes action figures:

#10 - Mego Riddler

#10: The Riddler!  Although he's at the bottom of my Top 10 list, I had to include The Riddler.  He's always been one of my favorite villains and I really love the head sculpt on this guy.  It might not be exactly accurate to the way he looked in the comics and MEGO was certainly in no danger of being sued by Frank Gorshin (the actor who played The Riddler on the 1966 Batman TV show), but I feel like MEGO really captured the feel of the character.  I'm also glad that they went with the jumpsuit costume over the suit and tie.  I've always preferred this costume.

#9 - Mego Thor

#9: Thor! There was a little bit of a goofiness to the way MEGO super heroes looked and I think they balanced that line perfectly with Thor.  MEGO was able to take the basic elements of Thor and translate him into an action figure without creating a whole lot of detail.  They did a great job on his hammer and I'm glad that they gave him rooted hair and a removable helmet instead of doing a head with molded-on hair and molded-on helmet.  Plus, this is another great head sculpt.

#8 - Mego Lizard

#8: The Lizard!  This guy could have been higher up on my list if the head sculpt were a little bit better.  I love the outfit and I'm so glad that MEGO gave him a separate lab coat!  MEGO was notorious for taking shortcuts to make these figures cheaper, so it was nice that they spent a little more money to do little things like giving the lab coat pocket flaps and giving The Lizard a tail.  But the real surprise here is that they even went out of their way to give him unique hands and feet!  The Lizard was the only MEGO to have a fist.  Although I think MEGO could have done a better job on the head sculpt, they really nailed everything else on this figure.

#7 - Iron Man

#7: Iron Man! Some people don't like the sculpt on Iron Man's head, but I think it's pretty cool. And I absolutely love his gloves!  There's been speculation for years that MEGO was laying the foundation for making a Dr. Doom with this head and gloves...and maybe even the boots, although some of the boots from MEGO's Knights line would have worked better.  It would have made sense for MEGO to have considered Doom too, since we did get The Fantastic Four!  Anyway, the unique pieces all around on this guy show that MEGO was willing to go the extra mile for old Shell Head.

#6 - Mego Batman

#6: Batman! Ok, I'll admit there are some design flaws on Batman.  The "Oven Mitt" style gloves were awful, but I would imagine most kids lost those within the first week of owning this figure anyway.  Aside from the gloves, I think MEGO walked the line between campy and cool pretty well with this figure. There's a touch of an Adam West smile with this guy.  Plus, It's BATMAN!  I realize I'm throwing out a bit of objectivity by putting this guy so high up on my list, but despite his awkwardness, I really do feel like this is an awesome action figure!  Considering he was available for the entire run of the World's Greatest Super Heroes line, I can't be the only person who loved this toy!

#5 - Mego Superman

#5: Superman! Like Batman, Superman was another key figure in the World's Greatest Super Heroes line.  He was available from the beginning in 1972 until MEGO stopped production on the line a decade later in 1982.  His head sculpt may not have been perfect and his belt was a little bit too wide, but for me, the MEGO Superman was more than just a figure, he was a icon of toys in the 1970s.  Compared to many of his 8" counterparts, MEGO actually did a respectable job bringing The Man of Steel to life with this classic character.

#4 - Mego Green Arrow

#4: Green Arrow!  MEGO went all-out on several Marvel characters, but Green Arrow is the only 8" DC character that truly shows what MEGO could do with this format.  His hat, quiver and bow were all very cool, although honestly, the bow string and quiver straps didn't hold up well to the rigors of play.  MEGO offered a better solution to the glove problem with Green Arrow, too.  Possibly so that he could hold his bow, MEGO used Green hands and cloth cuffs to imply gloves on the Emerald Archer rather than giving him oven mitts like Batman.  Not only did it look a lot better, but it was also much more practical for an action figure.  These design improvements help push Green Arrow up to #4 on my list, but it doesn't hurt that I was a big fan of his as a kid and didn't own this figure until I was an adult.  This is definitely one of the sharpest looking MEGO super heroes in the entire line!

#3 - Mego Green Goblin (pumpkin not originally included)

#3: Green Goblin!  Despite not owning one as a kid, Green Goblin has always been one of my favorite MEGOs.  I remember looking at the ads in old comic books that I would find at the secondhand store and seeing all of the characters that I never had.  The Green Goblin stood out from the rest even in that roughly drawn ad.  When I saw one in person, it had been given to a friend by his older brother when he outgrew MEGOs, that sealed it for me!  There's so much personality in this head sculpt and I love the outfit!  The colors really stand out on the shelf when you have this figure on display.  I wish he had come with his Goblin Glider, but I understand that would have been too expensive to include.  However, that's probably my biggest complaint about this figure.  Aside from that, I don't think I'd change anything about this one!

#2 - The Joker

#2: The Joker!  Really!?  I know there are flaws with this figure and it may come as a surprise that I have him all the way up in the #2 slot on my list, but I feel like no other figure in this line did a better job of capturing the personality of the character than The Clown Prince of Crime.  This head sculpt is just amazing!  I love the colorful outfit too.  In my opinion, MEGO just did an awesome job of pulling The Joker out of the pages of a comic book and into action figure form.

#1 - Spider-Man

#1: Spider-Man! I've read that Spidey was the best selling character in the World's Greatest Super Heroes line. And judging from the number of Spider-Man MEGOs I've seen over the years, I don't doubt it!  While Batman and Superman were unquestionably cornerstone characters, our favorite Wall-Crawler seemed like a perfect fit for this colorful, campy toy line!  You've got to have a sense of humor to run around fighting bad guys in your pajamas, and boy, did Spider-Man have a sense of humor!  As an added bonus (and unlike every other figure on this list), Spidey didn't come with any accessories or extra costume pieces to loose.  No weapons, no coat, no belt, no shoes, not even a sticker on his chest!  So even after years of play, kids were likely to still have a complete Spider-Man!  He may have had runs in his suit or holes in his heals, but he was still complete and ready for action!

There you have it: My TOP 10 List of MEGO's World's Greatest Super Heroes!  How does my Top 10 list compare with yours?  Who did I leave out?  Who SHOULD I have left out?  Tell me in the comments!

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