Action Figure Overview: Flash Gordon - Beastman (Mattel, 1980)
Flash Gordon "Beastman" action figure (Mattel, 1980) In the late 1970s, a producer named Lou Scheimer got the rights to make a movie of the old 1930s comic strip character, Flash Gordon. Since the amazing success of the movie Star Wars in 1977, science fiction was extremely popular at the time and Scheimer was able to convince NBC to back a live action Flash Gordon for prime-time. Unfortunately, it would have cost too much to film what he wanted to shoot, so he reluctantly went back to NBC with the idea of switching to an animated format instead of live action. NBC agreed and Filmation was brought on board to make the cartoon. Beastman poses beside the 1979 Flash Gordon card back Star Wars action figures had made so much money for George Lucas and Kenner that I would imagine once the cartoon was underway, it wasn't very difficult to set up a deal with Mattel to make a line of Flash Gordon action figures in scale with the Star Wars toys. In 1979, the first four Fl...