McFarlane DC Super Powers Wave 4 Leaked List
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We got a copy of McFarlane’s new DC Super Powers Wave 4 Leaked List thanks to Henry Dowell, let’s take a look at who’s on it!
After 40 plus long years, DC Super Powers returns to retail shelves! The new McFarlane DC Super Powers toys are overflowing with nostalgia and harken back directly to the vintage Super Powers Line! McFarlane’s DC Super Powers have come back strong to retail and now thanks to Henry Dowell, we now have a look this McFarlane DC Super Powers Wave 4 leaked list! This wave includes some fan favorites, and some very heavy hitters from the DC Universe! Let’s take a look at this McFarlane DC Super Powers Wave 4 leaked list of figures to see who is included!
UPDATE 04/01/2023 Leaked Aquaman Image
Thanks to Ethan Vargas on Facebook, we get a “leaked” image of what looks like the latest upcoming Wave 4 Aquaman for the MacFarlane DC Super Powers Line. This look more like the modern movie version of Aquaman with the long hair, beard, and no black shorts, rather than the classic Super Powers Aquaman we all know and love. He looks pretty cool but I wish MacFarlane would bring back some classic looking characters first before veering off into the alternative designs. This has not been confirmed to be official, but it sure looks to fit the MacFarlane DC Super Powers designs.
It seems that Ethan got this image from a You Tube Short Video you can watch here:
Previously reported:
Let’s take a Look at each of the potential figures! Here is a photo of my own vintage collection of figures, so you can see what the originals looked like.
Aquaman
Aquaman was one of my favorites Super Powers figures as a kid. I never got many toys as a child, but I remember my mom taking me to Toys R Us as a child to pick out my Hannukah gift and I immediately went over to the aisle where the Super Powers figures were hanging. I picked out Aquaman and he was the first action figure I remember getting as a kid! I used to carry Aqui with me everywhere! I remember to taking him to school one day, and he had been holding his trident in his hands all day, but I suddenly noticed that the trident was missing! The horror, I lost his accessory and panic suddenly came over me, when I looked across the room, only to see a school mate using my Aqui’s trident as a freakin tooth pick!! I immediately ran across the room and ripped it out of that kids hands and washed it! How dare he, that as my prize possession! I still have my childhood Aquaman and he is the pride of my Super Powers Collection. shown below!
But let’s take a look at the vintage Aquaman for cues of what the McFarlane version. But this is reportidly an Aquaman “Rebirth Version”, so will he look similar to the vintage Aquaman. like my childhood one photographed below, or like the more modern version?
Source: Aquaman | SuperFriends Wiki | Fandom
The Rebrith version of Aquaman is the more mature looking version with the beard. If you ask me, I prefer the Arthur Curry Super Powers style and wish that McFarlane would pull back the modernization of these figures, and hit those nostalgia strings more and stick to the classics!
Black Manta
Black Manta, Aquaman’s nemesis is another exciting name to be leaked in the DC Super Powers Wave 4. Black Manta was never made for the vintage Super Powers line, so it will be very cool to get a Kenner style version of him! Below is my DC Comics Multiverse Aquaman Between Two Dooms SDCC 2018 3 pack! Im hoping that we get a more classic style figure for Black
According to Black Manta | SuperFriends Wiki | Fandom
Black Manta was a criminal who on one occasion tried to rule the oceans. Later he became a member of the Legion of Doom, constantly pitting himself against Aquaman.
- Black Manta debuted in Aquaman vol.1, #35[3] (October, 1967).
- He was created by Bob Haney and Nick Cardy.
- Black Manta’s first animated appearance was on the Aquaman animated series (a Filmation cartoon that premiered on CBS on September 9, 1967, and ended June 1970); in which he was also a featured as a regular villain.
- Black Manta’s first appearance in the The All-New Super Friends Hour marks the unofficial first time that a DC supervillain appeared on Hanna Barbera’s Super Friends.
- Interestingly, he did not go by Black Manta, he went by just ‘Manta.’
- In this appearance his suit color was olive brown.
- His first origin was given in DC Comics Aquaman, Vol.4, #6[4] (May, 1992), by writer Shaun McLaughlin. It is part of the Modern Age / New Earth continuity. In this origin, the boy who would become Black Manta grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, and loved to play by the sea. As a youth he was kidnapped and sexually abused on a ship for an unspecified amount of time. At one point he apparently saw Aquaman with his dolphin friends and tried to signal him for help but was not seen. Finally, he was forced to defend himself, killing one of his tormentors on the ship with a knife. Hating the emotionless sea (and Aquaman, whom he saw as its representative), the boy was determined to become its master.
- His second origin was given in DC Comics Aquaman, Vol. 6, #8[5] (September 2003), by writer Rick Veitch. It is part of the Modern Age / New Earth continuity. In this origin, the boy who would become Black Manta was an orphan who has autism and was placed in Gotham City‘s Arkham Asylum. He felt comfortable in freezing cold water, while cotton sheets were excruciatingly painful. Because the attendants at Arkham didn’t know how to deal with autism, they would end up restraining him to the bed as he struggled and screamed whenever they tried putting him there. The boy was also fascinated when he saw Aquaman on television. The boy would end up being subjected to experimental treatments. One treatment seemed to clear the boy’s head, but left him violent as a result; he killed the scientist who had administered the treatment and escaped from Arkham
Batman (Classic Detective)
The classic grey and blue look for Batman is what most Super Powers fans are craving! The first Hush version of Batman that came out as part of the McFarlane Wave 1 DC Super Powers line was cool, but there was something not right about him. Perhaps the large chest, the lack of the classic yellow Bat Symbol on his chest? What ever it is, fans are still craving a Classic Batman for this line! And it looks like we will get him in Wave 4! Below is the vintage carded version, and my personal loose vintage Super Powers Batman for your reference.
Robin (Tim Drake)
What would Batman be without his trusty side kick Robin? Next on the leaked list of Wave 4 is Robin. This one is listed to be a Tim Drake version, but we will have to wait to see what he looks like! Below is the 1984 Super Power version of Robin, so let’s hope the new McFarlane version is close to this one!
According to : Tim Drake – Wikipedia
Timothy Jackson “Tim” Drake is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Created by Marv Wolfman and Pat Broderick, he first appeared in Batman #436 (August 1989) as the third character to assume the role of Batman’s crime-fighting partner and sidekick Robin. Following the events of Batman: Battle for the Cowl in 2009, Drake adopted the identity of Red Robin. In 2019, Tim returned to his original Robin persona and had a brief stint in which he used the mononym “Drake”.
As a young boy, Tim was in the audience the night Dick Grayson‘s parents were murdered and later managed to discover the identities of Batman and the original Robin through their exploits. After the death of the second Robin, Jason Todd, and witnessing Batman spiral into darkness, Tim attempted to convince Dick to resume the role of Robin, stating that “Batman needs a Robin”. However, Dick refused to return to being Batman’s sidekick, and instead, Tim was appointed as the third Robin. Neal Adams redesigned the entire Robin costume specifically for Tim Drake’s character, with the sole exception of the redesigned “R” logo by the late Norm Breyfogle.
Subsequent stories emphasize Tim’s superior detective skills compared to the previous two Robins, which make him more similar to Batman. He succeeded Dick as the leader of the Teen Titans, and later led his superhero team, Young Justice. He was briefly followed in the role of Robin by Stephanie Brown, and later for a longer period by Batman’s biological son, Damian Wayne, during the time Tim operated as Red Robin. Tim has been shown to have a close friendship with Superboy (Conner Kent). He has had romantic relationships with superheroes Stephanie Brown and Wonder Girl (Cassie Sandsmark), and more recently his former schoolfriend Bernard Dowd.
Tim Drake – Wikipedia
Wonder Woman (DC Rebirth Variant)
We already got Wonder Woman Rebirth in Wave 3, so it’s off that we are getting another version of her so quickly, so it will be interesting to see what the variation will be? Will we get a more classic version of Wonder Woman like the vintage Super Powers figure or will it be a repaint of the Wave 4 version?
History of Kenner Super Powers Line
The Kenner Super Powers line was launched in 1984 and ran thru 1986. It consisted of 3 Waves with a total of 34 epic figures, 8 vehicles and 1 amazing playset! The line was heavily influenced by the 1980’s Super Friends Cartoon, but was not a direct translation of the animated series. The first wave consisted of 12 figures and of all DC heavy hitters like Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, Joker, Penguin etc.. The second wave had a little bit more deep cuts from the comic books with characters like Darkseid, Firestorm, Green Arrow and Dr. Fate. The third and final wave consisted of very obscure characters which is why they are the rarest of the line and worth a lot of money on the secondary market. The final wave had figures like Plastic Man, Samurai and the rarest Cyborg.
According to Super Powers toyline and products | SuperFriends Wiki | Fandom
DC Comics awarded the license of their characters to Kenner Toys, hot on the heels of Mattel‘s “action feature” heavy He-Man toy line. Winning the license away from Mego Corporation and Mattel with their emphasis on action and art, Kenner devised hidden mechanisms within the figures that would trigger an action when the figures legs or arms were squeezed. This emphasis on each figure’s “super power” led to the naming of the line – The Super Powers Collection. Each figure in the first two series were also packaged with a mini-comic featuring that character’s adventures (a detailed list of these minicomics can be found at List of Super Powers Minicomics).
Once the line was in full force a merchandising frenzy took place, with DC Comics and Kenner slapping a Super Powers logo on whatever they possibly could. Three series of figures and accessories were released: in 1984, 1985, and 1986.
In addition, the toy line helped establish the mainstream acceptance of artist Jack Kirby’s seminal “Fourth World” characters, particularly Darkseid and his minions. Evidently, the Kenner representatives were interested in a cosmic line of villains for the superhero characters, and Kirby’s creations were deemed ideal by them for this purpose. In fact, Kirby was commissioned to design the action figures for his characters, such as Darkseid, which resulted in the only time Kirby directly monetarily benefitted from his comic book creations apart from his work-for-hire wages. Another major comic book creator, George Perez, was similarly commissioned to design the action figure for his character, Cyborg.
Super Powers toyline and products | SuperFriends Wiki | Fandom
You will notice immediately what an amazing job that McFarlane has done to recreate the vintage Super Powers Packaging! Complete with the Super Powers & character logos, blue, yellow star bursts and stripped background just like the vintage figures! They did choose to go in a totally different design direction with Batman and Darkseid, but overall they kept that nostalgic vintage feel to the figures. Pictured below are the vintage versions so you can see what they looked like compared to the new line.
Source: Superman | SuperFriends Wiki | Fandom
Source: Batman | SuperFriends Wiki | Fandom
Source: Darkseid | SuperFriends Wiki | Fandom
Source: Aquaman | SuperFriends Wiki | Fandom
Source: 1984 Kenner Super Powers Boxed Playset – Hall of Justice (collectorarchive.com)
Source: Green Lantern | SuperFriends Wiki | Fandom
Toy Sorceress’ Vintage Collection
If any of you follow our Toy Habits Instagram page and The Toy Sorceress Instagram page, you will see the Toy Sorceress loves Toy Photography, so here are some photographs for your enjoyment and inspiration!
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