Kenner “Super Powers” 40th Anniversary

4 min readJun 3, 2024

by Ben Hernandez

The Super Powers Collection was a line of action figures based on DC Comics superheroes and supervillains created by Kenner Products in the 1980s.

If you were a 1980s comic book reader, you’ll surely recognize this ad, which was on the back cover of many issues:

Follow my journey to get the 1984 Brainiac here.

From DC Publicity:

Kenner was awarded the DC toy license in 1982 and developed a line of Super Powers toys that complemented DC’s long-running Super Friends Saturday morning cartoon show. The design of the Super Powers figures was based on the iconic 1982 DC Comics Style Guide, which featured the art of José Luis García-López, and additional art was created for the Kenner Super Powers product line by DC artist Alex Saviuk. The Kenner line of DC action figures was in stores from 1984 to 1986, comprising three waves of figures. Each figure had an “action mechanism” hidden inside that activated upon moving a figure’s arms or legs. Forty years later, the Super Powers collection has remained an in-demand line for collectors, with an extensive revival by McFarlane Toys in stores now.

I’ve been collecting the Super Powers re-releases since they came to Walmart “New for ‘22”.

Here is my collection (absolutely ALL of them). Follow my journey to get Reverse Flash here.

EDIT 11/25/24:

Follow my journey to get Batman (Wv5) here. Follow my journey to get The Flash (Wv6), Batman (Wv6) & Superman (Wv7) here. Follow my journey to get Blue Beetle (Wv7) here. Follow my journey to get Wave 8 here.

Here are the vehicles:

Follow my journey to get a Batwing (Wv1) in black here. Follow my journey to get a Skull Ship (Wv3) here. Follow my journey to get The Bug (Wv3) here.

“Panic in the Sky” Brainiac w/Skull Ship: