RED TORNADO

SUPER POWERS (KENNER)

You know, the last time I broke from McFarlane Super Powers coverage to go back to the vintage Kenner stuff, it was for a spinny sort of robot guy.  So, this time around, as I break from the McFarlane Super Powers coverage, it’s to look at a vintage Kenner figure of a….spinny sort of robot guy?  What are the odds?  Well, actually 1 in 17, because there’s the 2 of them in the original 34 figure run and all.  So, you know, simple math and all that.  Last time, however, it was Cyclotron, a character made up by Kenner for the line, but this time it’s DC’s original spinny sort of robot guy, Red Tornado!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Red Tornado was released in 1985 as part of the second series of Kenner’s Super Powers line.  This was Red Tornado’s first action figure, and would remain so until Hasbro added him to their JLA line in 2000.  The figure stands 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 8 points of articulation.  He’s got all the standard articulation, plus movement at the waist, which is tied into his action feature, though it does still actually hold a little bit of posing.  Red Tornado got a totally unique sculpt for the line.  He’s sporting his second, and by far best known design, which he’d had for almost two decades at this point, so it was a sensible choice.  It’s a solid recreation of things.  The design elements are all raised, which is actually quite a nice way of handling it, and gives the design quite a bit of pop.  He gets a cloth cape, as was the usual for the line.  It’s a fairly nice cape, with the collar, and printed striping on the sides.  His paint work’s rather simple, largely just being the yellow detailing.  It does what it needs to, which is the important thing.  Red Tornado’s action feature is “Power Action Tornado Twist;” squeezing his arm spins his lower torso at the lower half.  It’s a little finicky, but not a bad recreation of his comics power.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Red Tornado is actually one my earliest Super Powers…possibly even my first?  It was either him or Aquaman.  I got him at a Farpoint, and I was exploring the dealers room with my Grandmother, and I wanted either this or the ToyFare-exclusive Reverse Flash, both of which were kind of expensive.  This wound up being the one, even though he didn’t have his cape.  He went over 20 years sans-cape, but I finally got one thanks to Jason at All Time.  He’s a neat figure, and a highlight to a line that’s already itself a highlight.