DC Comics produced some of the greatest super heroes on Earth -- Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Captain Marvel, The Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow and so on. While there are various Asians and Asian Pacific Americans that have shown up in the books, very few were translated into action figure form. Part of this is because outside of the popular Super Powers and short lived Total Justice line, Hasbro (the company that now produces most of DC's action figures) tends to re-issue the same character over and over again but in different costumes and with different weapons. So, several lines have been made up of several versions of Batman. But, despite this, there are a few Asian Pacific Americans who did make it into action form. Here is what I have so far:
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Green Arrow Total Justice Line 1997, Hasbro Individual Figure This is actually not the Green Arrow I grew up with and admittedly, I did not know much about this version. I did know that his name is Connor Hawke and he's the son of the original Green Arrow. I also did know that he had a degree of Asian in his blood, but didn't know to what extent. Thanks to the Web, I was able to find some information at the Unoffical Green Arrow Compendium. According to the page, Connor is 1/2 caucasian, 1/4 African-American and 1/4 Korean-American. Green Arrow is part of the Total Justice line, which actually was a really well done series that never really took off.
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Samurai Super Powers Line 1984, Kenner Individual Figure The Samurai action figure is based on a character Hanna-Barbera and DC Comics created for the 1978-79 animated series Challenge of the Superfriends. He was one of several multiethnic characters to be added to the show. I loved him! Every weekend, I couldn't wait for him to say the Japanese phrase that would activate his power over wind. Does anybody know what it was that he said and what it meant? If you do, please send me an e-mail to let me know. The toy version is actually really well done and looks very much like the animated character. He comes with a sword and a cloth top. According to the profile card that comes with the action figure, his secret identity is Toshio Eto. This name was never mentioned on the show.
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The following are items I still need to complete the set. If you notice any other items that should be added, please e-mail me.
- None that I know of...
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