Superhero Action Figures in the 1990s Had Some Wild Transportation Choices

Even before superhero movies dominated cinemas, characters like Spider-Man, Captain America, Batman, and even Wolverine were the kings of the action-figure market. Of course, all of them needed some form transportation to get to and from their crime-fighting and tussles with villains, and toy makers obliged with some truly outlandish designs.

It didn't much matter that the features didn't match up with the superhero. Why would Spider-Man need a Jeep with a grappling hook? They might defy adult logic, but to a kid's imagination, these were just more ingenious gadgets to keep the bad guys at bay. Let's take a look at a few of these collectible superhero-related toy cars from the 1990s.

Spider-Man Dragster

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Spider-Man is a master of mobility. Think about him in the movies: There's always a scene where Peter Parker is swinging around Manhattan on a web to get across the city quickly.

The folks at the company Toy Biz didn't think webs were enough, though, and the result was the Spider-Man Dragster, which sort of looks like the similarly odd DeltaWing race car. Let's imagine Doctor Octopus wreaking havoc, and Peter Parker is on the other side of the Big Apple. The Spider-Man Dragster could race through the streets and, when necessary, launch a grappling hook from the nose to help the car swing through the air like its protagonist.

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Circular plastic fans can shoot out of the rear deck, either propelling the dragster skyward (in a kid's mind, anyway) or serving as a projectile.

Captain America Turbo Coupe

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Toy Biz also designed a car for Captain America, and its look fit the superhero's style much better than the Spider-Man Dragster. Steve Rogers drives a highly modified Chevrolet Corvette C4 because it's only natural for America's hero to drive America's sports car.

A facsimile of Cap's shield, the "Shield Rammer," can extend a short distance from the front bumper. The hood scoop is so high that I'm not sure the superhero has much forward visibility if he were driving this car in the real world, but it's a suitably aggressive look for the super-Vette.

Pulling on the rear wing reveals another of this toy's gimmicks: The car's roof splits open, and Captain America can fly away on a jet-powered chair. Having Cap flying around while playing with the car was like getting two toys in one.

Bruce Wayne Custom Coupe

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There were plenty of action figures from DC Comics' stable of superheroes in the 1990s, particularly when it came to Batman. In addition to offering the Batmobile as part of its Batman Returns product line, toy maker Kenner released the Bruce Wayne Custom Coupe in 1992.

This single-seater is apparently how Wayne gets around when he's not fighting crime as the Caped Crusader. If the Joker suddenly breaks out of Arkham Asylum, this car has some great features to help catch him, even if it's not the official Batmobile. Missile launchers drop down from the sides of the body, and pulling the rear wing slides Bruce backward and replaces him with another action figure, presumably one from your inventory of Batman toys.

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The toy car's design doesn't appear to be a copy of any real-life vehicle. It features a wedge-shaped silhouette similar to supercars of the era, though the look has some rough similarities to the McLaren F1, which is also from 1992.

X-Men: Wolverine Mutantcycle

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Wolverine is among the most famous of the X-Men, with his own movies, video games, and comic books. Naturally, there are plenty of toys for the character, too.

The Wolverine Mutantcycle from Toy Biz has a pair of movable claws on the front fender. This setup doesn't seem functional in a fight, though. Wolverine regularly takes on some of Marvel's toughest characters, and it's hard to imagine any supervillains standing still long enough to be hit by a bike with claws speeding toward them. I could be wrong.

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This toy also has an inexplicable gimmick where the front end can spin around and reveal a squashed take on Wolverine's head. Having your face on the front of a motorcycle isn't a particularly good way for a superhero to remain incognito.

The Shadow Thunder Cab

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Following the success of the Batman movies in the 1980s and 1990s, there were plenty of films that tried to capitalize on superheroes' cinematic popularity. Oddly, top-tier heroes like Spider-Man or The X-Men weren't the initial ones to reach theaters. Instead, B- and C-tier characters like Dick Tracy and The Phantom often made it to multiplexes first.

Alec Baldwin played The Shadow in the 1994 eponymous movie, and a toy line accompanied it. In the film, The Shadowmostly got around in style by riding in a coffin-nosed Cord 810 wearing a taxi color scheme, and his car was one of the accessories to go with the action figures in the toy line.

The toy Cord was quite different from the car in the movie. To make it more exciting to play with, the ambitious designers added a missile launcher that could deploy from the hood, a pair of guns on the roof, and a "pivoting machine gun" emerged from the trunk. Jagged "side-swiping swords" extended out from under the doors.

Wolverine Jeep & Spider-Man Web-Runner

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Toys may be all about fun, but designing and making them is a real business. What happens when a company needs to save a few bucks? The folks at Toy Biz positioned an identical Jeep for Wolverine and Spider-Man, and hoped the kids buying them ("Ages 5 and up," the boxes say) wouldn't notice.

The Wolverine Jeep is yellow, black, and blue-a color scheme that matches the character's costume. It features an opening hood with a grinder in the engine bay, a claw-shaped missile on top of the roll bar, a grabber on the back, and blades that extend from the wheels.

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The Spider-Man version is red and blue with a black spider on the hood. It has all of the same gimmicks as Wolverine's rig.

For some kids, these toys might have been their first exposure to a Jeep, and the missile launcher, grabber, and opening hood added even more ways to play with the car, regardless of color.

Spawn Mobile

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Spawn was one of the most significant new superhero debuts of the 1990s. The comic launched in 1992, and creator Todd McFarlane quickly capitalized on its popularity. He even founded his own toy company to make action figures of the characters.

The first series of toys came out in 1994 and included two absurd vehicles from the comic: the Spawn Mobile and Violator Monster Rig.

Todd McFarlane's "Spawn Mobile" was recreated as a real life custom and sold for $19,850 earlier this year.whatnot.com/toddmcfarlane

The Spawn Mobile looks like an exaggerated funny car. The engine can pop up, and the supercharger does double duty as a belt-fed machine gun. Rocket launchers emerge from the sides. The wheels extend outward, and a chain-mounted grappling hook is on the back. (Perhaps you've noticed that grappling hooks were mandatory for many of these models.)

McFarlane even built a real-world version of the Spawn Mobile and auctioned it off for $19,850 this year, presumably to a kid who never quite grew up.

Violator Monster Rig

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The Violator Monster Rig is a wonderfully weird toy. This literal monster truck has the face of a demonic skeleton with a moving jaw. Ribs form the rear section, and the bones on the tilting exhaust stacks can shoot out. Plus, this is yet another car toy with a grappling hook, this one "spring loaded."

Unlike the other toys on this list, The Spawn Mobile and the Violator Monster Rig weren't really for young kids, though the Spawn Mobile box says, "Ages 4 and up". The Spawn comic had more mature themes than most of the stories coming from DC and Marvel at the time, so presumably these vehicles would have appealed to the edgy teens who were fans of McFarlane's violent stories.

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This list could extend as long as a toy-store aisle-there are sure to be several we left off. What were your favorite toys to carry action figures as a kid?

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