Back in 2022, the San Diego Comic Con had an exclusive set of new versions of a trio of classic characters on sale. These were Big Jim, Pulsar, and Major Matt Mason by Mattel Creations. (Copyrighted 2020.) Interestingly, some years before, I'd suggested in a comment somewhere on the blog it'd be a good idea for Mattel to produce an updated version of the character. I was thinking of one that looked more like the original, but with a different type of articulation than wire within rubber. Anyway, a few years back Major Matt made what was probably a brief and limited return, which I learned about only recently. I got the set of three figures from eBay, though it was really only Matt I wanted, but I'll make the other two welcome as well. Some years ago (around 15 or so) there was talk of a big-budget movie (possibly CGI) of the Major starring Tom Hanks, but for some reason or other it never came to pass.
Were you a fan of the original Major Matt Mason? Tell your fellow Crivs all about your playtime past with Mattel's Man In Space in the comments section. However, first check out the TV ad, below, from the dim and distant days of the '60s.
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Update 25th June: Items arrived today and I was surprised to see that the figures are only around four-and-a-half inches tall, nearly an inch-and-a-half smaller than the original Mayor Matt Mason and even smaller compared to Big Jim and Pulsar, which I think were roughly around 12 inches in height. Still, at least the trio got a chance to 'live' again in this modern age. (They might've given Matt a space-helmet though.)
14 comments:
I've never heard of Major Matt Mason except on your blog, Kid.
That's because my blog boldly goes where few blogs have gone before, CJ.
I never owned these figures but my best friend did. When he and his family went away on holiday during the summer, he would lend them all to me for the week - and he had a pretty extensive collection.
This nicely scratched my MMM itch, as I was more of an Action Man fan. Great figures, though.
And if you had read my blog you would have seen a post on Major Matt Masons abandoned DC comic book Colin .
I must admit although I wasn't that aware of the original Matt Mason ( except the ads ) I preferred the look of the original more
My brother, Philip, had the original Major Matt Mason when we were kids. I'm not aware if he still has it.
Just a shame the paint peeled off and the internal wire broke in no time at all, PG.
I've got more MMM stuff now than I had as a kid, McS. Back then I think I had Sgt. Storm, Doug Davis, and Callisto, and my Matt Mason came from a swap with a pal.
I've got three '60s MMs, three Callistos, a Doug Davis, and a Sgt. Storm, JC, plus some bits of equipment. Nice to have, though I can't 'play' with them in case they break.
Kid, I've not heard of this character, but I did have the UK version of Big Jim, he was called Mark Strong over here. Without sounding too homoerotic, he had flexible biceps, was physically cut, and wore orange jock shorts. Obviously, he modelled on your good self, but he did also have a cool space suit to dress him in, the lumberjack outfit was questionable though?
I remember seeing the ads for Big Jim in comicbooks, AAW, illustrated by Jack Kirby no less. I have to say I think Mark Strong is a better name than Big Jim. I think there was another figure in the '90s with a similar name to Mark Strong, but I can't recall it at the moment.
I had Major Matt Mason, with his pal Steve (red suit) and Doug (yellow suit). I think they all succumbed to the dreaded snapped armature, but it gave me hours of fun. Unfortunately the string in the jet pack used to get tangled with devilish knots. The last MMM toy I had was the Space Crawler, for Christmas 1968 or 1969. I loved the ads for the Space Station to be found on the back of DC comics of that era.
There's a pile of MMM ads on Crivens as well, B. I think you commented on a couple of those posts. Great toy, just a shame it wasn't more durable.
I had the Major Matt Mason sets and the additional astronauts. I still have the MMM figure, a bit the worse for wear but still recognizable.
I had a lot of the Big Jim sets as well, going all the way to the P.A.C.K. Series which had ads drawn by Jack Kirby. I’m not sure what happened to those. They were pretty cool.
I only ever saw Big Jim and P.A.C.K. in the Kirby ads, G. No memory of ever having seen Pulsar. I've got more MMM items now than I ever had as a kid.
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