Soar into the world of Sky Commanders with us! Join us in an action-packed Retrospective of Sky Commanders. The franchise begins in 1987 with incredible action figures and vehicles. The toy company, Kenner, released many immensely popular toys through its reign and this one fit right in. Kenner’s Sky Commanders toys gave people in the 80s, both kids and adults alike, something new. They followed the story of the corresponding animated series. The action-filled story told of two opposing teams who battled each other on a new continent. With the help of his mountaineering experts, commander Mike Summit leads the team through the rugged terrain in search of the powerful new element to defeat General Plague as he tries to rule the world.
The animated series following this storyline also released in 1987 by Hanna-Barbera Productions and Toei Animation. When Sky Commanders came out, it automatically placed yet another fantastic show to the Hanna-Barbera list. Partnered with Toei Animation, this show never fails to bring nostalgia to many people over the years. Join us on an adventure through the sky with our Retrospective of Sky Commanders!
Join Us on a Retrospective of Sky Commanders
Follow along with us on our Retrospective as we not only mention the eye catching action figures and vehicles released but also the animated series. First, we will dive into the toys with their unique features and design. Then, we will jump into the screen for the animated series.
Sky Commanders Toys
First up, on our Retrospective of Sky Commanders, are the toys! With Kenner’s release of this toy line in 1987, the toys held features unlike any other. The storyline of the toys and animated series spoke of the group of sky commanders battling the intense enemy, General Plague, and his raiders. Both sides fought to find the new unstable radioactive element, Phaeta-7. With the new continent holding conditions unable to fight on ground, the team glided through the sky on cables and tracks.
Since these toys followed the same storyline, Kenner decided to add strings and cable-like features to resemble what the characters needed to use in order to get around successfully. Both teams also needed vehicles to fight from. These vehicles included features to attach onto the cables and tracks for ultimate fighting ability. All things considered, Kenner did a wonderful job including detail and fun features to bring this world of Sky Commanders to life.
Action Figures
Kenner released many action figures for Sky Commanders, giving fans the opportunity to act out their favorite scenes with ultimate play abilities. These included: Commander Jack Reily, Commander Pete Crane, Commander R.J. Scott, Commander Rex Kling, Commander Kodiak Crane, Commander Cliff Baxter, General Summit, Raider Rath, as well as General Plague.
Action Figure Descriptions
The first of these, Commander Jack Reily, appears painted in bright red and blue paint giving him a fierce appearance. He also comes with some accessories including an ascender backpack and two guns. The Commander R.J. Scott figure shows eye-catching yellow and blue paint in an asymmetrical design adding personality to the figure. R.J. Scott also comes with a geyser attack backpack and two guns for the figure’s accessories. Commander Rex Kling is covered almost entirely in orange paint, with accents of red, brown, and blue. This figure includes a search and rescue backpack as his accessory.
The next figure, General Summit, appears in dark brown, red, and purple paint. Also included, is a rollerball backpack. The Raider Rath figure comes with a cable raider backpack of a gooey shade of green. Raider Rath himself looks very intimidating with his dark purple, green, and red armor suit. Another figure released by Kenner was the evil General Plague. This figure came with a deception raider backpack of dark purple, the same as the color on his armor along with a dark blue and purple. These three figures also all came with a powerband with transport cable and gravity hook allowing them to soar high and fast through battle. The detail in the figures by Kenner proves to be a hit to many vintage toy buyers and collectors still today. The figures also released in different colors, enhancing play abilities.
Vehicles
Along with the action figures, Kenner also released a series of vehicles for the franchise. A total of eleven vehicles came out to go with the figures. These included the Battle Track Dispatch, Battle Track Protector, Bomb Blast, Cable Cannon, Flex Wing, Jackal Raider, Locust Raider, Outrider, Rapid Deployment, Track Patrol, and Vector Command. The wide range of different vehicles for the figures ensured for incredible play abilities. With the clamps on the vehicles, allowing them to attach to surfaces, the figures soar through the “sky” from “cliff to cliff” defending their team against attacks.
Vehicle Descriptions
The Battle Track Protector came with the vehicle, defense tram, a clamp, and an outpost. The vehicle featured a yellow paint all over and a plastic window on the front to secure the figure. Next up, the Bomb Blast vehicle featured a battle car, battle track roadway, outpost, 2 bombs, and an ammo car. This vehicle gives players the ability to throw bombs at their opponents while flying through the sky. The Cable Cannon came with the vehicle, outpost, and two missiles. The Flex Wing vehicle looks incredibly fierce and intimidating with the colors and design. It comes with a spy pod to put the figure in, and an outpost. The Jackal Raider looks epic with the dark purple and green design. It also features a ram pod, outpost, and 4 missiles.
Next up, the Locust Raider, in dark purple and green, comes with an outpost and grappling hook. The vehicle appears almost like a spaceship with the extravagant wings on either side. The outrider vehicle includes a scout seat for the figure, outpost, gravity base, a missile, and two bombs. Covered in brown, red, and yellow paint, the Rapid Deployment vehicle features a Bomber pod for the figure, missile launcher with missile, outpost and gun. The Track Patrol vehicle not only comes with the battle car, but also the gunner car. Along with this, the battle track roadway, outpost, and missile are included. Lastly, the Vector Command vehicle features many cool attachments. These include the command pod, two battle track roadways, a sky guard missile launcher, two outposts, a sky cage, two command pod guns, two turrets, a sky guard missile, and cannon missile.
All vehicles hold incredible play opportunities with their attachments. Continue following along through our Retrospective of Sky Commanders to learn more about these epic characters.
Television Series
Next up on our Retrospective of Sky Commanders, we have the animated television series. This series released by Hannah-Barbera and Toei Animation. Sky Commanders not only showed action-packed battle scenes but also a new way of battle through the storyline. The series premiered in July of 1987 and lasted for 13 episodes.
The Sky Commanders storyline begins with the group of soldiers and mountaineering specialists fighting against the evil General Plague and his team of Raiders. With the emergence of the new radioactive and powerful element, Phaeta seven, a new continent appears. Deep in the South Pacific, both teams fight in search of the element. The Raiders aim to seize the planet while the Sky Commanders battle to save it. The unstable element source can only be stabilized for containment if the temperatures are 200 degrees below 0. Whoever finds out how to control the element, will be ruler of the world. This leaves it up to the Sky Commanders, led by General Mike Summit, to stop General Plague from taking things out of control. Along with this, the new continent’s weather conditions make it very difficult. Earthquakes, cave-ins, landslides, and many other disasters make it necessary to ship in supplies.
Since the conditions leave the teams unable to battle on the ground, they must fight from the sky! Propelled from cables and tracks, the Sky Commander’s mission is not only packed with action but also danger. Along with the new continent and disasters brought by the element, new life forms also appear. These creatures create extra obstacles and danger for the teams. Battle after battle, fans kept coming back to see if the Sky Commanders took victory.
Final Thoughts
Although the world of Sky Commanders only lasted a short time, these innovative toys and characters live on through the nostalgia of fans. Even for those who didn’t grow up with the show, the toys continue to spark interest for many from vintage toy buyers and collectors. The toys bring life and awesome action play as they soar through the “sky”, even in your own home! Thanks for following along through this Retrospective of Sky Commanders to see just how General Mike Summit and his crew of trained soldiers took on General Plague and his Raiders.
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Made in Collaboration with:
Chris Ingledue
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Bio: I am the founder and owner of Wheeljack’s Lab Pop Culture and Toy Shop. My vision has always been to reunite customers with their favorite childhood toys and pop culture, triggering fond memories, and reigniting their imaginations. Every day, I work in the “lab” where it’s Christmas 365 days a year. I scour the internet, like when we had the Sears Catalog of yesteryear, for the next great treasure. Then, I await the arrival of the postman as if he were Santa Claus himself and helping collectors worldwide with their versions of Christmas. Every day as a vintage toy buyer is an absolute joy!