Bucky O’Hare Action Figures Identification Tool with Pictures

The origins of Bucky O’Hare

From his inception, Bucky O’Hare and his crew were designed with the thought that they would become toys. Larry Hama made a point of including 3mm holes at the bottom of the character’s feet. The designs also included 3mm plugs on the character’s belts with the idea that the toys would eventually use them for weapon storage. Despite these design decisions, it took decades for Bucky to appear in toy form.

In 1984, Bucky O’Hare made his first appearance in Echo of Futurepast #1. This comic led to a complete six-part miniseries detailing the exploits of the fight against the Toad Empire. Unfortunately, the comic book died off after this series concluded in 1985.

Despite the comic book series’ brief lifespan, Bucky O’Hare got a second chance after Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles became popular. With toy and entertainment companies looking for more anthropomorphic teams, the hare’s battle against the Toads felt perfect. Marvel Productions decided to bring his exploits to television with the assistance of Sunbow. Like many of their prior collaborations, AKOM produced the animation for Bucky O’Hare and the Toad Wars.

A new comic series and television series

As Bucky O’Hare prepared for his first televised appearance, Continuity Comics released a special edition of the original comics with extended scenes and new artwork. This ambitious project survived until the 5th issue. Unfortunately, the fate of the animated series and the toys led to the untimely departure of Bucky’s second comic run. This cancelation also prevented Larry Hama from introducing a brand-new story that would have continued the hare’s adventures.

Meanwhile, Bucky O’Hare and the Toad Wars began airing in 1991. This new series took several notes from the original comics. However, it added several new characters and story beats and introduced a couple of brand-new characters that bolstered the cast.

As in the comics, Bucky was the captain of the Righteous Indignation, a crucial part of the S.P.A.C.E. (Sentient Protoplasm Against Colonial Encroachment) fleet. While he always opposed the Toad Empire, his battle kicked up a notch after the empire invaded his home planet, Warren. With how home was now ruined and transformed into a swamp, Bucky sought out their defeat.

Bucky O’Hare’s crew

He had an entire crew ready to follow his lead into battle. His first mate was Jenny, a psionic feline species that came from the planet Aldebaran. Her powers included astral projection, energy blasts, and telepathy.

The Righteous Indignation originally had a Betelgeusian berserker baboon, Bruce, as its engineer. Unfortunately, he vanished after a photon accelerator malfunctioned. Luckily, he was replaced by the displaced Willy DuWitt, a brilliant pre-teen human.

Bruce’s brother, Bruiser, also was a member of the crew. This character was created specifically for the animated show. As his name implied, he was a space marine who was the team’s brawn.

The crew’s gunner was the one-eyed Deadeye Duck from Kanopis III. Even though he only had one good eye, he remained a formidable foe with a gun in each of his four hands.

Finally, there was the Android First Class (AFC) Binky. Like many science-fiction robots, Binky’s helped warn the team of encroaching danger.

The cartoon series introduced two more characters who bolstered S.P.A.C.E.’s forces. Commander Dogstar and Mimi LaFloo each commanded a frigate for the fleet.

Bucky O’Hare and the rest of S.P.A.C.E. strongly opposed the power-hungry forces of the Toad Empire. This group took orders from KOMPLEX, a computer program whose name meant “feed me” in the toad language. Their forces included Toad Air Marshall, Toad Borg, and the Storm Toads.

Despite the high hopes for the series, Bucky O’Hare only remained on the air until January 1992. Only 13 episodes detailed the exploits of the Righteous Indignation and its crew. Its swift cancellation also ended the Hasbro toy line.

Hasbro Bucky O’Hare action figure toy line

Hasbro introduced the toy line in 1991, coinciding with the cartoon series. They designed action figures at the 5” scale to compete with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. These toys had basic articulation, with some, like Bucky, having 9. Despite the intention to design the characters for the toy molds from the beginning, many of the 3mm plugs on the belts did not effectively work. Sadly, some of these pegs were blocked due to articulation, while others did not firmly hold the weapons.

Hasbro created multiple action figures of the S.P.A.C.E. forces, including Bucky O’Hare, Deadeye Duck, WIlly DuWitt, Blinky, Bruiser, and Commander Dogstar. While they created multiple action figures for the Toad Empire’s forces, there were not as many. They released action figures of Toad Borg, Air Marshall, Storm Toad Trooper, and the cartoon-exclusive Al Negator. Each of these action figures was released on card-back packaging that included a file card.

This toy line also featured two vehicles the action figures could ride in. First, there was the Toad Double Trouble, which resembled a toad head. This vehicle’s two bulbous eyes functioned as cockpits, so it could carry two figures. It also had capture claws that could be fired at targets. Then, the shoe-shaped Toad Croaker was meant for Bucky and his friends. While this vehicle could only carry one action figure, it had a bulb that would create croaking noises when depressed. Thus, it was the greatest weapon for stomping out the Toad Empire.

The canceled second series of action figures

While Hasbro had plans for a second series of toys, the line was canceled before they hit store shelves. Still, many of these toys made it through the prototype phase and appeared in Hasbro’s 1992 toy fair catalog. The cancelation also meant that an action figure for Jenny, which was fully produced for the first wave and delayed, was never released.

The legacy of Bucky O’Hare

Along with the toy line, Bucky O’Hare also appeared in two video games produced by Konami. There was an arcade version of this game and an NES cartridge.

Meanwhile, Bucky O’Hare had a bit more success overseas in the UK. There, DC Thompson released a brand new series of comic books. This series’ twenty issues were released from March to December 1992.

Luckily, that was not the last chance for Bucky and his crew. In 2017, Boss Fight Studios began releasing a new toy line with modern features. These toys had new, complex articulation along with interchangeable hands and faces. It also heralded the first time that Jenny appeared in toy form. This new toy line also included multiple variants for characters, including an easter chocolate version of Bucky O’Hare.