Micronauts Action Figures Identification Tool with Pictures

Takara first introduced the Microman toy line in 1974, in response to the rising cost of producing larger toys. As most Japanese families were space-conscious, Takara was happy to accommodate their needs for toys that took up little room. Thus, they decided to scale down their 12” Henshin Cyborg toy line into a new 3 ¾” scale line. These action figures in turn would feature smaller vehicles, robots, and play sets. The line also prominently featured 5mm connectors and ports that allowed them to easily interchange parts.

The first four action figures introduced in the 1974 Microman Zone line were referred to as the Founders. These characters were the closest to their predecessors, as Takara scaled-down versions of the Henshin Cyborg action figures to create them. Each of these action figures featured transparent plastic and chrome heads. As Takara introduced new Microman series, such as the Project Victory series in 1975 and the Spy Magician series in 1976, the line began to stand apart from its roots.

One of the things that made Microman unique was that the action figures were presented as the actual size of the characters. Each Microman was a member of a cyborg species known as the Micros. These beings originated from the planet called “Micro Earth”, where they had vehicles and buildings scaled to their size. However, they would use robots and other disguises to remain unnoticed on Earth.

By 1976, Mego had taken notice of Takara’s inventive toys from Japan. Thus, they set out to license the toys and bring them over to the West. With the license finalized, they returned to America with several of Takara’s popular Microman action figures. These action figures became the basis for Mego’s newest toy line: the Micronauts.

When Mego introduced the Micronauts, they introduced various action figures from the Japanese line’s first three years. For instance, Hydra originated from Takara’s MIC-02 Bulk Lifter that they released in 1974. Meanwhile, Microtron originated from Micro Robot-1 which came out in 1976. Both of these toys, along with many others, were part of Micronauts’ first series in 1976.

By the 3^rd series of Micronaut toys, Mego felt confident in creating unique toys for the line. This began with 3 ¾” scale action figures like Alphatron, Betatron, and Gammatron that came out in 1978. Then, they introduced an entire series of unique ALIEN characters for their 1979 series.

Even though Takara’s original Microman toy line continued into 1980, Mego began to embrace their original designs and license figures from other Takara lines. In 1980, they brought over a few 6 ½” action figures from Takara’s Magnemo toy line.

Years after Mego brought over Takara’s miniature cyborgs, Marvel Comics picked up the Micronauts license. They created comics based on the toy line from 1979 until 1986. This long-lasting run included crossovers with Marvel characters like the X-Men. Marvel wound up creating over 50 issues before the series was canceled.  The Micronauts are scheduled to return to Marvel Comics in 2024.

Despite a long run in store, Mego discontinued the Micronauts toy line in 1980. Not long after the line’s termination, Mego filed for bankruptcy in 1982. As the company closed its doors in 1983, it sold off its assets, including the molds for the Micronauts action figures. Some of these molds were later reused by other companies to create their own toy lines. Meanwhile, Takara found a new partner years later with Hasbro, which brought the successor to Microman over to the US.

While Mego sold off most of its Micronauts assets, the rights and licenses were sent over to Abrams Gentile Entertainment LLC. This allowed the family that founded Mego, the Abrams, to continue to profit from future Micronauts lines. Eventually, the proceeds from these rights allowed Mego to rise from the ashes.

Meanwhile, a few different companies attempted to bring Micronauts back to the market. One of the most successful attempts occurred in 2002. Palisades Toys set out to revive the classic toy line. To supplement the lost tooling and molds from the original line, Palisades sought assistance from the collector’s community. Using vintage Micronauts, they reverse-engineered most of the Micronauts action figures that they recreated.  This allowed them to feature both toys from Takara and some of Mego’s original toys like the aliens.

Unfortunately, this line suffered from quality issues at the factory, leading to multiple returns. By the time Palisades released a 2^nd series, toy stores and dealers were so burnt from the mass of returns that they refused to stock the toys. Thus, Palisades terminated the toy line early, before they finished the production of the 3^rd series.

The next manufacturer that attempted to bring back the Micronauts was SOTA (State of the Arts) Toys. They planned to release a “Micronauts: Evolution” toy line in 2006. While they featured an upscaled 6” reproduction of the classic toys at the San Diego Comic-Con, they never produced the line.

Following SOTA’s aborted attempt was Hasbro, who gave the license a shot in 2016. However, Hasbro did not attempt to create a complete toy line. Instead, they only released a 3-figure set, the Micronauts Classics Collection, for the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con.

While Micronauts has floundered with revivals in the toy market, various comic book publishers have featured the franchise over the years. Image Comics published eleven issues from 2002 until 2003. Then, the license moved to Devil’s Due Publishing, where it ran for three issues in 2004. The Micronauts’ next home was IDW comics, which created eleven issues from 2016 until 2017. They continued to produce smaller, five-issue long series until 2018.