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In
1981, Mattel acquired the license to the epic Ray Harryhausen fantasy film, Clash
of the Titans, and produced a nice line of 3-inchaction figures and
toys based on the stop-motion spectacle.
Today,
many of these toys -- particularly the
Greek mythology-inspired “monsters” or “beasts” -- are worth a pretty penny
and considered collectors’ items.
In
terms of the action figures, Mattel produced Perseus -- Harry Hamlin’s
character -- described on his card as “The
Hero Son of Zeus,” and the film’s secondary villain, the deformed,
devil-like Calibos (“Lord of the Marsh.”)
It
also produced Thallo (“Captain of the Guard”), and Charon (“The Devil’s Boat
Keeper.”) I had all of these figures,
except for Charon. I still have them in
my home office, sharing a shelf with figures from Captain Power, Mork and Mindy,
The Black Hole, and Dune.
Mattel
also manufactured a Clash of the Titans set featuring Perseus and Pegasus (“The
Winged Horse), and best of all…the monstrous destroyer of cities, the
Kraken. I remember being in fifth grade
and wanting that Kraken toy more than anything, but I never managed to get my
hands on one.
I don’t know that these Clash of the Titans figures were all
that successful commercially, but they came with nice accouterments (like gold
shields and swords), and I always hoped for a second release featuring action figures
like Medusa, Bubo, Andromeda, Zeus, Poseidon, and so on.
