M.U.S.C.L.E. Men
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M.U.S.C.L.E. Men were a group of toy PVC gum wrestling figures produced in the United States from 1986 to 1988. The story involved intergalactic wrestlers fighting for supremacy of the universe. The toy line itself was straight forward and collectors continue to make the line a viable hobby. The US line included 236 official figures, a boardgame, a NES game, a championship belt figure holder, and a wrestling ring playset. The figures were distributed in clear, blister-packed random 4-packs, semiopaque garbage can 10-packs, and boxed fixed sculpt 28 packs.
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[edit] Origins
M.U.S.C.L.E. Men figures were small, 2-inch figures. The figures were based on the Japanese toyline called kinkeshi. Kenkeshi were based on a manga and anime called Kinnikuman, and some figures were based on anime-only characters. The main hero was Kinnikuman, who was renamed "Muscle Man" in the US and said to be the leader of the "Thug Busters." He was described as the greatest wrestling champion. The only other named figure in the US line was Buffaloman, who was renamed "Terri-Bull," and said to be the leader of the "Cosmic Crunchers."
[edit] Toy Waves
The first shipment of figures were all a 'bubble-gum pink' color the collecting community calls 'flesh.' The second shipment was a half-and-half mixture of flesh and either dark blue, purple, or red figures. The third shipment contained no flesh figures, only dark blue, red, purple, magenta, salmon, lime green, neon orange, and light blue. Five figures came with the boardgame in an exclusive Grape or Light Purple color.
[edit] Kinkeshi
The Kinnikuman toy line in Japan was not limited to small PVC figures as it was in the United States. It also included many other sizes and styles of figures and toys.
Although the toy line lasted for only two years in the US, the Kinnikuman toy line is still in production in Japan. New toys, comics and TV shows are released regularly.
[edit] Current Relevance
In the United States, the sequel to Kinnikuman, Kinnikuman NiSei was translated by 4Kids Entertainment in 2002 and aired from 2002-2004 on Saturday Mornings. It was re-aired Summer of 2006 as Summer Filler. It enjoys a dedicated following in the 14-30 age group. Figures, both 6.5" articulated and 1.5" M.U.S.C.L.E.-sized, based on the Ultimate Muscle storyline were released sporatically in 2003, as well as a card game entitled Ultimate Muscle Battle Card Game. Viz Media currently publishes the translated Ultimate Muscle manga with slight editing.
