Big Jim (toy line)

Big Jim was a line of action figure toys produced from 1972 through 1986 by Mattel for the North American and European markets. He was renamed Kid Acero in Latin America and, for a short period of time, Mark Strong in Europe. Originally inspired by G.I. Joe, the Big Jim line was smaller in size (closer to 10 inches in height compared to Joe's 12) and each figure included a push button in the back that made the character execute a karate chop action. The action figure's arms were made of a soft plastic/vinyl material and contained a mechanism that simulated the bulge of a biceps when the elbow was bent. Big Jim was less military-oriented than the G.I. Joe line, having more of a secret agent motif, but also had a large variety of outfits and situations available including sports, space exploration, martial arts, hunting, western, camping, fishing, and photography.
Characters are sorted in the year in which they made their first appearance. Note that most of them were produced for several years after their initial release.
First Editions – Originally, Big Jim action figures came out in a small blue box with red and white stripes. The 1972 toy line was split into three sub lines: the Basic Line, the Adventure Line and the Sports Line. Simultaneously, Mattel released an almost identical figure named Mark Strong, The Man from Mattel© in Europe. The Mark Strong figure was nearly identical to Big Jim and came with the same accessories. The crotch piece of the Mark Strong figure was thinner and more fragile than that of Big Jim.
The basic line was composed mostly of figures which came almost naked, with minimal clothes or accessories. The original basic Big Jim came dressed in orange shorts with white stripes and included a karate board, a dumbbell and test of strength belt. Jack was an identical, figure, with only a different head. He was one of the first toys produced in the United States to represent a minority character in a respectful way.
The Basic line also included the first incarnations of Josh and Jeff. Jeff is an Aussie type figure dressed with shorts and brown hat that came with a chopping knife, a chest belt and a bamboo stand. Josh is a bearded woodsman figure fully dressed in denim vest and shorts with brown boots. He was the only one which came with vest and shoes.
All four basic figures had a mechanism that simulated the bulge of a biceps when the arm was bent.
The adventure series was composed mostly of camping and explorer vehicles, and these were the first playsets in the toyline. Three animals were released with this first wave: a gorilla, a rhino and a crocodile.
The sports line was composed of different versions of Big Jim. He was a baseball player, a hockey player, a pugilist, and an eagle ranger. The eagle which came with this set was also included with several later versions of Big Jim.
The first wave of Big Jim also included a figure dressed as a nuclear plant worker, which had no relation to any other figures in the line.
In 1975, Mattel decided to create an extension of the main toy line making Big Jim the leader of a Mission Impossible-like group of heroes for hire. This series is easy to identify because all related products have a howling wolf as its principal image and character art by Jack Kirby. The members of the spy group were named P.A.C.K., which is an acronym derived from "Professional Agents – Crime Killers".
On its initial release, the series presented Jim as "Commander", this time as the leader of a counter intelligence strike team. He and two of his most loyal friends joins forces to against a hooded villain known as "Zorak, the ruler of the Underworld".
The first Zorak action figure was named Double Trouble Zorak, because he had a face-changing feature where his normal-looking head could be turned into a monstrous green visage.
Two Big Jim action figures were relaunched to join forces against Zorak. One of them was Warpath (a Native American archer) who was previously released as Tankua. Seems like the main reason for the name change was the difficulty in pronouncing "Tankua" properly, and the need for a more dynamic name. Dr. Steel returned too, but this time as a hero and member of the P.A.C.K. A new character was added to the group, The Whip, a weapons specialist armed with a bullwhip. One year later, a new character named Torpedo Fist, (a former sailor with an artificial hand and forearm) was added to the team. In Latin America several parts of this figure in particular were split to create new Big Jim characters not released in the United States, as part of the region's version of P.A.C.K., named LOBO Squadron.
In 1978, Mattel launched a pirate themed series exclusively in Europe. The series initially consisted of repaints and retooled figures, but eventually included some figures exclusive to the region.
In 1979 and 1980, Mattel released a series of spy themed Big Jim figures.
The last Big Jim sci-fi themed series appeared in the 1980s and was only distributed in Europe. There were eight characters, four "good" and four "evil", divided into two opposing camps: "Global Command" and "Condor Force", respectively. The leaders of both groups were redesigned: new heads were sculpted for the Big Jim and Professor Obb figures.
Most Big Jim toys from the early 1970s from the adventure and sport series were sold as "Kid Acero" (Kid Steel) in Latin America. All toys are exactly the same as in the American versions and were produced by a local Mattel subsidiary with only the name being changed. The Kid Acero toy line also included several figures which were exclusively created for the Mexican market, such as The Invisible Man, The Bionic Man, Garfio, and Nocton' and retooled and repainted versions of several Big Jim toys not available in the United States or Europe.
A series based on the Wild West characters of the popular German writer Karl May (1842–1912) and especially the 1960s series of Karl May movies was available in the late 1970s, including Old Shatterhand and Winnetou, Chief of the Apache. In addition to May's creations Old Firehand and Old Surehand, the character of Bloody Fox was invented for the toyline. With Nscho-Tschi, Winnetou's sister, a unique female character was introduced to the series. Mattel released six dolls in the Karl May line; they came in large green display boxes with the Karl May logo on the box. The lineup was as follows:
In other countries this series was renamed and distributed as part of the official Big Jim line. In Italy it appeared as Gli amici del West di Big Jim ("Big Jim's Friends of the West"), and in Spain it was made by Congost as Oeste ("West"). Most of the characters were also renamed for these releases.
Furthermore, the Warpath character, known as Chief Tankua, was added to the West series in Italy.
Most of the Big Jim toys from the early 1980s were sold as "James Bond" toys in Latin America. The American Spy and Space series were renamed "James Bond, secret agent 007". All toys are exactly the same as in the American and European versions and were produced by a local Mattel subsidiary. Only the brand on the packages is different.
A live-action film adaptation produced by Mattel Films and directed by Dan Mazer was announced in January 2022.