In the 1990's and early 2000's the Toy Biz company created an insane amount of Marvel action figures in various sizes as well as vehicles and related toys. In fact they made so many different products based on Marvel characters that it is virtually impossible to collect the entire Toy Biz toy line, at least not in one lifetime. It would also take quite a lot of money to collect that many toys!
One of the more bizarre offerings from Toy Biz during this time, which is also a favourite of mine, was the Spider-Man Adventure Hero series. This was a series of 10 inch Spider-Man dolls that came dressed in fabric outfits which were based on all the typical "boys adventure doll" themes, such as emergency rescue, team sports, solo extreme sports, military, wilderness survival, and space exploration. Obviously, it makes no logical sense to have Spider-Man dressed as a mountain climber, baseball player, ninja or for a jungle safari, yet that's exactly what this toy line did. The resulting figures are very campy which is why I love this series so much. It's also quite an extensive collection so I've dedicated this page to compiling as much info as I can about it.
Marvel Universe, 10" action figures by Toy Biz, 1995 - 1999
Initially, Toy Biz offered an extensive series of 5 inch Marvel action figures which were quite successful. At some point Toy Biz realized that they could use the very same molds for these figures and enlarge them to be twice the size. This resulted in a series of identical Marvel figures being produced in the 10 inch format which was marketed as "Marvel Universe". Gradually, Toy Biz started to offer variations of the 10 inch figures in different colours, as well as improving the articulation to make it more suitable for a larger sized figure. At this point the 10 inch series began to take on it's own distinct style with ball joints in the shoulders, extra articulation on the torso, wrists and ankles, and so on.
Although the heroes' capes were molded plastic rather than fabric as shown below on the 10 inch Hobgoblin figure, on occasion a character would be made with a fabric costume accessory, such as the Thing from the Fantastic Four which came with a beige fabric trench coat. Gradually, these doll clothing accessories became more complex so that a version of Peter Parker was made with a removable brown "leather" jacket and fabric blue jeans. As such, the Spider-Man Adventure Hero doll series was developed from the Marvel Universe collection. The head from the 10 inch Peter Parker figure in question is the same one that was used for the Spidey figure shown below.
This 10" Spidey figure came in a two-pack box set with a 10" Hobgoblin figure, shown below. Spidey's hard plastic mask is removable to show Peter Parker's face. The mask only covers half of the figure's head and does not cover the neck.
The 10 inch Spidey figure with the mask on, next to the 8 inch Mego Spidey for size comparison. The ToyBiz Spidey has a 1997 copyright date on the bottom of his foot.
Here are the 10 inch Spider-Man and Hobgoblin figures in the original box. There is a spelling mistake on Hobgoblin's name as it is spelled "Hobogobun". The names for each character are just stickers added to the generic box use for this series. I had removed both of these figures from the package before I took this photo, but this is basically what they looked like in the box. The reason I bought this set was to have the Peter Parker/Spidey figure, I think it's awesome!
I bought this brand new from the store in the late 90's! I used to work in the toy department at The Bay store in Ottawa. So this set was one of the many toys that I got to unpack and put out onto shelves.
Here is the back of the box, click on the picture and then zoom in on the text if you want to read what it says. The top paragraph is in English and the bottom is in French. All of the characters seen here, plus many more, were made in the 10 size as part of this Marvel Universe collection.
Here's a close up of the copyright date, 1999, from the back of the box.
This specific Spidey/Peter Parker figure was also packaged in a two pack set with Lizard, and the box art/design was quite different. The same Peter Parker figure was also available separately in a box without a villain. It was also made in different variations and painted differently. For example there is a version that was sold as Peter Parker, which came with a fabric jacket and pants. That figure has a red shirt and blue pants painted on the body instead of a Spidey suit. Another version had a differently painted Spidey suit, but the figure itself was the same (same head and body). The Peter Parker head was also used on an less articulated body and sold with a fabric outfit (denim blue jeans and a brown "leather" jacket).
Hobgoblin was also sold separately in his own box. That particular figure looks identical to this one but the pumpkin was not attached onto the figures hand. Neither one of those figures came with Hobgoblin's glider, however ToyBiz later re-released this same figure in a single box two more times, and both of those variations came with the glider but the figures were painted very differently with darker colours. One of the gliders was purple, the other one was grey.
A very long list of other 10" characters were made for this Marvel Universe series. I've counted more than 70 figures! In addition to being sold in boxes designed with the "Marvel Universe" logo, characters based on Spider-Man, X-Men or Fantastic Four, were also released in boxes that feature those title logos instead of "Marvel Universe", but were all made as part of the Marvel Universe collection.
Here's a closer look at Hobgoblin's face
A closer look at Peter Parker's face.
Seeing how well all of these variations of the 10 inch Spider-Man were selling, Toy Biz used this same 10 inch articulated Spidey figure to launch a new and wonderfully bizarre series of Spider-Man dolls....
Spider-Man Adventure Hero, 10" action figures by Toy Biz, 1999
These Spider-Man dolls all came with different outfits which completely cover up the body of the figures, meaning that the same doll body could have been used in the same colour for all of the dolls in this line of toys and nobody would have been the wiser. None the less underneath each of the outfits the bodies of the Spider-Man figures in this series were each painted completely different colours.
Another oddity about this Adventure Hero series is that from 1997 to 2000 Toy Biz produced a 9 inch series of Marvel superhero and villain dolls with removable outfits which included several Spider-Man figures and villains. Therefore, Toy Biz could have made this Adventure Hero series with their 9 inch doll bodies instead, which would have allowed their entire line of Marvel dolls and clothing to be compatible with each other. Why they chose to do this Adventure Hero doll series in the 10 inch format rather than 9 inch is beyond me!!!
There are over 35 Spidey dolls in this collection, and the majority of them came with a fabric costume and accessories of some kind (shown below). In the 2000's a few figures were made without a fabric outfit and only came with plastic removable accessories such as a vest or mask or flippers, etc. Initially these Spidey figures were made with the left hand posed as though Spidey was shooting his spider web and the right hand in a fist, however later additions to the series were made with both hands shaped to hold an object (shown further below).
Each figure has a unique fabric outfit and accessories. The body used for these figures is the same one as the Spidey/Peter Parker figure but made in different colours. Therefore, when the fabric costumes are removed the different coloured Spidey outfits underneath are all unique from each other. Spidey on the left is a scuba diver, and Spidey on the right is a sky diver complete with a red web-patterned parachute.
Below is the back of the card showing the third doll in series 1 that I don't have... "Web-Climbing" Spidey that comes with mountain climbing gear. The obvious question here is: Why does Spidey, who can climb up the side of a 20 story building with ease because of his spider powers, need mountain climbing gear? To sell toys of course!
For a closer view, click on the picture to see the full size image.
These three figures were just the beginning of what later became the "Adventure Hero" series of Spidey 10 inch dolls. Note that these first three do not have "Adventure Hero" as the title of the series on the packaging, this was added for series 2 and onward. When the series 1 Sky-Diver and Deep-Sea figures were reissued in 2003 (see series 8 below), those bubble cards were updated to have the Adventure Heroes title on them and an assortment of six figures shown on the back of the packaging.
I don't know the exact order that all 30 plus figures were released, so I've numbered the different sets of figures as a series just to show which figures were released together. I've put them in order by copyright date shown on the packaging as well as based on what assortment of figures are shown on the back of the packaging.
Series1, 1999
Sky-Diver (available on bubble card, plus* and **)
Deep-Sea (available on bubble card and in a window box, plus* and **)
Web Climbing (available on bubble card or in a window box, plus*)
*There is also a boxed set with all three of these outfits. The set included the Sky-Diver Spider-Man figure, costume and accessories along with the Deep-Sea costume and accessories and the Web Climbing costume and accessories. The Spidey figures for the Deep-Sea and Web Climbing sets were not included, just the costumes and accessories.
**Yet another boxed set came with a classic Spidey figure painted with his original outfit and the fabric outfits for the Sky-Diver and Deep Sea figures with the accessories.
Series 2, 2000 "Adventure Hero" is added to the title of the series, all three of the series 1 figures are shown on the back of the packaging with the three new figures
Ninja (available on bubble card, plus * and **)
Space [astronaut] (available in a window box, I haven't yet seen this figure on a bubble card)
Artic [snowboard] (available on bubble card, 2000, or in a window box, 2002)
*The Ninja and Space outfits were also sold together in a boxed set with a Spider-Man figure with his classic Spidey outfit painted on.
**The Ninja figure was also included in the Deluxe Gift Set (version 2) noted further below.
Series 3, 2000 Only these three new figures are shown on the back of the packaging
Fireman (available on a bubble card, 2000, or in a window box, 2002)
Safari (available on bubble card, or in a window box)
Beach (available on bubble card)
Series 4, 2001 Released in 2001 in a window box with only these three figures shown on the back of the packaging.
In-line Skate (available on bubble card or in a window box, blue outfit with orange accents, grey spider logo and grey Spidey mask)
Skateboard (available on bubble card or in a window box)
Street Scooter (I haven't yet seen this figure packaged individually)
The Skateboard and Street Scooter outfits were also sold together in a boxed set with a Spider-Man figure with his classic outfit painted on.
Series 5, 2001 Only these three new figures are shown on the back of the packaging.
Basketball (available on bubble card or in a window box)
Baseball (available on bubble card)
Soccer (available on bubble card)
The Baseball and Basketball outfits were also sold together in a boxed set with a Spider-Man figure with his classic outfit painted on.
Series 6, 2001 Only these three figures are shown on the back of the packaging.
Water Web Blaster: Aqua Cannon Spider-Man (available on bubble card)
Water Web Blaster: Hydro Web Shooter Spider-Man (available on bubble card)
Water Web Blaster: Spider-Man Water Venom Blaster (available on bubble card)
Released in 2001
Motorized Jet Ski (sold in a large window box, figure included with vehicle)
Series 7, 2002 The fireman figure from series 3 is shown on the back of the packaging with these two new martial arts themed figures.
Thunder Strike (I haven't yet seen this figure packaged individually)
Karate Fighter / Fists of Fury This figure was listed as "Karate Fighter" on the back of the Fireman bubble card, but is titled "Fists of Fury" on the front of the buddle card that the figure itself comes in.
These two outfits were also sold together in "Fist of Fury" box set with a classic Spidey figure. The outfits are listed on the box as Thunder Strike and Karate Fighter.
Series 8, 2003 Sky Diver and Deep Sea from series 1, and Skateboard from series 4 are shown on the back of the packages along with the three new figures.
Bungee Jump (available on bubble card)
Spider Glider (available on bubble card)
Skyboard (available on bubble card)
Series 9, 2003 Only these two figures are shown on the back of the card.
Navy Seal (available on bubble card) The grey jumpsuit used for this figure looks like it might be the same one that was used for the Safari figure released in 2000 only with long sleeves. The figure comes with the same "field camera" accessory as the Safari figure.
Delta Force (I haven't yet found a photo of this figure in an original package of any kind)
Released in 2000 or later
Aqua Attack: Scuba Diver (available on a bubble card)
When I found this blue and red Spidey loose at a thrift store he was wearing these red flippers which are identical to the black ones that came with the "Deep Sea" Spider-Man figure shown above in the package. I've confirmed this to be the Aqua Attack: Scuba Diver missing the costume and several accessories. His foot is marked 2000 though I'm not sure if he was released that year or sometime afterwards.
Additional dolls in this series I have yet to determine what years the rest of these Adventure Hero dolls were released. I assume they were released between 2000 and 2003.
Fisherman
Archer
The Fisherman and Archer Spider-Man figures were sold together as a two-pack figure set in a window box. This set included two Spidey figures with his classic outfit painted on, each with the Fisher or Archer outfit overtop. I have yet to see these figures packaged separately.
Policeman
Bug Blasters: Tarantula Blast Spider-Man (available on a bubble card)
Bug Blasters: Hornet Blast Spider-Man (available on a bubble card)
Bug Blasters: (A third Spider-Man figure is shown on the back of the packaging)
Sky Command Attack Glider (available in a window box)
Deluxe Gift Set (Version 1) (available in a window box) This is the same Peter Parker figure with cloth "leather" jacket and jeans that was packaged in the Marvel Universe box. This one comes with a photography camera accessory and a fabric Spidey costume. The Spidey mask is the same plastic mask shown above that only covers half of the figure's head.
Deluxe Gift Set (Version 2) (available in a window box) The above Peter Parker figure with cloth outfit and the Spider-Man cloth outfit, plus the Ninja Spidey figure with the cloth outfit. So the set came with two figures and three cloth outfits.
Here are three more of these Spidey dolls which I found loose at thrift stores. All of these originally came with costumes of some kind. The first one on the left with the florescent yellow and black outfit is the figure that came with the Motorized Jet Ski boxed set from 2001. Originally he came with bright orange flippers and a plastic removable lifejacket. The prototype figure shown on the back of the box is wearing a fabric outfit however the actual figure that was sold in the boxes did not have any fabric costume pieces. Instead the figure was painted the same colour as the fabric suit. I have no idea which outfit the Spidey figure in the center was released with. These three Spidey figures each have a 2000 copyright date on the bottom of their foot.
Text and original photos copyright Mikey Artelle, 2011, 2024
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