Mike Power, aka the Atomic Man, originated with the Hasbro toy company in the mid-1970s as part of its G.I. Joe Adventure Team. Power was born disabled. He spent his life developing atomic parts for his body, including a leg that helped him run 200 miles per hour, an arm that lifted 10,000 pounds, an eye that could see through six feet of solid steel, and an atomic heart to help him handle all the exertion. As you have probably guessed, Hasbro created him as competition for Kenner’s Six Million Dollar Man action figure, but this one was going for around sixty dollars. We’ve seen cheaper ones that come without a box.
Power was also low rent in the sense that he never had a television show like the Six Million Dollar Man, but Hasbro put out a comic, and those are collector’s items today. There were actually two versions of Power. Here you see the British version, which was manufactured by Palitoy, and the main difference was Power’s plastic hair was replaced by a flocked hairdo that looked like a white guy ’fro. Below you see what Power is packing under his jumpsuit (“Daddy, why doesn’t he have a wiener?” “Well son, that’s because Atomic Man had it cut off when he became what’s called a eunuch. Bled like a pig, he did.”). You can see a couple more entries on vintage dolls here and here. And if you’re into futuristic toy ray guns, check here.
