Toy Companions

The quintessential 80s hero was a loner, right? Well, almost. Sure there were lone wolves like Rambo, Stringfellow Hawk, and Chuck Norris in any Chuck Norris movie, but lots of 80s heroes had companions. This was especially true in the toy realm as many toy figures came with companion figures. Here are a few examples.
Rainbow Brite & Twink. I never owned a Rainbow Brite. I’m not sure I ever even saw one in the flesh (er, stuffing?). But as I understood it, each Rainbow Brite character came with a color-coordinated sprite like Rainbow’s Twink.
Strawberry Shortcake & Custard. I never owned any Strawberry Shortcake character, but I did see a few, and I know that each came with an animal friend. Custard the Cat belonged to Strawberry.
Sectaurs. Now here is something I could get into. Each Sectaur warrior had an insect symbiote. Some were large enough to ride (or fly) on, but others were smaller, like Zak and Bitaur.
Other World. Bendable action figures from Arco. They not only had glow in the dark weapons, but the hero Ronin came with two companions, Jipps and Mogs (I think Mogs was actually an enemy, but he was little and cute, so who cares).

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4 thoughts on “Toy Companions”

The Cosmic Jokersays:

Oh, Bitaur. So many glorious afternoons I spent pretending you were the opposing ships from the Star Trek movies. One moment you were a Klingon bird of prey and the next you were the Reliant firing on yon scurvy Enterprise. I suppose I had a rather deprived childhood in that regard. That and Star Trek Mirco Machines were still a number of years from entering the spotlight.

Let’s not forget that over on the Thundercats side, Lion-O came with Snarf for a while, and Tygra and Cheetara came with one of the Thunderkittens for a bit as well!! While it wasn’t the same from the start of the line, certain characters were packed with sidekick figures… I think Mumm-Ra even came with Ma-Mutt…