Now that the Internet Archive is again among the functional we can conclude our look at the Commandrons. For those of you who missed the first three, here’s a synopsis.
Commandrons were a Tomy line that in the US was only available through McDonald’s Happy Meals, each of the four robots coming with a minicomic produced by DC Comics. On the planet Haven, which was one McDonalds the Murphy Family couldn’t drive to, the Commandrons were part of a Thunderbirds style team of secret rescue workers, in that people knew they existed but not who they are. Given that the team consisted of four AI robots and four pre-teens that’s probably for the best. Meanwhile, the obligatory evil rich schmuck Sylvester Slag is jealous of four robots he doesn’t own running around saving people for free and keeps trying to take them over or take them down. His last plan involved fake Commandrons.
His plan this time? Toys. Evil toys, because this is a DC comic and Toyman was still a villain. Though in today’s anti-geek culture they’d probably make him some basement dwelling toy collector or some crap. Lucky I’m obscure enough that I didn’t just give them ideas. Also, let’s reflect on the possibility that the minicomics that came with toys are about to do a story about evil toys. Would a fifth Commandron story have involved the evils of fast food, despite the client being McDonalds’? We’ll never know, but we do have this.
“I hope you washed these hands, pal!”
Commandrons #4
DC Comics/McDonalds (1985)
I’m always disappointed when these comics don’t have the credits, like the creators were ashamed to be working on this. And yet they agreed to have their names on some of the worst stories in regular sized comics. Hey, a job is a job and your job is still to tell a great story, even if the idea wasn’t made for comics and is hoping to sell toys. As if merchandising isn’t all the current DC owners care about.
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