Six Million Dollar Man Enemy Maskatron Action Figure - A Wild Exploding Cyborg Action Figure From 1976
By Karl Stern (@dragonkingkarl, @wiwcool, karl@dragonkingkarl.com)
Some people get flowers or candy for their wedding anniversary... well, I'm not some people. I got a very unique and odd action figure that I had as a kid. The Six Million Dollar Man enemy action figure Maskatron from 1976!
I was only 6 years old when I got Maskatron. I was a big fan of the Six Million Dollar Man television show and had the Steve Austin action figure (and have it now) and the Bionic Bigfoot (and have it now) and then one day my parents bought me a Maskatron, a really cool looking robot figure with interchangeable arms and face plates. I remember as a kid thinking the figure looked amazing but was very difficult to play with because one of its action features was the fact that it basically "explodes". I don't think, as a kid, I understood the locking mechanism because as I look at this one I have now it seems much less fragile than I remember.
The Maskatron action figure was a grey metal color that came with three faces (Steve Austin, Oscar Goldman, and Maskatron Human who some believe may be the character John Saxon but the packaging doesn’t specify), two human arms, a suction cup arm, a claw arm, removable shoes, pants, and a shirt. Mine is missing only the pants.
Maskatron has a really cool robotic face that can be covered by the different face plates. The two switches on the shoulders cause his head to pop off to simulate destruction. One switch locks the head into place. This action feature is also present on the arms and legs.
The torso of Maskatron had three removable computer panels. These were similar in construction to the “bionic” plates on the Steve Austin 6 Million Dollar Man action figure only larger. This gives Maskatron a really cool futuristic look.
In the claw grip of Maskatron is the Bionic Man Steve Austin, then Left to Right: Oscar Goldman and Maskatron Human face. Each of these face plates can be snapped onto the head of Maskatron so he can be “disguised” as one of them.
The front of the Maskatron box demonstrates the "head exploding" action feature. The suction cup arm is not a limp as the box over shows but it is not ridged either.
The box opens up to show Maskatron. I really miss this feature in kids toys. You got that wonderful box art plus a good view of the action figure itself. Cost cutting in today’s toy market pretty much has killed the glorious box art we used to get in 1970s and 1980s toys.
The back of the Maskatron box explains the various action features. There is a compartment on the back of Maskatron to store the face plates but it is virtually impossible to fit them inside. You can see from one of the photos a hand about to place one of the face plates inside the torso but the compartment is too small. It’s a cool place to hide various objects for a play feature but forget putting the masks in there.
An interesting note about Maskatron is that the character never appeared on the Six Million Dollar Man television show. He was slated for the sixth season but the show was cancelled. In 2014, Dynamite Comics released a Six Million Dollar Man season 6 comic book series and prominently featured Maskatron in the series.
dynamite comics six million dollar man season six comic book featuring maskatron as the enemy.
Above: The television commercial from Kenner for the Maskatron action figure.
If you found this article interesting please consider becoming a Patreon supporter. That is how we keep our website and podcasts up and running plus you will get lots of bonus content including extra and extended podcasts, articles, digital comics, ebooks, and much more. Check out our Patreon Page to see what's up!
