Spider-Man and Captain America Ricochet To Freedom! (Comic Ads #24)
| Comic Ads are more than just the mountain of Hostess Ads we know and love. Over the years, many a company has used one page comic ads to shill their products in the pages of comic books! So I thought I'd do a list series that showcases those ads, and shows you what issues I've found them in. To me, these are as much a part of comics history as any superhero, and I love 'em for the nostalgia they bring. I hope they do the same for you. Enjoy. |
I'm really trying to appreciate this add for it's nuttiness, but what's really nutty is that someone wrote and drew this. It just makes. no. sense. Aliens drop a web over Washington D.C. to "strangle the hopes of freedom," and depart without making sure that it works? Captain America and Spider-Man are the only guys the president can turn to, to pilot the racers? Why would they build launchers that look like giant handguns? And why would they build them so that it requires a team of soldiers with a rope to pull the trigger? I mean, push button console, anyone? Why do the weapons to destroy the web have to be manned at all? Why do the sleek, aerodynamic tubes that our heroes have to lay down in to pilot have capes that would just create drag? And what the hell does Spidey mean that they made a "hole even big enough for" Cap?! Do I even want to know the answer to that? Agghhhh!!!
I plundered the Internet for pictures of the Spider-Man set, so have at it:
Note that the Spidey/Cap set was just one of a few different themes for the Ricochet Racers. There was the basic set, that was red-white-and-blue - presumably USA-themed - and there was a Western set that was tan and brown for that Old West feel. I found several pictures of those as well:
Frankly, I look at this today, and think that it would have to lose its appeal after the first few shots, but keep in mind that this toy is from sometime in the 1970's...early 1980's at the latest. There may not have been an Atari yet, much less an Internet, so we got this kind of thing to play with. We would set up launch after launch after launch, until our imaginations just couldn't take it anymore, because you had to be building a little story with it as you played, or else lose your mind and go back to jumping on the bed. Probably the best part of the fun with any toy from this era is that when you first took it out of the box, you got to put the stickers on the toy yourself! ...I'm so glad we have the Internet now...sort of.
| Continued on 2nd page following: <22. |
