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= B. Bonanno Guide Class
= B. DeMars Guide Grade
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Part & Tree Info | |
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Armored muscle
In the Mattel M.U.S.C.L.E. toy line that rose to immense popularity through the 1980s many characters appear in multiple different forms. With the fans of the Western markets in most cases completely unaware of their origins from the enormous Kinnikuman universe still producing the immensely popular manga and anime in today in Japan. Most who aren’t familiar with the original Japanese keshi figures, they recognize the figure as Muscle-Man named on the mail-away poster which is a direct translation of the franchise main hero to which the series is named as Kinnikuman (aka “Muscle man”, and that Japanese symbol on his forehead translates to “Meat“).
Originally created by the creative pair of Japanese friends who created a dynasty under the collective identity as Yudetamago, this character’s real name is Suguru Kinniku of planet Kinniku (aka Planet Muscle). He begins his debut as a clumsy, cowardly, and comical superhero parody that evolves into a champion and beacon of integrity advocating for teamwork and friendship over evil.
Despite his often goofy demeanor he’s an ultra-powerful superhuman wrestling contender capable of devastating attacks and techniques backed by a team of incredibly loyal friends and peers who share his protagonist views. With memorable signature moves like the absurd and cartoonish Meat Techniques or his trademark iconic move the Kinniku Buster, a back breaker style move that became his defining attack.
With this figure mysteriously dawning the recognizable torso armor of another main character named Robin Mask we’re unsure where in the story arcs this disguise was used as the translated manga and anime of their origins is still being slowly learned. If you happen to know, or more impressively have an example of this form from the manga and anime for us to share with others get in touch!
Always appearing wearing his trademarked Luchador inspired wrestling mask (that just happens to look like his actual face and never gets removed) he’s easily recognized throughout the hundreds of characters presented in the story lines.
If you happen to know why this figure has him in Robin Mask’s torso armor, we’re looking for an image with that info also! 🙂
Collector controversy
For collectors, it’s extremely common to come across the two different forms of this exact same figure. One, released among the Millions of Unusual Small Creatures Lurking Everywhere sold in the packs of 4 in blister packs, or the trash can containers of 10 figures. However, the same form was also released for the popular Wrestling Ring toy in a slightly smaller form to better fit the rings fighting platform holders leaving collectors often wondering how to identify which is the #141 shown on the vintage mail-away poster, and which is the figure from the Wrestling Ring toy. See below for a visual example of how to recognize which is which.
The wrestling ring exclusive #233 figure was only released in the base “fleshy” color and doesn’t appear on the poster, its number was just assigned by the collector/fan community.
Noticing the smaller size is a first hint, but glancing at the belt buckle is the most common quick-glance identification technique. Where the #141 figures belt buckle appearing more round and affectionately known as the “belly button” shaped figure. While the #233 has a more squished rectangular / oval shaped belt buckle indicating he’s been shrunk for the specific size deemed optimal for the Wrestling Ring play set, hope this helps.