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Eagle Force was a 2 3⁄4-inch-high (70 mm) die-cast action figure military-themed toy line marketed by Mego Corporation in the 1980s in the United States. Produced during Ronald Reagan's first term as president, the Eagle Force toy line was marketed to send the message that the United States wasn't going to be "pushed around" anymore. Designed by Bill Baron and Paul Kirchner, Eagle Force was similar to the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toy line, which was being developed by Hasbro during the same period.
The primary concept of Eagle Force is that it is an elite United States Government counter-terrorist task force organization composed of special forces experts. In their fictional universe, Eagle Force was created to combat the Roving International Organization of Tyranny (R.I.O.T.) ( in the French version is the enemy is B.R.U.T instead of R.I.O.T) , a terrorist organization driven by the desire for world domination. Eagle Force is commanded by Captain Eagle, who wears an eye patch. The ethnically diverse cast of Eagle Force members include Big Bro, The Cat, Harley, Kayo, Redwing, Sgt. Brown, Stryker, Turk, Wild Bill, Zapper, and the female figure Goldie Hawk. R.I.O.T. is led by General Mamba, assisted by Baron Von Chill, Beta Man (an arsonist ), Nemesis the Saboteur, Savitar the Ninja, and a Shock Trooper figure.
In the late 1970s, a number of factors including the rise in petroleum prices (which drove up the cost of plastics manufacturing) and the breakout success of Kenner’s 3¾-inch scale Star Wars toys contributed to the decline of the 12-inch scale “boy’s dolls” of yesteryear, setting the stage for the smaller-scale “action figure” of today.
US toy manufacturer Mego, looking to recover from the huge misstep of passing on the Star Wars license, debuted at the 1982 Toy Fair a line of 2½-inch scale line of military-themed die-cast metal figures called Eagle Force. The characters that formed the basis of the toyline were designed by Paul Kircher, a comics illustrator and writer best known for his regular contributions to the Heavy Metal comics anthology magazine.
The action figures, which came packaged on backing cards that featured the characters’ comic strip adventures printed on the back, were quite well-received at retail, although it would prove too little, too late to save the floundering Mego. The company would file for bankruptcy soon after Eagle Force‘s retail launch and would permanently close its doors in 1983. Rival company Hasbro’s G.I. Joe would fill the military action figure gap in the market and it would go on to become one of the best-selling toylines of all time. |
