While manufacturers in the US stayed with super heroes and human figures, more Japanese companies used robot themes, the most popular being Robotman, a 12" robot with room for a Microman pilot, then a 3-3/4" version called “Mini-Robotman”.The market for action figures rocketed sky high with Kenner’s production of Star Wars characters in 1976. Kenner’s success made action figures a huge, multi-million dollar secondary market for movie studios as well as establishing the 3-3/4" toy line as the industry standard.

 

George Lucas and the Star Wars franchise was one of the first to effectively use toys to reinforce their movie and build a huge fan base for upcoming sequels. While Disney had dabbled in the market, and most movie studios had T-Shirts and various accessories, George Lucas was the first to think of his movie’s accessories as their own industry.

 

Technically, action figures that have multiple costumes are also referred to as “action dolls”, though in popular usage, only “action figures” is used. The accessories that began with GI Joe continued with Star Wars, allowing Darth Vader and the Jedi Knights to fight with samurai swords and laser guns. Boys playing with small figures did not begin, however in 1964. Ancient Japan saw boys playing with samurais with miniature Japanese swords and varieties of uniforms. While several Japanese words exist for “toy” or “doll”, it doesn’t appear that ancient Japanese society felt it was so important for their boys to say “It’s not a doll! It’s an action figure!”

Today, action figures are part of the music industry, sports and politics. Figures include President Obama, athletes from the NBA, NFL and NHL. With the ease of worldwide production and ordering, nearly anyone can have their own action figure made fairly quickly and market it on their own site.