The Matchbox Fighting Furies Adventures!
Each Fighting Furies action figure and their six original accessory adventure packs all included their own adventure “booklet” (which could be better described as a leaflet) in order to fire the imagination of the little hands and minds they were intended for.
The adventures
A decade before the Masters of the Universe toy range had the celebrated idea to create their own character creations supported directly by their own comics (and as supplied with each figure), Matchbox had already been dreaming up adventures to illustrate with each of their own unique characters and even portrayed them – in similar fashion to the Lone Ranger Rides Again toy line – in comic strip form which were run as full-page advertisements in boys comics.
Not only were the figures themselves supplied with their own backstories, but the separately sold packs of outfits and accessories were also served with their own episodic adventure tales, ingeniously incorporating the very outfits and paraphernalia each story employed and duly describing the sets as ‘Fighting Furies Adventure Packs’.
In one such action adventure – the ‘Spanish Main’ – the accompanying story retells the account of how our two likely lads opportunistically spy the crew of a Spanish shipwreck hauling its cargo onto the beach of the ‘Fighting Furies island’ (presumably being where the Furies spent their days off). Accompanying illustrations show Hook and Peg-leg relishing the fun of dressing-up in a full Spanish uniform disguise and cheerily waving at an unsuspecting Spaniard as they approach; upon which Peg-leg energetically shoots the unsuspecting guard at arguably un-sportingly point-blank range (seemingly in the face and using a pistol omitted from the actual disguise pack) to successfully commandeer a wooden chest full of the finest silverwear booty! Thankfully, as was typically the case with all their capers, we’re spared any major moral concerns as its clear the military convoy are not victimless and continue their own habit of seeking ill-gotten plunders and the story recasts our seafaring rouges as anti-establishment figures resisting boorish authoritarianism. But Peg-leg, ever the master of subtle body language, shows his dominance within the team by brazenly standing upon and pinning down their newly acquired wealth, thus subliminally claiming primary ownership (of which he chooses to share), as the duo celebrate. The more modest Hook meanwhile demonstrates restraint and how well their working relationship is blossoming by not-so-much as mentioning that Pete is damaging the goods and whether or not he would mind not resting his big filthy wooden stump inside their treasure chest full of precious tableware?
In other stories, such as the mysterious “Hooded Falcon” the alleged “adventure” is sparse and simply asks several questions, inviting us to fill in the gaps and decide the details.
“The Fighting Furies cross to the Barbary Coast and wait out to sea for well-laden merchant ships to leave their ports. How do they know which ships have the best plunder? Who is the Mysterious, enigmatic figure, who is seen everywhere with a Falcon on his wrist and known only as the ‘Hooded Falcon’? Who is sending messages to the ‘Fighting Furies’ ship, via the well-trained bird? Peg-Leg or Hook?... Or both?”
The Hooded Falcon Adventure.
All that said, these glorious but brief tales are genius outlines – sidestepping the absence of any movie, TV or comic book tie-in – beautifully designed for children to re-enact and embellish with their own little Peg-leg and Hook effigies. But with all the reckless abandon encouraged by their Adventure sagas and Disguise packs, the chronicles and descriptions potentially employ two interpretations for the products. Not only can our debonair heroes readily evade detection with their deceitful but brave use of playing dress-up, but the action figure toys themselves might also be disguised by switching identity and becoming a wholly different character, such as a Spanish Officer, a Japanese Pirate leader or by adopting the rather dapper disguise kit for Captain Blood.
The Capt. Blood Adventure set can be interpreted either way as a decidedly problematic plan is retold within its own “adventure booklet”, when Peg-leg and Hook both simultaneously disguise themselves as Captain Blood in order to pilfer the keys required to get their hands on Blood’s maps which in turn pinpoint his buried loot. Blood, who’s main pastime was apparently terrorising the island of Haiti, seems particularly irked by the exploits of our happy-go-lucky team and with seemingly little regard for a fair trial he keeps things simple by exercising his pursuit of their “destruction”. This refreshingly uncomplicated plan instantly formalised his self-proclaimed status as the Furies “sworn enemy”.
It’s a shame Matchbox never produced a Captain Blood figure or maybe some generic journeyman figures – perhaps representing British Redcoats – for the boys to tackle en-masse; instead of just fighting spookily familiar looking characters robed in different frocks or apparently just endlessly duelling with each other? Two years into their reign – one year in Europe - our pirate duo were eventually joined by a third figure in 1976 to share their rough seas adventures but unfortunately for them he wasn’t a new drinking buddy or a nemesis they could easily enjoy running through with cold steel as he wasn’t of this world, being nonother than the Ghost of Captain Kidd! Presumably inspired by the folklores and legends of ghost ships, the Fighting Furies toy line was decades ahead of a certain Hollywood movie franchise (starring Mr Johnny Depp) and was a fictional world happy to ignore the sage advice about there being too many Captains. (Or was that Chiefs?)
However, the interpretation of what constitutes a ghost is seemingly a bit befuddled in the world of Matchbox figures as according to the associated literature and comic story strip advertisements, when returning to Jamaica’s Port Royal Kidd’s ship was mutinied and he was duly murdered, where eventually his body would be abandoned on a tropical island leaving the sun to bleach the bare bones of his rotting corpse. This physical skeleton, and what remained of his clothing, then rises as Captain Kidd’s Ghost?! But considering the brutal murder by his crew, the theft of his ship and the disregard for his mortal remains, Kidd’s ghost rather magnanimously is only hellbent on revenge via his chosen technique of “swordplay”. This is pretty reasonable of him and arguably a proportionate response. Its left to us to assume, on seeing further promotional material for the products, that he also indulges in being a massive nuisance and being generally disagreeable to the totally unimplicated Captain Peg-leg and Hook while they’re no-doubt just trying to go about their daily business. According to the further detail included with the figure, after striking a reef his ship sank along with his coffin which is retrieved by the survivors, intent on claiming an unspecified reward, and brought ashore. Upon opening it his bones absorb the sun’s rays! Then “at midnight, re-energised, his Ghost with fantastic swordplay takes a terrible revenge”.
Full page Ghost of Cap’n Kidd advertisement circa 1976.
Alas, no such imaginings accompanied the more subdued enthusiasm of the two blister-card Disguise Packs (containing two additional costumes) released in 1976 and we can only draw inspiration from their names: Buccaneer Captain and Spanish Officer.
(More adventure details for the 1976 Western series of Fighting Furies available in a separate post).