Defenders of the Earth

Defenders Of The Earth was a half-hour long syndicated television show primeiring in September 1986. Produced by Marvel Productions (in conjunction with King Features Entertainment who owns the IP). The series was based in the year 2015 with Ming the Merciless activitly working to take over the Earth, as he completely exhausted the resources on his own planet, Mongo. Flash Gordon, the Phantom, Lothar, Mandrake the Magician, and their children, Rick, Jedda, L.J., and Kshin, team up to stop him.

Several characters were updated from their original newspaper-strip portrayals. Lothar became Mandrake’s equal rather than his servant, while Mandrake’s hypnotic abilities became genuine magic (akin to Doctor Strange). The Phantom gained a "super power," the strength of “10 tigers,” and Ming was given green skin to avoid the Asian stereotypes of his 1934 depiction (early character models showed him with blue skin)

Galoob secured the toy licensing rights to the show and released their action figure line in 1986, with six different figures, along with accessories and five unique vehicles. Galoob’s toy line saw a limited retail window and did not expand into a second wave containing Rick Gordon, Jedda Walker, LJ, or Kshin. Today, boxed vehicles and carded figures from the line remain highly prized vintage collectibles among 1980s toy enthusiasts. More information can be found @ ToyCollectorsGuide.

Octon (unproduced)

Ming (early character model)

Lothar (early character model)