The 15th of every month marks an all new Vintage Toy of the Month on NERD Society, and today we will be looking at Glimmer, the guide who lights the way for the awesome members of the Great Rebellion. All of this hails from the vintage Princess of Power toy line by Mattel.

So before we get started, let’s have some toy talk. For those who have been living under a rock (or maybe weren’t born yet) the Princess of Power toy line was a highly successful line that was aimed at girls who wanted in on the Masters of the Universe action. Of course, what ended up happening was that girls, boys, and grown folk all fell in love with this toy line that mixed elements of beauty and fantasy to inspire people’s imaginations to come alive. A colorful cast of characters made up the line that even had a popular Saturday morning cartoon as the ultimate marketing tool.

Most people tend to think of She-Ra when POP is mentioned. However, with a colorful and unique cast of mostly female characters, it can be easy to forget the other important folks from this vintage toy line. Today we are looking back on Glimmer, but just who was she anyway? Glimmer was the princess of Bright Moon, daughter of Queen Angella. Her father was named Micah, but he was missing for much of the old cartoon. There was always this underlying theme of people needing to reunite with someone from something that was usually caused by the evil Horde.

Anyways, Glimmer was sometimes perceived as flighty. I always viewed her as being very strong willed if not slightly naïve. She fiercely protects and believes in the Great Rebellion; however she has her moments of finding herself in trouble or getting involved in some sort of angst-ridden messy situation. (Anyone recall the time she dyed her hair with disastrous results?) I tend to think of her as the Kimber of the show. That is no way meant to put her down, as Glimmer and Kimber were both wonderful characters. Enough of the long windedness, let’s check out the toy!

Glimmer was released in the first wave of POP action dolls in 1984. She came blistered on a glorious card full of purples and pinks. The POP logo is proudly centered at the top. I have never gotten tired of looking at that logo. It just makes me feel so happy. Below Glimmer’s name is a brief description of the character: The guide who lights the way. Much like the MOTU toy line, the POP gals also had special powers and features. Glimmer had magical powers over light. I tend to think of her powers like that of Dazzler or Jubilee from the X-Men. She can light a dark room or create powerful bursts of light ready to strike at any foes from the Horde.

 

Looking closer at Glimmer, we can see a whole lot of 80’s going on with the holographic designs on her clothing as well as the gem stone on her chest piece. Each POP gal from the first wave had their own unique color scheme. Glimmer’s colors were silver and a magenta/fuchsia combo. The action doll came with two removable pieces of clothing, a skirt and shrug. The toy line was very interesting because there was a heavy beauty element as well as an action element too.  Also included with the action doll were three pieces and a mini comic book. More on that in a little bit.

 

When we see the back of the card there are definitely some fun things going on. The back features the basic items from a toy line, like the emphasis on the figure and her features, as well as a lineup of the other items for sale in the wave.

 

I love the top picture of Glimmer. The large face looks like a how-to on perfecting Glimmer’s look, while the full image of Glimmer is just a nice drawing. When I was younger I would love looking at the card backs to the POP toys. I just thought the glamour and beauty was unlike anything else. Add in the fact that these strong women were driving their own story and it was just a big hit for me. The smaller picture below is just a bare bones tip on what Glimmer’s accessories do. (Glow in the dark items are always a plus in my book.)

 

Here is where things get really fun. The lineup of Wave 1 is just splendid! There was so much to collect and it all seemed so magical. There was Catra, the jealous beauty and Bow a special friend (i.e. he was getting romantical with She-Ra, at least in my mind.) Who didn’t want the disco queen Castaspella, an enchantress who hypnotizes?! There was just so much coolness with this line. Double Trouble was a glamorous double agent. Only in the POP toy line would there ever be a character that made the job of a double agent sound glamorous. I love it.

 

And I love Glimmer. Here she is removed from her packaging. She had basic articulation, her arms and legs moved. The head could twist and the waist could turn, but it turned with a snap back so it could seem like she was punching something, much like the MOTU figures.

 

Turning her around we really get the full look at her mass of curls. Only a few POP toys featured massive curly hair, and Glimmer was the first. Many have joked about her massive curls, and they do make a statement. The interesting thing about her hair is that in the cartoon it just seemed full and straight. There was really no reference to her hair being so curly.

 

The three accessories that came with Glimmer were her staff which actually looks like an item that could be shared with Perfuma due to the flower bloom at top. Glimmer also came with a crown that could double as a ring for the owner. Glimmer had the requisite POP comb too. It is interesting to note that most She-Ra toys came with shields, but Glimmer did not. This could be an interpretation that Glimmer was more of a defensive character, but from what I have seen I think the Princess of Bright Moon could handle her own in a fight against some Horde Troopers and what-not.

 

Here we have Glimmer all decked out and ready to take down the Horde!

 

What of the comic though? Issued with Glimmer was the mini-comic entitled Disappearing Treasures. Kowl, She-Ra, Catra, and the Crystal Castle all got prime real-estate on the cover to further help with the marketing of the items for sale. The story of this minicomic was good. Adora finds a treasure chest filled with all kinds of fun items. Well Kowl, Glimmer, and Castaspella help look at everything with Adora. Sensing the presence of the evil Catra, Castaspella places a spell on a mirror that Catra ends up stealing, along with the chest and its contents. Due to Castaspella’s magic, Catra ends up biting off more than she can chew. She-Ra and her friends go searching for the treasure in the dark forest, and thanks to Glimmer’s Staff of Light, the Rebels end up getting the treasure chest back. Castaspella admits that she placed a trick on Catra and soon all is well. At the end, the moral of the story is that tricking people can be harmful. I would think that stealing from people would be the bigger moral to the story, but oh well. Let’s look at some of my favorite pages from the minicomic.

 

This page is fun because it features Glimmer and Castaspella. It also shows an interesting aspect to the mini-comic’s story that will be explained in just a bit.

 

Castaspella looks so cool on this page, even more so because she is going to try and teach Catra a lesson. Poor Catra. She can never get a break.

 

Poor Catra indeed! One of my favorite pages ever, due to Castaspella’s tricks, Catra looks on at a withered version of herself. I love that aging is like the worst thing that could happen to her, hence her being the jealous beauty.

 

This page is very interesting. I think due to licensing issues, Adora did not look like the Adora from the Filmation cartoon. So in the mini-comics Adora and She-Ra actually look very similar. They wear the same dress and everything. The only difference is that her tiara flips over to cover her face when she becomes She-Ra. I just think that is cool and it was part of the inspiration for the She-Ra Classics figure that came out a few years ago. (You can flip her tiara over and wear it like she does in the mini-comics.)

 

My final favorite page of the mini-comic is this one. I like the image of Glimmer and how the story really adds on to why she is called the guide who lights the way. These mini-comics were just the best.

 

One final picture is of the back. The mini-comic also used the image of the lineup of toys available for purchase. It was just the characters themselves. With the poses and fun names, there was so much curiosity about who these people were. I ended up collecting most of them back then and it was great, because I went on spectacular adventures with these characters. (I still do.)

So that is about it for the Vintage Toy of the Month! I hope this toy was a nice walk down memory lane. I am forever fond of the POP toy line and with Mattel still churning out the Masters of the Universe Classics line; I can only hope that Glimmer will see a release soon. I look forward to seeing how the Four Horsemen reinterpret her.

Finally, before I leave, I wanted to share one last photo.

This is of a custom styled Glimmer Barbie doll that I put together about a year or so ago. I think it really captures the spirit of Glimmer and also leaves me really hoping that Mattel could make some official special edition POP Barbie dolls! Heaven help us.

Until next time! Be sure to check back on the 15th of every month for another all new Vintage Toy of the Month! Take care.

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