13 Tie-In Toys That Look Nothing Like They Were Supposed To

Before the wave of smartphones, apps and video games, children obsessed over plastic toys sandwiched into moulds and cardboard boxes. Boys would ask Santa nicely for G.I. Joe and concoct their next military take-down, while girls would dream of brushing Barbie's lustrous golden hair and attempt to smear their mum's lipstick or blusher all over the poor doll's face. Sometimes siblings swapped toys and imagined a new world where Barbie ditched Ken for a whirlwind romance with Stretch Armstrong, later to be found wrapped in a sweet embrace, to then take off on her horse with Polly Pocket strapped down in her luggage - though, much to Polly's chagrin. But the toy market isn't just for children nowadays and it isn't dominated by great companies such as Mattel, Hasbro or Toy Biz either. The collectible action figure market has boomed over the past few years, meaning new companies like Sideshow Collectibles and NECA have met the collector demand head-on. Many of these specialist stores produce movie and TV show tie-ins, producing exquisitely detailed action figures. But it doesn't strictly mean out with the old and in with the new. Some action figures produced between the '60s and '80s are incredibly rare and, perhaps, much more expensive than today's toy exports. However, there are a few exceptions. These are the toys that didn't even deserve to be shelved because they looked so hideous; they were the ones that were stored in the attic, the closet and, maybe, the freezer as the recurring nightmares were too much to handle at such a young age. Here's a list of nightmare-fuelled, comically grotesque tie-in toys that look nothing like their pop culture characters...

13. Wonder Woman - Mego Pocket Super Heroes

The Amazonian Warrior Princess has had a number of action figures over the years, with many inspired by Lynda Carter's depiction in the hit TV series. In 1977, Mego Corporation established Wonder Woman as a lover rather than a fighter by launching four action figures. Her Barbie-esque design was a marvel for marketing purposes and, coupled with Lynda Carter's image on the packaging, sold with reasonable success. Though Mego was one of the largest competitors in the toy industry, they also produced some duds. Mego created a Pocket Super Hero line between 1979 and 1980, in order to loosely cash-in on the Superman movie. Standing at just over three inches in height, the pocket heroes were a little off the mark, and in Wonder Woman's case, even more than that. Before the princess warrior was released on unsuspecting children, she was remodelled and ended up looking a little more like Wonder Man, complete with an unpainted star tiara, than a pocket-sized fighting female. Though many of her parts were left unpainted, and her face is a little disconcerting, what really boggles is the fact that her butt appears to be on backwards. But if Mego's figure wasn't weird enough for you, the pregnant Wonder Woman action figure or these amazing Wonder Woman scissors €“ where her legs open and shut as the blades - will probably do it for you...