Shreddies Superman II — Action Transfers

Shreddies Superman II, 1980 [LP143]

Let's start with the sheets:

For now, we only have three of the four in the SPLAT Scan Archives, but Roman Krause & several others have sent us images of the missing sheet LP143/2. Here it is as supplied by Franklinwibble:

Original photo courtesy of Franklinwibble

Photo courtesy of Nick Symes

All four transfer sheets were printed in two different versions! Nick Symes, helpful as always, has supplied the above variant printing of LP143/3. The differences are minor & affect only the text. It's interesting that two printings were required; perhaps the promotion was a big success, & Nabisco re-ordered just at the moment that Letraset SP handed over their business to Action Transfer Products. Letraset SP was wound-up on 19th October 1982, along with most other Letraset-related companies, after the take-over by Esselte at the end of 1981. So this promotion accidentally captures a bit of business history…

Artwork by kind permission of Triplica Galleries

An even more exciting revelation is that it seems fairly likely that I (or someone I knew) was eating Shreddies in 1980/81, because the above signed & dated artwork uses — as you can see — the transfers from sheet LP143/3. And I know I have that figure of Lois Lane on another piece somewhere, although I can't seem to locate it for now; sold, perhaps. Some lucky art collector has it now.

The Packets

Shreddies packets still come in two sizes, but by now they're metric. All the packets shown here are the larger size — 450g. See the previous Shreddies promotion (Battlestar Galactica) for comments about scale & variants!

CORRECTION

I had assumed that corresponding to the 10oz & 15oz previous sizes, the 450g would be the larger of the new packets, since (as it says) that is 15.9oz. But Paul Naylor has put me right & shown me that there was a larger 600g size! As he points out, all these 450g boxes are actually the smaller size. Who says goods always get smaller? These are larger by quite some way!

Scene 1. Midwestern town in the Badlands.

"The 3 villains first encounter with the people of earth." [sic] "In this scene, General Zod, Non and Ursa cause havoc and destruction as the police and army are powerless to stop them. The television news cameras take the news to the world."

"Scene 1. Midwestern town in the Badlands." — Original photos courtesy of Paul Naylor

Scene 2. Take over of the White House.

"The 3 villains go to the White House to force the President of the United States to surrender to their overwhelming force. The security forces at the White House fight bravely to stop the villains but are no match for the super powers which the three possess. In the battle, the White House is severely damaged. The President, in cooperation with the leaders of the rest of the world, surrenders the world to the villains."

"Scene 2: Take over of the White House." — Scan courtesy of Craig Spivey

Scene 3. Test of strength over Metropolis.

"The three villains are told by Lex Luthor (earth's arch criminal) that to find Superman they must hold Lois Lane (his girlfriend) hostage. When Superman arrives he is pursued by the three and a terrific battle takes place over Metropolis, watched by the population."

"Scene 3: Test of Strength over Metropolis." — Original photos courtesy of Paul Naylor

Uncharacteristically, I actually bought this used packet back panel myself, just the other day — I think probably on account of a nostalgic pang on seeing the figures from LP143/3 (see above) rubbed down on it. Anyway, it gives you an idea of the relative sizes of the transfer sheet figures on the larger version of the background scene.

Scene 4. Metropolis as a battleground.

"The test of strength which took place over Metropolis takes a sinister turn as the 3 villains battle with Superman in the streets. An angry crowd of citizens, thinking that Superman has been killed in the ensuing battle, turn on the 3 villains. With their super powers the villains blow the crowd away and cause destruction, which Superman appears powerless to stop."

"Scene 4: Metropolis as a battleground." — Original photos courtesy of kingtoys

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