This Vintage Riddler Figure That Never Made It To American Stores Is Rare For A Whole Other Reason

Few lines have unproduced figures as well documented as Kenner’s DC Super Powers line. Concept art for dozens of never-made characters has surfaced, ranging from iconic heroes like Supergirl and John Stewart to super deep cuts like Atomic Knight and Blue Devil foe Shockwave. Speculation ran rampant in the pre-internet days that a few that had reached the prototype stage might have seen limited, international production. This wasn’t unheard of, happening before with lines like Masters of the Universe and Kenner’s own Power of the Force. 

Imagine the confusion when a brand-new figure was found in Argentina’s late-eighties Super Amigos line, and it was none of the previously-documented characters Kenner designed. Argentinian company Pacipa brought many of Kenner’s Super Powers figures to the country, along with “El Acertijo,” the Riddler. Since its discovery, the Pacipa Riddler figure has become the holy grail of Kenner’s highly-collectible Super Powers line, selling for hundreds of dollars even loose. A mint-on-card Riddler can sell for thousands, which is the asking price on this AFA (Action Figure Authority) graded sample on eBay now.

Where Did This Riddler Figure Come From?

After the Super Powers line ran its course in the United States in 1986 (leading to the cancellation of numerous in-development figures, vehicles, and playsets), the molds for its figures were sold off to smaller international subsidiaries. This was a fairly common practice in the industry at the time, and has produced its share of grails for other toy collectors. Pacipa reproduced fifteen Super Powers figures for the South American market, including scarce, end-of-line characters Shazam, Plastic Man, and Cyborg. Cyborg is particularly notable as he is the rarest character in the domestic line, and considered the holy grail Super Powers figure, alongside Riddler. 

So how did an all-new character find its way into a line of reissues of pre-existing figures? Easy: this Riddler is a straight repaint of the Super Powers Green Lantern, right down to the power ring on his finger. Without holding the two figures side by side, the reuse isn’t immediately evident: yes, Edward Nygma looks a little more chiseled than usual, but the figure is otherwise an on-model depiction of the villain as he appears in the comics. He includes no accessories, though his right hand is sculpted to hold a power-ring battery. The Riddler’s addition to the line was unlicensed, with Pacipa not seeking approval from Kenner or from DC for its production. 

An even rarer variant of the Riddler exists, produced by company Playfull after they acquired the Super Powers molds third-hand from Pacipa. The Playfull Riddler figures are usually on mismatched cardbacks with art for other characters, most commonly Joker (who is at least thematically appropriate as a fellow Batman villain). 

The Pacipa figures are notable for using a lower quality paint and plastic than their Kenner counterparts. Flaking paint is actually one of the prime distinguishers between Kenner and Pacipa figures, which otherwise are difficult to tell apart when out of package. This isn’t a concern in Riddler’s case, though the quality of plastic has led to discoloration. Even on carded samples, the lower legs are a completely different shade of green than the rest of the figure.

The Most Notorious Figure Kenner Never Produced

The rarity of the Super Amigos Riddler has led to several tribute and homage figures, most recently in 2024. McFarlane Toys included a Riddler in their Super Powers continuation line, and even built the Riddler figure off of their Green Lantern sculpt. Mattel did the same thing in 2014, complete with a reproduction Spanish-language cardback. The Mattel figure went as far as to include intentionally-discolored lower legs in order to better match the original figure. 

Rare as this figure is, samples appear relatively often on eBay and through auction houses like Heritage, though usually loose and in played-with condition. The most recent recorded sale of a carded Riddler was through Heritage in 2024, selling for $1,500 in the same 80 Near-Mint condition as the sample on eBay now. That was more than two years ago, and eBay’s most recent sale of a Super Amigos Riddler was in April of this year, when a figure-less, torn cardback sold for its asking price of $500. With that in mind, the seller of the sample on eBay now may just get their $3.9k asking price, as its always in question when a grail item like this will be available again. 

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