P.A.C.K.: Big Jim Enters the Comic-Book World

In 1975, the American line underwent a dramatic change in appearance.

With P.A.C.K., Big Jim was no longer surrounded solely by athletes and adventurers. He now led a team of characters with instantly recognizable silhouettes: Dr. Steel, The Whip, Warpath, and later Torpedo Fist. Zorak gave the line an adversary whose appearance pointed much more clearly toward the world of comic books.

The connection was more than aesthetic. In 1975, Mattel commissioned Big Jim’s P.A.C.K. under the Marvel Comics Group banner. The fourteen-page main story was penciled by John Buscema, inked by Joe Sinnott, and lettered by Irv Watanabe. P.A.C.K. advertisements also appeared in Marvel comics, sometimes featuring artwork by Jack Kirby.

The toys and the comic reinforced each other. Dr. Steel was no longer simply “the figure with the metal hand”; Warpath, The Whip, and Torpedo became specialists within a team, while Zorak gave Big Jim a recurring enemy.

The mechanisms evolved along with the concept.

Torpedo Fist is one-eyed, and his mechanical forearm contains a fist mounted on a telescoping rod. U.S. Patent US3986295A, which claims priority from January 14, 1976 and names David Edward Keller, describes the sliding-rod system and its release mechanism operated from the torso.

Zorak has two faces mounted on a rotating support: a man and a green creature. Moving the arm primes the mechanism; a button on the back triggers the transformation. Double Trouble later applies the same principle to Big Jim.

With these characters, the mechanism is no longer simply a way of making the body move. It becomes part of the figure’s very identity.

The vehicles followed the same path.

The Beast reused the Baja Beast in a black color scheme. Swamp Patrol transformed the airboat from Devil River Trip and added projectile-firing weapons. Howler was derived from a motocross motorcycle.

The LazerVette, meanwhile, concealed two cannons beneath its hood. A control caused them to rise above the bodywork; an advertisement in the P.A.C.K. comic explicitly highlighted this “secret button.”

The Blitz-Rig, sold by Sears in 1976, combined the LazerVette, Howler, and trailer in a single boxed set.

The 1976 U.S. catalog marked the last major season of new P.A.C.K. releases. From this point onward, the next chapter of Big Jim’s story would unfold primarily elsewhere.