Synopsis of Toy

Every kid knows that magic is cooler than science. What we didn’t know was that science would one day collapse on itself, and magic would be forced to take over once more. This little glimpse at the future came courtesy of the Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light, an action figure line with a magical gimmick.

Each Visionary fell into one of two warring camps—the good Spectral Knights or the evil Darkling Lords. The magical knights also aligned themselves with a particular animal, and here was where that magical gimmick came in: The “Mystical Personality” animal actually appeared in a 3-D hologram fixed on the figure’s chest.

And that was only the beginning of the hologram bonanza, friends… the Visionaries also carried “Magical Totems,” staves with two additional holograms representing the knight’s allegiance (unicorns for Spectral Knights, dragons for Darkling Lords) and an additional power (wisdom, courage, decay, destruction, etc.). The final holographic treat came on the backing card itself, a look at the bestower of all magical light, the wizard Merklyn.

Cryotek (bear), Leoric (lion), Azron (eagle) and Witterquick (cheetah) headed up the side of good, while evil was represented by Cindarr (gorilla), Lexor (armadillo), Darkstorm (swamp mollusk) and Cravex (phylot… yes, a phylot). Each came complete with holographic chest, holographic staff, a helmet and the knight’s weapon of choice. The toy series also included nifty vehicles like the Capture Chariot and the Skyclaw, which added even more Knights and Lords as pilots.

But the Visionaries line went well beyond action figures. A 13-episode Visionaries animated series appeared in syndication in 1987, and Hasbro supported its magical knights with activity books, lunchboxes and a short-lived comic book series for Marvel’s Star Comics line. Unfortunately, “short-lived” described not only the comics, but the entire Visionaries infrastructure. The cartoon went off the air after a single season, and the toys were cut short before a second series reached store shelves. Magic may have beaten out science, but that blasted devil economics had once more trumped them all.

Release History of Toy

1987 - Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light

Sub Categories of Toys

action figures
tv tie-in

Toy and Game Manufacturer

Hasbro

Other Toy Links