‘Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends’ Could’ve Had The Greatest Action Figure Line Of All Time

Despite the popularity of Craig McCracken's Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends on Cartoon Network, the show has only been adapted a few times in comic form as part of DC's Cartoon Network 2-in-1 in 2010 and as part of IDW's upcoming massive CN Super Secret Crisis War crossover. Similarly, although the show did get some toys, it never received a proper action figure line. But it almost did. And in the most intensely awesome way imaginable. The show's comedic character Bloo was transformed into a titan of toyeticism in the name of pure fun.

Behold, The Bloo Superdude action figure!

McCracken explains on his Tumblr:

Back when we were developing Foster’s toys I was in a meeting with our manufacturer to brainstorm ideas for what would make a great Bloo toy. After some frustrating back and fourth on the difficulty of making toys for comedy cartoons, I suggested that if Bloo was sitting in this meeting he would have no problem coming up with what would make a great toy of him…

 

HE WOULD WANT THE MOST EXTREME TOY EVER MADE!!!

 

So I developed Bloo’s heroic fantasy version of himself: The Bloo Superdude! My thought was that you could make a toy for a comedy by making a comedic toy! I thought it would be funny to turn Bloo into one of the most absurdly stupid (but awesome) action figures ever! Just make him a pumped up warrior/robot/superhero/rock-star with tons of useless (but awesome) gadgets, weapons, and accessories!

McCracken explains that each Superdude figure would be sold as a set that would include a basic removable Bloo figure, plus a standalone figure from the Foster's cast. Like Hasbro's Marvel Legends "Build-A-Figure" series, this would encourage fans to collect the entire line so they could have every Superdude accessory, along with the full Foster's gang.

To sweeten the protoype pitch to toy manufacturers, McCracken even put The Bloo Superdude into several episodes of the show, principally the character's eponymous 2007 episode "The Bloo Superdude and the Magic Potato of Power!" That's right, just as great franchises like G.I. Joe, Transformers and Jem were created to sell toys, so too were The Bloo Superdude's animated appearances.

The Supderdude toys didn't happen and fans had to settle for nonposable figures and a Burger King Kid's Meal, among other offerings, but Cartoon Network gave McCracken the prototype to keep, and of course share online.

The reveal comes as part of a series of "Toys That Never Were," posts that so far includes Bloo here and a sketch of an unused Powerpuff Girls Mojo Jojo action figure. We look forward to many, many more installments, even if it means confronting the crushing reality of so many awesome toys never coming to fruition.

You can see more images on McCracken's Tumblr page.

[Via Craig McCracken]