Legion Toywatch: Prequel, part 6 (pins and rings)

Legion merchandising, part 6 in a series... a look back in anticipation of merchandising the Legion animated show in the near future.

In the mid-90's, comics were at their speculative peak and dealers were ordering lots of stuff at huge numbers. Sometimes the companies would even offer retailers some bonues for every certain number of copies ordered (like 1 variant cover for each 25 regular, for example - a practice prevalent in the 90's speculation boom, which fell out of favor for a while but is back again today). When Legionnaires #1 came out, the deal was that for every 100 copies ordered by the shops, they would get a special cloisonne pin. I didn't find mine until a year later in San Diego, and I've only seen one since then. The black paint on gold metal does look kinda cool.

For a cheaper alternative, conventions had "pinbacks" by the bucketful at the DC booth. The difference is that a cloisonne pin has a pin you stick through perpendicularly with a back that attaches, while the pinback has a pin that slides through sideways. You can find the pinbacks cheap on ebay.



In 1997, DC Direct offered a Legion Flight Ring for sale. Here's the original soliciation from Previews:

LEGION RING $54.95
Long desired by LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES fans, this 14K gold-plated ring is a replica of the flight rings that enable the greatest heroes of the 30th Century to take to the air. (Note: These rings will not enable the wearer to fly, as that technology is not yet available.) Available in sizes 6-13 (whole sizes only).

Here are scans of the box, along with the front and side of the ring.


Warning: This ring does not enable the wearer to fly!


Here's a shot of a guy properly attired as Booster Gold at the San Diego Con '06, complete with Legion Flight Ring - remember, that's how Booster could fly, he stole a Flight Ring from the Space Museum.