Visionaries

 Visionaries was a Hasbro toyline of the 1980. Much like Transformers, G.I Joe and other Hasbro toylines, Visionaries was accompanied by a Sunbow produced cartoon series and Marvel comic book. Telling the story of a post apocalyptic planet called Prysmos where technology failed and society went from a futuristic Metropolis to a medieval kingdom. Discovering magic and learning to use it. Two fractions fought for dominance of the magic and planet. The heroic Spectral Knights and Evil Darkling Lords. The franchise did not catch on and the comic was cancelled in the UK after 7 issues and one annual while the toyline and cartoon only lasted one series. The toyline consisted of 12 figures and four vehicles. A second wave was planned, introducing new characters as well as the two female members of the teams in the cartoon that were not in the first wave.

 The story lines and animation of Visionaries was superior to many of it’s counterparts at the time (Transformers, G.I Joe) yet the franchise did not prove popular. Maybe due to the high price point of the figures due to their hologram gimmick or that the market was over saturated with sword and sorcery toys and cartoons after the success of He-man. The complete series was released on DVD in the UK in the early 00s during the 80s revival of the time.
Much like Skeleton Warriors which also only lasted one toy wave and cartoon season, this is a tragically underrated show and toyline. Both of which were high in quality yet seem destined to be forgotten.