Bag in Time

It was 1996 and the Marvel machine was a mere shadow of what it would become.  Movies were just a pipe dream then and cartoons were king.  The spotlight didn't fall on the Avengers as much as it did Spider-Man, the X-Men and the Fantastic Four.  With small screen success comes attention from powerful people.  And who's more powerful than Ronald McDonald? 

...which brings us to the Marvel Super Heroes Happy meal.  Now, a more ambitious blog would have a complete breakdown of each of the Happy Meals Toys and perhaps a little bit of information/trivia about them.  I don't have that.  What I do have is two of the bags used at the time for the promotion (see pic above).  I bought them for less than a dollar on eBay and then promptly forgot about them.  But when they arrived in the mail today, the happy-go-lucky heroes, with they're word jumbles and brain teasers, inspired me to pop them in the scanner.

The first bag gives us a scenario that involves the visible Invisible Woman who seems to have had the tables turned on her.  Her friends are the ones who have disappeared.  Can you help her find the Hulk, the Human Torch, Jubilee and Spider-Man?  If not, then maybe connect with a smiling Wolverine and help him with his word puzzle.

In yet another Spider-Man/X-Men team-up, Spidey has shot some webs to stick it to his three mutant pals.  Can you figure out which line goes to the (still-smiling) Wolverine, Storm and Jubilee?  Admittedly, it took me a few attempts.  

Grab the scissors and paste and head to the side of the bag.  It's time to put these panels of Spidey in the "correct" order.  Although the avant-garde side of me would insist that there are multiple "correct" orders and Spider-Man's unique skill set could lead to any number of routes up and down that building.  Regardless, let's check out the next bag.

Next up is a game of observation.  Find the differences between the right and left side of the room.  I'm assuming the obvious ones like Thing/Hulk and Spider-Man/Wolverine totally count.  But honestly, it's more difficult finding things that actually do match on each side of the room.  Maybe it's more challenging when you're working through a french fry coma.  

The other side is more of a group shot of the gang along with a low effort word jumble.  It's interesting to note that there only seems to be three X-Men on each bag and only 3/4 of the Fantastic Four.  It's always curious to see odd character pairing like this. 

If you've been lamenting the lack of mazes on these things, then lament no more.  The Thing needs to find the Hulk through this rock wall place.  If you've got a spare 6 seconds, give it a try.  

You might have noticed the mention of a "Marvel-ous Offer" on the both of these bags.  Let's turn the bag over to the final side to see what it could be:

If you like Marvel Super Heroes Happy Meals, odds are you probably like Spider-Man Magazine.  All it took was a $1.50 for shipping and handling and this order form from your Happy Meal bag, and two issues of those bad boys would eventually be mailed to you.

So there you have an impromptu look at two 25 year old happy meal bags.  If they were to do this promotion today we might still see the Hulk and Spider-Man but the rest would unfortunately be left out in the cold.  Here's hoping that another round of hit movies get these guys back on the lunch menu.

Far Out

Previously:

Teen Titans Go Fruit Snacks  - -  Justice League Fruit Snacks

DC Superhero Girls Fruit Snacks  - -  Batman v Superman Fruit Snacks

Amazing Spider-Man 2 Fruit Snacks  - -  Iron Man 3 Fruit Snacks

Captain America Fruit Snacks  - -  Superman Fruit Snacks  - -  Super Hero Squad Fruit Snacks

Amazing Spider-Man Fruit Snacks  - - Batman Fruit Snacks  - -  Avengers Fruit Snacks

When in the course of human events it becomes necessary to promote a new Spider-Man movie, mankind must produce and distribute a new version of that character's fruit snacks.  To my knowledge there was no new version of the beloved gummies for "Spider-Man: Homecoming" so let's see what "Far From Home" brings to the lunchbox scene:

As of this writing, Spider-Man is dead and exists as a pile of dust on Titan...so I guess he eventually gets better.  The release of these snacks isn't exactly what I'd call a spoiler since I think we all saw his resurrection coming.  I mean, you're not exactly gonna be excited about buying faceless, formless (possibly flavorless?) fruit snacks so the return of our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man was a given.  Unfortunately his return didn't seem to warrant any new shapes.  Let's see the breakdown:

Eh...nothing we haven't seen before sadly...two Spidey faces, two Spidey poses and two Spidey webs...all of them repurposed from previous fruit snacks releases.  I understand the need to cut corners from time to time and re-use a shape or two but, c'mon!

This is the MCU Spidey!  Let's put some effort into it!  How about a Nicky Fury shape or a big Mysterio fish bowl head shape?  Seems easy enough.  I'd even settle for Ned or Aunt May.  But I guess we get what we get.  Does a fruit snack by any other shape not taste as sweet?

Snack Time: Egg Salad

Previously:

ST: Pizza & Punch  - -  ST: Pop, Pop!

ST: Candy Cross-Over  - -  ST: Marvelous Munchies

Sometimes I'll come across some super hero related food that is interesting but not quite interesting enough for its own blog entry. When that happen they get combined into a "Snack Time" entry.

Most of these were spotted at my local "Big Lots!" store.  As I've said before, they stock discontinued or low selling items from the previous year so it tends to be a jackpot for the type of weirdo branded foodstuffs that I'm always on the lookout for. 

Let's start with some seasonal offerings:

First off, are some large (maybe six inches tall or more) Easter Eggs with Spider-Man and Batman.  They've been known to be bros in the past and their team-up continues with offerings of jelly beans and a "figure dispenser." 

Next up are "Viewer Eggs" featuring Spider-Man and the Avengers.  You look through the hole in the egg to see pics of your favorite crime fighters.  Then you crack 'em open and eat the jelly beans inside.  What's not to like?

I had never heard of ROAR beverages before but apparently they have Iron Man (apple) and Spider-Man (fruit punch) drinks.  I later learned they also have a Captain America (grape) drink floating around out there somewhere but I didn't see one on this trip.  A couple of these beauties made it home with me.

And, of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that the Avengers have been popping up on bananas lately.  And, yes, I'm collecting the stickers.  So far I have the Hulk, Black Panther, Iron Man and Cap.  I think all I need is Black Widow and Thor to complete the set but maybe there are others I haven't seen yet.

So that's the latest round of snacks...but it's important to stay vigilant in the grocery aisles.

Tangled Webs

Normally when you think of cheese snacks that incorporate your favorite characters, you'll immediately go to that old standby, String Cheese.  In fact, awhile back we got a hold of some tasty Avengers String Cheese and assumed that would be where it ended.  WRONG!  Check this out:

So what exactly are "Cheese Webs?"  Believe it or not they are pretty much what they sound like.  My theory had always been that String Cheese was originally some kind of byproduct of a cheese making process and then a marketing genius packaged them and made a mint off of the soccer mom market.  I'm assuming this stuff might be something similar.  Take a look:

Somebody in some cheese factory saw this and said, "Spidey Webs!"  I'm guessing that when Halloween gets closer we'll see something similar brought to us by the guy who saw this and said "Brains!"  Other than that, I'm not sure what they can do with these.  At least they taste great.

Infinity Bars

Marvel went retro with its latest snack treat offering.  When you buy a box of these chewy granola bars you get faced down by the old school Avengers (and Spidey) and for a group of guys who are hanging out on the front of a box of granola bars, they sure look pissed!

 

Even with the all star line up on the front the box beckons you, nay commands you, to "see the character wrappers" inside.  Since they're so proud of them let's take a look:

All right, not bad I guess.  It's always good to see a rare appearance of Black Widow on a food product.   Even rarer to see her in the retro style.  Additionally, each character wrapper contains a factoid about that character that may or may not be completely made up.

For example, "Iron Man's Armor adds five inches and 200 pounds to his frame."  While your head is spinning for that information, let's head to the back of the box:

We've got some games and the tried and true "cut out collectible trading card."  The Hulk card definitely makes up for not getting a Hulk wrapper although I am wondering what his factoid would have been.  Maybe something about the cut and length of his purple pants.

It's also worth noting that cutting along those dotted lines is entirely too stressful.  So I'm going to need a few minutes to get psyched up.

The Food of the Marvel Experience

You heard that disembodied voice!  We have to go to the Cotton Bowl!  So that's where I went to check out the latest stop of The Marvel Experience Tour in Dallas.  Now I'm sure there is tons of info all over the web about the tour with its cool games, ride, props and all around awesomeness.  It's definitely worth a visit.  However...

With all the good word of mouth about the tour, I was looking forward to some next-level snack treat branding.  Hulkburgers, Iron Manwhiches, Rocket Ragu, Agents of V.E.A.L., the possibilities were limitless.  But my hopes were dashed when I approached the tour's "Power Cafe" (the what?) and saw the menu:

Was "Loaded Mac Daddy Dog" in the West Coast Avengers at some point?  No?  Thunderbolts, maybe?  While I definitely appreciate and respect the courageousness of putting macaroni and cheese on a hot dog, I just wish it could have somehow be named after Thor or Agent Carter or somebody cool like that.  I mean there could have been an entire appetizer menu based on Pepper Potts alone!

In another part of the Experience, the "Bio Mix Station" offered hope:

Looks like a multitude of characters, colors and logos.  Surely there are some clever, one of a kind items that we can score here in this clever, one of a kind environment.  Sadly, upon closer inspection, this proved to not be true:

I like cherry sours and smoked almonds as much as the next guy, but I usually don't have to go through a S.H.I.E.L.D. orientation in order to get them. 

A quick perusal through the gift shop (located conveniently between the Experience and the Exit) left me equally nonplussed but I didn't let it get me down.  Overall, the Marvel Experience was great and deep down I know that someday my Sub-Marinated Invisible Grilled Peter Pork Chops will be a reality!

Happy Halloween!

Celebrate Halloween Spidey-style by making these candy apples: