Fabulous Find: 1988 DC – Burger King Superhero Cups

Greetings fellow comic book and collectibles fans.  This week I thought I’d focus on a Fabulous Find from a 1988 joint effort between DC Comics and Burger King!  Yes indeed, it’s the fabulous superhero cup holders that you could purchase when buying a meal at Burger King fast food restaurants back in 1988.

When you first walked into a Burger King restaurant you’d see the following display:

DC – Burger King superhero cup display

And immediately any kid worth anything would be demanding that his mom or dad buy one of the cups, with the superhero that held onto it and for only an additional $1.27!  Of course, that was in addition to the cost of the soft drink of their choice itself. Unfortunately at the time, Burger King, featured Pepsi products, not Coca-Cola products, which even as a kid, I much prefered, and still do to this day!

As you can see from the display, you got to choose between Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and the villain, Darkseid!  Well, actually you didn’t get to choose, as each week a different superhero or in Darkseid’s case, supervillain, was offered.  If you were lucky and missed a week, once the four weeks had past, you might be able to receive a cup/holder of your choice, if that particular Burger King hadn’t sold out of the one you wanted, or had missed earlier in the month.

Let’s take a closer look at them, why don’t we?  Here’s a close up of the figures, themselves:

DC – Burger King superhero cup holders

As you can see, Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman all have the same basic pose.  Their arms are outstretched and their hands are held in fists, with holes in them.  Darkseid’s pose is slightly different, as his arms are folded, rather than outstretched.  I guess the heroes are showing an “open and welcoming” pose, while the villain is reflecting a “closed” pose.  Who ever said superheroes couldn’t reflect psychological feelings!!!  The figures really do work on this level.

I also like the fact that Darkseid is mounted on a black base.   Hey, there is no mistaking that he’s a villain and not one of the heroes, is there?  Each of the figures are labeled; i.e. Superman is Figure A and fits Cup A, Wonder Woman is Figure B and fits Cup B, Darkseid is Figure C and fits Cup C and Batman is Figure D and fits Cup D.

The individual cups have pegs on their “handles” which fit into the individual heroes hands, or in Darkseid’s case, his crossed arms and a slot that fits into the individual superhero bases, thus “locking” the cups to their holders and providing a stable unit.  Here’s another look at the four cups and their heroes/villain:

DC – Burger King superhero cups

You might very well have these cups in your collection already, but if you don’t, then don’t despair, as they are readily available to purchase on eBay, at very reasonable prices.  I had fun buying these back in the day, though I pretended they were for my two young sons, rather than myself, I’ll have to admit!  But I’m proud to have them in my collection today, wow, twenty-six years later!

Many customers ask “where can I sell my action figures“? The answer is simple – Back to the Past Collectibles in the #1 online buyer and seller of vintage and pop-culture collectibles in the country.

Thanks for joining me for another Fabulous Find and please come back next week for a new RETRO REVIEW!  Til then, stay safe this summer and now I’m off to the cottage for some fun in the sun!