Comic book tie-in ads have never been that rare, but in the 90’s they were likely in every comic issue that Marvel produced. Spider-Man would rescue Capn’ Crunch from pirates, or The Hulk would fight off thugs to protect his Hostess Apple Pies, but it wasn’t exactly commonplace for an entire comic book to be devoted to brand promotion.
Enter Combo Man. A new overpowered Marvel hero that was created in 1995 to promote the actual snack, Combos. Not the point, but I didn’t even know Combos had been around since the 90’s, much less that they had their own ultra cool OC that could beat up anyone in the Marvel universe. I mean, respect where it’s due, the Mars corporation wasn’t playing around. They made sure their character had the powers of, and I’m not exaggerating, 14 classic heroes and villains.
The character’s backstory involved some Spider-Man style lab visit gone wrong shenanigans, but was most notably tied to him eating a radioactive Combo. This was all covered in his one single comic, Combo Man #1, obviously.
But why stop there? Combo Man also had a set of three trading cards, each revealing some of his powers, and prepaid cell phone cards with his image plastered on them. The 90’s were a beautiful time.
There was even a competition to name all 14 of the characters that made up Combo Man. The competition was synergistically linked to the trading cards, since collecting all three basically worked as a cheat sheet.
That’s right, you could win that sick jacket or cool hat. Imagine how many girls you could get with a Combo Man jacket? But what are the rules written down in the tiny print? Well, unfortunately is says that all submissions had to be in by September 1995, so it’s too late for me to mail in.
Or is it? Probably, but that didn’t stop me from finding the contact page for Combos corporate, where I sent this message:
Hello,
I wanted to see if it is too late for me to enter the Combo Man disassembly competition from Marvel comics in 1995. I saw on the flyer that the cutoff was September 1995, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to see if you are accepting late entries, as I have identified all 14 Marvel heroes and villains that make up the iconic Combo Man.
I’d love nothing more than to be entered for a chance at some of the sick Combo Man merch, if it hasn’t all been sent to devoted Combo Man fans already.
I’m pasting the list of heroes and villains below, and attaching a recent empty Combos wrapper as I know that was (is?) a requirement to enter the competition.
Thank you for your time!
I sent the message. Even bought and ate Combos (which I don’t like very much) so I could actually have a picture of a bag to send. I do not think I will hear back, but if I do, you will be the first people I tell.
Stay tuned true believers.