A Toy That Sucks, But In A Good Way!

(Above) Suction Cup Man (with shadows); Click on image for larger view.

(Above) Suction Cup Man (detail); Click on image for larger view.

(Above) Suction Cup Man (detail); Click on image for larger view.

(Above) Suction Cup Man; Click on image for larger view.


I BOUGHT THIS ODD LITTLE FELLER THIS PAST SUMMER AT A FLEA MARKET IN ILLINOIS. He stands 11 inches tall, and is covered on the front with 14 suction cups, and on the back with 10. I cannot find any manufacturers mark on him anywhere. I am guessing he was made in the 1960s, but I am not sure. Made of rubber, Suction Cup Man (as I call him) is a strange little alien of some sort, and kind of funny with all the suction cups from head to toe. And, he doesn’t work worth a damn. Maybe the suction cups have worn out, but it won’t stick to glass or any surface. Still, I like him enough to hang on the wall of my office. Suction Cup Man, the rubber toy that sucks—but in a really good way.

If anyone know anything about this toy, I’d like to know about it so I can share it with the readers.

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This just in from a reader, Motortree, who I.D.’ed the toy and directed me to a Website with the information below. What I find really strange is I called this toy “odd little feller” in the first line of my post and in the Website Motortree directed me to, he is referred to as “odd little fellow.” How weird is that?

John

“Mattel released this odd little fellow known as Suckerman in the late ’70s. He was basically an 11-inch piece of rubber with the face of a devil and long arms covered in suction cups.

You played with Suckerman by throwing him against smooth surfaces and watching him stick. That was it, nothing else. You can see how this thing got old real fast. Suckerman (and his buddies the Krusher, and Greg gory the big bad vampire bat) just couldn’t compete in a time when the first wave of Star Wars figures ruled the toy shelves.

Suckerman was available in 3 colors (red, black and green) as well as a glow in the dark version. He was packaged in boxes and on cards.

He enjoyed a brief amount of popularity and then disappeared and was forgotten. Since there isn’t much demand for this oddity, Suckerman won’t cost a lot to collect. The last time I saw Suckerman on an online auction site, it only cost a few dollars in mint condition. Boxed or carded examples only bring $10-$20.

While he has been stuck to the back of the toy box in today’s secondary market, there are a few of us around who will fondly remember the little suction cupped friend we knew briefly in the late 70’s as Suckerman.”