Stretch Armstrong

:"For the band, see Stretch Arm Strong.Stretch Armstrong was a large, gel-filled action figure first introduced in 1976 by Kenner.cite book |last=Clark |first=Eric |title=The Real Toy Story: Inside the Ruthless Battle for America's Youngest Consumers |year=2007 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=0743247655 |pages=pp. 44-45]

History

Stretch Armstrong was in the shape of a well-muscled blond man wearing a pair of swimming trunks. Its most notable feature was that its arms and legs could stretch outwards, presumably without breaking.

The doll was re-issued in the 1990s with a canine sidekick, "Fetch Armstrong." [cite news |last=DeBrosse |first=Jim |title=S-T-R-E-T-C-H-ING THE MARKET SHARE |work=Dayton Daily News |date=September 1 1995 |pages=1C]

Other similar releases were Stretch Monster, a reptilian green nemesis released by Kenner in 1978 and Fetch Armstrong, the figure's pliable canine counterpart released in the early 1990s by Cap Toys. Cap Toys also released Stretch Vac-Man while ToyQuest released Super Morphman, both of which were filled with a granular solid instead of the viscous liquid found in the other figures. A vacuum pump which attached to the heads of these figures removed the air from within and allowed for considerable, but not unlimited, stretching ability.

In popular culture

*Stretch Armstrong was parodied in the Cartoon Network series Robot Chicken in the episode "Anne Marie's Pride" voiced by Seth Green. When the corn syrup that helps him stretch runs dry in his body, he is in need of a corn syrup transplant. Despite the warning of his doctor, he ends up stretching when he still had the stitches that needed to be healed. Thus, the corn syrup splatters over his wife and Stretch Armstrong Jr. leaving him empty. A year later, his wife took Plastic Man as a husband.

*It is also mentioned at the beginning of the 2002 country music single, "19 Somethin'" by Mark Wills; he mentions how he'd seen the "stuff" they put inside the figure.

*In the Family Guy episode "Screwed the Pooch", Carter Pewterschmidt mentions Stretch Armstrong during the court case near the end of the episode. Peter Griffin then replies "Oh, man! And his arms stretch out to next week!"

*In the 1999 film, Detroit Rock City, one of the characters, Trip is seen stealing an original Stretch Armstrong doll from a couple of kids in front of a convenience store when they tell him "Kiss sucks!" when he asks them if they have Kiss tickets. He later uses the doll to stop an armed robber from holding up the store. Eventually, the kids he robbed the doll from return and steal the doll back from him when he is beaten up by a group of bullies going to the same concert he is trying to go to.

References

External links

* [http://www.plaidstallions.com/kenner/stretcharmstrong.html Kenner Stretch Armstrong Catalog from 1978]
* [http://www.stretcharmstrongworld.com/ Collector website]
* [http://www.grupthink.com/answer/index.php5?id=3110&p
]
* [http://www.x-entertainment.com/articles/0799/ Fansite and photos of Super Morphman at X-entertainment.com]