Welcome to Throwback Thursday, where…hey, watch where you point that thing!
Oh my God, did you click “Read More” because…wow, really? That’s the only reason you clicked “Read More”?! I thought you just liked flashback articles!
No, this is not about what you were obviously thinking of!
Ok, so the teaser and title obviously makes you think of two different things, but rest assured, this is actually about toys for young spies, and not the toys the teaser implies. Toys that no company could get away with making these days. But, in 1964, dangerous looking toy guns were a thing. And they were promoted with awesomeness.
And who better to promote such a toy than the boy who would become a man who has played cops, Air Force Officers, Supersoldiers, and would escape from New York AND Los Angeles?
This boy.
Who is he?
Why, that is Kurt Russell. And yes, he was a child here. And he was just practicing for all of his future roles once he transitioned from cute child actor to Disney Kid to total badass.
With an eyepatch.
In this week’s Throwback Thursday, we’re going to take a look back to 1964, before this guy became an eyepatch-wearing, heat-packing star, back to a time when he was a 13-year-old packing heat.
Dangerous, you say? Well, yeah, they don’t make this toy anymore.
This week’s flashback is for the Agent Zero M, and it’s set up to look like your standard 1960s spy film…except our agent is a child. And he’s Kurt Russell. The first time I saw this I actually started yelling “Oh my God, it’s Kurt Russell!” Then I said “And that gun is ridiculously realistic!”
Agent Zero M is an “air gun” type toy – you pump the weapon with the handle, and then it fires off a blast of air, all while looking like a big honkin’ weapon of destruction. And it turns out the whole “spy movie” scenario is nothing more than fantasy, which doesn’t exactly comfort me in the least. Even worse, it comes with “targets” to blast compressed air at. He even takes aim at windchimes. Freakin’ windchimes. They’ve done nothing to him, but heck, why not blast compressed air at the darn things?! There’s nothing wrong with that, right?
Actually yes, there is something wrong with this. Is it me, or is he a little too much of a natural with this toy?
And after a day of air blasting windchimes and targets, our hero is going to sit and contemplate what his future career holds, as we get a nice long look at his weapon of choice.
And then we get that up close look at the future Master Assassin:
That is a menacing look.
Oh, and remember the password:
Wow…so, this. A commercial guaranteed to strike fear in the hearts of the overly-anxious parents of today, where there is always constant fear of kids packing heat in schools. So to see this today, it’s slightly unsettling. But in 1964, there probably wasn’t much wrong with a realistic-looking toy gun that blasts compressed air, damages windchimes, and knocks down paper targets. Because changing times.
And if you’d like to see our future assassin in training, click play below. Don’t worry, irreparable harm will not come to you.
And there you have it friends, Throwback Thursday depicting the training of a future hero, when he just a young boy playing with toy guns.
Enjoy your Thursday! It’s more festive sibling, Flashback Friday comes along tomorrow! It won’t be packing heat, but it will be awesome nonetheless.
Totally full circle.
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