The original series of Monster in My Pocket hit the shelves in 1990, produced by Matchbox. Forty-eight monsters were in the original series, and four different colors -- red, yellow, green (light olive) and purple. Four neon colors were added later:neon-green, neon-yellow, red-orange, and violet. Premium colours, available with such items as the board game, included pink, neon orange, blue, pine green, a brighter neon green (similar to that of Series 2 figures) and glow-in-the-dark white. The forty-eight original monsters were used for the comic books, cartoons, and video game, with some additions. Each monster had a points value, representing the monster's relative power and the figurine's scarcity. These ranged from five to twenty-five points. The figurines were released in single packets (with an appropriate Battle Card), four packs (usually comprising lower value monsters), 'Secret Twelve Packs' (in which only a single, 25-point monster was visible without opening) and a 24 pack, the packaging of which functioned as a basic display case.
The series proved particularly popular in Europe and the United Kingdom (some of the later lines only had European releases), and had a later distribution in Latin America. However, the series did cause some controversy in the United Kingdom due to its representation of the Hindu deity Kali as a monster. Similar problems arose with following series, which featured further deities as monsters - Ganesha, Hanuman and Yama. Public outcry from the Vishva Hindu Parishad led to these monsters being recalled from later rereleases, with the exception of Yama. Other than this, the first series was particularly popular in the UK.
Releases in other countries included a number of unusual colours. Italian releases came in blue, orange-red, yellow, neon green and gold, while Mexican, Argentine and Peruvian figures included a large array of colours including black, white and clear. Argentine and Peruvian figures tended to be of a lower quality than the European and North American releases.
List of monsters[]
Monster | Official Description |
---|---|
Great Beast An awesome, very powerful monster with many poisonous heads and wings. | |
Hydra Greek; a flying serpent. When it loses 1 head, 2 more grow in its place. | |
Werewolf A cursed man who turns into a wolf every full moon and must hunt and kill. | |
Behemoth Jewish; An outrageously huge beast which some say is the king of all beasts. | |
Griffin Medieval Europe; this beast has the back half of a lion and the front of an eagle. | |
Tyrannosaurus Rex The king of the dinosaurs. | |
Cockatrice A monster that is part serpent, rooster and bat, and can kill with its gaze. | |
Cyclops Greek; a race of giants with one eye in the middle of their foreheads. | |
Tengu Japanese; these winged beasts capture those who are in the forest after dark. | |
Triton Greek; a being with the upper body of a man, the lower body of a fish. | |
Kraken A sea creature so huge, sailors mistake it for an island and get their ships crushed by it. | |
Jotun Troll Scandinavian; children of the Norse god of frost. They cause snow storms and avalanches to trap victims. | |
The Monster Violent creature made up of pieces robbed from graves and then brought to life. | |
Manticore Persian; Has a lion's body, human head, and poisoned spines that it can shoot like arrows. | |
Karnak Egyptian; underworld god who destroys those who violate sacred temples. | |
Coatlicue Aztec; has clawed hands and feet, eats filth, and breathes it as a weapon. | |
Bigfoot This huge hairy beast is thought to be the missing link between man and ape. | |
Baba Yaga Russian; flies in a pot to stir up storms and hurricanes to catch victims. | |
Kali Indian; the Hindu goddess of destructive forces with skin that sheds like a snake. | |
Catoblepas A beast who walks with his head near the ground. If you look into his eyes you die. | |
Harpy Greek; evil, twisted creature that can shriek to drive its victims to madness. | |
Haniver A huge head with many rows of teeth and legs. On its snout is a lure to catch prey. | |
Hobgoblin A goblin that is mischievous and plays childish pranks. | |
Windigo Algonkian indian; a man-eater. You can become one by resorting to cannibalism. | |
Red Cap Scottish; evil goblin who lives in old ruins and dyes his cap with blood. | |
Medusa Greek; a woman with snakes for hair. Look at her and you turn to stone. | |
Goblin A very mean, distorted being who hides in dark places to scare people. | |
Cerberus Greek; the watchdog of Hades. Has 3 heads, a snake tail and snakes as a collar. | |
Zombie Dead person who has been re-animated. Used as a weapon he can't be killed. | |
Chimera Greek; a fire-breathing lion with a snake's tail and a goat head on its back. | |
Ghost The spirit of a person who died too soon. They scare the living as revenge. | |
Ogre A giant that eats people. He is scary, but stupid and easily fooled. | |
Vampire A living corpse that feeds on the blood of the living and makes them his slaves. | |
Roc Arabian; an enormous scavenger bird big enough to carry off two elephants. | |
Gremlin Small flying creatures who love to bother pilots or cause aircraft trouble. | |
Vampiress The eternal mate to the vampire, A vampiress was a vampire's victim who now helps him. | |
Ghoul A very mean little monster that robs graves, feeds on the dead and helps the evil. | |
The Phantom A man that hides because of his disfigured face. Hurts anyone in his way. | |
Mad Scientist A crazy genius who made a potion to bring out the violence in every person. | |
Winged Panther This beast has all the strength of a panther but can also fly. | |
Mummy Egyptian; this dead person has risen to get revenge on anyone who disturbs his rest. | |
Charon Greek; a cruel, filthy old man that ferries the souls of the dead into Hades. | |
The Beast This is a knight that is now a wild beast. Can only be tamed by a woman. | |
Witch Female who practices black magic with potions, curses and spells. | |
Spring-Heeled Jack English; has eyes of flame. Can jump hundreds of feet; is a bogeyman. | |
Invisible Man A mad scientist who made himself invisible to commit crimes. | |
Skeleton Human bones which capture people as revenge. | |
Hunchback A horribly disfigured man that lives in towers and dumps hot melted lead on his victims. |
Legend of Monster in My Pocket[]
"Now you can collect the greatest REAL monsters of all time and, best of all, they'll fit in your pocket. Since the beginning of time, man has battled Monsters and great Monster Legends have existed in every culture. Now you can learn the facts about the greatest REAL MONSTERS of all time. This information has been carefully researched and each monster's point value is based on their intelligence, strengths, weaknesses, speed and range. The more you know about these Real Monsters, the more fun it is to collect, trade and play with them."