History Main / ActionFigureFileCard

* ''Film/SuperMarioBros'' had these done as the front page from a [[BigApplesauce Dinohattan]] newspaper.

* The back of the boxes for Toynami's ''Anime/{{Naruto}}'' action figures (with the exception of the SDCC 2010 Namikaze Minato), had descriptions telling the backstories of the characters.

* The back of the boxes for the ''Anime/{{Naruto}}'' Premium Sculpt figures from Mattel had art of the figures, along with text showing what village the characters are from, along with their signature techniques.

* The back of the boxes for the''Anime/{{Naruto}}'' Premium Sculpt figures from Mattel had art of the figures, along with text showing what village the characters are from, along with their signature techniques.

This is typically a simple but effective way to give life to toys, turning them from just "action figures" to full-blown ''characters''. Wiki/TFWikiDotNet, for example, credits these for helping Transformers win out over their competitors like the Gobots. Where the Gobots toys had no faction identification or common theme (a car was just as likely to be a heroic Guardian as an evil Renegade), each Transformers toy identified not just the character's name, but their rank, function within their respective army, and enough information to get an idea of their personality.

The UrExample is ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeARealAmericanHero''. When Creator/{{Hasbro}} was preparing to revive the ''Franchise/GIJoe'' franchise in [[TheEighties the early 1980s]], Creator/LarryHama was hired to write [[ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHeroMarvel a comic book]] based on the figures. According to [[https://web.archive.org/web/20150502115528/http://www.mania.com/gi-joe-generalissimo-larry-hama_article_115801.html this interview]] with Hama, he created these "dossiers" to keep track of the toy line's LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: "When the guys at Hasbro saw these first dossiers, they said, 'These would be cool on the back of the blister pack!'"

* ''ComicBook/WildCATsWildStorm''

* ''WesternAnimation/WildWestCOWBoysOfMooMesa''

* ''Film/JurassicWorld'' toys by Mattel had cards with art of the dinosaur and stats of Intelligence,Strength and Speed. They seem to have been phased out though, as newer lines don’t have them.

* ''ComicBook/WildCATSWildStorm''

* ''ComicBook/WildCATS''

* ''WesternAnimation/COPSAnimatedSeries'': Larry Hama wrote these file cards too; Checkpoint's bio is (in)famous for hinting that he's the descendant of ''G.I. Joe'' character Beach Head.

* ''Film/JurassicWorld'' toys by Mattel had cards with art of the dinosaur and stats of Intelligence,Strength and Speed. They seem to have been phased out though, as newer lines don’t have them.

This was especially effective for characters who never appeared on, say, a cartoon made to advertise the toyline. As an example, WesternAnimation/BeastWars only had 5 or 6 characters per faction on the cartoon, while there were plenty more characters who were toy only. Someone like Wolfang or Cybershark only got characterisation from the file card. This sometimes even extended to main characters: in the Beast Wars cartoon several characters were upgraded in [[MidSeasonUpgrade Transmetals]]. In the toyline, even characters who ''didn't'' undergo this process had Transmetal toys, with only the file cards describing what effect the change had on them (e.g. ButtMonkey Waspinator [[TookALevelInBadass was described as becoming more confident and competent as a warrior]] post-upgrade).

* PNSO Prehistoric Animal Models each include a pamphlet that has facts, a skeletal model, and tells a short story from the creature’s point of view

* [[PNSO]] Prehistoric Animal Models each include a pamphlet that has facts, a skeletal model, and tells a short story from the creature’s point of view

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAddamsFamily'' (toys based on the 1992 AnimatedAdaptation)

The UrExample is ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeARealAmericanHero''. When Creator/{{Hasbro}} was preparing to revive the ''Franchise/GIJoe'' franchise in [[TheEighties the early 1980s]], Creator/LarryHama was hired to write [[ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHeroMarvel a comic book]] based on the figures. According to [[http://www.mania.com/gi-joe-generalissimo-larry-hama_article_115801.html this interview]] with Hama, he created these "dossiers" to keep track of the toy line's LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: "When the guys at Hasbro saw these first dossiers, they said, 'These would be cool on the back of the blister pack!'"

* ''[[WesternAnimation/COPSAnimatedSeries C.O.P.S.]]'': Larry Hama wrote these file cards too; Checkpoint's bio is (in)famous for hinting that he's the descendant of ''G.I. Joe'' character Beach Head.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{COPS}}'': Larry Hama wrote these file cards too; Checkpoint's bio is (in)famous for hinting that he's the descendant of ''G.I. Joe'' character Beach Head.

The file cards started simply, featuring basic information on each Joe or Cobra member's {{Backstory}}, personality, and abilities, usually accompanied with a quote by or about the character. As the line continued, Hama's writing became increasingly clever and elaborate; he often added humor to the file cards (as [[http://www.mania.com/gi-joe-generalissimo-larry-hama_article_115801.html this article]] shows). Hasbro added file cards to many of their other lines, and several competitors (most notably Creator/PlaymatesToys) [[FollowTheLeader followed their example]], making this a popular trope for action figure packaging.

** [[{{SpinOff}} Spin-Offs]] ''Toys/FairyTails'' and ''Toys/MyPrettyMermaids'' also came with descriptions on the back of their packaging.

* ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'': Originally included [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Tech_Spec "Tech Specs"]], numerical stats in addition to the usual bio, though some recent toylines don't have them anymore.

The UrExample is ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeARealAmericanHero''. When Creator/{{Hasbro}} was preparing to revive the ''Franchise/GIJoe'' franchise in the early 1980s, Creator/LarryHama was hired to write [[ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHeroMarvel a comic book]] based on the figures. According to [[http://www.mania.com/gi-joe-generalissimo-larry-hama_article_115801.html this interview]] with Hama, he created these "dossiers" to keep track of the toy line's LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: "When the guys at Hasbro saw these first dossiers, they said, 'These would be cool on the back of the blister pack!'"

The file cards started simply, featuring basic information on each Joe or Cobra member's {{Backstory}}, personality, and abilities, usually accompanied with a quote by or about the character. As the line continued, Hama's writing became increasingly clever and elaborate; he often added humor to the file cards (as [[http://www.mania.com/gi-joe-generalissimo-larry-hama_article_115801.html this article]] will show). Hasbro added file cards to many of their other lines, and other companies (most notably Creator/PlaymatesToys) [[FollowTheLeader followed their example]], making this a popular trope for action figure packaging.

Typically, a file card appears on the back of the figure's blister card, although sometimes a trading card-like insert is used instead, especially if the figure comes with a large vehicle. Many of Playmates' ''Franchise/StarTrek'' figures [[TakeAThirdOption take both options]] to provide a double dose of data, as does their ''WesternAnimation/{{Mysticons}}'' ine.