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There was this 90s team action Cartoon on Cartoon Network back when the Power Zone would play with Swat Cats and Centurions. I just saw a few episodes and I don't think it lasted long.
It was similar to the centurions with the protagonists being a large team of guys who would have machines attached to their backs via suits. The machines were the whole length of the person and would allow them to stand in it. The top of the machine would shoot grappling hooks with ropes. The whole cartoon was was set in mountains and canyons and this is how the characters would get across with their individual machines allowing them to zip along the ropeway made by it.

Desperate to get the name of this series so that I can just relive a few episodes :)

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  • Spiral Zone?
    – Krazer
    Oct 30, 2015 at 10:50
  • Sorry that's not the one, Krazer. In this almost all the characters had this machine on their back. They were almost like GI-JOE.
    – Tejas
    Oct 30, 2015 at 10:57
  • The nostalgia in this question alone is worth the upvote...
    – Dave
    Oct 30, 2015 at 14:48

1 Answer 1

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Sky Commanders

The storyline of Sky Commanders comprises the daily adventures of a multi-racial group of soldiers and mountaineering specialists from all over the world who battle the evil General Lucas Plague and his goon squad of villainous mercenaries and miscreants, "The Raiders", whose aim is to seize control of the planet. The series is set on a new continent deep in the South Pacific which was created by the emergence to the surface world of a new and powerful, unstable radioactive element called Phaeta Seven.

....

Travel throughout the new continent is only possible by means of high-altitude flight, or by means of using Laser Cables; a specialized version of a rappelling cord emitted from combat backpacks worn by both Raider and Sky Commander. When used, the cables shoot out from the combat backpacks in the form of energy beams. When contact is made with a solid object, the Laser Cable solidifies into a solid metal cable line upon which travel is possible.

Premiered in 1987, ran for 13 episodes, and aired on Cartoon Network from 1995–97. And yes, there were action figures.

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  • FWIW, I found it by looking for "cartoon action figure zipline" on Google.
    – FuzzyBoots
    Oct 30, 2015 at 11:20
  • Great work sean!
    – Tejas
    Oct 30, 2015 at 11:20
  • I vaguely remembered seeing the action figures, although I was remembering the framework for their zipline as being larger, enclosing the entire figure.
    – FuzzyBoots
    Oct 30, 2015 at 11:22
  • 1
    Sky Commanders on Robot Chicken
    – Kenster
    Oct 30, 2015 at 11:57
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    Like most toy lines at the time, the cartoon was created at the same time as the toy as a publicity vehicle. They tried to time the first appearance of a character or vehicle with their appearance in the stores. The Japanese have this down to a science - they're allowed to advertise the associated toy right on the same show (that's not allowed here) so the ad for the new accessory immediately follows its first use on the show. Mar 6, 2018 at 16:59

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