Buck Rogers Rocket Pistol

First sold in 1934, the Buck Rogers rocket pistol was the first ray gun ever produced. Fashioned after the weapon carried by the fictional Buck Rogers comic-book character, the rocket pistol was straight out of the future. Buck Rogers was introduced in a 1928 issue of Amazing Stories as a World War I hero who spent nearly 500 years in a state of suspended animation after being exposed to radioactive gas and wakes to become a full-fledged superhero with a futuristic weapon. Like its fictional counterpart, the toy pistol made a zapping sound; manufacturers went on to produce multiple versions during the decades-long popularity of the character.

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