In all the years I've been associated with this fine hobby, I never thought that I would ever see a single figure from the M.U.S.C.L.E. toy line sell for this much money!  Now.. I use the term "M.U.S.C.L.E." loosely, because it hasn't been established beyond a reasonable doubt to many in the hobby that this is in fact a legitimate M.U.S.C.L.E. from the American toy line.

For those of you who aren't familiar with "Black Hole Sunshine", here's a quick rundown..  Most collectors refer to this figure as "Sunshine" because this is his name in the Japanese Kinnikuman Comics.  There are a several variations of his character in The 80's M.U.S.C.L.E. toy line, but none like the "Black Hole Sunshine".

The Black Hole Sunshine figure has a piece attached to his side that you can remove and then insert into his chest.  All in all, I think three collectors have come across these variations, but I'm still skeptical as to whether it's a legitimate M.U.S.C.L.E. due to the following circumstances...

1.) There were hundreds upon hundreds of different Kinnikuman sculpts made by Bandai in Japan, utilizing an unlimited variety of plastics.

2.) The American M.U.S.C.L.E figures were also made by Bandai in Japan, so it's possible that certain Kinnikuman figures could have been cast in the same type of plastic that the American figures were cast from. 

3.) The fact that the American and Japanese figures share the same trademark stamps, would make it nearly impossible to tell that the figures were from different toy lines.

4.) Black Hole Sunshine has never been found in American packaging

But just for kicks, I'm going to play devils advocate for a moment.  Collectors may remember how a second wave of Ultimate M.U.S.C.L.E. Figures were planned but never made it to the toy shelves. Maybe the same thing happened with M.U.S.C.L.E. in the eighties.  When the M.U.S.C.L.E. toy line ended its run in America, new sculpts originally meant for the U.S. market could have been used for a different Kinnikuman toy line in Japan.  Also.. sometimes toy lines are released in other parts of the world with slight variations.  It's hard for me to believe that this figure could have passed stringent U.S. toy makers requirements on choking hazards, so could it have possibly held back for export to the U.S.?

In the end.. every reason I come up with to discredit this as being a legitimate figure can reasonably be debated. The only way I will truly be sold on Black Hole Sunshine being a legitimate M.U.S.C.L.E. is if we can find this figure in unopened packaging, or can get some input by someone who was involved with the toy line back in the 80's.  Whatever the case, finds like these make for some very interesting discussions among collectors, and breathe new life into the hobby.