A Pistol from the (Past) Future

May 5, 2015

In 1928, the world was introduced to Buck Rogers, a World War I hero who spent 500 years in a suspended state after exposure to radioactive gas. Rogers awoke as a full-fledged superhero equipped with a futuristic weapon. As his popularity grew, Rogers’s adventures were chronicled in comic books and a radio show.

First sold in 1934, the Buck Rogers XZ-31Rocket Pistol by Daisy Manufacturing Company was one of the first “space guns” ever produced. Its futuristic shape and distinctive lines made it the grandfather of rayguns. The gun had a distinctive “zap” sound and retailed for 50 cents. When it was first offered in Macy’s Department Store, over 2,000 people stood in line to get one!