Citizen Toxie - The Toxic Avenger IV (2000)

The Toxic Avenger IV

Citizen Toxie - The Toxic Avenger IV (2000)

Cast: Barry Brisco, Michael Budinger, Mitch Cohen, Rick Collins, Caleb Emerson

In 1984, Lloyd Kaufman and the Troma Team introduced the Toxic Avenger to an unsuspecting world. No one could have expected the response The Toxic Avenger received, with rave reviews in The New York Times and The Village Voice and playing theatrically in New York City for a year. Since then, Toxie has grown from a cult icon to an indelible part of the American lexicon. In the space of fifteen years, Tromaville's favorite hideously deformed creature of superhuman size and strength has traveled from movies to comics to TV to the World Wide Web. Toxie's brilliant career has produced two theatrical sequels, The Toxic Avenger Part II and The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation Of Toxie, an animated television series (Toxic Crusaders), numerous spin-off comic books published both by Marvel Comics and Troma's own independent comics imprint, action figures, games, Topps trading cards, designer jewelry, and more merchandise than you can shake a mop at.

The Toxic Avenger, Part II (1989)

The Toxic Avenger, Part II.

The Toxic Avenger, Part II

Cast: John Altamura, Rick Collins, Jack Cooper, Jessica Dublin, Ron Fazio

Although "clever" isn't the first word that leaps to mind when describing Troma Films' Toxic Avenger series, the sequel to their 1985 hit has enough laugh-out-loud gags (amidst a barrage of slapstick and bodily function jokes) that should tickle the funny bones of veteran and novice Troma viewers alike. The Toxic Avenger, Part II finds the chemically altered crime fighter depressed about the lack of evil in his hometown of Tromaville. That situation is quickly reversed by the appearance of the dastardly Apocalypse, Inc., which sends Toxie to Japan after his long-lost father while they plan to transform Tromaville into a toxic waste dump. Longtime Troma fans might feel let down by the subdued levels of gore and gross-out humor found in Part II (which is possibly due to the participation of television production company Lorimar Films). But the zest with which director/Troma co-chieftain Lloyd Kaufman delivers his lowbrow laughs should allay any cult fan's concerns