Mighty Max (toyline)
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Mighty Max was a series of toys which were manufactured by Bluebird Toys PLC in the UK in 1992. The toys were similar to the earlier Polly Pocket toyline; however, these toys were marketed primarily towards young boys. In Canada and the USA, the toys were distributed by Irwin Toy Limited. and Mattel Inc. respectively. The original toyline consisted mainly of "Doom Zones" and "Horror Heads". "Doom Zones" were small playsets with a horror theme and featured miniature figurines of menacing creatures and the hero Max, a young boy with blond hair, jeans, a white t-shirt with a red "M" on it, and a baseball cap (the color varied based on the playset purchased) which also always had an "M" on it. The "Horror Heads" were smaller sized playsets, also shaped like the heads of creatures and contained miniature figures. It was later adapted as a TV series and in a Super Nintendo game.
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[edit] Story
Max's Dad left him his old baseball cap. Trouble was, this was no ordinary baseball cap..."Gotta look the business" Max thought as he tweaked the cap's peak round to the side. "AAAARGH!" Suddenly, the world had gone weird and very unfriendly! The cap had changed colour! Something very strange was going on! He'd been caught in the Horror Zone. Stumbling from one terrifying adventure to another with only cryptic clues to help him escape...he was all alone. He was scared. But he was MIGHTY MAX, and he'd get back somehow!
[edit] Toys
The toys featured a short comic on the back of the packaging summarizing Max's adventure in that zone.
[edit] Doom Zones (The original name in Europe is "Doom Stones")
- Mighty Max Conquers the Temple of Venom (re-named to Mighty Max Conquers the Palace of Poison in the USA)
- Mighty Max Escapes from Skull Dungeon
- Mighty Max Liquidates the Ice Alien
- Mighty Max Slays the Doom Dragon
- Mighty Max Terminates Wolfship 7
- Mighty Max Trapped by Arachnoid
[edit] Horror Heads
- Mighty Max Against Droid Invader (re-named to Mighty Max Against Robot Invader in the USA)
- Mighty Max Battles Skull Warrior
- Mighty Max Challenges Lava Beast
- Mighty Max Defeats Nightwing (re-named to Mighty Max Defeats Vamp Biter in the USA)
- Mighty Max Fights Nuke Ranger
- Mighty Max Neutralises Zomboid
- Mighty Max Pulverizes Sea Squirm
- Mighty Max Versus Kronosaur
[edit] Large Size Playsets
- Mighty Max Battles the Skull Master on Skull Mountain
[edit] Television Series
In 1993, an American television series was created based on the toys. After the series began to air, the characters Virgil and Norman and toys based on episodes of the series were added to the toyline to form a new series of toys. The story on the packaging was revised accordingly, and a short-lived comic book series was created as well. The appearance of Max changed considerably; he was no longer portrayed as a young boy, but as a taller adolescent with longer hair and an untucked shirt, similar to his portrayal in the television series. The older Doom Zones, Horror Heads and playsets were rereleased with the original story replaced with the revised one.
[edit] Revised Story
Max was bright and pretty good at getting in and out of trouble, but he'd never forget the day he broke his Mom's mysterious old statue and found the Cosmic Cap inside. How was he to know it made him 'the Mighty One', able to travel instantly from place to place by means of time Portals? And how were Max, his Cosmic Cap and his two friends and protectors, wise old Virgil and fearless Norman gonna' measure up against the ultimate evil of the Skull Master!!?
[edit] Toys
[edit] Doom Zones
- Mighty Max Caught in the Jaws of Doom (re-named Mighty Max Caught by the Man-Eater in North America)
- Mighty Max Blows Up Mutasaurus (re-named Mighty Max Blows Up Dino Lab in North America)
- Mighty max Grapples with Hellcat (re-named Mighty Max Grapples With Battle Cat in North America)
- Mighty Max Outwits Cyclops
- Mighty Max Stings Scorpio (re-named Mighty Max Stings Scorpion in North America)
- Mighty Max Saves the Kingdom of Gargantua (re-named Mighty Max Tangles With the Ape King in North America)
- Mighty Max Squishes Fly
- Mighty Max Traps Rattus
- Mighty Max Grips the Hand (also known as Mighty Max Crushes the Hand)
- Mighty Max Lashes Lizard (also known as Geela Guts)
- Mighty Max Sinks Nautilus (also known as Sea Slug)
- Mighty Max Bytes Cyberskull (also known as Cyro-Skull)
[edit] Figures
A total of six figure sets were released, each including Max, Norman, Virgil and various villains and monsters. The first three were simply repaints of pre-existing figures that came with recent Doom Zones and Horror Heads as well as from a few of the bigger playsets. The second three, however, were all-new figures done in the style of the cartoon.
[edit] Horror Heads
- Mighty Max Hammers Spike (re-named Mighty Max Hammers Ax Man in North America)
- Mighty Max Hounds Werewolf
- Mighty Max Survives Corpus
- Mighty Max Tangles With Lockjaw
- Mighty Max Zaps Beetlebrow
- Mighty Max Crushes Talon (re-named Mighty Max Crushes Clawber in North America)
- Mighty Max Out Freaks Freako
- Mighty Max Rams Rhesus 4 (re-named Mighty Max Rams Hydron in North America)
[edit] Monster Heads
These were playsets considerably smaller than even the Horror Heads, and did not actually open up. They each came with one monster/villain figure and a Max figure unique to that playset.
- Zombie Commando and Jack Knife
- Mecha Crawler and Octo-Slime
- Gorillabat and Ape Warrior
- Imperial Dragon and Samurai Serpent
- Phantasm and Dr. Destiny
- Basilisk and Zilard Beast
[edit] Hairy Heads (also known as Dread Heads)
Hairy Heads were only released on single cardbacks in the UK and Europe (where they were known as Scalps). In the US, they were called Dread Heads and released as bonuses with Doom Zones.
- Hemlock
- Karbon
- Anthrax 9
- Razorback (also known as Razor)
- Garrotid
- Skull Crusher (also known as Crusher)
- Eruptus (also known as Ruptus)
- Berserker (also known as Serker)
[edit] Shrunken Heads
The smallest Mighty Max playsets ever, the Shrunken Heads had little play value because of both their tiny size and lack of an actual monster or villain figure to pit Max against. However, the Shrunken Heads did come with a Max figure, and, like the Monster Heads, it was unique to that set. The first eight sets were original, while the remaining eight were based off of episodes of the cartoon.
The first eight originally came packaged in sets of two but later were released on separate cards by themselves.
- Bloodsucker (re-named Insectoid in North America)
- Lobotix (re-named Brainface in North America)
- Pharaoh's Curse (re-named Mummy King in North America)
- Venom (re-named Wraptile in North America)
- Rat Trap
- Meltdown (re-named Head Case in North America)
- Rok Monster
- Vampyre
- Skull Master
- Dr. Zygote
- Fang
- Conqueror
- Gargoyle
- Necrosaur
- Lava Lord
- Doom
[edit] Battle Warriors
These were action figures which transformed into small playsets, based on the same principle as the Mighty Max Blasts Magus playset (see below) but on a much smaller scale.
- Challenge #1 - Battle Conqueror (also known as Mighty Max Defeats the Conqueror)
- Challenge #2 - Double Demon (also known as Mighty Max Head to Head With Hydra)
- Challenge #3 - Lava Beast (also known as Mighty Max Melts Lava Beast)
- Challenge #4 - Pharaoh Phang (also known as Mighty Max Strikes Fang)
- Challenge #5 - Medi-Evil Mauler (also known as Mighty Max Shatters Gargoyle)
- Challenge #4 - Megahert (also known as Mighty Max Shuts Down Cybot)
[edit] Large Size Playsets
It should be noted that Mighty Max Defies the Dread Star and Mighty Max Takes On Terror Talons are in fact the same playset, but came boxed differently and with different pieces. For instance, Dread Star featured a total of six alien villains, plus a "Skelemonster Robot" and a "Scavenger Vehicle." Terror Talons meanwhile had only five aliens, and no Scavenger Vehicle.
Mighty Max Assaults Skull Master was the first and only playset for a planned "Mega Heads" line. A second playset, based on Skull Master's minion Warmonger, was planned, but never produced despite being featured on a free poster depicting most of the later playsets.
- Mighty Max Blasts Magus
- Mighty Max Defies the Dread Star
- Mighty Max Takes On Terror Talons
- Mighty Max Storms Dragon Island
- Mighty Max Assaults Skull Master
[edit] References / External Links
- Original Story was obtained from a 1992 Irwin packaging of a Mighty Max Doom Zone.
- Revised Story was obtained from http://www.omegacron.com/mighty_max/toys.htm.
- Virtual Toy Chest entry
- Mighty Max Portal - the Internet's largest Mighty Max site, concentrating primarily on the show and collectibles
- Spectrum Planet
