Mutagen Men Toycast

One of the biggest blockbusters of the 1990s, Jurassic Park was a media extravaganza, featuring tie-in comics, games, and of course, toys. The classic Kenner JP line is deservedly beloved, featuring four-inch renditions of the famous movie characters as well as a legion of articulated dinosaur figures packed with action features like DINO DAMAGE. Today we get out our trowels and dig up the bones of the original Jurassic Park toyline, then explore several of the spin-offs and sequels. And that's chaos theory!

By popular demand, we're kicking off season three with one of the greatest toylines of the 1990s: MIGHTY MAX! Billed as "Polly Pocket for boys," Mighty Max featured tiny, palm-sized playsets called "DOOM ZONES" filled with all manner of monsters, robots, demons, and aliens. Highly inventive, filled with color, often imitated but never surpassed: join us to find out why Mighty Max captured our imaginations.  Resources: http://www.mightymharduk.altervista.org/home.htm https://www.retrojunk.com/a/9HdRb2NkdD/mighty-max-playsets  https://mightymax.fandom.com/wiki/Mighty_Max_Wiki 

Have you ever burnt out on a hobby? Rising prices, completionism, fandom drama, and other factors can wear down the fun factor of the hobbies we love. In the final episode of Mutagen Men Season 2, we discuss times we've burnt out on our hobbies, how it happened, how we recovered, and how we take steps to avoid it. Join us!

We return to one of our earlier topics: the Uncanny X-Men! We dive back into the Toy Biz and Marvel Legends world to discuss the X-Men movies, X-Men '97, X-Force, and the many, many action figures that spun out of these beloved properties. Join us for a discussion of Marvelous proportions! Excelsior!

"Conquest is made of the ashes of one's enemies!" Who said it? That's right, Starscream, the original Decepticon air commander and one of the most famous and popular Transformers of all time. Today we explore the early history of Megatron's screechy lieutenant and several of the toys that represent him through the 1980s and 1990s. Join us and follow along at TFwiki: https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Starscream_(G1)/toys 

SEND IN THE MARINES! It's time to head back into space and explore another R-Rated film franchise with a bestselling children's toyline from the 20th century! This time, we explore Kenner's beloved Aliens toyline of the early 1990s, which featured a menagerie of xenomorph designs original to the line as well as space marine figures, playsets, vehicles, and, of course, goo. We discuss our childhood interactions with Ridley Scott's and James Cameron's groundbreaking movies as well as how the xenomorphs fit into our own toy boxes. Join us!  Follow along on Figure Realm: https://www.figurerealm.com/actionfigure?action=seriesitemlist&id=183&figures=aliens 

Mighty Robots, Mighty Vehicles! In today's episode we explore GoBots, one of the most famous competitors to Transformers in the 1980s. Though it was often treated as a knock-off of Hasbro's famous and long-lived toyline, GoBots arrived first. We discuss what gives this line its reputation and whether it really deserves while visiting many of our favorite residents of Gobotron along the way. Join us!  Follow along:  https://gbwiki.shoutwiki.com/wiki/GoBots_(toyline)  https://www.the-liberator.net/site-files/robot-toys/gobots-machine-robo-series-index.htm

Today, the Mutagen Men seek strange new worlds on the edge of settled space! Welcome back to the 1990s, where toy aisles were overflowing with Kirks, Spocks, Picards, Borgs, Ferenghi, and many more 5" citizens of the galaxy, all competing for space in your toy collection. We beam ourselves up to the Captains' Couch to discuss the highs and lows of Playmates' trailblazing Star Trek series, one of the first action figure toylines marketed to both kids and adults. Join us! Follow along here: https://thetoycollectorsguide.com/playmates-1992/  Or here: https://www.wixiban.com/toys/playmates.htm 

NEXT TIME ON DRAGON BALL Z: The Z fighters are faced with their greatest challenge yet - finding good action figures of themselves! Join us as we talk about one of the most legendary manga and anime series of all time, and its rocky road to producing articulated toys of Goku, Vegeta, Frieza, Cell, and the rest of your favorite Saiyans and their adversaries. We talk Toonami, Irwin, SH Figuarts, Dragon Stars, and more, all with a secret special guest! Join us! 

Welcome to Micro-Earth! In today's episode we journey back to 1975 to explore one of the greatest Japanese toylines in history: MICROMAN. We explore the tangled, interconnected pathways of G.I. Joe, Transformers, and Micronauts as they intersect with the world of the Spy Magicians, the Acroyears, the Gunrobos, and the rest of the tiny cybernetic visitors to our planet.  Follow along at micromanforever.com! 

It's time for more Toy Biz! We return to the 90s to explore the spiritual successor to Toy Biz's smash hit X-Men line, the Spider-Man line which tied in with the similarly beloved animated series. Grab your favorite Spidey and get ready to battle Venom, Carnage, Doc Ock, Smythe, Kingpin, and a whole army of Spider Slayers on the mean streets of New York. 'Nuff said!  Follow along at Figure Realm: https://www.figurerealm.com/actionfigure?action=seriesitemlist&id=2780&figures=spidermantoybiz 

We're going back to the 80s this week to visit perhaps the most iconic toyline of the decade, Masters of the Universe! We share our childhood memories of playing with He-Man, Skeletor, Moss Man, Tung Lashor, and all the other weird denizens of Eternia and Etheria scavenged from friends and siblings in the post-MOTU 1990s. So pick up your Power Sword and Havok Staff and join us! 

We welcome a new guest onto the show: industry veteran and indie toy rock star Jesse DeStasio! Jesse is an artist, musician, and videographer, but in the hobby he's known as the co-creator and co-host of Toy Pizza YouTube channel as well as the co-creator of and mastermind behind Knights of the Slice, an independent, Glyos-compatible action figure line. We chat with Jesse about designing toys for Jazwares, marketing his own creations to the indie realm, the status of the toy industry now, the role that nostalgia plays in how we enjoy our toys, and more!  Knights of the Slice on the Glyos Wiki: https://glyos.fandom.com/wiki/Knights_of_the_Slice  Action Figure of the Millennium Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/jessedestasio 

We just couldn't help it! With Lego Space making waves in 2024, we had to return to our favorite classic Lego theme, warping to the end of the golden age of the classic themes in the late 90s, the rise of Star Wars, and the intermediate return of the theme throughout the 2000s and the 2010s. We discuss UFO, Roboforce, Insectoids, Life on Mars, Mars Mission, Space Police III, and others along the way! Follow along at https://brickset.com/ . 

WHO YA GONNA CALL? By popular demand, the Mutagen Men strap on their proton packs to bust all the Dracula Monsters, Eye-Poppin' Ghosts, and Stay-Puft Marshmallow Men in New York City. Kenner's The Real Ghostbusters was one of the most beloved licensed toylines of the 1980s, featuring both a range of fantastic action figures, ghosts, and vehicles, as well as role-play items like proton packs and PKE meters. So pour yourself a tall class of Ecto Cooler and join us!  Follow along at the Ghostbusters wiki: https://ghostbusters.fandom.com/wiki/Kenner_The_Real_Ghostbusters_Toy_Line 

It's time to get rocked with the shell-shocked pizza kings! In our second dive into the world of the Ninja Turtles, we visit the CGI New York City of 2012-2017 and feature one of the longest-running Playmates TMNT lines since the original 1980s series. One of the best iterations of green machine was also paired with a great toyline full of colorful mutants both familiar and new. So put in a pizza order and join us! Booyakasha!  Follow along at the TMNT toys museum: https://tmnttoys.com/figures2012.html 

It's time to return to the world of G.I. Joe with a new style of episode! This week we focus in on a single character: the G.I. Joe Team's most famous heavy machine gunner and gourmet chef, Roadblock. We start with his debut in 1984, and proceed through the 90s with each version of Roadblock seen in the classic A Real American Hero toyline. So quit messin' around and check out this sound!  Follow along at yojoe.com or 3djoes.com. 

THIS IS NOT YOUR FATHER'S AUTOBOT! The Mutagen Men return to war-torn Cybertron to discuss the age of the neon Megatron, the talking Optimus, the chrome Bumblebee, and the birth the ball joint. Transformers Generation 2 has the reputation of a lost chapter, a quickly-cancelled failure swept aside by later, better-known revivals of the 1980s toyline. Does G2 deserve this reputation? Join us as we metamorph into big bat battlin' dudicuses and find out!  Follow along at TFwiki: https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Transformers:_Generation_2_(toyline) 

Where does he get all those wonderful toys? In our first exploration of toys from the DC Comics universe, we visit Gotham city by way of Tim Burton, Toy Biz, and Kenner. We start with Toy Biz's abortive attempt at Batman action figures and continue into the early Kenner era with their immortal Dark Knight Collection. So load your spring-action crime-catching claw and crank up your Batmobile to blast it through a pile of styrofoam blocks! Follow along:  Toy Biz Batman at Figure Realm: https://www.figurerealm.com/actionfigure?action=seriesitemlist&id=296  Kenner Dark Knight Colleciton at Figure Realm: https://www.figurerealm.com/actionfigure?action=seriesitemlist&id=715&figures=darkknightcollection 

Galoob's Z-Bots were one of the many Micro Machine-adjacent lines that took over toy aisles in the 1990s. This line featured dozens and dozens of vibrantly colorful fighting robots that featured claws, teeth, wings, guns, missiles, and nearly everything else you could imagine. We shrink ourselves down and join the war between the Z-Bots and the Voids. Join us!  Follow along at the Micro Machines Museum: https://www.m2museum.com/Zbots/Zbots.htm 

In 1993, the Super Sentai phenomenon teleported to the U.S.A. in the form of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, transforming the landscape of children's television, and, of course, the toy aisles, forever. In today's episode we talk about how Zordon morphed our childhood in radical ways through Bandai's localized version of its long-running tokusatsu toyline. We talk Zords, Morphers, Rangers, Evil Space Aliens, and of course, Putty Patrol. Join us!  Follow along at the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers toy guide: https://www.grnrngr.com/toys/power-rangers/mighty-morphin  

Dan Larson of Secret Galaxy joins us as we time travel back to the genesis of the 1/12 scale action figure craze and revisit Toy Biz's original Marvel Legends line. Before HasLabs, before the MCU, before build-a-figures, there was a humble toyline that dared to dream of a world where super-articulated comic book icons were standard. We explore the good, the bad, and the ugly of this era. Excelsior!  Resources: https://marveltoys.fandom.com/wiki/Marvel_Legends  https://www.actionfigure411.com/marvel/set-list.php 

AT LAST: LEGO Space, the episode we barely kept ourselves from recording back when we first featured LEGO in episode #08! We trace the history of our favorite LEGO theme from its origins in the early 1980s and on through the early 2000s, when the theme was gradually replaced by Star Wars. We visit the various worlds we populated with Exploriens, Spirius, M-Tron, Black Tron, Futurians, Ice Planet, and much more. And dear listeners: you will at last learn the secret of the Jazz Stick.  Follow along with us at Brickset: https://brickset.com/sets/theme-Space 

Playmates' EXO Squad was one of the premier obscure toylines of the 1990s, featuring intensely detailed mech suits with highly articulated pilot action figures and a groundbreaking tie-in animated series. Today the Mutagen Men join the EXO Fleet, jack into our E-Frames, and dive into the epic story of the human resistance against the tyrannical Neo Sapiens...an enemy of humanity's own making. Pick your E-Frame and join us in this dive into one of our favorite lines of all time!  For further reading: https://www.exosquadarchive.com/ 

In 2013, Super7 pioneered the ReAction figure as an homage to the classic Kenner toys of the 70s and 80s. A decade later, the series includes characters from nearly every corner of pop culture and media history. In today's episode the Mutagen Men try to unravel the mystery of why these little toys stay so popular and what about them appeals to us...and what doesn't.

COME WITH US IF YOU WANT TO LIVE! Kenner's Terminator 2 toyline was one of many toylines released in the 80s and 90s based on an R-rated film property and it was easily one of the best. Join us as we fight off an army of endoskeletons, T-1000s, and other strange beings from the mad minds at Kenner!  Figure Realm's Terminator 2 Checklist  Punching Day: Kenner's Terminator 2 Toyline

We are...transformed! For our second look into the vast world of Transformers we visit Cybertron after Megatron's cyber-plague decimated the planet. The streets crawl with his army of mindless Vehicons. Can the confused and disorganized Maximals break Megatron's iron grip on their homeworld? Beast Machines was the controversial sequel to Beast Wars, featuring a strange toyline and a strange TV series. Join us as we introduce Eric to the weird and wild world of Maximals vs. Vehicons!  Follow along at TFwiki: https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Beast_Machines:_Transformers_(toyline) 

In 2002, Hasbro reinvented the classic G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero line for the new millennium, re-introducing classic 1980s characters like Duke, Snake Eyes, and Cobra Commander with brand-new designs. The figures of what became known as the "new sculpt era" featured awkward proportions and bizarre gimmicks but nevertheless found popularity amongst both kids and adults. In today's episode we do a survey of the three sub-line imprints of this age, starting with "Joe Vs. Cobra," following through "Spy Troops" and finishing with "Valor Vs. Venom." Join Eric and Dustin as they try to talk Luke into enjoying his least favorite era of G.I. Joe toys! Follow along with YoJoe.com's directory:  2002: https://www.yojoe.com/action/02/  2003: https://www.yojoe.com/action/03/  2004: https://www.yojoe.com/action/04/  2005: https://www.yojoe.com/action/05/ 

Step into the ring with the Mutagen Men for our first (and likely only) coverage of the wild world of pro wrestling toys! Mattel's Masters of the WWE Universe was one of our favorite toylines of the last several years, mashing up WWE wrestlers with the theme and style of Masters of the Universe. This line also served as a prelude to the massively popular Masters of the Universe Origins toyline. Pull up your steel chair and get ready for an hour of the Mutagen Men mischaracterizing and mispronouncing famous wrestlers!  Complete list of WWEternia figures: https://toyhabits.com/shop/wrestling-figures/shop-masters-of-the-wwe-universe/  

In 2003 Hasbro unleashed XEVOZ, a mix-and-match action figure line featuring skeletons, androids, ninjas, insects, werewolves, elementals, and much more. Toy collectors raved about the line's endless creativity. It barely managed to last four waves. In this week's episode we explore the many amazing designs featured in the line, talk about our own creations, and ponder why XEVOZ didn't become the enduring success it deserved to be. Millionaire Playboy's Xevoz list and reviews: http://www.millionaireplayboy.com/toys/xevozlist.php

Star Wars has been a staple of the toy aisles since 1978 but it may surprise that there were some years since where the presence of Luke, Vader, Han, Leia, and the rest of the inhabitants of the galaxy far, far away were absent in plastic form. Those years cross with the childhoods of the Mutagen Men and in today's episode we talk about what it was like when Star Wars first exploded back into toy stores for the first time since the 80s. Power on your oversized lightsaber and grit your teeth as we fly our X-Wings into the most pumped-up and battle-ready era of Star Wars toys! Helpful links: Rebelscum.com POTF2 guide: https://www.rebelscum.com/POTF2.asp

Gundam Wing first hit U.S. airwaves just behind the other titans of the late 90s anime boom and with it came an onslaught of plastic merchandise, not the least of which were the imports of Bandai's 4.5-inch scale Mobile Suit in Action!! figures. Two out of three Mutagen Men collected this line extensively as it appeared in import shops and later American toy retailers, and the third enjoys recollecting all the figures he passed up in its original era. Join us as we mispronounce names like Qubeley, Galbaldy, and Dom for 60 minutes of mecha madness! For a concise list of MSIA action figures (both U.S. and Japanese), check out this page over at Gundam Wiki: https://gundam.fandom.com/wiki/Mobile_Suit_in_Action!!

G.I. Joe Sigma Six was a controversial toyline that sized up Hasbro's popular military action figures and outfitted them with huge multifunction loadouts, cloth clothes, and buckets of style. Many fans ignored it at the time for its massive overhaul of the classic Joe look. This week we celebrate the weirdness and the creativity of one of the best and most overlooked eras of the Real American Hero.  Want more? Hop over to the mostly still functional Sigma 6 Central for a visual compendium of this toyline: https://www.joebattlelines.com/s6c/toys.html  

For our first-ever episode on Hasbro's long-lived toyline starring a race of autonomous robotic organisms, we start with one of the least-loved and most overlooked lines of all its history. Transformers Energon featured gimmicks pulled willy-nilly from all over Transformers' timeline. It was a kitchen sink of ideas, and not all of them worked. We pick out our favorite powerlinxing Autobots, hyper mode Decepticons, and try to decide why Energon is mostly forgotten in this era of hyper-marketed nostalgia. Helpful links...  An overview of Transformers Energon: https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Transformers:_Energon_(franchise) Pictures of each figure in the line: https://www.tfu.info/series/energon.htm

Our first foray into Lego begins with the venerable Castle theme, a theme full of dragons, wizards, skeletons, ghosts, knights, and even the occasional vampire. We start with the pre-minifigure Castle sets and traverse its history from a 1970s Weetabix promotional item through to the extreme 90s and beyond. Grab your chrome gold chalice and join us at the Guarded Inn for an hour of jousting, questing, and spellcasting. Helpful links: Lego Castle on Brickipedia Lego Castle on Bricklink

This week we explore the tip of the superhero toyline iceberg with Toy Biz's sprawling X-Men line from the mid-1990s. It's easy to forget the world before the MCU and other big-budget summer superhero pictures ruled pop culture, but in the 90s, the Fox Kids X-Men cartoon and its associated action figure line were among the bigger influences in the realm of superheroes. Join us as we scour the Kay-Bee Toys discount bin for the best Wolverines, Rogues, and Gambits of the 90s. Previously on X-Men: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-K1D8y_Pxs  Pryde of the X-Men Pilot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E21a-0mywUc X-Men Arcade Game Longplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnfuVat0zxA X-Men Toyline Checklist at the Figure Archive: http://figure-archive.net/manuf.aspx?manufID=263   

This week, a toyline we don't need to introduce: the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The heroes in a half-shell have enjoyed countless revivals, redefinitions, and reissues over the decades since they debuted in the 80s, so for our first foray into the mutant-filled sewers of Manhattan, we discuss the early years of the original Playmates toyline, the origins of the turtles themselves, and our time living through the TMNT-obsessed 90s. 

In the 2020s, video game toys are everywhere: major video game series often get multiple toylines aimed at all age groups. But during video games' humble teenage years, the landscape was very different. Only a few game series were lucky enough to see representation on toy shelves. The Mutagen Men talk about growing up obsessed with Mario, Sonic, and Mega Man but having very few options to bring their beloved pixelated heroes into the physical world of play. Join us as we dig deep to unearth the peculiarities of game toys in the 90s.

Glyos is one of the longest running and most successful independent, artist-run toylines in existence - but it's not just one toyline, it's many, all with their own individual themes and styles. We start with Onell Design's original modular fit function concept and spiral out into many of the other members of the Glyos System family. Interested in exploring more? Here are some places to visit next: Onell Design | The Crafsman Steady Craftin's video on Glyos | The Glyos Wiki

In 2023, He-Man and Skeletor are more present than ever in the toy aisles, and are enjoying a mass retail revival the likes of which hasn't been seen since the 80s. But this wasn't the first time Mattel tried reviving the venerable Masters of the Universe property. In this episode we talk about the promising beginning, frustrating middle, and bitter end of the first big MOTU revival, and all our memories of scouring Targets, Toys "R" Uses, and Walmarts full of endless endcaps of Skeletors and He-Men.

Much more than just the predecessor to Transformers, Diaclone was a toyline brimming with creativity and transforming robots, many of which were never reassigned as Autobots or Decepticons. We follow this line from its genesis in the 80s through its revival in the 2010s, talking about robots, bases, robot bases, Waruders, Dianauts, Gats Blockers, and much more. Looking for high-resolution photos of many classic Diaclone toys? Here's a great collection. 

We talk about one of the longest-lived, most successful, yet least discussed toyline in history, Lanard's G.I. Joe competitor, The Corps! This line's 30-plus year history is full of weird helmets, triple chainsaws, laser troopers, wild animals, dinosaurs, aliens, and lots more, and we only scratch the surface.