Editorials
“Toxic Crusaders” and Troma’s Attempt to Capture a Whole Different Kind of Audience [TV Terrors]
Horror and science fiction have always been a part of the television canvas, and constant attempts have been made over the years to produce classic entertainment. Some have fallen by the wayside, while others became mainstream phenomena. With “TV Terrors,” we take a look back at the many genre efforts from the 80’s, 90’s, and 00’s, exploring some shows that became cult classics, and others that sank into obscurity.
This month we head back to the 1990s to revisit the Toxic Avenger’s small screen rebranding with “Toxic Crusaders,” the family-friendly animated series from Troma Entertainment!
- Aired from 1991-1993
- Aired in Syndication
Back in the 80s and early 90s, several adult properties were tailored toward kids as a means of selling toys and broadening the audience, resulting in PG-rated animated shows for decidedly violent big screen fare like Robocop, Rambo, and Conan, all watered down for the after school audience. And yes, even Troma’s bloody The Toxic Avenger franchise got in on the fun.
“Toxic Crusaders” (“Avenger” was considered too violent a word for kids by censors) was part of the collective effort in the nineties to create shows that influenced environmental consciousness (“Captain Planet,” “Swamp Thing,” et al). The series was produced by Jack Mendelsohn, who was notable for producing iconic children’s programs (a few cut from the same cloth like “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and “Barnyard Commandoes”). Mendelsohn was no stranger to creating shows centered on a ragtag group of superheroes, and he brought this formula to Tromaville.
The premise for the series follows the original movie to a tee. Melvin, a klutzy nerd who cleans for a gym, is tricked by a girl he likes to meet her in private, dressed in a tutu. When he’s doused accidentally by toxic waste, he becomes Toxie, the deformed superhero of Tromaville – armed with his patented weaponized mop. He fights to save the environment against the evil four-armed alien in a suit known as Dr. Killemoff, as well as his Smogulans and the Radiation Rangers.
Rather than being the lone mutant hero from the movies, Toxie has his own ragtag group of toxic heroes in the animated series. There’s No-Zone, a test pilot with blue skin and a large nose that gives him a powerful sneeze; Major Disaster, a military soldier with the ability to control plants; Junkyard, an anthropomorphic dog who was once a homeless man (mutated by toxic waste); and finally Headbanger. The latter are a conjoined pair of superheroes that decide to do good after working with Killemoff. This was a pack of misfit superheroes in the vein of “The Tick,” and the writers were very enthusiastic about injecting meta and self-aware humor into every episode whenever they possibly could.
The series promoted a much more upbeat and wackier sense of humor than the original movie did, with a much brighter color palette and a more obvious approach toward action that didn’t involves guts and gore. Toxie is also much more of a vocal, positive, and affable mutant superhero (the great voice work by Rodger Bumpass doesn’t hurt) worth rooting for. Tromaville is still essentially Tromaville, with the show maintaining a lot of the commentary about illegal toxic dumping amidst the deceptively broad premise of good guys and bad guys.
Much of the plots were repetitive and formulaic, but the show held its meta-humor close to its chest, especially with the scheming Killemoff and his cronies. The characters were also beautifully designed, which made the series considerable eye candy. But the primary appeal and legacy of “Toxic Crusaders,” especially coming along at a time when access to indie and cult films was so much harder, is that it allowed Troma and Lloyd Kaufman a means of winning over a new audience and generation of movie buffs. Hell, it certainly worked for me. I loved “Toxic Crusaders,” and the animated series motivated me to actively seek out the original movies as well as literally anything else from Troma. The series was, in this way, a gateway to lifelong Troma fandom.
Despite the best efforts, the series only lasted thirteen full episodes, but flourished in syndication long after its cancellation. During this time it managed to spawn decent merchandise including a series of video games, card games, a very good, more mature comic series from Marvel, and an excellent action figure line.
“Toxic Crusaders” has thankfully been embraced by most fans over the years as an under appreciated fan favorite. Even “Toxie” creator Lloyd Kaufman has often talked about the series, and has made it a part of the Tromaville universe. It’s a fitting end to a series that sadly never got its fair shot to become a household name. Perhaps the upcoming reboot might change that.
Is It On DVD/Blu-ray/Streaming? Sadly the whole series is a bit tough to find these days, but episodes can be purchased on DVD from the Troma Official Website and through Amazon. There hasn’t been a good transfer in years, unfortunately. “Toxic Crusaders: The Movie” from 1997 (which is just five of the show’s episodes packaged as a movie) can be purchased and streamed online. You can also find episodes online through YouTube, if you look hard enough.
Having grown up in a religious family, Christian movie night was something that happened a lot more often than I care to admit. However, back when I was a teenager, my parents showed up one night with an unusually cool-looking DVD of a movie that had been recommended to them by a church leader. Curious to see what new kind of evangelical propaganda my parents had rented this time, I proceeded to watch the film with them expecting a heavy-handed snoozefest.
To my surprise, I was a few minutes in when Denzel Washington proceeded to dismember a band of cannibal raiders when I realized that this was in fact a real movie. My mom was horrified by the flick’s extreme violence and dark subject matter, but I instantly became a fan of the Hughes Brothers’ faith-based 2010 thriller, The Book of Eli. And with the film’s atomic apocalypse having apparently taken place in 2024, I think this is the perfect time to dive into why this grim parable might also be entertaining for horror fans.
Originally penned by gaming journalist and The Walking Dead: The Game co-writer Gary Whitta, the spec script for The Book of Eli was already making waves back in 2007 when it appeared on the coveted Blacklist. It wasn’t long before Columbia and Warner Bros. snatched up the rights to the project, hiring From Hell directors Albert and Allen Hughes while also garnering attention from industry heavyweights like Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman.
After a series of revisions by Anthony Peckham meant to make the story more consumer-friendly, the picture was finally released in January of 2010, with the finished film following Denzel as a mysterious wanderer making his way across a post-apocalyptic America while protecting a sacred book. Along the way, he encounters a run-down settlement controlled by Bill Carnegie (Gary Oldman), a man desperate to get his hands on Eli’s book so he can motivate his underlings to expand his empire. Unwilling to let this power fall into the wrong hands, Eli embarks on a dangerous journey that will test the limits of his faith.
SO WHY IS IT WORTH WATCHING?
Judging by the film’s box-office success, mainstream audiences appear to have enjoyed the Hughes’ bleak vision of a future where everything went wrong, but critics were left divided by the flick’s trope-heavy narrative and unapologetic religious elements. And while I’ll be the first to admit that The Book of Eli isn’t particularly subtle or original, I appreciate the film’s earnest execution of familiar ideas.
For starters, I’d like to address the religious elephant in the room, as I understand the hesitation that some folks (myself included) might have about watching something that sounds like Christian propaganda. Faith does indeed play a huge part in the narrative here, but I’d argue that the film is more about the power of stories than a specific religion. The entire point of Oldman’s character is that he needs a unifying narrative that he can take advantage of in order to manipulate others, while Eli ultimately chooses to deliver his gift to a community of scholars. In fact, the movie even makes a point of placing the Bible in between equally culturally important books like the Torah and Quran, which I think is pretty poignant for a flick inspired by exploitation cinema.
Sure, the film has its fair share of logical inconsistencies (ranging from the extent of Eli’s Daredevil superpowers to his impossibly small Braille Bible), but I think the film more than makes up for these nitpicks with a genuine passion for classic post-apocalyptic cinema. Several critics accused the film of being a knockoff of superior productions, but I’d argue that both Whitta and the Hughes knowingly crafted a loving pastiche of genre influences like Mad Max and A Boy and His Dog.
Lastly, it’s no surprise that the cast here absolutely kicks ass. Denzel plays the title role of a stoic badass perfectly (going so far as to train with Bruce Lee’s protégée in order to perform his own stunts) while Oldman effortlessly assumes a surprisingly subdued yet incredibly intimidating persona. Even Mila Kunis is remarkably charming here, though I wish the script had taken the time to develop these secondary characters a little further. And hey, did I mention that Tom Waits is in this?
AND WHAT MAKES IT HORROR ADJACENT?
Denzel’s very first interaction with another human being in this movie results in a gory fight scene culminating in a face-off against a masked brute wielding a chainsaw (which he presumably uses to butcher travelers before eating them), so I think it’s safe to say that this dog-eat-dog vision of America will likely appeal to horror fans.
From diseased cannibals to hyper-violent motorcycle gangs roaming the wasteland, there’s plenty of disturbing R-rated material here – which is even more impressive when you remember that this story revolves around the bible. And while there are a few too many references to sexual assault for my taste, even if it does make sense in-universe, the flick does a great job of immersing you in this post-nuclear nightmare.
The excessively depressing color palette and obvious green screen effects may take some viewers out of the experience, but the beat-up and lived-in sets and costume design do their best to bring this dead world to life – which might just be the scariest part of the experience.
Ultimately, I believe your enjoyment of The Book of Eli will largely depend on how willing you are to overlook some ham-fisted biblical references in order to enjoy some brutal post-apocalyptic shenanigans. And while I can’t really blame folks who’d rather not deal with that, I think it would be a shame to miss out on a genuinely engaging thrill-ride because of one minor detail.
With that in mind, I’m incredibly curious to see what Whitta and the Hughes Brothers have planned for the upcoming prequel series starring John Boyega…
There’s no understating the importance of a balanced media diet, and since bloody and disgusting entertainment isn’t exclusive to the horror genre, we’ve come up with Horror Adjacent – a recurring column where we recommend non-horror movies that horror fans might enjoy.
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