Toxic Trivia: 35 Years of ‘The Toxic Avenger’

Can you believe it? This year marks the 35th anniversary of Troma’s The Toxic Avenger. So to celebrate, why not take a look back at some fun facts about everyone’s favorite hideously deformed creature of superhuman size and strength? Read on for some toxic trivia that you may or may not know about New Jersey’s first mutant superhero…

• When shooting The Toxic Avenger, the film’s titular character had not yet been named. This is the reason the citizens of Tromaville sported T-shirts reading “I ♥ The Monster Hero”.

• The Toxic Avenger II and III were initially intended to be one film. When the runtime turned out to be too long, the decision was made to separate the movie into two parts.

• in the original movie, Melvin’s last name is Ferd. In The Toxic Avenger II and III his last name is inexplicably changed to Junko. Likewise, Toxie’s blind girlfriend Sara (Andree Maranda) from the original becomes “Claire” in the first two sequels and is played by Phoebe Legere. This anomoly is explained to a degree in the plot of Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV.

• Before she became famous, Marisa Tomei made a brief appearance in the original Toxic Avenger.

• In both The Toxic Avenger Part II and Part III, Toxie is portrayed by two different actors – Ron Fazio and John Altamura.  Altamura sadly passed away in 2018.

• The only actor to appear in all fourToxic Avenger films is Rick Collins. In the original film, Collins plays a street bully who puts the moves on Melvin’s girlfriend. In Parts II and III he appears as the evil chairman of Apocalypse, Inc. In Citizen Toxie, Collins plays a police chief in Tromaville’s version of “Bizarro World”, “Amortville”.

• Look for a brief cameo by a pre-Cabin Fever Eli Roth in Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV.

• Corey Feldman appears with glasses and a fake mustache as an OB-GYN in Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV.

• One of the more disturbing gore scenes in the original Toxic Avenger is the one in which a young boy has his head crushed under the wheels of a car. This effect was created simply by using a prop dummy, a melon filled with food coloring, and a wig.

• Actor Patrick Kilpatrick (Leroy) reportedly became upset having to film the scene in The Toxic Avenger in which he aims a shotgun at an infant, leading him to quit the shoot soon after.

• Larry Sulton, the actor who played criminal Frank in The Toxic Avenger, was missing his right arm. During the fight scene in the Mexican restaurant, Sulton wore an artificial arm which is torn off by Toxie and used as a weapon against Frank.

• Robert Prichard (Slug) and Jennifer Babtist (Wanda) met on the set of The Toxic Avenger and later married. The couple would also appear together in Troma’s Class of Nuke ‘Em High (1986).

• Although the films are filled with sex and graphic violence, The Toxic Avenger inspired a children’s animated series in the early 1990s called Toxic Crusaders. In the cartoon, Toxie is joined by other mutant superheroes in an effort to fight crime and save the environment.

Fortunately for everyone, Toxie is still part of our society after more than three decades. In a universe which currently includes four films, a planned remake, a kids’ cartoon, a stage musical, and even a delicious hot sauce, you can always look to the horizon and maybe, just maybe, the Toxic Avenger will be there!