As A Huge Toxic Avenger Fan, I'm Looking Back At The Past Movies While We Wait To Finally See The Peter Dinklage Film

As a proud New Jersian, you know I just gotta love The Toxic Avenger, who was once labeled as “The first superhuman-hero…from New Jersey!” Because honestly, I'm on board for any superhero from my home state.

So, it makes my heart proud to think about the recent trailer for the The Toxic Avenger movie starring Peter Dinklage that initially premiered in — wait for it — 2023! That's right, debuting as the opening film at 2023's Fantastic Fest, the fifth film in The Toxic Avenger series (and a reboot, at that) is finally getting a wide release and joining other upcoming 2025 movies on August 29.

So, being a huge fan of The Toxic Avenger and anything Troma-related, really, I thought now is as good a time as any to look back and reflect on the previous Toxic Avenger films before Macon Blair's newest entry gets a wide release. Because Toxie is not just another pretty face, you know.

The First Toxic Avenger Movie Is One Of The Greatest Independent Films Of All Time

One of the greatest independent films of all time, The Toxic Avenger is as Troma as you can get. The story of a janitor who falls into a can of toxic waste and transforms into Toxie, is not going to get any points when it comes to superhero origin stories. But honestly, it doesn’t have to. The world of Tromaville is like a character in itself.

The janitor in question becomes a crime-fighting hero who takes out drug dealers and pimps, because that’s just what deformed vigilantes do, apparently. In fact, one scene in the new trailer that takes place in a restaurant comes directly from this movie, as Toxie wipes the floor (not literally) with some thugs.

Unfortunately, the Mayor of Tromaville has ill intentions, and is actually the head of a huge crime ring in the city. He sends out his goons to take care of Toxie, who dispatches them with silly justice. Toxie isn’t all good though, as he’s the kind of “hero” who takes revenge on the people who transformed him, and there are a series of brutal kills (the one at the gym is particularly icky) that he does in gory fashion.

Overall, the movie is rather straightforward, but that’s its biggest strength (and something that I wish the sequels followed, but I’ll get into that in a few).

The Toxic Avenger looks…let’s just say rough, even by independent movie standards, but that’s part of its charm. With a budget of only $500,000, Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz were able to create such an imaginative and filthy-looking world, and we fans of the series wouldn’t want it any other way.

The Toxic Avenger Part II Is Definitely Inferior To The First Movie…And By A Wide Margin

With a storyline that partly takes place in Japan (and anybody who knows me can attest that I love anything Godzilla or Japan-related), the second film in the Toxic Avenger series should be a slam dunk for me. And yet…

Well, let me talk about the plot first. Following the events of the first film where Toxie cleaned up the scum in Tromaville, everything seems to be in order. In fact, Toxie even now works at a hospital for the blind. But, uh oh, a new threat called Apocalypse Inc. comes to town and seeing what a dump (er, I mean, nice place) that Tromaville is, they decide it’s perfect to set up shop there. They blow up the hospital, but Toxie survives, and he’s pissed! Violence ensues.

In fact, lots of violence ensues in this film. Even more so than in the first film, even. Through certain events, Toxie learns that his father, who left him as a child, is now living in Japan, so Toxie travels there, on a windsurf board no less, and there’s a whole storyline that takes place in the land of the rising sun (Toxie even learns how to be a sumo wrestler!). It all culminates in Toxie returning to Tromaville to save the day.

Sounds fun, right? Well…it is, and it isn’t. For one thing, even though it’s only roughly an hour and a half in runtime, it still feels a bit too long. Also, being a Troma film from the late ‘80s, some of the humor might be a bit too offensive by modern day standards (I mean, this is the same studio that would later release Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D).

But I think the biggest problem is that it’s just a bit too all-over-the-place. Yes, that is a trademark of Troma films in general, but the first film felt a lot more centered and easy to follow, while this sequel just throws a bit too much at the wall. And, while some of it sticks, a lot of it doesn’t. With a scary 0% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes, I guess I’m not the only one who feels this way. (The Dark Knight’s Michael Jai White makes his film debut in it, though, so that’s something.)

The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxie Has A Fun Video Game Subplot That Makes It Stand Out From The Rest

Filmed back-to-back with The Toxic Avenger Part II, The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxie manages to be better than its predecessor. And not just with that snazzy title.

This time around, Toxie actually starts working for the evil Apocalypse Inc. from the last movie, since he really has nothing else to do as of late. His blind girlfriend can get surgery to see, and Toxie takes up an office job in order to secure the funds.

So, of course this is a great opportunity to get Toxie in a shirt and tie, and he becomes a bit of a yuppie, though not quite of the American Psycho-variety (when’s that new adaptation coming, by the way?). The people are upset with Toxie since he pretty much sold out, but what they don’t realize is that he actually sold more than just his dignity…he’s pretty much sold his soul.

That’s right. Befitting of the title, Toxie’s boss is actually the Devil, and once he realizes this, the movie turns into something like The Wizard (The video game movie. Not The Wizard of Oz, which you should also rewatch), as Toxie is challenged to a series of video games by the Devil himself. This is where the film becomes fun, as the various levels are more ridiculous than the last.

Eventually, Toxie beats his “last temptation” and the film ends on a happy note. What fun! But, seriously, it is pretty fun. The video game subplot really makes this film stand out from all the other movies in the franchise, and I really dig that about it. It certainly makes this film better than the last one.

Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV Gave Audiences A Soft Reboot Before It Was Cool

Bypassing the ‘90s completely and coming out in 2000, Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV is the last Toxic Avenger film before the remake, and it’s a fun one to go out on (Though, I still want to see Toxic Twins: The Toxic Avenger V, which we never got).

Pretty much wiping the last two Toxic Avenger movies out of existence with a voiceover (by Stan “the man” Lee, no less), Citizen Toxie acts as a sequel to the first movie, which, you know, isn’t confusing at all, given that it’s The Toxic Avenger FOUR.

Anyway, this sequel is explosive…literally! As an explosion causes a rift that sends Toxie into a sort of bizarro world called Amortville (So, they’re doing the whole Troll 2 — not that Troll 2 — Nilbog is Goblin spelled backward thing, but with Tromaville).

In this bizarro world, there’s an evil version of Toxie, but he’s called the Noxious Offender. Of course Toxie has to battle him, as that’s what a good Toxic Avenger does. This film is also interesting because it costars another Troma hero, Sgt. Kabukiman, who has his own evil twin called Evil Kabukiman. There’s a whole lot of fighting, a whole lot of jokes in poor taste (since this is a Troma film, of course), and honestly, a whole lot of fun.

Citizen Toxie was disregarding sequels even before it was cool with 2018’s Halloween. But, I think it was a smart call, since this movie does feel like a fitting follow-up to the first film. The first two sequels, while they have their merits, really feel pretty aimless as a whole, but this film, as gross as it is, feels a bit more streamlined, even with the bizarro world storyline. And, that’s why I love it.

But, what about you? Are you a fan of The Toxic Avenger? If so, join me in celebrating that only a few more months have yet to pass until we finally see that fifth installment in the franchise!