Episode 021 Toy Biz Marvel Legends With Special Guest Dan Larson
Release Date: 12/11/2023
Episode 050: Our Favorite Toys with Special Guest Jake
Mutagen Men Toycast
Our 50th episode! Today we bring back the ever-popular Jake Setzke, the Funny Prince himself, to talk about five of our favorite toys from each of our collections. From Transformers to Masters of the Universe to Exosquad and beyond, this special extra-long episode covers nearly every corner of the action figure universe. Join us
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Episode 049: Robotech
Mutagen Men Toycast
Launch all Valkyries! In this week's episode of Mutagen Men we climb aboard the SDF-1 to face down the Zentraedi and the other marauding aliens facing the world of Robotech, which featured a mashup of three different classic mecha anime TV series. Airing in the 1980s and later on Toonami in the 90s, the show was a gateway into the wider world of mech anime and featured a landmark toyline from Matchbox as well as a host of merchandise produced by other companies in the years following. Join us as we explore the varied corners of these lines and try not to talk too much about Harmony Gold! ...
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Episode 048: Zoids
Mutagen Men Toycast
Build, customize, and mobilize! In today's Mutagen Men we travel to the distant Planet Zi, a world of mechanical life-forms known as Zoids, machine-like animals modified into piloted war machines. Dating back to the 1980s, Tomy and other companies have been producing Zoids model kits near constantly in the decades between, including several forays into North America. These model kits feature intricate robotic animals - mammals, reptiles, dinosaurs, and more - overloaded with weaponry and piloted by tiny plastic soldiers. Despite its depth and longevity, Zoids remains a fairly obscure toyline....
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Episode 047: More Glyos
Mutagen Men Toycast
Welcome back to the world of indie toys! In today's return to the boundless rabbit hole of the Glyos System Series, we explore one of its largest realms: SpyMonkey Creation's Battle Tribes, and its spin-off series, ManOrMonster Studio's Warlords of Wor. These lines feature miniature fantasy and sci-fi figures taking heavy inspiration from Masters of the Universe and pro wrestling toylines, with every figure including a variety of head, outfit, and accessory options. Join us as we discuss favorite tiny barbarians, orcs, wrestlers, and dragon men, and touch on many corners of the wider Glyos...
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Episode 46: All About Teela
Mutagen Men Toycast
Mattel's Masters of the Universe toyline is full of colorful characters with fantastic powers and incredible action features. One of the oldest is Teela, the warrior goddess, sorceress, barbarian warrior, and only female figure in the first wave of toys. Teela appears in nearly every iteration of Masters of the Universe, her snake staff ready to fight back the hordes of Skeletor. In today's episode we explore the many toys of Teela, starting in 1982 and journeying through the latter years of Classics and into the Super 7 era. Join us!
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Episode 045: Transformers Micromasters
Mutagen Men Toycast
Micro size has the power to surprise! Today we journey to the twilight years of Hasbro's classic Transformers toyline, when Hasbro was struggling to boost a waning audience with lots of new ideas. In 1989, one of those new ideas was Micromasters: a subline of tiny Transformers scaled to compete with Galoob's Micro Machines. We explore the patrols, the squads, the battle stations, the combiner transports, and beyond. So grab a handful of tiny Autobots or Decepticons and join us! Follow along:
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Episode 044: Mega Man Toys
Mutagen Men Toycast
Get equipped with mutagen! It's time for another look into the history of video game tie-in toylines, now featuring everyone's favorite super fighting robot, the blue bomber himself: Mega Man. We discuss our personal histories with this long-running game series and dive into several toylines depicting Mega Man and his endless battle against Dr. Wily and his army of themed robot masters.
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Episode 043: G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Mutagen Men Toycast
Strap in and journey with us to the year 2009 when Paramount and Hasbro released the first of several barely-remembered live-action G.I. Joe films: The Rise of Cobra! While the movie is perhaps best left in 2009, the accompanying toyline remains one of the best of the property's long and storied history, and may also represent the last time G.I. Joe had relevance as a property marketed primarily to children. So grab your Delta-6 Accelerator suit, weaponize the warheads, and join us for a deep dive into this often-overlooked toyline!
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Episode 042: Jurassic Park
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!
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Episode 041: Mighty Max
Mutagen Men Toycast
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:
info_outlineDan 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