Welcome to another edition of Toy Chest Tuesday! Two toys enter, one toy leaves! (Oh I am really yearning for some Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome figures.) Aside from my crazy dreams, let's talk toys. I'm pulling out some fun relics from the Archival Room: Earthworm Jim!
After the success of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles the '90s saw Playmates release numerous "gross-out" toy lines featuring all kinds of interesting characters. Earthworm Jim was one such line. With the body of a super hero and the head of a... well... worm, Earthworm Jim fought to defend Earth, the Cosmos, and everything else! The line reminded me of Don Bluth's Space Ace, but with grody looking insect/human hybrids. Let's check out the toys.
Earthworm Jim was a chunky figure. A hulking mass of super hero muscle, and then there was the head. He had the perfect facial expression to capture how we were all feeling in the '90s: sarcastic and full of 'tude. This figure came with his pet Snott and two guns. (Those items are not shown. Obviously.)
He did come with his own built-in perfect accessory: his head. Forget having a spring loaded gun of some sort, Earthworm Jim had a spring loaded head! By pressing the button on his back, Earthworm Jim's head would fly off to smack some sense into the Not-So-Good Guys.
The Snip 'n Segment card really set up a great deal for just who Earthworm Jim is. He was just a simple worm rollin around, until a magical space suit fell on him from the sky. He can also use his head to whip foes into shape. His biggest foe is Queen Slug-for-a-Butt. And he also has a main squeeze, if only he could remember her name...
Behind every good worm (and reason for collecting a toy line) is a really cool Insectikan. Princess What's-Her-Name was the reason I wanted to collect this line. I thought she was so cool. Big hair. Bold eye shadow. A crown. And wings? How could anyone not want this figure?
Now here is a bio I can get with! This Princess was not your usual Princess. Her sister was the evil Queen-Slug-for-a-Butt and no matter how rough and tough Earthworm Jim was, more than likely, Princess What's-Her-Name was the one saving the universe. I'm not making that up. Click on the Snip n Segment to read for yourself!
There were some really cool things that came with Princess What's-Her-Name. Each figure came with a little sidekick along with two weapons.
The back of the card was typical Playmates fare. Story bio, character bio, other toys in the line, and details on the figure. The great thing about this line was that it was completely compatible with pretty much every Playmates line that came out in the '90s.
The story bio contains aspects of Earthworm Jim's bio, but there are some differences.
There were quite a number of Earthworm Jim variants. The other characters were standard gross out characters. I do wish they had made a Queen-Slug-for-a-Butt. That would have been the coolest. Princess What's-Her-Name was a great figure. I'm glad she was a part of the line.
Runt Zurb was the trusty aid to the Princess, and the pair reminded be of another Princess and trusty aid (Princess Peach and Toad.) However there are quite a number of differences. Princess Peach is aware of her name, yet is in constant need of a good rescue (barring that one DS outing.) And though Runt Zurb and Toad may grate on a person's nerves, Runt looked like something from a sewer while Toad looked like something from a yard made up of cotton candy.
Earthworm Jim was a big deal. There were comics, video games, and cartoons. Earthworm Jim was a part of a number of characters with that sarcastic '90s attitude that held up longer than most. (Does anyone recall Gex?) The current status of the franchise has been up in the air for awhile now, but like anything, I am sure the worm will get his chance again. Mezco did release a special edition Earthworm Jim as a 2012 SDCC exclusive, though I am not sure what that will all mean exactly. For now enjoy the pictures... and everything else!
These were pretty neat figures i always liked Peter Puppy(?) form the line.
ReplyDeleteYes, Peter Puppy was a cool character. I believe he transformed into a monster or something when he was attacked.
DeleteDo you consider TMNT a "gross out" toyline? to me the whole gross out thing was Madballs, Garbage Pail kids cards, the reprints of the old Mars Attacks! and Dinosaur Attack! Cards from the 60's , any of the stuff where the whole mission statement was to offend the parents of the kids. I never felt like TMNT was gross or offensive. Although there were a few figures that may have offended those with weaker constitutions (Wyrm and Mutagen Man come to mind, and they were two of my favorite designs from the line!) Now Toxic Crusaders had "Nozone" that had the radioactive snot-that was "gross out"- though if you've seen the Toxic Avenger Movies the toys were NOTHING compared to how offensive the films were! (I should add that of course, I loved those movies) if Aliens and Rambo getting toys was odd-Toxic Avenger getting toys was INSANE! Also Inhumanoids, which I've mentioned before were pretty vile, D-Compose had a Rib Cage that opened and Metlar was basically supposed to be Satan.
ReplyDeleteI do get what your saying about the 90's "extreme attitude" which probably started with TMNT but carried over through everything from Sonic the Hedgehog to Extreme Ghostbusters.
And I LOVED the Princess Peach DS game! Still haven't beat the last level though. Actually it was the first game I bought when I bought my DS and the DS I bought was pink and I was also buying one of the season of the O.C on dvd at the same time. The lady at the Wal-Mart counter thought I was getting it all for a little sister! (I went along with it and pretended I was but it wasn't. I just like really femmy stuff.)
Well I think we may have different definitions of gross out, and you really bring up a good point. For me gross-out is anything that is gross. (But it doesn't always have to be considered offensive.) Like Turtles living in a sewer and getting trained by a rat grossed me out as a kid, though I loved the Turtles. And really, Kenner's Real Ghostbusters toy line had a lot of gross elements too, like Granny Gross and things like that. But yeah, if we look at it as offensive, I don't think TMNT would be considered offensive. I still can't believe there were Toxic Avengers figures, and I also liked the movie. Some things are gross, but sometimes gross can be fun.
DeleteAnd I think you are the first person I know that loves the Princess Peach DS game. I love that game too. It was the deciding factor in me getting a DS (I got a pink one too, surprise.) I really wish they'd make more games like that, it was a really fun game. The last level is work, but it is a fun game to beat and then play again for the extras.
I remember these, my brother was born in 1990, and I remember he had these and loved them!
ReplyDeleteThey were really fun! Hope you are doing well Sarah!
ReplyDeleteThe scenes of the little kid getting his head smashed by the bad guys car was so amazing -I remember showing Toxic Avenger on VHS to my friends and their mouths just hanging open in awe that something that offensive could exist. This was when we were young and innocent and I had yet to find the real hardcore-gore and exploitation movies. Yes, I like ultra-violent gore flicks like "Make them Die Slowly" AND I have a pink DS with a princess peach game! And a Hello Kitty sticker on my guitar! I am a paradox.
ReplyDeleteI think Rats are cute. You think their gross? Splinter was pretty darn cute I thought.
Ghostbusters toys did go into the gross out area with all the slime and such. What was with slime and the 80's anyway?
-and what's not to love about the princess peach game? do the people you know dislike it or just not care about it? I would think it would have been popular with girls at the very least. I mean it wasn't as cool as a princess of POWER game would have been but...we are doomed to never get one of those.
Well Toxic Avengers was shocking, but I had been exposed to early John Waters films before I saw Toxic Avengers, so I was kinda prepared. lol It was a really cool movie though. I think i can handle those old gory movies, because compared to now, they aren't gory. But they were pretty gory when I was younger.
DeleteI think rats in real life are gross. Rats in robes doing karate are always cute. lol But it did take me awhile to wrap my head around that when it first came out. I mean I had come from the world of Barbie and My Little Pony. TMNT was practically culture shock.
There was a lot of slime in the 80s. I think every line had a dose of slime in it.
And I will never understand anyone not liking the Peach game. I guess it deals with folks just not liking her. But a Princess of Power game would be the ultimate. I would love to play that game. Could you just imagine?
I don't think any movie that has been made in the last 20 years can out-gross any movie that was made in the 80's or earlier. There were still some high quality horror flicks coming out in the 90's and early 2000's but they had lost that rugged ragged feel to them. The visceral reality. Movies like Saw or Hostel may have disturbing concepts but the movies themselves are so glossy and pretty it just doesn't work for me as horror. Even when people try to make the movies look dingy like Rob Zombie sometimes tries to do, or how Tarantino did with Grindhouse it STILL looks to me like they just trying to make a good looking movie look dirty. Now with practically anything that came out prior to the 90's,just the look of the movies felt scary. Like Joe Bob Briggs said "Horror movies are always better when they look dingy and choppy, 'cause then it feels like you just might be watchin' something that was made by a psycho."
ReplyDeleteCase in point is how much better the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre is than the remake.
I don't know how you got exposed to John Waters before Toxic Avenger. Seems like it would be harder to come upon those. I didn't see those until midway through high school. It's funny because my mom was going to see a stage production of Hairspray the other day and I'm like "you have know idea what the guy who originally made that has done." I think Multiple Maniacs was my favorite with the gratuitous pointless lobster rape. I had a friend who I remember was too chicken to ever even watch Pink Flamingos.-that's kind of a pun now that I remember the chicken scene from Pink Flamingos! Lets see John Travolta play the Divine role from THAT movie!
-what would you want a POP game to be like?
Well I agree, older horror movies were scary for the whole scene and environment, not the blood. The original Texas Chainsaw was really scary. I'll take older films any day, though the House of the Devil that came out a few years ago really felt close to that feeling of watching older horror movies. Though I really hated the ending. It just felt, I dunno, I guess I was expecting another ending.
DeleteI got introduced to John Waters early on with Crybaby and from there I would check out certain films at the local video store or on cable late at night. My parents did look after my brother and me, they really did, but we totally got away with watching things we had no business watching. I've only ever seen Multiple Maniacs through clips and footage on the internet. The lobster scene is a hot mess, and though Pink Flamingoes is really good, I love Female Trouble more. Desperate Living is also underrated.
Now I am sure I saw Toxic Avengers before certain John Waters movies, but it was watching Crybaby when I was really young that got me used to the quirkiness and affinity for John Waters. And I would die to see John Travolta playing some other famous Divine roles. My goodness, could you just imagine?
and a POP game, I would want it like a mix of role playing with good story and character leveling up, but I would also want to be in control of other characters too. Like those X-Men Legends game from activision. At least I think that is the name of them. What about you?
Do not mistake me on the blood thing-yes, the bloodless horrors are better and scarier because they rely on less obvious tactics to get people scared, but I still do love the blood. It's just that the dingy, crappy looking filmed blood -movies like the Italian Cannibal flicks-make the gore feel like an actual snuff film. And I have never seen House of the Devil. You must tell me more of this film.Hard to picture a delicate flowery type girl like your ownself watching hard-gore!
ReplyDelete-well a POP game, I would want it to be like the sims except you get to be bow or hawk and you get to go all over Etheria making sweet luv to every lady on the planet and whoever can bed Frosta first will win! haha only kidding. I really wish they would make a decent MOTU game. I have the DS version of the 2003 series game but it's kinda lame.
I would want Adora in the POP game to be able to fight and kick ass-I think it would be-sadly-a world of warcraft kind of game-and I HATE world of warcraft-but the whole sprawling mix of rpg and hack n' slash would work well for pop. What if it was like that-but girly and cute!!I'd think that would be adorable.
P.S do u know how many official motu games there have been?I only have the 2003 one but I heard there was a computer game made in the 80's.am I right?
Well don't let the delicate flowery style trip you up, there are some scary type movies I enjoy watching. I am not big on the Hostels and the Saws, but I grew up with Halloween, Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street. I always enjoyed getting scared while watchingthose movies and they really helped lead me to watching other great horror movies. But it is mostly the older stuff. Though I did enjoy the slasher reboot craze in the mid to late '90s.
DeleteA Sims style game would be interesting. I would imagine all kinds of different storylines getting their chance. But I do like the idea of a hack n slash style game with also some level building. That stuff sort of feeds my obsessive nature. Girly and cute would be fun. There is a game coming out for the N3DS that is about princesses that kick butt, but there is a girly element to it so it isn't all manly. I need to remember the name of it.
And I do not know of how many MOTU games there have been. I recall the ds one, but I do not know about a computer one. I will need to do some research!
is this the game you are talking about?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlCDcsXn2mI
it looks bad ass actually! I need to get me a 3DS but I don't know if I can justify spending that much money on one right now.
I wish there were more girly type fighting games like with Sailor Moon and stuff. Some of those fighting games from back in the day could be pretty cute like there was this one Chibi type fighting game with characters from street fighter and Darstalkers called Super Gem Fighter:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Gem_Fighter_Mini_Mix
it had some really cute chibi versions of girls from the Darkstalker series. Like one was a cat girl and one was a vampire girl-and you could do cartoony attacks. One of the cutest was when the vamp girl would put on a nurses outfit and pull out a huge syringe! Very wacky stuff. I'd love to see some chibi POP and Motu characters!
Yes! That is the game! Code of Princess! I have been reading about it in the Nintendo Power magazine from August. (I'm always behind on my magazine reading.) I am really looking forward to that game.
DeleteAnd Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix, I have heard of that game before. I like it, it is cute. The Chibi style is fun, and I would love to see POP and MOTU in all kinds of different art styles. I think that would be awesome.
Never saw these before, I just knew the videogame with Earthworm Jim, but no figures were ever released where I lived.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure I can follow you and spazzblister in your discussion about what is gross, or if old horror movies are better than new ones... I rarely see horror movies now, because I have to watch them alone, so I tend to choose another one that I can see in company, but I used to be a great fan of John Waters, and I liked a lot horror movies, specially if in combination with high-schools, fraternities, prom nights and so on, which is another of my favorite themes for movies. By the way, in this theme, older movies from the 80s are also far better than the new ones made recently, all too much politically correct.
The video games were fun, though I don't know that I ever really played them that much. I was just all about owning a Princess-What
Deletes-Her-Name. lol
And I know what you mean about those older 80s movies. If there was a prom or group of teens terrified with a phone ringing or whatever, I was hooked. I think that is why I liked Scream so much, it felt like it was honoring that whole time.
Yes I saw Scream I, but then I tried Scream II (or was it III?) and...
ReplyDeleteI forgot to nominate "Major Mucus" for the best name ever in a supporting role :D
Ah yes! Major Mucus! lol He needs to come down and collect his snot green award statue! lol
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