Every Toxic Avenger Movie Ranked From Worst To Best

The Toxic Avenger has a modern reboot on the way, so it’s the perfect time to revisit the series and its several sequels — here’s how they rank from worst to best.

Lloyd Kaufman and Troma Entertainment have built a reputable name for themselves in the low-budget independent film world, but it’s the Toxic Avenger movies that have arguably made the biggest impact on audiences. The film functions as a bizarre parody of the horror and superhero genres with a comedic origin story of a meek janitor who gets turned into a grotesque defender of justice after he’s exposed to toxic waste.

Sequels are par for the course in the horror genre, but The Toxic Avenger has also managed to spawn a video game, Marvel comic series, musical production, and even a children’s animated series. Toxic Avenger appreciation continues even in 2020, heralded by news of a new reboot on the way with Peter Dinklage set to play the movie’s titular toxic waste hero. It’s often difficult to produce good and justified horror sequels, but The Toxic Avenger franchise takes some surprising turns, which leads to a contrasting collection of movies. Here’s how they stack up.

Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV (2000)

The final entry in The Toxic Avenger series comes out over a decade after its predecessor and claims to be “the real sequel” with how it erases the events of the past two movies in favor of a new angle for Toxie that’s ultimately less appealing. Citizen Toxie has the loosest plot of the lot and yet it’s also somehow nearly two hours long. It’s a sour note to end the films on and its new additions, like Toxie’s sidekick, Lardass, or his evil doppelgänger, The Noxious Offender, don’t do the movie any favors. It even turns into a gratuitous crossover with fellow Troma character, Sgt. Kabukiman, as The Toxic Avenger series picks the wrong time to flex its connected universe muscles.

The Toxic Avenger Part II (1989)

The original Toxic Avenger is hardly a subtle piece of art, but its follow-up manages to get even more puerile. The Toxic Avenger Part II is a testament to Kaufman and Troma’s hubris after the surprise success of the first movie. The Toxic Avenger Part II doubles down on Toxie’s significance as a figure for environmental causes and the introduction of the hyperbolically evil Apocalypse Corporation works well enough. Ultimately, The Toxic Avenger Part II is tied down by unneeded spectacles, like recurring musical numbers or Toxie’s trip to reconnect with his family. Part II also introduces a new actor for Toxie, as Ron Fazio replaces Mitch Cohen from the original movie.

The Toxic Avenger (1984)

1984’s original Toxic Avenger introduces Melvin and the surprising turn that his life takes after he’s exposed to toxic waste and transforms into New Jersey’s first superhero. The Toxic Avenger is a fun deconstruction of typical hero narratives and knows not to take itself too seriously. The movie builds a fun, bizarre world, yet still demonstrates a little restraint, which becomes less present with each sequel. The Toxic Avenger is a film that’s frequently disgusting and juvenile, but also manages to shine a light on the aggressive impulses that lie dormant in people. Supernatural creatures are often the source of danger in horror films, but The Toxic Avenger highlights the fine line between man and monster.

The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation Of Toxie (1989)

The Last Temptation of Toxie, the third movie in the series, is somehow the best and most ridiculous. The plot builds to a legitimately suspenseful place when the Apocalypse Corporation develops a cure for blindness that will benefit Toxie’s beloved Sarah, but he worries that she’ll leave him if she can see what he looks like. It gives these characters depth in a way that’s not achieved in the other movies. The Last Temptation of Toxie was released right at the end of 1989, but its meta impulses and wilder tone feel more representative of the wave of ‘90s horror that followed. The upcoming Toxic Avenger reboot will surely look to the original for inspiration, but there’s still a lot to be learned from the even stranger Toxic Avenger Part III, which is the franchise’s bright spot.

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