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This week on the Capes and Tights Podcast, Justin Soderberg welcomes back comic book retailer Paul Eaton to the program to discuss The Toxic Avenger film from 1984!
Tromaville has a monstrous new hero. A 98-pound nerd from New Jersey lands in a vat of toxic waste and becomes a benevolent monster. Now evildoers will have a lot to lose.
The Toxic Avenger was produced and directed by Michael Herz and Lloyd Kaufman (Samuel Weil) from a screenplay by Joe Ritter, based on a story by Kaufman. The film stars Mitch Cohen as Melvin Ferd / The Toxic Avenger, Andree Maranda as Sara, Pat Ryan Jr. as Peter Belgoody, Jennifer Babtist as Wanda, Robert Prichard as Slug, Cindy Manion as Julie, Gary Schneider as Bozo, Mark Torgl as Melvin pre-mutation, and Kenneth Kessler as the voice of The Toxic Avenger.
Troma Entertainment released the film initially on April 14, 1984. During the next year, it had a long run as the midnight movie on the single screen of the Bleeker Street Cinema in New York City. Two years later on April 4, 1986, the film opened on 45 screens and earned $140,000 for its opening weekend. The movie released by Troma on VHS and Betamax in 1986 and for the first time on DVD on March 25, 1998. Troma released the film on Blu-ray on August 12, 2014.
The Toxic Avenger is getting a reboot written and directed by Macon Blair releasing on August 29, 2025 which stars stars Peter Dinklage as the title character, alongside Jacob Tremblay, Taylour Paige, Julia Davis, Jonny Coyne, Elijah Wood, and Kevin Bacon.
You can stream the 1984 classic on Prime Video.
