He’s taken a long, slippery road to the big screen — as a matter of fact it’s been years since fans were given their first look at him — but the rebooted version of “The Toxic Avenger” is finally set to hit the big screen. If you need to know more about Toxie’s splatter-happy history, we have a video above that will tell you everything you need to know about his birth, death, and rebirth.
The original movie is all about Melvin Ferd (Mark Torgl), a nerd who is put down and put upon by the bullies and jocks at the gym where he works. He’s pushed into a vat of toxic waste and mutates into the Toxic Avenger (Mitch Cohen, with voice by Kenneth Kessler), who soon finds love with blind Sara (Andree Maranda) and also focuses on both fighting crime and torturing the bullies who turned him into a monster.
“The Toxic Avenger” is the definition of a cult classic; produced by Troma Entertainment in 1984, the first movie only made $140,000 during its opening weekend, but became a video store legend. It made enough cash and generated enough popularity to result in three more sequels, a much-loved Fox animated series, and even a stage musical. Critics loved Toxie too; the original sits at a 70% fresh critical approval score at Rotten Tomatoes. And the second verse looks like it’ll be the same as the first when it comes to the remake.
All new Toxie, same old splatterfest
2025’s “Toxic Avenger” reboot heads in some different directions than its predecessor. This time, our small but mighty avenger is named Winston Gooze (Peter Dinklage, who also voices Toxie after his transformation, with Luisa Guerreiro performing in the suit). While he’s a janitor like Melvin was, Winston’s also a father who has a troubled relationship with his son Wade (Jacob Tremblay). Being dunked in ooze makes Mr. Gooze a vigilante hero, but can he win the respect of his kid back while battling a group of evil CEOs and other no-goodniks?
So far, reviews for the sequel are pretty stellar: as of this writing, the critical approval score sits at 92% fresh at Rotten Tomatoes, thanks to an enthusiastic response at several genre festivals. If you need to know more about Tromaville and its citizenry, be sure to watch the video we’ve posted above to get the full lowdown. Also starring Kevin Bacon, Elijah Wood, and Taylour Paige, “The Toxic Avenger” will be released, uncensored and in its full glory (though it was once surprisingly rated R), on August 29.