A year by year rundown of the hottest toys and comic merch released throughout Wizard's history!
By By Zach Oat
Posted 05/05/08
1991: TALKING VENOM
Marvel Superheroes (Toy Biz)
Marvel toys had just made their triumphant return to stores when Toy Biz unleashed their newest innovation: talking toys! Sure they needed a backpack to store the computer chip and speaker, but the inclusion of then-fan-favorite Venom led to one of the greatest lines in the history of toys: "I want to eat your brain!" Toys for collectors had finally arrived.
1992: BATMAN
Batman the Animated Series (Kenner)
A groundbreaking new cartoon needs groundbreaking toys, so the sleek, stylized designs of Bruce Timm were translated into little, 3D works of art. Batman and his Batmobile were early art-deco masterpieces, but the line's popularity would eventually immortalize all of his rogues before spreading to Superman and, eventually, the Justice League.
1993: T-REX
Jurassic Park (Kenner)
The event movie of 1993 brought dinosaurs back in a big way, and Kenner was there to put incredibly realistic dinos in kids' little hands. The massive Tyrannosaurus Rex was the most spectacular piece in the line, towering over the other terrible lizards, although one shouldn’t underestimate the importance of Jeff Goldblum.
1994: SPAWN
Spawn (McFarlane Toys)
After searching high and low for a company that would do his undead creation justice, Todd McFarlane founded his own company (initially called Todd Toys). While his first series of Spawn toys was fairly tame compared to his later gory offerings, the hamburger-headed hero did come with a board with a nail in it. Oh, and a demon from Hell.
1995: TALKING TICK
The Tick (Bandai)
Ben Edlund's Dadaist comic book hero was an underground sensation, but it took the cartoon adaptation to bring that inanity to the general public in the form of toys. Just having a Tick action figure is like a gift from God, but owning one that says his most famous (and most ridiculous) lines is a religious experience.
1996: CY-GOR
Spawn (McFarlane Toys)
McFarlane's Spawn line grew by leaps and bounds, and even two years later the quality and detail of the sculpting was through the roof. We didn't even care that Cy-Gor was a cybernetic gorilla from his Spawn comic—we only knew we wanted one. The quality of this modified monstrosity would guide the direction of the Spawn toy line for years.
1997: WITCHBLADE STATUE
(Moore Creations)
Clayburn Moore was already an accomplished sculptor when he tackled Top Cow's resident femme fatale, but if there had been any doubt he could sculpt women before, this statue shattered it. With her curve-hugging armor, this Witchblade piece showed that Moore was the king of sculpting beautiful women, a title he would earn again and again.
1998: JAY AND SILENT BOB
(Graphitti Designs)
Snootchie Bootchies! Four years after "Clerks" set the geek film world on fire, Graphitti tackled the Sartre and Descartes of the Quick Stop, and created the year's best collectibles. They also came with crazy accessories—some so crazy that "clean" versions had to be offered at San Diego Comic-Con so as not to offend the kiddies.
1999: DARTH MAUL (12")
Star Wars: Episode 1 (Hasbro)
Say what you will about the Star Wars prequels, Darth Maul was the baddest Jedi we'd ever seen or ever would see. So the chance to own a foot-tall version, complete with double-bladed lightsaber, was something we couldn't pass up—or anyone else, for that matter, meaning it was tough to get our hands on this baby.
2000: HOMER SIMPSON
World of Springfield (Playmates Toys)
After an aborted attempt by Mattel in the early, Bart-crazy years of the show, Simpsons toys made a comeback this year with one of the greatest toy lines ever. Not only did it faithfully capture each of Springfield's residents (including patriarch Homer) but you could plug them into over 30 different playsets and make them talk.
2001: SUPER-POSABLE SPIDER-MAN
Spider-Man Classics (Toy Biz)
Toy Biz had made super-poseable Spider-Men before, but not like this. Oh, not like this. With incredibly comic-accurate sculpting and a detailed paint job, this Spider-Man was an instant hit, and represented a new direction for Toy Biz, towards poseability and realism, which would eventually culminate in their Marvel Legends line.
2002: ANIMAL
The Muppet Show (Palisades Toys)
Who would have thought that one of the greatest children's shows of all time would lead to some of the best toy lines of all time? Electric Mayhem drummer Animal had the line's amazing sculpting and paint job, but he had one thing few others did—articulated eyebrows, for either fuming or manic looks. Palisades had truly created a monster.
2003: SUPERMAN
(DC Direct)
DC Direct had been turning out detailed figures of DC Comics' secondary and tertiary figures for years when they finally got the rights to do Superman. And make a Superman they did. This figure had an amazing 21 points of articulation—among the best DCD ever crafted—and captured the power and hope of DC's greatest hero to a tee.
2004: MASTER CHIEF
Halo (Joyride Studios)
Halo 2 was still in development when Joyride started cranking out figures based on one of the most popular video games of all time. Master Chief had all of the weapons he could use in the game, from shotguns to sniper rifles, and you could get him in every color of the rainbow, to reflect the game's multiplayer options.
2005: GALACTUS
Marvel Legends (Toy Biz)
Toy Biz sought a way to kick its popular Marvel Legends line up a notch when they had an idea—give each figure a piece of an even bigger figure, one that wouldn't get made otherwise. The end result was entirely sold-out waves and the greatest Galactus figure ever made. Standing 16 inches tall, he made "build-a-figure" a household phrase.
2006: CATWOMAN BUST
Women of the DC Universe (DC Direct)
The pinup artwork of Adam Hughes is a wonder to behold, and God bless the person at DC Direct who had the idea to have the artist design a series of busts based on the women he draws so well. Catwoman, with her impish smile and improbable hiding place for a gigantic gem, captures the fun and titillation of Hughes' best work.
2007: HULK STATUE
(Bowen Designs)
No matter how obscure the character or ridiculous the costume, Bowen Designs' Marvel busts and statues bring a majesty and respect to the collectibles it pioneered in the mid-1990s. Sculpted by BD founder Randy Bowen, Hulk's rage may come from the "nipple or no nipple" controversy that surrounded his early sculpting. As usual, Bowen addressed it, er, spot-on.
2008: IRON MAN
Iron Man Movie (hasbro)
If the commercials and buzz are any indication, this year will be the year of Iron Man, as well as the year of Iron Man toys. Hasbro’s early photos of their 6-inch Iron Man toys—in all of his various armors—look like some of their best figures ever, and we plan to buy as many as we can get our repulsor rays on.
