Every Toxic Avenger Movie, Ranked

Easily one of the most recognizable and acclaimed horror franchises from masters of low-budget horror Troma Entertainment, The Toxic Avenger series has become a cult classic of the horror comedy genre. The blending of overwhelming violence, campy and over-the-top characters and performances, and offensive humor has given it a distinct edge over other horror comedies, making them tailored for underground, cult classic status. The series' reputation has only continued to grow over the years, through the inherent word of mouth of its wild antics as well as the continued rise of superhero stories over the years.

Largely spearheaded by series creators and directors Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz, each entry in the franchise has an inherent appeal thanks to their blending of practical effects and wild, unrestrained storytelling. However, not every entry in the series is created equal, as select films in the franchise especially stand out for being much higher quality than the other entries in the series, finding the best balance between comedy, gore, and offensive humor. Especially with the recent release of the long-awaited reboot film, there is no better time than the present to check out one of the most beloved low-budget horror franchises out there.

5 'The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxie' (1989)

The second film in the franchise to be released in 1989, The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxie is largely held back by its unintended shared production with The Toxic Avenger Part II. The film was pieced together after filmmakers realized that they shot too much footage for The Toxic Avenger Part II, reworking the footage shot and cutting it into two distinctly separate films. Part III easily gets the short end of the stick when it comes to this split, with story elements like the return of Apocalypse Inc. and Toxie's team-up with the evil corporation directly conflicting with the plot of the previous film. A lot of these plot issues simply wouldn't be a problem if the classic violence and campy nature were kept intact, yet the film's sluggish pacing and elongated third act make it much difficult to have fun with compared to other entries in the series.

Part III isn't without its inherent positives, as it has a fun opening brawl that takes place inside a video store, the motivating factor of paying for an expensive surgery is effective, and the practical effects and costumes are great as always. Still, by the prospect of taking place in the same production as Part II, it's impossible to not see a lot of the film as a strict downgrade to the previous entry, made worse when even released in the exact same year. At times, the film even feels like they took out the entire third act of the previous film and stretched it out to be its own feature-length experience. It's hard to truly hate any entry in the series, yet Part III is easily the most skipable entry in the series that does very little to elevate the concepts and character of Toxie.

4 'The Toxic Avenger Part II' (1989)

The first half of the wild multi-film production and original sequels of the series, The Toxic Avenger Part II proves to be a step up above Part III, but still features several downsides that hold it back from the cult classic status of the original. The largest issue that persists throughout the film is that its sense of chaotic, offensive humor has been massively toned down compared to the original film. While the original film had a sense of campy, unfiltered chaos that was designed to shock audiences into a state of confused laughter, Part II simply plays it safe and doesn't feel to dissimilar from other horror comedy films.

However, a restrained Toxic Avenger film is still a Toxic Avenger film at the end of the day, as it features a lot of great moments and concepts that live up to the legacy of the original, even if this tone doesn't persist for the entire runtime. Toxie traveling to Japan to seek out his long-lost father is a perfect plot point to help distinguish the film from the original, with Toxie's antics in the land of the rising sun being a deeply hilarious time. The biggest hurdle that the film faces is just how much it glosses over its final act and the defeat of Apocalypse Inc. yet this can be traced back to the seperation of filming between Part II and Part III.

3 'The Toxic Avenger' (2025)

The recently released reboot of the franchise and the only Toxic Avenger film to not be directed by Lloyd Kaufman, Macon Blair's modern interpretation of Toxie's origin story feels distinctly different from any other entry in the series. The heightened, higher-budget transformation of the series comes with its fair share of hiccups, but there is enough inherent charm and love put into the film to make it a largely compelling watch in spite of its issues. The film simultaneously treats Toxie's story much more seriously as a more grounded story, while at the same time having a wildly comedic, self-aware sense of humor that shows that the film hasn't completely lost sight of its roots.

This mixing of tones and styles can feel a bit chaotic and all over the place at points, but chaos is an attribute that has forever been associated with the franchise as a whole and helps give the film the personality it requires to succeed. While the horror remake is far from being better than the original, it does enough to distinguish itself and help it stand as its own singular experience, disconnected from the rest of the franchise. Peter Dinklage also seamlessly flows into the role of Toxie, giving the character a great mixture of pained humanity as well as tapping into the socially awkward humor that has defined the character for so long.

2 'Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV' (2000)

The only one of the various Toxic Avenger sequels to make an active effort in recreating the shocking and controversial style of the original film, Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV in some ways even surpasses the original in terms of shocking, offensive humor. However, unlike many other raunchy and offensive comedies that dominated the 2000s, Citizen Toxie has an inherent sense of self-awareness and over-the-top absurdity that makes even its most disgusting jokes fun to watch. The film is a stark departure from the previous sequels, to the point where the Stan Lee narration in the prologue even disavows the other sequels and proclaims Citizen Toxie to be "the real sequel".

Citizen Toxie truly feels like the modern evolution of the original film, with non-stop gore, violence, and depraved characters coming together to create a wild and unmistakably entertaining time. While it at times can feel overbearing with its offensive humor, sequences like an elongated recreation of Citizen Kane show how the film's humor is tailor-made for long-time film nerds and the underground film scene as a whole. The sense of extravagant chaos and absurdism certainly may feel like too much for some audiences, yet Citizen Toxie easily stands as the most effective attempt at following up the cult-classic original in terms of style and personality.

1 'The Toxic Avenger' (1984)

Even as the various different sequels and reboots have attempted to build upon the legacy and weight of The Toxic Avenger, no other film comes close to the distinct mixture of campy absurdism, offensive content, and B-movie flair that makes the original such a cult classic. There's a good reason as to why The Toxic Avenger became such a massive success and franchise for Troma compared to their various other goofy B-movies, as its wild execution finds a way to connect and enchant audiences, even 40 years later. The film is constantly one-upping itself in terms of wildly shocking content, whether it be the on-screen murder of children and dogs or Toxie's overly violent method of retribution.

Still, by virtue of having Toxie lay waste to these abhorrently despicable characters in increasingly entertaining ways, The Toxic Avenger finds a great balance between its shocking content and allowing the audience to root for their defeat. Between all the parody and ridiculous recreations of classic superhero tropes and stories, the core of The Toxic Avenger is one of pure entertainment and campy greatness that is aware enough to have fun in its execution. While the various sequels would ramp up the intentional comedy in various different ways, the honest B-movie nonsense of the original is still unmatched in terms of both comedy and charm, easily making it the peak of this goofy superhero franchise.