Mighty Max Action Figures Identification Tool with Pictures

In 1992, Bluebird Toys, a manufacturer from the United Kingdom, sought a means to capitalize on the success of pocket-sized playsets. This led their team to introduce Mighty Max and his miniature adventures. What these toys lacked in articulation, they brought in spades with imagination and style. This easily made Mighty Max an international success.

The excitement was brought over to the United States through Mattel. Meanwhile, Irwin Toys licensed the brand to introduce it to Canada. Other companies like Ideal introduced these toys to countries in Europe.

While the Mighty Max playsets varied in themes, featuring multiple monsters, one element connected the entire toy line. A figure of the titular character was present for nearly every playset. He always wore his white shirt which featured a large M as well as blue pants. Otherwise, he consistently had a baseball cap, though it came in multiple colors.

Mighty Max’s baseball cap was perhaps the most valuable part of his ensemble. As stated by the introduction provided on the back of each card, this mystical cap was a gift from his father. It had the power to send him to other worlds, changing color depending on which world it was in. Unfortunately, Max’s cap took him to the Horror Zone, pitting him against monsters as he embarked on a dangerous adventure.

Beyond the introduction to the Mighty Max toy line, the back of each card featured a full-color comic strip. This gave buyers a small glimpse into the boy’s adventures.

In most cases, those who looked at The Mighty Max toy line would encounter the Doom Zones. These were the standard, medium-sized play sets for the line. Each of these sets featured at least 3 figures aside from a Mighty Max Figure. Some of them even included 4. Meanwhile, the clamshell case was molded to resemble the set’s monster theme.

For the first series, Bluebird Toys released Might Max Slays Doom Dragon, Mighty Max Trapped by Arachnoid, and Mighty Max Terminates Wolfship 7. There was also Mighty Max Liquidates the Ice Alien, Mighty Max Escapes from Skull Dungeon, and Mighty Max Conquers the Temple of Venom

The second series introduced many more sets. There was Mighty Max Saves the Kingdom of Gargantua, Might Max Grapples with Hellcat, Mighty Max Outwits Cyclops, Mighty Max Stings Scorpion, Mighty Max Blows Up Mutasaurus, and Mighty Max Caught in the Jaws of Doom.

Meanwhile, the third and final series brought out a few more sets. These sets were Mighty Max Sinks the Nautilus, Mighty Max Bytes Cyberskull, Mighty Max Squishes Fly, Mighty Max Traps Rattus, Mighty Max Lashes Lizard, and Mighty Max Grips the Hand.

Aside from the Horror Zone play sets, another common set for the Mighty Max toy line was the Horror Heads. These sets were shaped like the heads of the set’s main creature. Unfortunately, these were smaller than the Horror Zone toys.

Bluebird Toys launched the line with a large selection of Horror Heads. There were Mighty Max Against Droid Invader, Mighty Max Battles Skull Warrior, Mighty Max Challenges Lava Beast, Mighty Max Defeats Nightwing, Mighty Max Fights Nuke Ranger, Might Max Neutralizes Zomboid, Might Max Pulverizes Sea Squirm, and Might Max Versus Kronosaur.

Then, the second series featured Might Max Hammers Spike, Mighty Max Hounds Werewolf, Mighty Max Survives Corpus, and Might Max Tangles with Lockjaw. Finally, there were Might Max Zaps Beetlebrow, Mighty Max Crushes Talon, Mighty Max Out-Freaks Freako, and Mighty Max Rams Rhesus 4 from the third series.

Aside from these categories, there were many other options to enjoy the toy line. For those looking for tiny adventures, there were even smaller playsets in the form of the Monster Heads. These sets did not even open up. Still, they came with both a Might Max and a monster figure. There was Zombie Commando and Jack Knife, Mecha Crawler and Octo Slime, Gorillabat and Ape Warrior, Imperial Dragon and Samurai Serpent, Phantasm and Dr. Destiny, and Basilisk and Zilard Beast. Each of these set names first labeled the set name then the name of the monster figure.

Bluebird Toys created an even smaller adventure with the Hairy Heads, which were known as the Dread Heads in the US. These Mighty Max toys functioned as accessories on things like bags. While they were not large enough to hold an entire adventure, they did include a random Max figure that easily fit inside of the head. There was Hemlock, Karbon, Anthrax 9, Razorback, Garrotid, Eruptus, Berserker, Skull Crusher.

Another small playset was the Shrunken Heads. Unlike some of the other miniature sets, these could fully open up. However, they only came with a Mighty Max figure. Notably, the latter half of this selection featured characters from the cartoon series. Moreover, these were the toys sent to companies to package within cereal boxes as prizes. There were Bloodsucker, Lobotix, Pharoah’s Curse, Venom, Rat Trap, Meltdown, Rok Monster, Vampyre, Skull Master, Dr. Zygote, Fang, Conqueror, Gargoyle, Necrosaur, Lava Lord, and Doom.

Another option for customers was the Battle Warriors playsets. Unlike the rest of the line, these were action figures that transformed into playsets. These sets included Challenge #1 Battle Conqueror, Challenge #2 Double Demon, Challenge #3 Lava Beast, Challenge #4 Pharaoh Phang, Challenge #5 Medi-Evil Mauler, and Challenge #6 Megahert.

The company also produced a selection of large playsets, Mega Heads, that provided a world of fun. As a trade-off for their lack of portability, these sets included significantly more figures than a standard set. This selection included Mighty Max Blasts Magus, Mighty Max Defies the Dread Star, Mighty Max Takes on Terror Talons, Mighty Max Trapped in Skull Mountain, and Mighty Max Assaults Skull Master Mega Head.

Another option for Mighty Max fun was the selection of six-figure sets. These sets notably included characters that were introduced in the cartoon series. So, customers could locate Skull Master, Lava Lord, Warmonger, Battle Conqueror, Medi-Evil Mauler, and Pharaoh Phang.

Bluebird also experimented with creating a selection of wearable watch playsets. These watches featured faces that resembled the various Doom Zones. They could even open up. There was Wolfship 7, Ice Alien, Skull Dungeon, Doom Dragon, and Lizard. Other options for Mighty Max merchandise included electronic games, a watch and clock set, jigsaw puzzles, Squirt heads, and much more.

At the height of Mighty Max’s popularity, the toy line was featured as a McDonald’s Happy Meal Toy. There were only two toys released this way, one in 1993 and the other in 1995. These tiny sets featured no actual figures, but they did have inventive gimmicks. One was themed after a Yeti and the other was an Ice Monster.

As Mighty Max left store shelves, there was still a slew of toys and play sets that Bluebird never produced. Some of the most notable of these unproduced toys were two Battle Fortresses or Mega Head: Warmonger and Doom. However, there were unproduced toys and variants in nearly every category.

As Mighty Max was hitting store shelves, his adventures began to air on television. From 1993 until 1994, two seasons of the Mighty Max Cartoon series aired. By the end of the run, the cartoon had aired 40 episodes.

To translate the character to the new medium, Max was aged up so that he was a teenager. The start of Max’s story was modified so that a series of translated hieroglyphs indicated that he had been chosen as a cap-bearer. Moreover, the cartoon series introduced friends and allies such as Virgil and Norman. There were also new villains such as the main villain, Skullmaster voiced by Tim Curry, and the prior ruler of the underworld, Lava Lord voiced by Frank Welker.

Mighty Max’s popularity also brought his adventures to the SNES, Mega Drive, and Genesis. Ocean Software produced this video game adventure. They also had a hand in producing a ten-issue comic book run that only appeared in the United States.