The Tick (N2 Toys)

The Tick
N2 Toys
2002 

The Tick has been bashing his way through the pages of comic books since his inception and first publication by creator / artist Ben Edlund. Since then, he's been featured in his own cartoon, a couple iterations of live action television shows and across numerous pieces of merchandise. He's a hero from an era where indie creators were starting to be noticed in the world of comics, and as time has gone by, he's become a pop culture icon unto himself.

Which is why I'm somewhat sad to say I never really paid that much attention to the character.

It's only been as of recent that I started watching the Amazon series, and quite frankly, I could take it or leave it. It's okay for a chuckle here and there, but it's by no means sucking me in as "must see TV". In fact, at this point, it's been several months since I've even seen an episode, and I'm several behind.

However, my personal viewpoint of something doesn't negate its overall popularity across the world. Not by a long shot. That's why I can still appreciate the figures produced by N2 Toys back in 2002 based on the first live action series staring Patrick Warburton and David Burke.

The Tick*Arthur

 Though the show found mild success with an audience, Fox seemed sparsely interested in promoting the show. This wasn't helped by the overall cost of each episode as a result of tight filming schedules which resulted in a lot of overtime on behalf of the cast and crew. At the end of the day, Warburton himself said it best. He claimed Fox mismanaged the entire series, leading to its inevitable cancellation. In hindsight, that seems pretty accurate. It lasted for only one season of nine episodes.

Batmanuel*Captain Liberty

N2 Toys planned a second series of figures which unfortunately never went into production. This wave would have included Champio, Destroyo, Red Scare and The Terror. Obviously, with no television series to back the line, N2 Toys, which was a company full of toy isle struggles to begin with, cancelled the line.

Last in the line was the seventeen inch Talking Tick. This was a soft body "figure" with a sculpted plastic head. Give his tummy a little squeeze, and The Tick will say one of eight sayings - or Tick-isms as the back of the package calls them:

* "I am the wild blue yonder!"
* "Absadoodle!"
* "Wicked men...You Face the TICK!"
* "Good Gravy!"
* "That's icky to infinity!"
* "Man you are creeping me out..."
* "Do you want me to kick your behind?"
* "Cool!"

At roughly six to fifteen dollars on secondary markets, the figures haven't yet found a foothold in the collector's market. That may be great news for you if you're looking to add these to your collection, that's definitely not a bad buy in price.

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The Matrix (N2 Toys)

The Matrix
N2 Toys
1999 - 2001

"You take the blue pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill - you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes."

In 1999, The Matrix was a massive franchise for the Wachowski Brothers, now known simply as the Wachowski's (You can go ahead and Google that one if you like). The first film brought in huge box office takes, and fans eagerly awaited the sequel (The Matrix Reloaded) which wouldn't hit theaters until 2003. Sadly, many fans then wished that it hadn't.

As a whole, the story is incredibly convoluted, leaving most of the audience confused, lost and bored. In short, for many it promised a fantastic ride that it just didn't deliver. With each film in the Trilogy, ratings only got worse and worse as fans became frustrated with the narrative and overall befuddlement by the time it wrapped up with The Matrix Revolutions.

However prior to the train wreck that the franchise would become, N2 Toys focused heavily on releasing figures based on the first film. For the most part, they did a pretty good job for being such a relatively unknown company.

What was great about the variants for this particular series is that the two produced were rather desirable versions to many people. The first was Agent Smith which was released as both a standard figure as well as a somewhat greenish clear with binary code version. The second was Trinity who came in both a leather tank top (regular version) and a leather trench coat (chase version).

Agent Smith*Agent Smith (Chase Variant)*Cypher

Morpheus*Neo*Switch

N2 covered a fair amount of ground in the series, but sadly never got around to releasing the entire cast of the first film. Some of the noticeable omissions are; Apoc, Mouse and Dozer (Just to name a few).

Trinity*Trinity (Chase Version)

One thing we really like about the Bullet-Dodge Neo figure (below) is the packaging. The inclusion of the heat lines from the bullets adds so much to it, so much to the point that it's arguably better to leave this particular one in the package as opposed to opening it.

Bullet-Dodge Neo

The now defunct Toyfare Magazine also helped to promote the series by offering an exclusive Trinity via their magazine. This figure is essentially the same as the carded version above, however this version of the figure does not have sunglasses on.

Trinity (Toyfare Exclusive)

Series two (the final wave of the line) did something unique by way of changing the packaging up - Something that many toy lines fail to do. We personally enjoy when toy companies do this as it adds a little spice to any toy line, and not only that makes it easier to spot new waves. We honestly wish more companies would do this.

Mr. Anderson*Sentinal

Tank*Trinity

Neo Vs. Agent Smith

Not much happened in the world of plastic for The Matrix in 2002, and by 2003 the license had shifted from N2 Toys to McFarlane Toys. Unfortunately for the Wachowski brothers, nobody really seemed interested enough in The Matrix as of 2004, and with the exception of Funko's upcoming Pop's, not much has been produced in the form of plastic toys since then.

It is rumored that a second trilogy of films is in the works. However, as of the time of this writing (December 2013), that still remains nothing more than a rumor.

Join us next time when we take a look at Cheeck and Chong's Up In Smoke!

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Hardened (N2 Toys)

Hardened
N2 Toys
2001

Remember when toy fans were all upset because nobody would give them a Steven Seagal action figure and doll? Exactly.

So it was really odd that N2 Toys would produce the very short lived Hardened line with none other than Seagal as one of the two front running characters. Though the series was entitled Hardened, you won't find this anywhere on the front of the packaging. Instead, you'll find this at the top of the flip side of each piece.

In all honestly, the sculpt was pretty spot on for the actor, and had some fun accessories packed in with the twelve inch doll. Sadly the figure (below) was nothing more than molded plastic with no joints or articulation, leaving even less to be desired in this fairly undesirable series.



Though more popular, the Rambo doll and figure didn't exactly sell in droves either. Mainly because when it came down to it very few people knew the series even existed.



Much like the Seagal figure, there's no articulation to be found in the Rambo figure (below).

What can we say? Not every toy line can be a winner. As such, the line came and went quickly, and was never followed up on with any other characters.

However, if you're a Steven Seagal or Sylvester Stallone fan, these items may be right up your alley. Though not many of them sell on secondary markets, the smaller figures garner between $15.00 and $40.00, while the dolls range between $40.00 and $60.00. Believe it or not, the Steven Seagal figure is often  times more expensive than the Rambo one.

Join us next time when we take a look at S.L.U.G. Zombies!

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The Crocodile Hunter (N2 Toys)

The Crocodile Hunter
N2 Toys
2000

Steve Irwin was on top of the world from 1996 to 2006.  As the conceiver and host of his own hit show The Crocodile Hunter which became a huge success in over one hundred countries which reached five hundred million viewers, Irwin was one of the most popular "reality TV stars" of his time.  With his wife Terri, the duo would bring viewers an in depth look at some of the most timid and some of the most dangerous animals known to man.

Sadly it was one of the latter that would end Irwin's career in 2006 when he was fatally wounded on set while filming a feature on the stingray.  As Irwin approached the fish, it suddenly turned around, piercing him in the chest with its stinger in a defensive move in response to what is considered to be the animal feeling "boxed in".  His death took the world by such surprise that many thought it to be yet another infamous internet hoax of celebrity deaths.

Despite his life being cut short, Irwin has certainly left his mark on this world, and will be remembered for eternity.  One such way is through N2 Toys 2000 release of The Crocodile Hunter action figures.  Though the likeness is off, the backpacks which contain sound chips help to make the figures identifiable when out of the package.  There were three basic figures in total produced for the line.

Night Rescue Steve Irwin*Snake Rescue Steve Irwin*Animal Rescue Terri Irwin

 

 

Two deluxe figures where also produced.  Each package contains one animal, and a unique Steve Irwin figure.

 



 

Scuba Diving Steve Irwin with Tiger Shark*Steve Irwin with Argo the Croc

 

Also included in the line were two smaller vehicles, one of which contained a kangaroo - Who doesn't want a plastic kangaroo in their action figure collection?  Especially one that you can pose riding a dirt bike!

 

 

Outback Dirt Bike*Salt Water Croc Dinghy

 

 

The series was rounded off with the Radio Shack exclusive Radio Control Truck, also known as the 4X4 Outback Truck.  The vehicle also included an exclusive Steve Irwin figure.  This particular version of the figure appears to be the most popular among collectors because it depicts Irwin in the garb he generally wore in the television series.

 

 

Radio Shack Exclusive

Radio Control Truck (AKA 4X4 Outback Truck)

 

Surprisingly, this series won't come cheap for those looking to obtain it.  Individual figures, both deluxe and basic, sell for upwards of twenty-five dollars a piece.  The smaller vehicles fetch as much as $30.00 a piece, and the Radio Control Truck can command as much as $50.00.  That's not a bad return for a series of toys that the majority of folks out there don't even know about.

Join us next time when we take a look at The X Files!

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