15 Alternative Superhero And Comic Book Movies You Must See
2. The Toxic Avenger (1984)
Melvin Herd is a stereotypical weedy dork, terrorised by the buff and beautiful customers at the gym he works at as a janitor. Eventually, they take things too far, pushing Melvin into a vat of toxic waste that just so happens to be parked outside of the gym.
Rather than turn into a handsome, ripped, all American hero, Melvin mutates into a hideously deformed creature with incredible strength and a thirst for revenge. In his new form, Melvin sets about cleaning up the debauched town he lives in, one goon at a time.
Sitting firmly in the territory of so bad it's good, The Toxic Avenger is extremely dated, with rubbish effects and some questionable acting but it's also hilarious (mostly intentionally) and is a refreshing antidote to the usual supermodel superheroes of Hollywood.
The Toxic Avenger is a decidedly unsubtle pastiche of the superhero origin story but it's this parody of the genre and over the top absurdity in everything it does that makes it so memorable.