Toy Biz (also stylized as ToyBiz), was a

toy A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pet ...

company which later became a subsidiary of

Marvel Entertainment Marvel Entertainment, LLC (formerly Marvel Enterprises) is an American show business, entertainment company (law), company founded in June 1998 and based in New York City, New York (state), New York, formed by the merger of #Marvel Entertainment ...

and was renamed to Marvel Toys. It was best known for producing

action figure An action figure is a poseable character (arts), character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game or television program; fictional or historical. These figures are ...

s and toys and holding the

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

license from 1990 to 2006. The company originated in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, as Charan Toys. In 1988, Charan Toys was renamed Toy Biz and became an American firm. In 1990, it obtained the master toy license for the

Marvel Entertainment Group Marvel Entertainment, LLC (formerly Marvel Enterprises) is an American entertainment company founded in June 1998 and based in New York City, New York, formed by the merger of Marvel Entertainment Group and Toy Biz. The company is a wholly own ...

, and by 1993 became partially owned by Marvel. In 1998, Toy Biz merged with Marvel Entertainment Group to bring it out of bankruptcy, with the two companies merging and creating

Marvel Enterprises Marvel Entertainment, LLC (formerly Marvel Enterprises) is an American entertainment company founded in June 1998 and based in New York City, New York, formed by the merger of Marvel Entertainment Group and Toy Biz. The company is a wholly owned ...

. Toy Biz was absorbed into Marvel Enterprises, and its main toy subsidiary was renamed Toy Biz, as consumers were familiar with the brand. In 2005, Marvel Enterprises was renamed Marvel Entertainment to reflect the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...

. In addition to this, its toy operations were renamed Marvel Toys on all properties by the end of 2006. Due to Marvel Entertainment's bankruptcy, the company became financially unable to continue to run the Marvel Toys subsidiary, with

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of ...

ultimately purchasing the master toy license for Marvel Comics, releasing its first products in January 2007. Marvel Toys attempted to survive with non-Marvel owned characters throughout 2007, though still faced financial problems. The website for Marvel Toys became inactive in late 2007.

History

Late 20th century to 1997

Charan Toys (Canadian company)

The company's original forerunner, Canadian company Chantex, Inc., was founded in the late 19th century by the Zuckerman family. The business grew from $.16 million in sales to sales of $4.5 million in 1980. In 1980, Chantex merged with Earl Takefman's Randim Marketing, Inc., a school supply manufacturer and wholesaler, to become Charan Industries Inc. Its Charan Toy, Inc. subsidiary became a leading licensing toy company in 1985. In addition to toys, Charan implemented brands in other areas, including acquiring a hockey equipment brand in the mid-1980s.

Toy Biz (American company)

In 1990, Charan, including the Toy Biz subsidiary, was purchased by businessman Ike Perlmutter. In 1993, Toy Biz made a deal for "exclusive, perpetual, royalty-free licenses" of

Marvel Characters This is a list of Marvel Universe fictional characters which were created for and are owned by Marvel Comics. Licensed or creator-owned characters (G.I. Joe, Godzilla, Groo the Wanderer, Men in Black (franchise), Men in Black, Conan (Marvel Comic ...

for 46 percent of Toy Biz equity.

Avi Arad Avi Arad (; he, אבי ארד; born 1948) is an Israeli-American film producer who became the CEO of the company Toy Biz in the 1990s and soon afterward became the chief creative officer of Marvel Entertainment, and the chairman, CEO, and founde ...

, a toy designer and comic book fan joined Toy Biz that same year. Toy Biz continued licensing outside brands, including

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

characters, producing goods such as the

Batman (1989 film) ''Batman'' is a 1989 superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name, created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. Directed by Tim Burton, it is the first installment of Warner Bros.' initial ''Batman'' film series. The film was pr ...

Batmobile The Batmobile is the fictional car driven by the superhero Batman. Housed in the Batcave, which it accesses through a hidden entrance, the Batmobile is both a heavily armored tactical assault vehicle and a personalized custom-built pursuit a ...

and some action figures, ''

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'' is an American television series filmed in New Zealand, based on the tales of the classical Greek culture hero Heracles (Hercules was his Roman analogue). Starring Kevin Sorbo as Hercules and Michael Hurst as ...

'' and '' Xena: Warrior Princess'' action figures based on the Action Pack television series shown on many

New World Television New World Pictures (also known as New World Entertainment and New World Communications Group, Inc.) was an American independent production, distribution, and (in its final years as an autonomous entity) multimedia company. It was founded in 19 ...

stations. Also, agreements with Gerber and

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

were acquired. In 1995, Toy Biz acquired Spectra Star, Inc. and

Quest Aerospace Quest Aerospace is a company based in Cedar City, UT, United States that designs and produces model rocket kits. Quest Aerospace was founded in 1992 by Bill Stine (son of G. Harry Stine) in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, and produces model rocket kits ...

Education, Inc., both toy companies. Toy Biz started up its Classic Heroes candy division in 1996, which sold candy/toy combinations using mainly Marvel characters. The company also entered the electronic learning aids (ELA) segment of the toy industry in 1996 with a licensing agreement with

Apple Computer Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company b ...

. Toy Biz partially acquired Marvel Entertainment Group. In the late 1990s, Marvel Entertainment Group filed for bankruptcy and became the subject of a battle for control in bankruptcy court. The company was salvaged in 1997 and merged with Toy Biz in 1998. The new company became

, and Toy Biz became a division of the new company.

1998 to 2007

Toy Biz as a subsidiary

In 1999, Toy Biz ventured into

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

, acquiring the master toy license to

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...

(WCW). After two years, the license deal was cut short, due to WCW being purchased by the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

in 2001. The company also licensed products for

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment. Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promot ...

(TNA),

Curious George Curious George is a fictional monkey who is the title character of a series of popular children's picture books written by Margret and H. A. Rey. Various media, including films and TV shows, have been based upon the original book series. Geor ...

and

Code Lyoko ''Code Lyoko'' () is a French animated series, animated television series created by Thomas Romain and Tania Palumbo and produced by Antefilms Production (season 1) and MoonScoop Group (seasons 2-4) for France 3 and Canal J, with the participatio ...

Toy Biz Worldwide Ltd.

In 2001, Marvel Enterprises licensed the rights to the 'Toy Biz' name to a Hong Kong-based toy manufacturer, Toy Biz Worldwide Ltd. Toy Biz also outsourced much of the manufacturing to Toy Biz Worldwide Ltd.

Marvel Entertainment licensing agreement to Hasbro

In January 2006, Marvel Entertainment signed a five-year licensing agreement with Hasbro Inc. for $205 million, giving Hasbro the right to make toys and games based on Marvel Comic licenses. As a result of this, Marvel Entertainment prematurely terminated its agreements with Toy Biz Worldwide Ltd, by a year. As a result of the early termination, Marvel Entertainment paid Toy Biz Worldwide Ltd. a penalty of between $13–16 million USD. Throughout 2007, the division struggled to stay afloat without the Marvel Comic licenses. The company introduced a series called the Legendary Comic Book Heroes – making action figures of non-Marvel Comic characters, though it suffered with poor sales. The company also furthered its TNA Wrestling and Curious George lines. Marvel Entertainment quietly began to close the division. In late 2007, the company's website shut down.

Legacy

* Following the demise of Marvel Toys, TNA Wrestling signed its master toy license with

Jakks Pacific Jakks Pacific, Inc. is an American company that designs and markets toys and consumer products, with a range of products that feature numerous children's toy licenses. The company is named after its founder, Jack Friedman, who had previously fou ...

in early 2008, to release products in mid-2010. * In 2022,

released updated versions of Toy Biz's original Marvel Legends figures to celebrate the line's twentieth anniversary.

References

External links

ComicFigs.Net (formerly Marvel Legends.net)

Legendary Comic Book Heroes
{{Disney Marvel Entertainment 1988 establishments in Quebec 2007 disestablishments in New York (state) Canadian companies established in 1988 American companies disestablished in 2007 Toy companies established in 1988 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 2007 Toy companies of the United States Toys based on comics Defunct manufacturing companies based in New York City