List of Action Man characters

Action Man

Action Man is the main character of the franchise and was first introduced in 1966 as a British equivalent to G.I. Joe. However, he soon developed his own identity as an action hero. Although his appearance and backstory changed over time, one thing that remains consistent is his scar on his right cheek. In the Hasbro toy line, he's depicted as the leader of the Action Force team of heroes and has had several teammates throughout his career. He is advanced in many forms of martial arts and has a large arsenal of weapons and vehicles.

In the 1995 TV series, the character is depicted is a man suffering from amnesia who is appointed as leader of Action Force who fight against the evil Dr. X. He often has brief flashbacks of his past which are triggered by certain events. He later learns that his real name is Matthew Exler, and that he's actually the brother of Dr. X (Dorian Exler).

In the 2000 TV series, Action Man was reimagined as extreme sports athlete Alex Mann of Team Xtreme. He has a special ability called an AMP (Advanced Macro Probability) Factor, a result of secret experiments by his former coach Simon Grey. The AMP Factor allows Alex to see every possibility in a situation but in order to use it he has to feel a triggering adrenaline rush. This version of Action Man doesn't have any known family, at least not seen in the series, but he does mention he once had a dog called Patches when he was young.

Action Man was released as a G.I. Joe figure in 2004 and was a Toys R Us Night Force Set Exclusive.^[1] The character was originally planned to have a starring role in an early script for G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra.

Flynt

Flynt is an Australian member of Action Force introduced in 2004 alongside Red Wolf. He loves action and extreme sports, often seen with his dirt rider or snowboard. Two action figures of Flynt were released, and the character was featured regularly in Action Man comics as well as the 2004 film Action Man: Robot Atak.

Red Wolf

Red Wolf is a Native American archer and a member of the Action Force introduced in 2004, alongside Flynt. As well as his bow and arrows, he is equipped with a wavin pipe and tomahawk. Three action figures of the character were released, the second of which came with a canoe. In 2005, he was seen with a section of his hair died red, which was a sign of the time which he wrestled a bear and won. Red Wolf was a regular character in Panini's Action Man comic book from his introduction up to the comic's end, and he also featured in each of the direct-to-DVD Action Man films.

Natalie Poole

Natalie Poole was a member of the Action Force seen in the 1995 TV series. A single, now rare, action figure was released which had a kicking action. At Joecon 2010, a convention exclusive Q-Force action figure of Natalie Poole was released and came with a Silent Attack canoe.^[2]

Knuck Williams

Knuck was a military member of the Action Force in the 1995 TV series, wearing a beret and camo gear. Like Natalie Poole, a single action figure was released during the 1990s.

Jacques

Jacques is a French wheelchair-bound boy and member of Action Force in the 1995 TV series. He was in charge of the computer works.

RAID

RAID (Randomly Acquired Intelligent Dog) is the pet dog of Action Man. He first starred in the 1995 TV series and would later appear semi-regularly in the comics. Several different action figures of Raid were released, the final one in 2003. RAID became the poster-dog for the SPCA after Action Man aggressively chastised him for urinating on his new rug, prompting outrage from the public. The dog who played RAID went on to have success playing Cerberus in the Broadway adaption of "Hercules in New York".

Dr. X

Dr. X (real name Count Laszlo Huszar II/Dorian Exler in 1995 TV series) is the main antagonist of the franchise introduced in the mid-1990s. He is a master scientist bent on world domination and is prepared to reach his goal by any means necessary. He is Action Man's archenemy and it is always up to Action Man and Action Force to stop his evil plans and save the world. Despite having lots of different looks over the years, one thing that remains consistent is his bionic hand/arm and eye (sometimes covered by an eye patch). He is the leader of the 'Council of Doom' and has had many villainous teammates and right hand men.

In the 2000 TV series, Dr.X was a handicapped scientist who worked with Simon Grey to help humanity in case of a nuclear war. This included creating Action Man’s AMP factor. However, Simon left because he thought Dr.X’s methods were cruel and heartless. Still, Dr.X continued his work on neo-humanity, eventually transplanting his mind in to Brandon Cane in an attempt to obtain immortality.

Professor Gangrene

Gangrene is another archenemy of Action Man and the former right-hand man of Dr. X. He's known to be a master scientist, who was infected by so many diseases that he became known as Gangrene. Like Dr. X, he has had many different looks, but is easily characterized by his pale green skin and the fact that his left eye is bigger than his right. He was replaced by No-Face as Dr. X's closest associate after failing to defeat Action Man too many times. Gangrene was a recurring antagonist in the Panini comic book series and the 1995 TV series, while also featuring in the 2005 film Action Man: X-Missions - the Movie where he was voiced by Scott McNeil.^[3] Several different action figures of Gangrene were released, often featuring some kind of unique gimmick.^[4]

No-Face

No-Face (real name Gerrard De Visage) is the right-hand man of Dr. X and replacement for Professor Gangrene. He grew up in Belgium, before moving to the United States to train as a movie stunt man. His skills in fencing and moto-sport caught the eye of Dr. X, who then lured him into crime with empty promises of glory. His name comes from the hideous state of his skin, which was a result of a botched robbery where he got covered in toxic acid and his skin burnt off. He's a master of disguises and his face is often covered by bandages or a mask. He hopes that his services to Dr. X will one day be rewarded by the restoration of his face. A single action figure was released,^[5] but the character was featured prominently in the comics from his 2004 introduction onwards.

Anti-Freeze

Anti-Freeze is a member of the Council of Doom and was first introduced as a toy in 2003. His first appearance in the comic was in issue No. 89 in a strip titled "Anti-Freeze Attacks". He is a man composed of ice, but it's unknown how he came to be in that state. His main weapon is an ice staff. His final appearance was in issue No. 137 of the comic, in which he was seen swimming away from an X Shark that had been set free by Action Man.

Tempest

Tempest (real name Templeton Storm) is a villain who has the power to control the weather and to make storms using weather machines, which he began creating at a young age. He also has twin staffs, which can shoot lightning. He was introduced in the 2000 TV series and two styles of action figure were released.

Asazi

Exclusive to the 2000 TV series and the only female Action Man villain in any media. Asazi is a notorious assassin whose signature weapon is a crossbow.

Plague Locust

A villain featured in the PC game Action Man: Raid on Island X, Plague Locust is an insane specialist in robotics, disguised in an insect-like armoured outfit featuring a gas mask and a jetpack with insectoid wings. In the game, Action Man must venture into the jungle to fight him and his robotic insects, and halt his plans to take control of jungle animals and use them for crime.

X Robots

The X Robots are a robot army built in the image of Dr. X by No-Face. They were introduced in 2004 and served as a replacement for regular henchmen. Action Man was quickly able to discover the weak spot of the robots (a section in the centre of the robots stomach area). They were the main focus of the 2004 direct-to-DVD film; Action Man: Robot Atak. In 2005, some robots were upgraded to become Toxic Robots which had blades for arms. In the 2009 Tesco exclusive range, X Robots had faces very different in design to that of Dr. X.

Raptors

Raptors are a race of dinosaur-like creatures which lived in the jungle zone of Island X. Professor Gangrene later created a race of Robo-Raptors in issue No. 130 of the comic. These were designed to overshadow No-Face's X Robots so that he would become Dr. X's right-hand man again.

The Intruder

The Intruder was the Neanderthal look-alike archenemy of Action Man and his team in the original Palitoy Action Man. He was introduced in 1977 and sometimes seen with the dragon-like creature Gargon.

Nick Masters

Nick Masters was a TV presenter and extreme sports commentator for Mastervision (of which can be assumed he created) in the 2000 TV series. He had a public feud with Templeton Storm, which led to Storm becoming Tempest. On camera, he seems like a nice guy, but really he’s an egotistical person who will do anything for screen time no matter the collateral damage to any location or how many lives he could be risking. He later went on to work for Bank of Ireland as an accountant, solving mysteries such as why the expenses claimed by senior executives were so excessively high.

Professor Moran

Professor Moran was a scientist who was kidnapped by No-Face and was then forced to make a mind control gas for Dr. X during the events of the 2004 comic story-arc and the film Action Man: Robot Atak.