South Park/Mirage

## South Park

* Mini Packs Series 3
* Mini Packs Series 4

After McFarlane Toys failed to secure the license for a line of action figures based off the animated series *South Park*, unknown toy company Mirage (no association with the comic group that created *Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles*) stepped in to bat and put out at least four waves of action figures based on the show's most lovable (and hateable) characters. Before they went under though, they had plans to release a few products that never came to be.

## **Action Figures:**

Mirage's *South Park* figures were around 5-6" tall and usually only had a single point of articulation at the neck, allowing for head movement. Produced through rotocasting, the toys were very hollow and came with one or two accessories. The first wave released in early 2003 included Stan with his dog Sparky, Eric with Mr. Kitty, Kyle with Ian, and Butters with an underpants gnome. When the wave first began production, Kenny was not included with the three boys as he was still considered "permanently deceased" and "Red Sleigh Down" aired very shortly before they saw release. His figure would finally be included in Series 2 and came with one of the rats that would usually feast on his corpse whenever he got "killed" in episode. Also part of the lineup were Tweek with two other gnomes, Towelie with the iconic South Park sign, and Timmy with Gobbles the turkey. Series 3 was the first wave to include adult characters, though neither of them are in scale with the child figures; and is the only wave to include female characters. They include the Chef with his spatula, the only figure of Liane Cartman with a plate of donuts, Mr. Garrison with his hand puppet, and Wendy with a cookie. A large figure of Satan was released around this time as a Suncoast exclusive, though he is not depicted as part of "Series 3" on the packaging. A fourth series was made and fully packaged for a 2005 release, but did not see retail and is only available online. They include Big Gay Al with a duck, Jimmy with a microphone, Officer Barbrady with chickens, and Mr. Mackey with an alternative head wearing purple glasses. Another *South Park* figure by Mirage that became an Internet exclusive was Mr. Hankey. Also produced for the show were keychains of him, Butters, and the three main boys sans Kenny.

Somewhere throughout the toyline's run, Mirage released two *South Park* "Mini Packs" which included figures from the corresponding wave, along with a bonus character, that reused the same basic told, but at a much smaller scale (2" tall). Series 1 had Eric, Stan, Kyle and Butters with Mr. Hankey. Series 2 had Satan, Kenny, Tweek, Towelie, and Timmy. There were plans to make two other Mini Packs with Series 3 consisting of Chef, Wendy, Ms. Cartman, Mr. Garrison, and Santa Claus while Series 4 would've included Barbrady, Mr. Mackley, Big Gay Al, Jimmy, and Zombie Chef in his "Thriller" style outfit from the episode "Pinkeye."

## **Final Verdict:**

In 2005, the Mirage company went bankrupt and ultimately became defunct; bringing both the Series 3 and 4 Mini Packs down with them. While Carlton Cards would make an ornament of Santa with Eric Cartman in 2011 , neither toy company has yet to make a full-scale action figure of him along with Zombie Chef. Their prototypes have yet to be discovered and will most likely remain: **LOST**.

In Michael Crawford's review of the second toyline, he mentioned that the upcoming Series 3 would feature Mr. Mackey and Series 4 would feature Cartman's mom; meaning both the figures were originally intended for those waves and later switched around. He also mentioned that the fourth line was to feature a figure of Stan's other sister, Shelly. However, she was nowhere to be found in the final release.  As no source is provided, its unclear if this was an error on the reviewer's part or reflective of a change at Mirage. With no prototype to provide proof, the existence of Shelly's figure is: **UNCONFIRMED**.

## **References:**

1. ↑ https://southpark.fandom.com/wiki/Mirage
2. ↑ https://www.flickr.com/photos/139932824
3. ↑ http://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW\_061104a.htm