Defenders of Dynatron City
Defenders of Dynatron City is a video game released for the Nintendo Entertainment System by JVC Musical Industries and Lucasfilm Games in August 1992. This was Gary Winnick's first project as sole designer after co-designing Maniac Mansion with Ron Gilbert. It was supported by a brief media franchise consisting of an animated TV pilot and a six-issue comic book series.
Video game
The game centers on a team of superheroes who protect a futuristic metropolis from Dr. Mayhem and his robotic henchmen. The Defenders are:Ms. Megawatt, who can generate electrical energies.Jet Headstrong, who can fire his head like a rocket.Buzzsaw Girl, who has a buzzsaw blade instead of legs and feet.Toolbox, a robot with a smashing hammer head and a litany of useful tool options he can use in combat.Monkey Kid, a blue monkey armed with exploding bananas and leader of the team.Radium Dog, who can fly and has jaws strong enough to pick up cars with his mouth.
Critical response
The game won praise in its preproduction by many video game magazines for the creation of an original superhero team, but when the game was released it was widely panned by video game critics for, among other things, having a notoriously poor hit detection that required extremely precise aim for attacks to hit enemies.
TV special
The animated pilot was produced by DIC Animation City and was aired on the Fox Kids block on February 22, 1992. It featured the voices of Whoopi Goldberg and Tim Curry. Originally, Doctor Mayhem was voiced by Christopher Walken. Steve Purcell recalled that the producers at the last minute replaced him with a more cartooney voice. It failed to be picked up as a series, but was subsequently released on VHS. No official DVD or digital download release has been announced as of yet.
Comics
The comic book adaptation was published Marvel Comics. Written by Steve Purcell and penciled by Frank Cirocco, it ran for six monthly issues, dated from February through July 1992.