"Doom Zones" were small playsets with a horror theme and featured miniature figurines of menacing creatures and the hero Max, a young boy with blond hair, jeans, a white t-shirt with a red "M" on it, and a baseball cap (the color varied based on the playset purchased) which also always had an "M" on it.

It was later adapted into a TV series, as well as a tie-in video game The Adventures of Mighty Max produced by Ocean Software for the Super NES and Mega Drive/Genesis.

But he was MIGHTY MAX, and he'd get back somehow!Premiering in September 1993, an American animated series based on the toys was produced.

The older Doom Zones, Horror Heads and playsets were re-released with the original story replaced with the revised one: Max was bright and pretty good at getting in and out of trouble, but he'd never forget the day he broke his Mom's mysterious old statue and found the Cosmic Cap inside.

And how were Max, his Cosmic Cap and his two friends and protectors, wise old Virgil and fearless Norman gonna' measure up against the ultimate evil of the Skull Master!!

Some playsets from the third series (specifically Beetlebrow, Talon, Rhesus 4 and Freako) are all relatively uncommon but the rest were all widely produced.

This is why the first eight are relatively common, unlike the later eight which were released in much smaller numbers and are some of the rarest and sought-after sets within the series despite their small size.

Several larger Mighty Max playsets were released across the years, often being significantly less portable in nature but coming with an increased figure count and more playability.

The first three were simply repaints of pre-existing figures that came with recent Doom Zones and Horror Heads as well as from a few of the bigger playsets.

A number of digital watches were made for the toyline, with a branded strap and openable face that resembled one of the Doom Zones.

[8] More interestingly, there were a number of metallized sets planned, a first for the series - development images show metallized versions of the Skull Dungeon and Temple of Venom Doom Zones, the Vamp Biter, Lockjaw and Kronosaur Horror Heads, and the Mummy, Insectoid and Rat Trap Shrunken Heads.

[9] On the trail of the popular Mighty Max, other companies would soon implement the miniature playset style into their merchandise for properties including Star Wars, Godzilla, and Batman Forever.

Galoob's popular Micro Machines line already bore a similar scale to Mighty Max and created a variety of miniature Star Wars "head" playsets ranging in size.

Playmates Toys also introduced mini Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Star Trek playsets in 1994 and continued producing them the following year.