Sectaurs

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Sectaurs
GenreAnimation
Created by
  • Lawrence Mass
  • Tim Clarke
  • Maureen Trotto
Developed byDan DiStefano
Directed byJohn Kimball
Voices of
Theme music composer
Country of origin United States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes5
Production
Executive producers
ProducerCosmo Anzilotti
Production company Ruby-Spears Enterprises
Original release
ReleaseSeptember 14 (1985-09-14) 
October 12, 1985 (1985-10-12)

Sectaurs: Warriors of Symbion is a line of action figures released by Coleco in 1985. [1] [2] Created by Lawrence Mass, Tim Clarke, and Maureen Trotto, the Sectaurs world blended humanoids with insects and arachnids. Marvel Comics released a limited series of Sectaurs comics, and the characters were also adapted for an animated miniseries. [3]

Contents

Development

The concept originated with puppet designer Tim Clarke, who attended a Halloween party in 1978. Disliking wearing Halloween masks, Clarke instead created a hand puppet modeled after a fly. Years later, Clarke brought the same hand puppet into a meeting with Lawrence Mass. Mass loved the idea and suggested pairing it with an action figure. [4]

Premise

"Somewhere in space, somewhere in time", a planet called Symbion is the site of a failed genetic experiment. Frightening changes take place that cannot be stopped. The result is a world where insects and arachnids grow to frightening proportions and the inhabitants have taken on their characteristics.

Prince Dargon, ruler of the peaceful Shining Realm of Prosperon, and his allies are in conflict with the forces of Empress Devora, ruler of the Dark Domain of Synax, and her henchmen. The two factions rival each other for possession of the Hyves, fortresses of an ancient civilization holding the key to ultimate power.

Each character was "tele-bonded" with intelligent, non-anthropomorphic insect creatures called Insectoids that had a special ability. The characters and their Insectoids shared each other's "pleasure and pain", feeling empathy through a telepathic link.

Action figures

Heroic Sectaurs of the Shining Realm

Evil Sectaurs of the Dark Domain

The Hyve

The Hyve playset was also produced, and is one of the larger playsets released in the 1980s. Accessories included a boulder-like wrecking ball, a heavy Skalibur turret gun, a ladder, and a cage. It featured a landing pad with a trap door, a collapsible bridge, and an interior detailing a "Bio-Control Laboratory". The Hyve came with two Mutant Insectoids as guardians. Narr was a glove puppet, while Vypex was a smaller finger puppet. Narr and Vypex each had a cave from which they could "ambush" figures during play. Since each was a puppet, their rear anatomies did not exist in toy form. As a result, the penciler who worked on the comic book never drew the rear portions of their bodies. The rear edge of Narr's abdomen was always obscured by the foreground, while Vypex's serpentine body never ended.

Notable Characters from the Comics and other Books

Glossary of Terminology and Locations

Peerages

RankShining RealmDark DomainNotes
1 King/Queen Emperor/Empress
2 Tribune Grand Marshal Acts as deputy ruler, as with the shoguns of Japan
3 Magistrate Field Marshal ; Warlord
4 Bailiff General ; Warmaster
5 Prince / Princess Brigadier
6 Duke / Duchess Colonel
7 Marque / Marchioness Commander
8 Count / Countess Major
9 Viceroy Captain
10 Baron / Baroness Lieutenant
11Thane; Warden Ensign Non-Commissioned Officer
12 Sheriff Sergeant Non-Commissioned Officer
13 Constable Grenadier Non-Commissioned Officer
14 Squire Lancer / Scout
15 Yeoman Musketeer / Spy

Television series

In 1985, Ruby-Spears produced a five-episode miniseries:

  1. "Spidrax Attacks" (written by Dan DiStefano and Janis Diamond)
  2. "Slave City" (written by Dan DiStefano and Janis Diamond)
  3. "Valley of the Stones" (written by Dan DiStefano and Janis Diamond)
  4. "Trapped in the Acid Desert" (written by Ted Field)
  5. "Battle of the Hyve" (written by Matt Uitz and Janis Diamond)

Comic

Nine mini-comics were included with Sectaurs toys in 1984 [6] . Marvel Comics published an eight-issue series from 1985 to 1986. [7] All of the stories were written by Bill Mantlo. Mark Texeira drew the first two issues and Steve Geiger drew issues 3-8. Marvel UK released a Sectaurs Summer Special in June of 1986. [8]

Oni Press published a three-issue miniseries in 2024. [9] It is part of the NacelleVerse.

Kickstarter campaign

A Kickstarter campaign started in 2018 to restart the franchise. [10]

References

  1. "Battle of the Fun Factories". Time. December 16, 1985. Archived from the original on April 24, 2011. Retrieved March 17, 2010.
  2. Yeoman Lowbrow (January 18, 2018). "Plastic Power". Flashbak. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  3. Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 542. ISBN   978-1538103739.
  4. "The Story of the Sectaurs - A Toy Documentary". YouTube . August 24, 2018.
  5. Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Supervillains. New York: Facts on File. p. 140. ISBN   0-8160-1356-X.
  6. "Sectaurs: Warriors of the Symbion (1984 series)". Grand Comics Database. Retrieved June 8, 2025.
  7. Markstein, Don. "Sectaurs". Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  8. "Sectaurs Summer Special (Marvel UK, 1986 Series)". Grand Comics Database. Retrieved June 8, 2025.
  9. https://aiptcomics.com/2024/10/22/sectaurs-1-review
  10. "Because Every '80s Toyline Attempts a Comeback, SECTAURS Return!". Nerdist. April 23, 2017. Archived from the original on June 16, 2017. Retrieved January 27, 2019.