Ask Four Horsemen Studios fans about the company’s in-house lines before Mythic Legions and you will certainly hear about the anthropomorphic warriors from The Seventh Kingdom and the dark denizens of Gothitropolis. One line you will rarely, if ever, hear mentioned is MAGMA C.O.R.P.S.. In this “Blast from the Past” article, we will look at this largely forgotten line, including some of the figures that were planned, but never released, for MAGMA C.O.R.P.S..
Our Second Original Property
Originally offered in 2006, MAGMA C.O.R.P.S. was actually the second original in-house property released by Four Horsemen Studios, about a year after Xetheus and the Seventh Kingdom was offered. This line was a stark departure from the Seventh Kingdom, and it stands out as a very different style from all the other figures we have created since that time. Part of the “Urban Vinyl” style that was gaining in popularity at this time, the figures were made with rotocasting technology, another big difference from our other lines (outside of the huge Mythic Legions trolls).
The story of MAGMA C.O.R.P.S. is this:
Welcome to Mercury City- birthplace of Magmakore! Erupting from beneath the surface of the Earth, Magmakore is a miracle fuel for man and machine alike. Magmakore has been refined into a fuel for living tissue through a series of medical breakthroughs and advanced cybernetics. Although this process is essentially flawless, there have been rare cases displaying mixed results. Unexpected reactions range from horrible mutations to incomprehensible mental and physical powers. Those bestowed with these extraordinary powers are known as Magmakks.
All too often, the temptation is to use these powers in a self-serving and sometimes evil way. Fortunately, others choose to use their newly acquired abilities for the good of those around them, and are often recruited into public service. One of the most elite and highly specialized examples of this is an all Magmakk unit of the Mercury City police force known as the Magma C.O.R.P.S...
MAGMA C.O.R.P.S.’ First Release
The first, and only, figure offered for sale in the MAGMA C.O.R.P.S. line was Commander Argus. The figure, and the line, was debuted at the San Diego Comic Con from that year. At the con there was an exclusive version of the figure offered, which included a Four Horsemen Studios logo on his sleeve. A regular version of the figure was also shown at the con, along with some other planned MAGMA C.O.R.P.S. characters (which we will cover shortly). In all, there were 1000 of these figures made, with 100 of them being the exclusive variant!
The regular version of Commander Argus was eventually sold on StoreHorsemen, and while the style of this line definitely has its fans, sales of this character were not enough for us to justify moving deeper into the planned line. Instead, we focused on our FANtastic Exclusive voting and the characters selected from those fan-voted campaigns. Here is this character's bio fron the back of the package:
Commander Argue was found passed out and left for dead in the Mercury City streets nearly five years ago. He was picked up by members of the MAGMA C.O.R.P.S. during a routine mission. When we awakened, Argus had no memory of his life before that day. Tests run on Argus by the team revealed that he had power levels that were off the chart. The team hoped that a power this immense could be harnessed for the good of the city. Once he recovered, Argus accepted the invitation to join the MAGMA C.O.R.P.S. His extraordinary power, keen intellect, and exception leadership skill have quickly earned Argus the rank of commander. Commander Argus now fearlessly leads the MAGMA C.O.R.P.S. in the fight to keep Mercury City safe.
Unreleased MAGMA C.O.R.P.S. Figures
From the very beginning of MAGMA C.O.R.P.S., we had planned out other characters for the line. These were shown first at San Diego Comic Con and later at other shows and conventions we attended. Today, these prototypes are on display at Four Horsemen Studios, a fun reminder of a different style and a fun line from the early days of our studio!
We had planned two different versions of the main character, Argus, including Stealth Argus and Tribal Argus.
One of the most visually fun characters in the line was the "code-ripping, cyber-information specialist" of the MAGMA C.O.R.P.S. - Moxy!
In terms of bad guys, MAGMA C.O.R.P.S. plans including the 4-armed, army-building drone, as well as a two different versions (regular and "powered-up") of the line's main bad guy, Atrophus!
MAGMA C.O.R.P.S. ON VIDEO!
One very cool thing we can share to end this look at the MAGMA C.O.R.P.S. line is a video that was created by the DAVE School. They contacted us and asked us if they could use this property as a training tool for their students that year. This video is what they came up with!
Published on 04.20.21