The series is based on a toy line from Matchbox/Those Characters From Cleveland that began in 1988. Many characters were made up for the TV show that weren't in the toy line - Jenny Gail, Baron Von Claudeitz, and Siren being three major ones. Many characters were given new backstories and appearance changes - a major example is Chiller, who had a beard and a totally different face in the toy line. The character of Max Miles was Caucasian in the line, but redesigned here as an African-American, most likely to make him resemble his voice actor Roscoe Lee Browne. Ironically, Browne would later voice a Caucasian character, the Kingpin, in Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1994) series. In addition to the TV show, there was also a comic book series.