Sectaurs

Sectaurs: Warriors of Symbion is a media franchise born from a line of action figures released by Coleco in 1985.[4][5] The franchise have extended to comic books and an animated series.[6]

Created by Lawrence Mass, Tim Clarke, and Maureen Trotto, the Sectaurs world blended humanoids with insects and arachnids.

Rights to the Sectaurs franchise are currently held by Seven Towns Ltd., a Notting Hill-based British toy manufacturer.[7]

Development

The concept originated with puppet designer Tim Clarke, who attended a Halloween party in 1978.

Characters

Shining Realm

Dargon: Prince of the Shining Realm. He is bonded with Dragonflyer, a winged Insectoid which has a biting action. Another insectoid companion, Parafly, was sold with the variant figure Night Fighting Dargon. His weapons included a broadskall sword, shield, twin venguns (a spring-loaded gun that fires poison darts), and a slazor - a projectile weapon that throws pellets. Although Stellara is in love with Dargon, he secretly desires to marry Belana – the royal betrothed of his childhood friend Zak.
Pinsor: A veteran warrior who rides the massive Battle Beetle, a Steed with large front arms akin to pincers. He suffered from unrequited love for Stellara, whose affections lay with Dargon.
Zak: Captain of Prosperon's Royal Guard, until his wisecracking insolence got him replaced. Zak's childhood friend is Dargon, who is his rival for Belana's affections. His companion, Bitaur, is an Action Bug with a biting action. Zak's weapons include a Slazor, a Vengun, and a Skall shield.
Mantor/Mantys: A "Keeper of the Way", a scholar of the ancient powers contained in the Hyves and the Ancients who created them. His companion beast is Raplor, an Action Bug with a grappling line that extends from its mouth. Mantor's weapons include a crossbow, vengun, and skall shield.
Stellara: A female warrior. In the comic book series, it was established that Stellara's Insectoid died in battle some time ago and one story focused on her attempting to tele-bond with a new one, but was unable to complete the ritual because Dargon and the others were in danger. In the comics, Stellara is a romantic interest of Pinsor, but she thought of him as a surrogate father; her true fondness is for Dargon.
Bodyball: A character seen only in the unreleased second wave of the toy line. Rather than being paired with an Insectoid, Bodyball was one of two figures planned to have a special action designed into the figure itself. He could be folded up, much like a pillbug, and visually seemed to be a member of a race other than his Sectaur compatriots.
Crossbow: The Shining Realm's Battle Bug. Its projectile is a missile-like pod referred to as a "spear".
Gyrofly: The only Creeper that was planned to be released for the Shining Realm faction in the unreleased second line. It was a scarab-like device which opened its shell and released a spinning propeller projectile named Attack-Gnat.

Dark Domain

General Spidrax: The leader of the Dark Domain's armies, armed with a whip coated in lethal poison. Unlike most Sectaurs, he enslaved his animal companion, Spider-Flyer, rather than bond with it.[9] This was possibly because Spidrax had no forehead antennae (which all other Sectaurs possess) with which to initiate the tele-bonding process, but also to show his cruelty. Spidrax's weapons included a venom whip, Slazor, Skall shield, net, and twin Venguns.
Skulk: Devora's stepson, who rides the spider-like Trancula, a furry Steed with biting mandibles. His weapons included a Skall dagger, shield, Vengun, and dart wing.
Commander Waspax: Spidrax's rival. His Insectoid companion is Wingid, an Action Bug with flapping wings. His weapons included a Skall saber, shield, and Vengun.
Skito: A mercenary. His companion, Toxcid, is an Action Bug that squirts water from his proboscis, said to be "poison" in the context of the stories. His weapons included a Skall sword, shield, and Vengun.
Bandor: One of the unreleased second wave figures. Bandor included a flail, Skall sword, and shield. His insectoid was Swipe, which was an Action Bug with an extending proboscis weapon.
Nuckles: The other of the two figures in the second line which was to have had a built-in feature rather than an Insectoid. His feature was likely a punching action with his "Mutant Arm". Nuckle's accessories included some form of hand weapon, a shield, and two small Skalibur guns which attached to the sides of his helmet and connected to his weapons belt by power cables.

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 is guarded by Narr and Vypex, a pair of mutant Insectoids.

Other characters

Belana: Zak's royal betrothed, who secretly (and mutually) desires Dargon.
Devora: Goddess-Empress of the Dark Domain and stepmother of Skulk.
Galken: Galken rules the Shining Realm as a regency, in the absence of his elder brother Markor. He is the uncle of Dargon.
Gnatseye: A warrior of the Shining Realm. His Insectoid companion is Jumpyr.
Hardyn: Galken's cousin and chief adviser. He has been Supreme Tribune of the Shining Realm's Council of Judges, ever since Galken ascended to the throne.
Markor the Mighty: King of the Shining Realm, father of Dargon. After disappearing years ago while searching for the Hyve, Markor was succeeded by his younger brother Galken.
Scorpia: A villainous Keeper, and Spidrax's half-sister.
Seacor: A headstrong youth featured in the animated miniseries. He is eager to prove himself to Dargon and Company. Seacor's Insectoid companion is Altifly.
Senrad: Devora's stealthy chief administrator.
Slikk: A veteran thief and troublemaker whose ribald jokes, outrageous lies, and embarrassing pranks make him less than popular with his fellow Sectaurs.

title	Sectaurs
creator	Lawrence Mass Tim Clarke Maureen Trotto
origin	Action figure series (1985)
owner	Seven Towns Coleco (1985–89)
years	1985–present
comics	Sectaurs #1–8 (Marvel, 1985–86)‡R1R‡ Sectaurs Summer Special (Marvel UK, 1986) Sectaurs #1–3 (Oni Press, 2024–25)‡R2R‡
animated series	Sectaurs (5 episodes, 1985)
toys	Sectaurs action figures (Coleco, 1985–86)‡R3R‡

Development

Premise

Characters

Shining Realm

Dark Domain

Hyve

Other characters

Television series

Comics

Revival

External links

References