Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Absolutely nothing could compare to the Turtles at their peak of popularity: spanning all forms of media - from comics to toys, video games, lunch boxes, four theatrical films and a ten-season TV show - they began a marketing craze that would turn out countless copycats eager to try and replicate their formula for success.

Mighty Mouse: Among the first fine & furry personalities to don a cape, the Superman of the animal kingdom appeared for the first time in 1942 as a theatrical short, but was quick to win hearts and minds throughout a five-decade run that has yet to be paralleled.

Thundercats: Bringing a sense of epic-ness to Saturday mornings was Thundercats, animated by the group that would later form Studio Ghibli: featuring plenty of swords & sorcery, the series was the cartoon equivalent of The Lord of the Rings, and gained a cult following that still exists today.

Crash Bandicoot: As one of the few gaming entities to take on Sonic the Hedgehog for popularity and stand his ground, Crash's games were a staple product of the Playstation's original launch; beginning a line and legacy that has yet to run dry.

Darkwing Duck: Jim Cummings voiced the leading duck for Disney's Emmy-nominated action/comedy series, the success of which was quite surprising: originally a Duck Tales spin-off, the show ran for three seasons, despite being condemned by foreign censors as being "too brutal.

Cerebus the Aardvark: Though the strip would evolve into something more socio-political and controversial, Cerebus remains a highly-acclaimed parody of classic sword & sorcery adventure themes, and is the single longest-running independent comic series ever published in North America - a whopping 300 issues.

Biker Mice from Mars: At worst, the Biker Mice were derided as Ninja Turtles ripoffs, yet their popularity spawned three television seasons as well as a series-revival in 2006.

Street Sharks: Created to support an existing line of toys, the "Street Sharks" became one of the last few series of its kind to be successful in the mid-'90s; running for two seasons and inspiring an additional line of merchandise. Jawsome!

Extreme Dinosaurs: A spin-off of Street Sharks (where they were known as "DinoVengers"), these dinos composed the end of the line for the classic standard set by the Ninja Turtles as Saturday-morning television interests began to change: the series lasted for two seasons, and has yet to be aired again.

Dinosaucers: Less aggressive than many of its descendents, the Dinosaucers promoted friendship and teamwork over hard-hitting action, and featured voicework by the late, great Len Carlson. Nonetheless, the show was less successful than many others of its kind, and ended its run after only one season; a line of action figures were designed but never released following the cancelation.

Star Fox: From the late Super Nintendo to the next generation of consoles, Fox McCloud led his team of ship-bound critters against the forces of evil apes and dinosaurs. Their first title was acclaimed for its revolutionary 3D graphics, and the ensuing series have continued to garner praise; if you haven't experienced Star Fox, you're hardly a gamer.

Sly Cooper: The slickest, sneakiest raccoon of the video game world made waves as early as his heist-arousing debut. Something tells me his run is far from over...

Jazz Jackrabbit: A rabbit armed with a laser cannon trying to save a princess from an evil tortoise. Animated cut-scenes. I'm aghast to why his adventures didn't carry over to next-gen systems.

Mighty Ducks: Disney's "animalization" of a beloved hockey team didn't do as well as expected: lasting one TV season and a direct-to-video movie, the Ducks have not been seen since being dropped from programming four years ago.

Batfink: A spunky parody of Batman and the Green Hornet, "Batfink" was an animated cliffhanger that ran for 100 episodes and featured Frank Buxton and Len Maxwell voicing almost all of the characters.

Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse: Created by Batman-creator Bob Kane as a spoof on the Dark Knight, his animal-based series of 5-minute shorts nonetheless ran for two years and 130 episodes. "To the Catmobile!

Maui Mallard: A one-shot approach by Disney that featured Donald Duck as an adventursome alter-ego: "Maui Mallard", who shot insects from his gun, had the power to transform into a a staff-toting warrior known as "Cold Shadow" to save a primitive island from the clutches of an evil sorceror.

Spider-Ham: No, not Spider-Pig - Spider-HAM, and he was all that parodies were about. After a successful solo run, no one knows when - or if - we'll ever see the wall-crawling porkster ever again...(but chances are that we will).

Captain Carrot: Look at the cover - you get what you see, and I only wish there was more where the Captain came from.