History WesternAnimation / MaxSteel

* VillainBall: John Dread misses more than one chance to kill Max because he wants him alive to study his biomodifications, and Max, every single time, escapes and ruins his plans.

* Parental Bonus: Max's nickname for Psycho, Smiley, is possibly based on [[Series/Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy]]. Though others think it is based on the medal face.

After six episodes of season 1, the company making it, Netter Digital, went bankrupt and the series went over to another company (Foundation Imaging), with a marked improvement in the animation quality. After season 2, Foundation shut down too and so season 3 was made by Creator/MainframeEntertainment, AKA the people who did ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot'' and ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars''. Season 3 also saw a move from Creator/KidsWB to Creator/CartoonNetwork; the plot went in a different direction, although the basic formula of every episode remained untouched and TheyChangedItNowItSucks seems largely avoided in the aforementioned small fanbase. Mainframe seemed to have an extremely low budget for the project as evidenced by many bit characters being 'portrayed' by the CGI models of larger characters from earlier seasons, sometimes to the point of mooks looking suspiciously identical to the first season's one-off villains. As well, the series finale is a ClipShow. After Season 3, a series of made-for-TV movies were released. For a while, the show was in the midst of a revival/{{Retcon}} in Latin America. More recently, a [[InNameOnly new, animated reboot]] was announced and aired on Creator/DisneyXD. For that reboot, see ''WesternAnimation/MaxSteel2013''.

Josh [=McGrath=] is a 19-year-old extreme sports star whose adopted father works at the sports equipment manufacturing company N-Tek. It turns out this is a front for a counterintelligence agency, so when Josh makes an unscheduled visit during an attack on the facility by terrorists, he finds himself caught in the crossfire and present at an honest-to-god FreakLabAccident: his body is infested with "Max Nanoprobes", experimental {{Nanomachines}}, leaving him on the verge of death. TeenGenius Roberto "Berto" Martinez realizes that the probes have integrated with his body and become [[TheSymbiote symbiotic with him]]- and he's dying because they're [[PhlebotinumBreakdown running out of power]]. He is thus able to save Josh's life by infusing his body with the probes' specialized power source, [[AppliedPhlebotinum Trans-Phasic Energy]] (or just "T-Juice"). Afterward, it is discovered that the accident has given him [[MagicAndPowers numerous superpowers]]; superhuman strength, speed, stamina, senses, and the ability to become invisible. Realizing that these powers plus his extreme sports experience make him an ideal [[TheyFightCrime secret agent]], Josh creates a SecretIdentity of an older, brown-haired version of himself: '''Max Steel'''. The series begins with a [[InMediasRes much less detailed explanation.]]

* {{Retool}}: As season three opens, we see that the government is less than pleased with the way N-Tek dropped the ball in the second season finale, and forces Jefferson to close down the espionage division. Josh, Kat and Berto become legit competitors on the sports circuit, sponsored by N-Tek's legit public front while [[TheyFightCrime fighting crime]] on their own time. It's actually somewhat odd, as season three clearly suffers from budget problems and the loss of the previous {{status quo|IsGod}} required new CGI assets to be made, while ensuring several previously re-usable assets like the N-Tek sets had to be dropped.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[LetsGetDangerous Going Turbo!]]]]

The show was hosted on [=YouTube=] by Crackle in 2009 (Crackle is owned by Creator/SonyPicturesTelevision, which co-produced and owns the distribution rights), but has since been made unavailable for viewing.

* TheCameo: Tony Hawk, Jeremy [=McGrath=], and Matt Hoffman as themselves in ExtremeSportExcusePlot episodes. Dizzy and Carmen from ''WesternAnimation/RoughnecksStarshipTroopersChronicles'' also cameo as students in one episode (likely because that show and this one were both produced by Sony and Foundation Imaging).

* ExtremeSportExcusePlot: Cameo episodes. See TheCameo examples above.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Quite a few innuendos.

* FrickinLaserBeams: Actual guns (with bullets) are seen in an early season one episode, but the vast majority of weapons are laser-based.

** Likewise, the [[ActingForTwo uncanny resemblance]] between Jefferson's predecessor at N-Tek, Marco Nathanson, and [[spoiler: John Dread]]. Greg Weisman [[WordOfGod said]] that this was supposed to be a RedHerring. In a case of behind-the-scenes {{Retcon}}, other producers after he left said they considered it to be exactly what it looked like. Neither interpretation is ever followed up on.

After six episodes of season 1, the company making it, Netter Digital, went bankrupt and the series went over to another company (Foundation Imaging), with a marked improvement in the animation quality. After season 2, Foundation shut down too and so season 3 was made by Creator/MainframeEntertainment, AKA the people who did ''ReBoot'' and ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars''. Season 3 also saw a move from Creator/KidsWB to Creator/CartoonNetwork; the plot went in a different direction, although the basic formula of every episode remained untouched and TheyChangedItNowItSucks seems largely avoided in the aforementioned small fanbase. Mainframe seemed to have an extremely low budget for the project as evidenced by many bit characters being 'portrayed' by the CGI models of larger characters from earlier seasons, sometimes to the point of mooks looking suspiciously identical to the first season's one-off villains. As well, the series finale is a ClipShow. After Season 3, a series of made-for-TV movies were released. For a while, the show was in the midst of a revival/{{Retcon}} in Latin America. More recently, a [[InNameOnly new, animated reboot]] was announced and aired on Creator/DisneyXD. For that reboot, see ''WesternAnimation/MaxSteel2013''.

* PublicDomainSoundtrack: No ''too'' often, but one SwordFight with a zombie pirate had a hilariously sped-up version of the Funeral March playing as background music.

Max Steel was a MerchandiseDriven, CG-animated SaturdayMorningCartoon series which ran from 2000 to 2002. At its heart a spy show, with outrageous villains and plots at times straining believability, the main character's commentary often put the series in AffectionateParody territory. In spite of its silliness, however, the show had well-defined characters, unusually complex plots, and was surprisingly dialogue-heavy for a show of its demographic. Aside from this it has a dark, realistic animation style and a few instances of genuine NightmareFuel.

%%* LampshadeHanging:

Max Steel was a MerchandiseDriven, CG-animated SaturdayMorningCartoon series which ran from 2000 to 2002. At its heart a spy show, with outrageous villains and plots at times straining believability, the ever-GenreSavvy main character's commentary often put the series in AffectionateParody territory. In spite of its silliness, however, the show had well-defined characters, unusually complex plots, and was surprisingly dialogue-heavy for a show of its demographic. Aside from this it has a dark, realistic animation style and a few instances of genuine NightmareFuel.

* GenreSavvy: A significant source of the show's humor comes from Max being this.
** Psycho ventured into this sometimes, though never quite enough to save him.
-->'''L'Etranger:''' I believe we now have our obligatory fight to the finish.
-->'''Max Steel:''' Glad you know the rules!

* LampshadeHanging: Mostly because of Max's GenreSavvy, above.

* RussiansWithRustingRockets: L'Etranger's submarine, the Akina, is Russian surplus.

After six episodes of season 1, the company making it, Netter Digital, went bankrupt and the series went over to another company (Foundation Imaging), with a marked improvement in the animation quality. After season 2, Foundation shut down too and so season 3 was made by MainframeEntertainment, AKA the people who did ''ReBoot'' and ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars''. Season 3 also saw a move from Creator/KidsWB to Creator/CartoonNetwork; the plot went in a different direction, although the basic formula of every episode remained untouched and TheyChangedItNowItSucks seems largely avoided in the aforementioned small fanbase. Mainframe seemed to have an extremely low budget for the project as evidenced by many bit characters being 'portrayed' by the CGI models of larger characters from earlier seasons, sometimes to the point of mooks looking suspiciously identical to the first season's one-off villains. As well, the series finale is a ClipShow. After Season 3, a series of made-for-TV movies were released. For a while, the show was in the midst of a revival/{{Retcon}} in Latin America. More recently, a [[InNameOnly new, animated reboot]] was announced and aired on Creator/DisneyXD. For that reboot, see ''WesternAnimation/MaxSteel2013''.

Josh [=McGrath=] is a 19 year-old extreme sports star whose adopted father works at the sports equipment manufacturing company N-Tek. It turns out this is a front for a counterintelligence agency, so when Josh makes an unscheduled visit during an attack on the facility by terrorists, he finds himself caught in the crossfire and present at an honest-to-god FreakLabAccident: his body is infested with "Max Nanoprobes", experimental {{Nanomachines}}, leaving him on the verge of death. TeenGenius Roberto "Berto" Martinez realizes that the probes have integrated with his body and become [[TheSymbiote symbiotic with him]]- and he's dying because they're [[PhlebotinumBreakdown running out of power]]. He is thus able to save Josh's life by infusing his body with the probes' specialized power source, [[AppliedPhlebotinum Trans-Phasic Energy]] (or just "T-Juice"). Afterward, it is discovered that the accident has given him [[MagicAndPowers numerous superpowers]]; superhuman strength, speed, stamina, senses, and the ability to become invisible. Realizing that these powers plus his extreme sports experience make him an ideal [[TheyFightCrime secret agent]], Josh creates a SecretIdentity of an older, brown-haired version of himself: '''Max Steel'''. The series begins with a [[InMediasRes much less detailed explanation.]]

* MythologyGag: To one of Mattel's older toylines. Max's missing father was stated to be "Big" Jim McGrath, aka the Big Jim that was featured as Mattel's original action hero in the 70s and 80s.

Josh [=McGrath=] is a 19 year-old extreme sports star whose adopted father works at the sports equipment manufacturing company N-Tek. It turns out this is a front for a counterintelligence agency, so when Josh makes an unscheduled visit during an attack on the facility by terrorists, he finds himself caught in the crossfire and present at an honest-to-god FreakLabAccident: his body is infested with "Max Nanoprobes", experimental {{Nanomachines}}, leaving him on the verge of death. TeenGenius Roberto "'Berto" Martinez realizes that the probes have integrated with his body and become [[TheSymbiote symbiotic with him]]. He is dying because they are [[PhlebotinumBreakdown running out of power]]. He is thus able to save Josh's life by infusing his body with the probes' specialized power source, [[AppliedPhlebotinum Trans-Phasic Energy]] (colloquially T-Juice). Afterward, it is discovered that the accident has given him [[MagicAndPowers numerous superpowers]]; superhuman strength, speed, stamina, senses, and the ability to become invisible. Realizing that these powers plus his extreme sports experience make him an ideal [[TheyFightCrime secret agent]], Josh creates a SecretIdentity of an older, brown-haired version of himself: '''Max Steel'''. The series begins with a [[InMediasRes much less detailed explanation.]]

After six episodes of season 1, the company making it, Netter Digital, went bankrupt and the series went over to another company, with a marked improvement in the animation quality. After season 2, they were shut down too and so season 3 was made by MainframeEntertainment, AKA the people who did ''ReBoot'' and ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars''. Season 3 also saw a move from Creator/KidsWB to Creator/CartoonNetwork; the plot went in a different direction, although the basic formula of every episode remained untouched and TheyChangedItNowItSucks seems largely avoided in the aforementioned small fanbase. Mainframe seemed to have an extremely low budget for the project as evidenced by many bit characters being 'portrayed' by the CGI models of larger characters from earlier seasons, sometimes to the point of mooks looking suspiciously identical to the first season's one-off villains. As well, the series finale is a ClipShow. After Season 3, a series of made-for-TV movies were released. For a while, the show was in the midst of a revival/{{Retcon}} in Latin America. More recently, a [[InNameOnly new, animated reboot]] was announced and aired on Creator/DisneyXD. For that reboot, see ''WesternAnimation/MaxSteel2013''.

* TheCameo: Tony Hawk, Jeremy [=McGrath=], and Matt Hoffman as themselves in ExtremeSportExcusePlot episodes. Dizzy and Carmen from ''WesternAnimation/RoughnecksStarshipTroopersChronicles'' also cameo as students in one episode (likely because that show and this one were both produced by Sony).

->'''Jefferson Smith''': Josh [=McGrath=] can’t go running around the globe battling terrorists and still expect to lead a normal life.\\
'''Josh [=McGrath=]''': Josh [=McGrath=] is out of the picture. The name is Max Steel!

!!''MaxSteel'' provides examples of:

After six episodes of season 1, the company making it went bankrupt and the series went over to another company, with a marked improvement in the animation quality. After season 2, they were shut down too and so season 3 was made by MainframeEntertainment, AKA the people who did ''ReBoot'' and ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars''. Season 3 also saw a move from broadcast TV to Creator/CartoonNetwork; the plot went in a different direction, although the basic formula of every episode remained untouched and TheyChangedItNowItSucks seems largely avoided in the aforementioned small fanbase. Mainframe seemed to have an extremely low budget for the project as evidenced by many bit characters being 'portrayed' by the CGI models of larger characters from earlier seasons, sometimes to the point of mooks looking suspiciously identical to the first season's one-off villains. As well, the series finale is a ClipShow. After Season 3, a series of made-for-TV movies were released. Currently the show is in the midst of a Revival/ {{Retcon}} in Latin America. A [[InNameOnly new, animated reboot]] has been announced for [[http://www.animationmagazine.net/tv/new-max-steel-to-reboot-on-cartoon-network/ Latin America as well as in the US for DisneyXD in 2013]]. For that reboot, see WesternAnimation/MaxSteel2013.

The show was hosted on Youtube by Crackle in 2009, but has since been made unavailable for viewing.

(Not to be confused with Maxx Steele, head of the Robo Force, a short-lived line of suction-cup equipped robotic action figures created by Ideal in the mid-80's. A commercial can be seen [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7fxNmxif74 here.]] A Ruby-Spears animated OneEpisodeWonder is viewable [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yT3KJ228Y6o&NR=1 starting here.]])

* TheCameo: Tony Hawk, Jeremy [=McGrath=], and Matt Hoffman as themselves in ExtremeSportExcusePlot episodes. Dizzy and Carmen from ''WesternAnimation/RoughnecksStarshipTroopersChronicles'' also cameo as students in one episode (likely because that show and this one were both produced by Sony's TV division (then known as Columbia Tristar Television, currently known as Sony Pictures Television).

* GenreSavvy: a significant source of the show's humor comes from Max being this.

(Not to be confused with Maxx Steele, head of the Robo Force, a short-lived line of suction-cup equipped robotic action figures created by Ideal in the mid-80's. A commercial can be seen [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7fxNmxif74 here]]. A Ruby-Spears animated OneEpisodeWonder is viewable [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yT3KJ228Y6o&NR=1 starting here]].)

->'''Jefferson Smith''': [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Josh McGrath]] can’t [[WakeUpGoToSchoolSaveTheWorld go running around the globe battling terrorists]] and still expect to lead a normal life.\\

Josh [=McGrath=] is a 19 year-old extreme sports star whose adopted father works at the sports equipment manufacturing company N-Tek. It turns out this is a front for a counterintelligence agency, so when Josh makes an unscheduled visit during an attack on the facility by terrorists, he finds himself caught in the crossfire and present at an honest-to-god FreakLabAccident - his body is infested with "Max Nanoprobes", experimental {{Nanomachines}}, leaving him on the verge of death. TeenGenius Roberto "'Berto" Martinez realizes that the probes have integrated with his body and become [[TheSymbiote symbiotic]] - he is dying because they are [[PhlebotinumBreakdown running out of power]]. He is thus able to save Josh's life by infusing his body with the probes' specialized power source, [[AppliedPhlebotinum Trans-Phasic Energy]] (colloquially T-Juice). Afterward, it is discovered that the accident has given him [[MagicAndPowers numerous superpowers]]; superhuman strength, speed, stamina, senses, and the ability to become invisible. Realizing that these powers plus his extreme sports experience make him an ideal [[TheyFightCrime secret agent]], Josh creates a SecretIdentity - an older, brown-haired version of himself he calls "Max Steel." The series begins with a [[InMediasRes much less detailed explanation.]]

Max Steel was a very MerchandiseDriven, CG-animated SaturdayMorningCartoon series which ran from 2000 to 2002. At its heart a spy show, with outrageous villains and plots at times straining believability, the ever-GenreSavvy main character's commentary often put the series in AffectionateParody territory. In spite of its silliness, however, the show had well-defined characters, unusually complex plots, and was surprisingly dialogue-heavy for a show of its demographic. Aside from this it has a dark, realistic animation style and a few genuine instances of NightmareFuel.

Not to be confused with "Maxx Steele", head of the Robo Force (a short-lived line of suction-cup equipped robotic action figures created by Ideal in the mid-80's). A commercial can be seen [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7fxNmxif74 here]], and a Ruby-Spears animated OneEpisodeWonder is viewable [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yT3KJ228Y6o&NR=1 starting here]].