Max Steel: Forces of Nature (released for the original Latin American market under the name Max Steel: El dominio de los elementos) is a 2005 direct-to-video animated movie under the larger Max Steel franchise. The movie is a sequel to 2004's Max Steel Endangered Species, directly following on the plot of the movie.
After Psycho and Biocon's defeat and death, Jefferson Smith (Max' father) attempts to perform clean-up at Biocon's base, but ends up finding a bunch of failed clones, with the exception of one named "Elementor". The creature wakes up and in the process hurts Jefferson, before stating his objectives; to acquire 5 different Elementium isotopes, which will allow him to acquire enough power to wipe out life on Earth. Opposing him are Max Steel and his support crew, Berto and Kat. However, Jefferson appears to be hiding a darker secret to Max, one which ties him to Elementor and his quest for power...
Followed by Max Steel Countdown in 2006.
Forces of Nature contains examples of the following tropes:
- Convection, Schmonvection: At one point, Berto, Kat and a massive anaconda are at mere centimeters away from hot magma. They're none the worse for the wear at any moment.
- Convenient Coma: Jefferson falls victim to Elementor earlier in the movie, preventing him from providing the isotope locations to the Steel team and also preventing him from arresting Max in an attempt to save his life.
- Foreshadowing: At the start of the movie, Max is doing sports training in a gigantic dust devil, failing to do a sandboarding stunt. This comes in play at the end when Air Elementor uses a tornado to challenge Max, with him finally succeeding at the same stunt.
- Macguffin: The five Elementium isotopes, which are pursued by Elementor in order to multiply his power and cleanse Earth, with Team Steel attempting to prevent it.
- Phlebotinum Overload: The 5th isotope's actual effect. Instead of amplifying the power of the other 4 elements, it makes them unstable, leading to a massive explosion.
- Reptiles Are Abhorrent: In keeping with Biocon's snake thematics, Elementor has a reptilian design, with scaly skin, no lips and a crocodilian face. He also seems to have inherited Biocon's control over snakes, at one point setting an anaconda loose on Kat and Berto to pin them down.
- Retcon: The accident that put Josh McGrath's life in danger originally isn't elaborated upon, and the entire "secret identity" angle is dropped, making him Max Steel before the accident even happened. Then it's revealed that Max not only was injected with transfasic energy, but also the 5th Elementium isotope.
- Sequel Escalation: Psycho's threat in the prior film had the end-goal of causing a global calamity only by the very end of its execution. Here, Elementor begins to wreak havoc across the entire planet just by obtaining some parts of his goal and his endgame would not only doom humanity but also the entire biosphere.
- Voodoo Shark: It isn't revealed how Biocon (and by extension, Elementor) got a hold of the locations of the isotopes. At one point, Elementor mentions feeling the isotopes closer, but this isn't elaborated upon, making it even more confusing when it's revealed that the 5th isotope destabilizes the others, but Elementor himself somehow doesn't know this.
