Max Steel: Difference between revisions

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'''Josh McGrath''': ''Josh McGrath is out of the picture. The name is Max Steel!'' }}

 

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 [[Freak Lab Accident]] - his body is infested with "Max Nanoprobes", experimental [[Nanomachines]], leaving him on the verge of death. [[Teen Genius]] Roberto "'Berto" Martinez realizes that the probes have integrated with his body and become [[The Symbiote|symbiotic]] - he is dying because they are [[Phlebotinum Breakdown|running out of power]]. He is thus able to save Josh's life by infusing his body with the probes' specialized power source, [[Applied Phlebotinum|Trans-Phasic Energy]] (colloquially T-Juice). Afterward, it is discovered that the accident has given him [[Magic and Powers|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 [[They Fight Crime|secret agent]], Josh creates a [[Secret Identity]] - an older, brown-haired version of himself he calls "Max Steel." The series begins with a [[In Medias Res|much less detailed explanation.]]

 

 

Trying to avoid the [[Nostalgia Filter]] here; the show was pretty much forgotten after it aired, and so the only reviews you'll find are by people who were around 12 when the show came out. It doesn't seem to have a particularly big fanbase.

 

 

The show can be seen on [http://www.youtube.com/show?p=tUnOgFoqDAY&pl=CCD4287CBC8882BA YouTube].

 

 

 

* [[Aborted Arc]]: During "Truth be Told," real-life athlete Jeremy McGrath is let in on Josh's secret double-life as a superpowered vigilante, and it's implied he'll discreetly spread the word out to a few others in his circle of friends/competitors who might be interested in helping the heroes save the day on occasion. "Truth be Told" being the series finale, nothing comes of it.

** Likewise, the [[Acting for Two|uncanny resemblance]] between Jefferson's predecessor at N-Tek, Marco Nathanson, and {{spoiler|John Dread}}. Greg Weisman [[Word of God|said]] that this was supposed to be a [[Red Herring]]. 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.

* [[Genre Savvy]]: 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.

'''Max Steel:''' Glad you know the rules! }}

* [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]]: Quite a few innuendos. Also L'Etranger, see [[Nightmare Fuel]].

** Psycho is [[Dead Space (video game)|a Unitologist.]]

* [[Implacable Man]]: Max himself is far more durable than normal humans, especially prevalent when he goes up against small-time thugs instead of his usual rogues gallery. L'Etranger as well, who can somehow go toe-to-toe with Max without breaking a sweat despite having no visible augmentations. Berto drowning him in "Fun in the Sun" seems rather brutal until you remember a previous episode showed him breathing underwater with no gear. [[Lampshaded]]:

'''L'Etranger:''' Stranger still, neither can ''you!'' }}

* [[In a Single Bound]]: Justified by Max having super powers, Psycho by being a cyborb.

* [[Psycho for Hire]]: Psycho, obviously. To a lesser extent, most of the rogues gallery after John Dread stops employing them.

** Case in point, this exchange from an episode where Psycho threatens to unleash [[The Plague]]:

'''Psycho:''' ''And yet, I don't seem to care. Must be why they call me PSYCHO!'' }}

* [[Public Domain Soundtrack]]: No ''too'' often, but one [[Sword Fight]] with a zombie pirate had a hilariously sped-up version of the Funeral March playing as background music.

* [[Russians With Rusting Rockets]]: L'Etranger's submarine, the Akina, is Russian surplus.

* [[Scooby-Doo Hoax]]: "Sphinxes". The heroes investigate a pyramid and after discovering the hoax, [[Genre Savvy]] [[Ascended Fanboy]] Max reports that it's a "[[Scooby Doo]]" and explains what he means to his [[British Stuffiness|Stuffy British]] partner.

'''Rachel''': I'll study his teachings later. }}

* [[Shout-Out]]: To various installments in the espionage genre, of course.

** [[The A-Team|I love it when a plan comes together!]]

* [[Sinister Shades]]: John Dread's slick shades never come off.

* [[Something Only They Would Say]]: Inverted when Max figures out Dread is impersonating Roberto because Dread gets Berto's nickname for him consistently wrong. Played straight when Dragonelle, impersonating Rachel, stands ''next'' to Rachel and tries to accuse the real one of being the impostor. The real Rachel tells Max not to even bother playing along and to just destroy the episode's [[MacGuffin]], ensuring the impostor has no chance of getting it. Max quips, "Now ''that'' sounds like our Ms. Leeds" as he does so.

* [[Wake Up, Go to School, Save the World]]: Played straight in the first two seasons. By season three, Josh seems to have quit school to focus on his sports career.

* [[Why Won't You Die?]]: During the [[Villainous Breakdown]]

'''Dread''': He '''never''' ''stays DEAD''! }}

* [[Xtreme Sport Xcuse Plot]]: Cameo episodes. See [[Cameo]] examples above.

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Kids WB]]

[[Category:All CGI Cartoon]]

[[Category:Western Animation]]