Max Steel (2013 TV series)

Max Steel
Genre	Superhero Action Science fiction
Developed by	Lloyd Goldfine Gabriel De La Torre
Written by	Matthew Drdek Lloyd Goldfine
Voices of	Andrew Francis Sam Vincent Michael Dobson Nicole Oliver Sarah Edmondson Richard Ian Cox Omari Newton Kathleen Barr Mark Oliver Brian Dobson Brian Drummond Giles Panton
Theme music composer	Shawn Patterson (season two)
Composers	Michael Tavera (season one) Steven Argila (season two)
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	52 (26 aired) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Lloyd Goldfine Audu Paden Dave Voss Bob Higgins Sander Schwartz Ken Faier Asaph Fipke Chuck Johnson
Running time	22 minutes
Production companies	Nerd Corps Entertainment Mattel Playground Productions FremantleMedia Enterprises
Original release
Network	Disney XD
Release	March 25, 2013 (2013-03-25) – present
Related
Max Steel (2000)

Max Steel is a science fiction–comedy, CGI–animated series co-produced by Mattel Playground Productions, Nerd Corps Entertainment and FremantleMedia Kids & Entertainment. It is a re-imagining of its predecessor of the same name, as well as being based on the Mattel action-figure also of the same name. Max Steel premiered on March 25, 2013 on Disney XD.

Plot

Season One

Maxwell "Max" McGrath is thrown into a new life after moving with his mother to the small city of Copper Canyon. There he meets new friends, bullies, and super-villains hunting him down for a power inside him called TURBO energy. Max must now join N-TEK, a secret organization his late father Jim McGrath started, to defeat Trans-Human Industries from taking over the world with their sinister leader Miles Dredd and his evil Elementors. Max's powers are hidden from the public and regulated with the aid of his friend Steel, who is a project of his father known as an Ultra-Link (later revealed to be an alien species), to prevent his powers from going critical. During battle, Steel transforms into Max's multiple armors for whatever terrain battle is present. Along the way, with the aid of N-TEK led by Max's uncle Ferrus, both will uncover the mystery behind Steel's past, find out what really happened to Max's father, Jim McGrath and uncover the dark secrets of N-TEK. Until they witnessed the Makino Invasion.

Season Two

Our two great heroes, Max and Steel, now they both know about the truth about their past, and they should combat more evil villains. They will still be combating old villains like Miles Dredd, Jason Naught, the Elementors, Toxzon, Extroyer, and more. Also new villains from out of this world. And also they will be combating against Ultralinks, but not only one, but an Invasion of Ultralinks that are very evil, that our heroes be fighting against to protect the world. And will more people discover Max Steel's true identity?

Characters

Main Characters

• Maxwell "Max" McGrath/Max Steel (voiced by Andrew Francis): The main protagonist of the show. He is able to generate Tachyon Unlimited Radiant Bio-Optimized (or TURBO) energy, and control it with the help of Steel, thereby creating the persona of Max Steel. As Max Steel, Max has enhanced powers and a cadre of TURBO Modes for different combat scenarios including; Strength, Flight, Scuba, Speed, Stealth, Cannon, Clone, etc.

• N'Baro Atksteel X377/Steel (voiced by Sam Vincent): An alien made only of technology, known as an Ultra-Link. He is only able to function by being charged from TURBO Energy, and along with Max acts as the armor persona Max Steel. Steel's memory core was damaged so many select memories of his time on Earth 16 years before the series are hazy, and battles with the Elementors insinuate that he had a connection to them. His full designation is "N'Baro Atksteel X377". Years ago he used to serve Makino, until meeting Jim McGrath. The two became the first Max Steel to fend off the first Makino Invasion.

Allies

• Commander Forge Ferrus (voiced by Michael Dobson): An N-Tek commander, and a mentor to Max, his nephew. It seems that Forge and the rest of N-Tek are hiding a dark secret from Max Steel since Thrill of the Hunt, when they tried to acquire a damaged Ultra-Link from an Alien Spaceship and gave no answers to Max about why he wanted it. He has a robotic left arm, having lost his real one in a battle.

• Molly McGrath (voiced by Nicole Oliver): The secretive mother of Max. She is shown in the premiere as an amazing ninja spy when infiltrating THI and during the battle to raid some evidence that can expose their criminal empire. She becomes the new CEO of THI when Mr. Naught is removed following Dredd's first defeat by Max Steel. In the episode "The Secret Admirer", Toxzon turns her into a toxic monster with all his powers called Toxiona, until she was reverted to her original form.

• Sydney Gardner (voiced by Sarah Edmondson): A know-how girl who meets Max. Max instantly develops a crush on her. In The Truth Hurts, she finally learns Max's identity as Max Steel. However she lost her memory of this after a blast from Elementor.

• Kirby Kowalski (voiced by Richard Ian Cox): Max's best friend, who is loyal but incredibly gullible and laid back.

• Roberto "Berto" Martinez (voiced by Samuel Vincent): A friend of Max and Steel. He is one of the most intelligent scientific geniuses at N-Tek. He notably invented CY.T.R.O. In Split Decisions, it's revealed that Berto is keeping secrets from N-Tek.

• CY.T.R.O.: An N-Tek robot operative who was invented by Berto Martinez and is continuously being upgraded by him. His name stands for Cybernetic Tactical Robot Operative.

• Jefferson Smith (voiced by Omari Newton): A highly respected N-Tek agent. He, unlike any other pilot, owns his own Jump Jet which affectionately calls Lucille. It is hinted in Earth Under Siege Part 2 that he loves Kat.

• Katherine "Kat" Ryan (voiced by Kathleen Barr): The highest ranking female N-Tek agent. She is proficient at xenobiology, as well as medicine, and is a skilled fighter in both hand-to-hand combat and long range.

Villains

• Miles Dredd (voiced by Mark Oliver): The main antagonist. Prior to the series, Miles was one of the co-founders of N-Tek, but he turned on the agency when he chose to steal TURBO Energy for his own gain, in order to make way for the Makino Alien Invasion and subjugate Earth.

• Jason Naught (voiced by Brian Dobson): Dredd's right hand man, and was also former CEO of Trans Human Industries. Dredd equipped him with an ability to transform into a giant robot to defeat his enemies like Max Steel. He has been shown to have his own ambitions other than Dredd's, and is often abused because of it. In X Marks the Spot, he was almost killed by Dredd for betraying him a second time.

• Axel (voiced by Michael Daingerfield): A thug hired by Jason Naught to do his dirty work.

• Dreddnaughts: An army of robots that work for Miles Dredd. They don't talk, but they are very dangerous and they have a gun as a hand.

• Makino (voiced by Michael Dobson): The second main antagonist. Makino is an alien cybernetic being that has a Ultra-Link bonded to him, but it is permanent. He is the leader of the Ultra-Links and ruler of a world called, Planet Makino. In Season 1 "Earth Under Siege", Makino is allies with Miles Dredd, Elementor, and Jason Naught. Makino wants to devour Earth and possibly convert it into his second home planet, but he must first destroy mankind and Max Steel with an Invasion of Ultra-Links, which will take place in Season 2.

• Evil Ultralinks: A special forces unit Makino has place under the command of Miles Dredd.

• Blast Link (voiced by Brian Drummond): The sniper of the unit, ultra-linked with a THI plasma cannon giving it a powerful distance weapon.

• Prism Link (voiced by Lee Tockar): The close quarters combatant of the unit, ultra-linked to a series of crystals he is a durable, agile and razor-sharp fighter.

• Chomp Link (voiced by Sam Vincent): The brawn of the unit, ultra-linked with a venus flytrap he is equipped with long vines and crushing jaws.

• Plaztek (voiced by Andrew Francis): AN Ultralink that bonded with Fishy and some of Toxon's orange waste to become a large fish-like creature composed of super dense and strong plastic. Able to fire plastic fish with large teeth for trapping opponents, toxic goo, plastic explosives, and is a versatile shape-shiftier. As a result of the glitchy connection between Fishy and the Ultralink Plaztek has a highly unstable personality and speech pattern that sounds like a corrupted sound-file. Appears to be destroyed at the end of Toxic Relationship.

• Ultralink Hunters: Evil Hunters who are a race of aliens. In the Season 2 trailer, one of them appears to be destroying the Makino Ships and it is revealed that he is looking for Steel.

• Ven Ghan: (voiced by Giles Panton) He is an Ultralink Hunter that wants revenge from the Evil Ultralinks and Makino, because they destroyed his planet. Also, he is after Steel and is not leaving without him.

• Elementor (Fire and Air, voiced by Andrew Francis; Earth and Water, voiced by Brian Drummond; Metal voiced by Trevor Devall): A four-in-one Elemental Ultralink who works for Miles Dredd, with Air Elementor as leader of the group. In Elements of Surprise (due to an accident with the inhibitor on Air Elementor's head) the four combined their bodies into this form, which is shared by all of their individual minds and has the ability of change to any element (or use any element's ability), as well as Fire, Earth, Water, Air, Lighting, Metal, Thunder, and Ice. He has a secret agenda against Dredd. In Max Steel Episode "Pick Your Poison", Toxzon created a toxic formula to stop Elementor, but it was actually a poisonous toxin to mind control him. It eventually wore off. He was captured by Molly McGrath in Season 1, 2 part finale "Earth Under Siege". He broke out in the season 2 premiere, "Ultralink Invasion", when N-Tech's stasis prison was down.

• Metal Elementor (voiced by Trevor Devall): Also known as Metalack. Superior to the Elementor, supreme commander in the Ultralink army with the authority and ability to annex and absorb insubordinate Ultralinks, and ultralinked with a large metal statue.

• Dr. Tytus Octavius Xander/Toxzon (voiced by Andrew Francis): Formerly a THI scientist, he was mutated after a lab accident with deadly chemicals, transforming him into the mutant villain, Toxzon. He can absorb pollutants and uses them as weapons and can generate venomous monsters. He can also transform into multiple forms by absorbing new poisons and toxins in different color: Main Mode Toxzon (green), neutralized (blue), acid (orange), toxic bacteria (purple), radiation (yellow), hypnosis serum (lavender), mysterious orange toxin and flaming fuel (black).

• Fishy (voiced by Andrew Francis): Toxzon's beloved pet plastic goldfish. Xander hallucinates that Fishy talks to him, apparently giving him advice and suggestions. In Season 2 "Toxic Relationship", he was accidentaly bonded with an Ultralink and turned ito Plaztek, but subsequently meets his end in the hands of Max Steel thanks to his TURBO Drill.

• Troy Winter/Extroyer (voiced by Brian Drummond): A professional criminal named Troy Winter who after being accidentally bonded with a damaged Ultra-Link, he became a beastly creation who can morph into any animal just by scanning it with his eyes. His left arm is more fearsome than his right and is used to destroy others in battle. He can so far transform into anything he sees, but he can absorb D.N.AS and become the extinct beings. His primal transformations are these beasts: his pet black tiger, a spider, a shark, a black cobra, a gorilla, a Tyrannosaurus Rex, a Wasp, and a ultralinked electrical centipede alien. If he has a second Ultra-Link in his body, he can transform into a chimeric monster.

• Dwayne (voiced by Brian Dobson): One of Extroyer's henchmen. Dawyne is smarter and acts like a boss for Vin. He hated Winter a lot since in "Thrill of the Hunt", he tried to feed them to his pet black tiger.

• Vin (voiced by Michael Dobson): Another of Extroyer's henchmen who is thin, and sometimes clumsy and dumb. He hates anchovies, as mentioned in "Driven". He is a little bit scared at times and he would sometimes be brave.

• Murukami: He was a ninja in Ancient Japan who seeks his mission, to conquer the world. Murukami was imprisoned in a magic sword by a sorcerer who warned that if anyone ever gripped the sword, he would be released and would wreak havoc on the earth. Murukami's spirit possessed Kirby when he held the sword that a shop vendor and descendant of the sorcerer hid his backpack. Max and Steel were able to use the Turbo Sword to break the magic sword and freed Kirby from Murukami.

• Colonel Jasper F. Castle (voiced by Lee Tockar): A former colonel in the US Army, he and his men's loyalties were bought by Miles Dredd. Using them Dredd lured Max into a trap. Luckily, a traitorous member who was new to them called N-Tek and together they defeated and apprehended Castle and his men and chased Dredd off.

Other Characters

• Jim McGrath (voiced by Trevor Devall): Max's father who is one of the founders of N-Tek. Jim McGrath was the best in N-Tek, and also very smart and wise. He was Forge Ferrus' science officer and he was the one who discovered T.U.R.B.O Energy, a blue and powerful energy. He died when the T.U.R.B.O Energy was overloading in his body, creating an explosion. Jim McGrath has a holographic monument of himself, and under it was the case what Steel is since he was the alien Ultra-Link that was used in the experiment. In "Earth Under Siege Part 2" it was discovered that Jim was the first person that Ultra-Linked with Steel before Max did.

• Bartholomew "Butch" (voiced by Brian Drummond): The school bully who torments Max. Bartholomew also has two sidekicks.

• Dr. Thornhill (voiced by Michael Dobson): He is one of Max's teachers at Copper Canyon High School.

• Mr. Jones (voiced by Michael Dobson): He was the old man who checked Max's driver's test.

• Klean Kal (voiced by Scott McNeil): He was the man in Driven, who was the one who was selling used cars to Kirby and Max.

• Vendor (voiced by Vincent Tong): He was the old man who was selling old things, and he had the sword of Murukami.

N-Tek/Turbo Arsenal

• TURBO Modes: When Steel is linked to the suit, it can transform into other TURBO Modes. It contains Max’s TURBO Energy so he won’t explode and cannot be removed.
  • Base: In Base Mode, Max Steel wears a suit made of techno-organic plate-like layers that help to stabilize and focus Turbo Energy. It amplifies TURBO Energy, enhances senses and fighting capabilities.
  • Strength: In Strength Mode, Max Steel is larger, stronger and much more powerful. Giving him maximum strength in combat, he is able to lift over 200 tons. Though the armor increases power and defense, it decreases durability. It is also capable of withstanding a nuclear blast. Max Steel first used TURBO Strength Mode against Fire Elementor.
  • Flight: In Flight Mode, Max Steel can rocket through the atmosphere with control and maneuverability. With increase in penetration and scope, he is able to reach altitudes beyond the stratosphere, though, limits the drag and increases lift. Max Steel first used TURBO Flight Mode while fighting Earth Elementor.
  • Scuba: In Scuba Mode, Max Steel can maneuver underwater like an aquatic being. Being in this form, he is able to breathe underwater and swim with agility and grace. It lacks in power and speed, but it gets the job done. It was used in "Hard Water" when Max Steel fought Water Elementor after he had captured humans to power his Starship and go home.
  • Speed: In Speed Mode, Max Steel can run at incredible velocity. Moving at super-sonic speed (going up to 100,000 mph), it causes extremely high levels of aerodynamic efficiency. It minimizes delay and maximizes intervention time. Max Steel used Speed Mode to fight Ultimate Elementor (combination of all four Elementors in one).
  • Stealth: In Stealth Mode, Max Steel can move in the shadows with ease. With the suit in dark colors, he is able to turn invisible and is unseen to the naked eye. He has increase in agility, speed, and a satisfactory in power.
  • Cannon: In Cannon Mode, Max Steel is very large and sturdy like Strength Mode, but more armored. When charged with enough TURBO Energy, he can fire himself at enemies like a cannonball, doing extreme amounts of damage, then it wastes a vast amount of TURBO Energy as a result.
  • Clone: In Clone Mode, Max Steel can generate unlimited number of clones to outnumber enemies, confuse and take them down. Also can be used in combination with other modes to swarm and overwhelm his enemies.
  • Heat: in Heat Mode, Max Steel can able to generate fire.

N-Tek carries a vast amount of weaponry and vehicles that runs on TURBO Energy, being at the disposal of the N-Tek agents and Max Steel.

• Turbo Blaster: The ultimate long-range weapon developed by Steel and Berto to deliver powerful bursts of TURBO Energy, which can only be operated by Max Steel. It has specialized functionality for TURBO Energy propulsion and fires at a range of 150 yards. After Steel links up with the Turbo Blaster, it's literally TURBOFied in its long-range. Max Steel used the TURBO Blaster to defeat Air Elementor by hitting his Orb.
• Turbo Sword: The perfect weapon for close-up fighting, or when up against robots. The blade is made of pure TURBO Energy capable of slicing through heavy metal. When Steel is linked with it, he transforms the sword making it TURBOFied.
• Turbo Lash: A TURBO-powered whip that can ensnare and shock anyone and anything in its path.
• Turbo Cycle: This vehicle combines the engineering genius of Berto and N-Tek with the slick alien technology of Steel. It can reach up to over 500 mph. It also defy physics and the force of gravity for wall riding and out-of-this-world stunts and jumps. When TURBOFied by Steel, the Turbo Cycle increases in performance.
• Turbo Racer: Once was old truck belonged to Vin and Dwayne, Max and Kirby bought this car only to have Max's little problem with his Turbo Touch. Luckily, Berto fixed his car with a TURBO Interface, thus making it TURBOFied. This vehicle has missile launcher, High-Speed, auto GPS, and Stealth Mode.
• Turbo Jet:
• Turbo Drill:
• Furbo:
• R.O.C.C. (Remote Operational Command Center): It serves as a mobile command center and combat unit for N-Tek agents in the field. It's loaded with state-of-the-art equipment such as advanced surveillance apparatus, scientific analysis lab, and a fully loaded armory.
• Jump Jet: This high-altitude jet is the perfect air assault vehicle, ideal for low-space missions. It serves as Jefferson and Kat's main combat units.
• Hopper: The helicopters that N-Tek uses. Used for transporting personal and weapons.

Episodes

Main article: List of Max Steel episodes (2013)

Season		Episodes	Originally aired		Network
			First aired	Last aired
	1	26	March 25, 2013 (2013-03-25)	December 7, 2013 (2013-12-07)	Disney XD
	2	26	August 15, 2014 (2014-08-15)	December 6, 2014 (2014-12-06)	Netflix
	2015 Animated Films	3	June 27, 2015 (2015-06-27)	August 2, 2015 (2015-08-02)	TBA
	2016 Animated Films	2	March 18, 2016 (2016-03-18)	August 31, 2016 (2016-08-31)	Citv
	2017 Animated Films	2	March 18, 2017 (2017-03-18)	July 29, 2017 (2017-07-29)	TBA

Broadcast

Max Steel first broadcast in March 1, 2013 on Cartoon Network (Latin America) and on March 2, 2013 on Disney XD (Poland). It aired on Teletoon in Canada on March 24, 2013 and on Disney XD in the United States on March 25, 2013. It later premiered on Nicktoons (UK & Ireland), Canal J, Cartoon Network (Italy) and Boing, Cartoon Network (Spain), Boing, Panda Biggs, and 2BE. In Hungary, the series premiered on April 17, 2013 on Megamax and on September 9, 2013 on RTL Klub. It premiered on Cartoon Network (India) on July 20, 2013. In Greece, Max Steel was broadcast firstly from Disney XD Greece and it also started airing on July 7, 2013 from Star Channel. The second season premiered on August 12, 2013 on Teletoon and on April 12, 2014 in Latin America.

Reception

In his review for Media Life Magazine, Tom Conroy said Max Steel was "Cobbled together from ready-made sources with no apparent interest in coming up with a fresh twist or a new slant, it fails to make much of an impression, either positive or negative." He criticized the use of bullies, new school, dead father, and shadowy mentor, saying they "are so overused that the writers of this series might have assumed they were obligatory and thus didn’t feel they were being lazy." He also criticized the graphics, citing them as "creaky" and "bizarrely artificial." In her review for Common Sense Media, Emily Ashby praised Max Steel, giving it a 4/5. She called the use of bullies and struggles in school "relatable," and said that "Max Steel's likable attitude, sense of humor, and clear vision of right and wrong make him a viable modern superhero for tweens."

External links

• Official website
• Max Steel at Disney XD.com
• Max Steel at IMDb