Max Steel is an animated television series which originally aired from February 26, 2000, to December 13, 2002, based on the Mattel action-figure of the same name. Max Steel ran for three seasons, totaling thirty-five episodes.

From 2004 to 2012, direct-to-DVD movies kept the presence of the main character alive. However, the first movie, Max Steel: Endangered Species, was the only one to keep the continuity of the series. After Endangered Species, the continuity was altered. Endangered Species was the only movie to be made available in the United States of America, while later releases were in Latin America.

The voice-acting cast for the series included Chi McBride and Christian Campbell, as well as well-known sports stars such as Tony Hawk.

After the bankruptcy of Netter Digital and Foundation Imaging, Mainframe Entertainment took over the productions of the third season and the movies. The last episode, "Truth Be Told", aired January 15, 2002. Max Steel was the first computer-generated series to air on Kids' WB.

A reboot series premiered on Disney XD in 2013.

Premise

Protagonist Josh McGrath is a 19-year-old fictional extreme sports teen star, whose parents died some time ago. He was later adopted by his father's best friend and partner, Jefferson Smith, who works in an extreme sports equipment manufacturing company which is in reality a façade for a secret counter-intelligence agency known as N-Tek.

One night, while Josh was visiting his adoptive father at work, a villain known as Psycho broke into the facility. The young McGrath faced him and a brief battle ensued, interrupted when Psycho shot a nearby containment unit of semi-liquid, microscopic Nano-Tech machines called "Max Probes". The nanomachines covered Josh, entering his body, integrating with his organic system, and (as they ran out of energy) started dying, siphoning Josh's life-critical energy as well. In an attempt to save his foster son, Jefferson Smith agrees to submit Josh to a high proportion of the transphasic energy, which the machines need to survive. This saved his life and also gave him superhuman abilities. As a result, Josh took on the identity of Max Steel and fights super-powered villains, mainly Mr. Dread, Psycho's evil boss, and the members of DREAD, his spy organization. Later, in the movies, they fight off mutants, robots, mad scientists, and monsters.

Episodes

Max Steel debuted on Kids' WB with the episode "Strangers" on February 26, 2000, and ended with episode "Truth Be Told" on December 13, 2002. The show ran for three seasons, totaling 35 episodes.

The series can be found on DVD: Volume one contains episodes 1–6, contains episodes 7–13, and the final one is a box-set with all of season one. Seasons 2 and 3 were never released. VHS ones were made available with various "Max Steel" action figures: "Strangers," "Snow Blind," "Sphinxes," and "Old Friend, New Enemy" were sold.

As of 2009, episodes of Max Steel can be found on Crackle's YouTube account; however, these are no longer accessible.

Characters

N-Tek and civilians Josh McGrath/Max Steel (voiced by Christian Campbell from 2000–2002, Matthew Kaminsky in two episodes in 2001) – As Josh McGrath, he is a college student and an extreme sports star, working for his adoptive father Jefferson Smith of N-Tek, which supplies such equipment. He later discovers that N-Tek is a front for a secret anti-terrorist organization. In the course of this discovery, he suffered an accident when he was doused with nanoprobes while battling Psycho. These probes give him enhanced physical abilities, including superhuman strength and speed, and the ability to become invisible. However, he requires periodic doses of transphasic energy to survive or the probes will essentially starve to death and kill him. In Max Steel: Countdown, Max would gain new nanoprobes, and a new system, Adrenalink, the more thrill Max did, the more power he would have, when he reached 100%, he enter Maximum Steel mode. Max would gain another upgrade in Max Steel vs the Mutant Menace. When Max went turbo, any N-Tek equipment he has on him would get upgraded, either in power, or allows the gear to have an alternate mode. Max's original Bio-Link acted as a com-link, and monitored his turbo energy. It could also activate different clothes for Max for different environments. In The Mutant Menace, the original Bio-Link is replaced with a smaller, portable version. Molly McGrath – Josh's mother died in a shipwreck when he was young. Max is haunted by her death, and, despite being only a toddler when she died, blames himself for her death. Jefferson Smith (voiced by Chi McBride from 2000 to 2002, Scott McNeil in Endangered Species) – The CEO of N-Tek, both the sports and spy sides. He inherited this position from Marco Nathanson, the previous and first CEO of N-Tek. Jefferson is the adoptive father of Max after his father died. Being an international counter-terrorism agency, N-Tek answers to the UN and includes a number of other non-US citizens on its staff. When Josh was doused with nanoprobes during Psycho's attack, Jefferson saved his life by putting him through a procedure that involved transphasic energy. He voices his displeasure when Max is put in harm's way, but ultimately lets him go, knowing that Max is stronger than any human, and will be able to defeat enemies more easily than others. His relationship with Max is strained, but the two ultimately make amends. Dr. Roberto Martinez (voiced by Jacob Vargas from 2000 to 2002, Alessandro Juliani in Endangered Species) – A technical genius in his late teen years. Best known as 'Berto (a diminutive of his name), he is the main expert on Nano-Tek Max, the microscopic machines which gave Max Steel his superhuman abilities. Berto is usually based at the HQ of the secret intelligence service N-Tek where he monitors Max's missions via a computer screen, but he also often takes a more active part in the missions himself. Rachel Leeds (voiced by Shannon Kenny) – Max's first partner at N-Tek. Much of focused on her relationship with Max: from one of constant squabbling to increasing attraction on his part, which affected Josh's relationship with his girlfriend Laura Chen. She can normally handle herself in a fight even against multiple opponents bare handed, hence the reason why she was assigned to train and tutor Max as a new N-Tek Agent. Kat Ryan (voiced by Debi Mae West from 2000 to 2002, Meghan Black in Endangered Species) – After Rachel's promotion in season two, Kat, another of her protégés, became Max's new partner. At first they did not get along, but, after Jefferson Smith forced them to work together, they developed a little mutual respect. About the same age as Josh and Roberto, her relationship with the two boys is like that of a sister, much like how Josh and 'Berto see each other as brothers. Late in the series, it is revealed that Kat was once part of a street gang and served time in a juvenile detention center. Laura Chen and Pete Costas (respectively voiced by Lauren Tom and Thomas F. Wilson) – Two of Josh's college friends, Pete referring to themselves as the "Three Musketeers" given that they used to be very close, until Josh's life as Max Steel started to interfere. Laura Chen was Josh's girlfriend but she soon broke up with him due in part to his increasingly close relationship with Rachel Leeds. He also kept his activities as Max Steel a secret from her and this would affect dates and other commitments which made him somewhat unreliable. Pete, in the season two premiere, found out about Josh's dual identity after being captured by John Dread and agreed to keep it secret. Yet he hitchhiked with him on one mission in Alaska once. He was not seen in season 3. Jean Mairot (voiced by Keith Szarabajka) – Smith's second-in-command at N-Tek in season one and head of operations, briefing agents on their missions and coordinating their progress. A soft-spoken man, he is cool and calculating and a good judge of character — putting Max in charge of a major rescue operation even though the boy himself did not feel up to it. At the end of season one, Mairot was revealed to be a spy working for John Dread. Charles "Chuck" Marshak (voiced by Edward Asner) – An N-Tek division chief who's in charge of Behemoth, a flying fortress used as a mobile base. Jake Nez (voiced by Gregg Rainwater) – An N-Tek agent and astronaut, formerly from NASA. He was also once a love interest of Rachel's but was dumped by her when she started training Max. He does not come across as the jealous type, ably assisting Max and Rachel on missions. Cytro - Cytro was originally an enemy robot created by Doctor Rendal in Max Steel: Bio Crisis, who was designed to kill Max. But over the course of the film Cytro grew to like Max, and sacrificed himself to save Max. Berto was able to rebuilt Cytro, as his memory core was still intact, and became the fourth and newest member of Team Steel. Forge Ferris - Forge replaced Jefferson as the leader of N-Tek during Max Steel vs The Mutant Menace. While he is strict, he also encourages Max not to give up, and gives him advice. He keeps Max on a need to know basis, but when Max does need to know, he always tells him. Jet Ferris - Jet is the daughter of Forge Ferris, who debuted in Max Steel: Monstrous Alliance. Jet was described by Forge as a constant source of disappointment, as Jet keeps getting demerits, and keeps being unable to graduate. Jet originally planned on killing Toxion to try and make he father proud, but after her adventure with Max and Cytro, which she secretly sneaks into, she takes Toxion be to the N-Tek lab in the North Pole, and is able to cure him, finally earning her father's respect.

DREAD John Dread (voiced by Martin Jarvis) – The leader of the DREAD organization and the main antagonist of the first and second seasons (even after his supposed death). He's rarely seen outside of offices and rooms in dark secluded buildings, and only made two known appearances where he was the main or part of a main threat. He was killed in the finale (S1E13 – "Shattered") when his airship crashes, but he survived in the premiere (S2E1 – "The Return"). He takes Pete Costas hostage and forces Max to steal valuable N-Tek research. He's later arrested and held in a maximum security prison. During the finale (S2E13 – "Breakout"), Psycho and Bio-Con break him out while he is being transferred to another prison. Psycho (voiced by Keith Szarabajka, Brian Drummond in Endangered Species) – A member of DREAD who has a metallic, skull-like face. His main weapon is his right bionic arm, which can change into a claw or a laser gun. L'Etranger (voiced by John de Lancie) – A mercenary terrorist with strength that rivals Max's in turbo-mode and armed with electrical charged gloves which can produce an explosive spark. Being an electrical weapon, one hit is more than enough to stun his enemies for a large period of time. Dragonelle (voiced by Mia Korf) – A member of DREAD who sports golden battle armor and can perfectly mimic the actions and appearance of any person she has seen. She's not much of a fighter, as she always runs away from any physical confrontation, since she's more an undercover agent than an active fighter. Vitriol – According to Max, Vitriol is "not the sharpest tool in the shed," which explains why he often teams along with Psycho. While they are supposed to be equal members of DREAD, Vitriol usually follows Psycho's orders. His arms are vibrant, translucent green with metallic 'bones' visible, and can shoot green energy beams.

Other villains