Blog:Grust Reviews Mighty Max

Mighty Max was a cartoon based on a British toyline that ran from 1993 to 1994. As a kid I used to watch this before school before my mom said I couldn't anymore. Almost 30 years later, I rediscovered this show on YouTube and it has aged like fine wine. The story is about a preteen named Max who is chosen to wield a magic cap that can open portals to travel all over the globe and defeat an evil sorcerer named Skullmaster. He is aided by two immortals, a 10,000 year old Lemurian chicken named Virgil (Virgil: Fowl actually) and a 10,000 year old Viking Warrior named Norman. Virgil is very wise and knows almost everything and Norman is immensely strong and a skilled swordsman. Occasionally his mother and his best friend Bea join in on an adventure.

Each episode involves Max forced to deal with a threat to the Earth, ranging fro Skullmaster or his minions, or even a wide array of foes, from other ancient evils, aliens, and mad scientists. While he's aided by Virgil's wisdom or Norman's strength, Max is usually the one to save the day with his wits. Honestly, looking back, the kid in me sees Max as a role model. He's a good kid, smart, witty but still acts his age. He always does the right thing and uses his intelligence to save the day. The reason Norman exists in the show is to show off how how dangerous the enemy is so it'll be awesome when Max wins. With his wits alone, he's defeated most of his foes, including a zombie apocalypse, aliens, scientists and even a giant squid that's implied to be 1,000 years old. The kid is simply a badass. My favorite episode that shows how awesome he is is Arachnoid, because it has Max defeat two giant spiders by himself as Norman had severe arachnophobia. He also offers to save some of his villains which gets refused as Arachnoid embraced his monstrosity before dying and a Viking necromancer seemingly sacrificed himself to bring a world destroying dragon back to slumber. It's also implied the death of 4 legendary heroes had quite an impact on him after the events of The Magnificent Seven.

This show even had voice acting legends, many of which contain the small number of celebrities that still make me gush like the late Tony Jay (he died the day before my 20th birthday and is most notable for voicing Frollo in Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame), Rob Paulson, and Tim Curry who gives 100% in even the most terrible movies and shows. Norman's own archenemy, Spike, was even voiced by Brad Garret of Everybody Loves Raymond fame.

Now the reason my mom wouldn't let me watch this show is because the show is very dark. Skullmaster himself may be the most evil 90s cartoon villain period. He wiped out the Lemurian population when he couldn't get the cap and the Atlanteans to steal their souls. Another villain named Talon also fed on souls. These are why my mom wouldn't let me watch it. Hell one episode even had a child being murdered by the monster of the week for his life force.

While a good show, sadly a DVD set was never released, but most episodes can be found on Youtube. One YouTuber, Mighty Max Restoration Project, is actually dedicated to restoring the old episodes to high definition quality and it's really good. Irontusk341 claims his playlist is the first playlist to contain all episodes of a show on YouTube. Because of this, I see the show has developed a cult following, one of which I'm proud to be a part of.

My top 3 favoite episodes of the show would have to be Arachnoid, Norman's Conquest, and The Magnificent Seven. If you want to watch the series itself, as I've said before, most of the episodes are on Youtube. Give it a try and you'll find an underrated gem.

Now as for the final episode. It ends with time resetting so Max has another shot at defeating Skullmaster. While this could lead to a second series or a reboot, let's be honest. Most animated reboots nowadays are shit like Teen Titans Go!, Thundercats Roar!, Powerpuff Girls 2016, and the Ben 10 reboot. I'd rather Mighty Max be inconclusive than see it turned into one of those. I'd rather enjoy it as it is.