Some of my favorite memories of childhood involve time spent playing with my action figures. Space aliens, people with special powers, and epic sword fights were the norm in my world of imagination. And now with the Max Steel series, my son can have the same kind of adventures while playing with toys from the new animated series airing on Disney XD.
Max Steel is a new animated series that was designed, developed, and produced by Mattel. It features the adventures of earth bound teenager Maxwell McGrath and his alien friend Steel. Both possess special powers and discover that, once combined, they can transform to create the superhero “Max Steel.” Of course, every superhero needs a super power. Max Steel has his blue “Turbo Energy”that he uses to defend the earth from villains.
As a parent, it can be difficult to find safe programming for our children, but I liked how Max Steel incorporated the messages of teamwork, humor, and friendship into the story line. Max is portrayed as being an ordinary high school student, but it is his teamwork with Steel that helps unlock the superhero powers. The two characters banter a lot during the series, which adds a lot of humor to the show. And of course, the duo form a strong friendship which helps teach children that two working together can accomplish more than one.
I received a few Max Steel toys and a DVD (thanks Mattel), which was a good enough of an excuse to host a Max Steel party for my son and his friends. The animated series are full of action, so the boys loved watching the episodes. And the action figures were a lot of fun to play with because of the special features. All of the action figures have a component that lights up (usually as part of the weapon) and they all have a special move (like the guy who can launch his claw as a missile).
The real hit of the party was the Max Steel Turbo Sword (MSRP $29.99), which was a full size version of what Max uses in the animated series. The sword lights up with Max’s blue Turbo Power whenever it is moved and Steel (who clips onto the sword) shouts “Let’s go turbo,” which is the battle cry from the series. It was hard to say if the boys preferred playing with the Turbo Sword or the action figures (MSRP $5.99), as they never seemed to put down any of the Max Steel toys. They were a huge hit of the party.
The animated series airs on Disney XD and can be found on MaxSteel.com, which also has interactive games, webisodes and additional content. The Max Steel action figures and the Turbo Sword can be purchased at retail stores nationwide.
