Max Steel is a line of action figures produced and owned by the toy
company Mattel since 1999. The original figures based on the first TV
series were similar to the original 12-inch G.I. Joe toys, consisting
almost entirely of different versions of Max Steel, the main
character, and one or two of his enemies, a couple of vehicles and two
or three special packages. The original toy series ran from
1999â€"2012. At the end of that period, was substituted by a different
series of toys with the same brand name, but with a change in quality
and design intended to tie into the companion TV series in 2013. The
2013 line did not exhibit 1/6 scale of the original and reduced the
number of articulations and action features of the figures.Max Steel
was simultaneously developed into an animated series of the same name,
which originally aired from February 25, 2000, to January 15, 2002,
followed by nine direct-to-video animated films, being released
annually from 2004 to 2012. A reboot aired on Disney XD in the United
States, where it had premiered on March 25, 2013.In 1998, Netter
Digital was commissioned by Mattel to create and develop a secret
agent themed TV series partially based on James Bond's adventures, but
aimed to young kids. The series premiered in 2000, but since October
1999, the first toys based on the series hit the shelves. The Max
Steel toy line quickly become an instant success, although most of the
first toys were completely different from the characters on the
series. This may be due to the fact that both, series and toys, were
developed simultaneously, but in independent way. Most early Max Steel
toys had a notorious military, adventure or sport clothes not related
to the series in any way, but surprisingly quite similar to the 70's
Mattel's action figure Big Jim. It was also noted that in Latin
American market, many Big Jim toys were sold at that time under the
name "Kid Acero", which literally translates as "Kid Steel", a
different Mattel toy line who also had a similar plot as Max Steel's
TV series. Eventually, Mattel cleared those apparent coincidences in a
TV episode in which it is revealed that Max Steel is indeed Big Jim's
son, and other secondary character named "Jefferson Smith" is actually
"Big Jeff" from the same classical Big Jim toy line, just 20 year
older, hence making a connection between both toy lines, thus making
this one of the first times a toy company makes a continuation of
generations of toys, taking in consideration their history,
backgrounds and timeline.After the first year, development of the
series went to Foundation Imaging, an animation company which
eventually declared a bankruptcy at the end of second series. Mattel
then choose Rainmaker Entertainment as the main animation studio,
which at the time also was in charge of Transformers: Beast Wars.
Following the same formula as Beast Wars, once Mainframe took control
of the production, every new toy makes an appearance in the series or
the movies, so they finally made a match. After the Endangered Species
movie, every new set of toys includes at least a couple of wild
animals as companions of Max too. The original run of the original toy
series began in 1999 and ended in late 2013, with the reboot of the TV
series. Since the toy line was intended solely for male kids, despite
of the constant presence of empowered women in the series as main or
supporting characters, no female figures were ever produced.
company Mattel since 1999. The original figures based on the first TV
series were similar to the original 12-inch G.I. Joe toys, consisting
almost entirely of different versions of Max Steel, the main
character, and one or two of his enemies, a couple of vehicles and two
or three special packages. The original toy series ran from
1999â€"2012. At the end of that period, was substituted by a different
series of toys with the same brand name, but with a change in quality
and design intended to tie into the companion TV series in 2013. The
2013 line did not exhibit 1/6 scale of the original and reduced the
number of articulations and action features of the figures.Max Steel
was simultaneously developed into an animated series of the same name,
which originally aired from February 25, 2000, to January 15, 2002,
followed by nine direct-to-video animated films, being released
annually from 2004 to 2012. A reboot aired on Disney XD in the United
States, where it had premiered on March 25, 2013.In 1998, Netter
Digital was commissioned by Mattel to create and develop a secret
agent themed TV series partially based on James Bond's adventures, but
aimed to young kids. The series premiered in 2000, but since October
1999, the first toys based on the series hit the shelves. The Max
Steel toy line quickly become an instant success, although most of the
first toys were completely different from the characters on the
series. This may be due to the fact that both, series and toys, were
developed simultaneously, but in independent way. Most early Max Steel
toys had a notorious military, adventure or sport clothes not related
to the series in any way, but surprisingly quite similar to the 70's
Mattel's action figure Big Jim. It was also noted that in Latin
American market, many Big Jim toys were sold at that time under the
name "Kid Acero", which literally translates as "Kid Steel", a
different Mattel toy line who also had a similar plot as Max Steel's
TV series. Eventually, Mattel cleared those apparent coincidences in a
TV episode in which it is revealed that Max Steel is indeed Big Jim's
son, and other secondary character named "Jefferson Smith" is actually
"Big Jeff" from the same classical Big Jim toy line, just 20 year
older, hence making a connection between both toy lines, thus making
this one of the first times a toy company makes a continuation of
generations of toys, taking in consideration their history,
backgrounds and timeline.After the first year, development of the
series went to Foundation Imaging, an animation company which
eventually declared a bankruptcy at the end of second series. Mattel
then choose Rainmaker Entertainment as the main animation studio,
which at the time also was in charge of Transformers: Beast Wars.
Following the same formula as Beast Wars, once Mainframe took control
of the production, every new toy makes an appearance in the series or
the movies, so they finally made a match. After the Endangered Species
movie, every new set of toys includes at least a couple of wild
animals as companions of Max too. The original run of the original toy
series began in 1999 and ended in late 2013, with the reboot of the TV
series. Since the toy line was intended solely for male kids, despite
of the constant presence of empowered women in the series as main or
supporting characters, no female figures were ever produced.
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