Mighty Max (TV Series) Max vs. Max (1994) User Reviews

"Can I help it if yetis are clumsy?"

[Foreverisacastironmess123 · 10/10 · 23 March 2014]

Skullmaster returns in what is easily the best episode in a while and one of my favourites. Skullmaster was always so effortlessly awesome, whatever the ancient demon-sorcerer was doing, no matter how mundane, it always seemed to be in the realm of epic! And his motivation was always hunger for power, and pure evil!!! He was only in eleven of the forty episodes but it felt like much more than that, the character's appearances were so well placed and spaced apart, you feel his shadow over the whole series. And his story arc was simple but wonderfully effective: First he wants freedom from his fiery underworld prison, then he wants a forbidden spell book that will greatly aid him in his quest for ultimate domination over all - and that's about it but he was unquestionably the big arch-nemesis to beat, and the balance of power was always with him. This story begins with the devilish villain in a mountain base in the Himalayas, torturing some poor old monk by dangling him over an abyss and threatening to let him fall unless he reveals the location of a hidden city of the extinct Lemurian civilization wherein lies the magical tome of the Lemurian Arcana. The man's response is not to Skullmaster's liking and he makes good on his threat, allowing the man to plummet to his death... Jeez! Quite a heavy thing for kids to see on a sunny Saturday morning! That dude is *dead*. Let it not be said that Mighty Max was an animated show that was ever wanting for dark flourishes! And I really like that, not somebody being killed of, but I appreciate the maturity of it, that it was a show that had the nads to go there! Our heroes couldn't be everywhere to save everyone all the time, it wasn't like in He-Man where everything was just an endless march of victory. Despite being light-hearted on the surface there was a real element of deadly danger to this series. Anyway in this one he devises an elaborate scheme to confuse Virgil and allow him to break into the secret city by using another boy with the same birthday to cast doubt on Max's role as the chosen one, so that he puts the two Maxes through a series of tests in which he and Norman are not permitted to interfere, although Norman slyly breaks the rules a few times. It's made clear not too far into the story that the snooty Harry Potter-like "Maximillion" is a no-good double agent under the control of Skullmaster. This is the first time that Skullmaster ever actually lays hands on Max when he takes him hostage and threatens to slit his throat(!) unless Virgil reveals where he hid the Arcana five-hundred years ago. Max sure always knew just the right thing to say at any given moment, he's was always so casual, even when a giant hulking freak demon was about to cut his face off! It's a great moment when he breaks free by releasing a vicious yeti that had been menacing them earlier and that immediately pounces on Skullmaster! I love the unintentionally hilarious yeti which is scary and funny at the same time with its crazy roaring! I like the way that Norman remains on Max's side all through the confusing ordeal and never doubts for a second that he's the one and only Cap-Bearer. And it's also great to see how much Max has come to accept his role. And it is admittedly pretty peculiar that Virgil doubts who the real Mighty One is after all he's done to help save the world already, but maybe he was just playing along, maybe there was a greater test at work to see if Max truly wanted to remain the Cap-Bearer or live a normal life? This is a really strong episode and I love it, it's pretty freaking awesome, I know I probably sound like a broken record by now saying that this episode is great - but it's just that they really are! I'm sorry, I love gushing about a series that's still very stylistically awesome, and so much fun to watch, and god damn, the people who love retro animated 90's shows and who have never experienced this one before, get on it!!!

Norman and Max Should Team Up More

[shelbythuylinh · 9/10 · 1 January 2022]

As it is about Max trying to find out over in the being the true mighty one or that of a snot nosed British kid also named Max.

As both Norman and Virgil must not interfere there. Though the former you can tell cares about Max. Skullmaster is pure evil. As he does not care who gets hurt. Pure evil and power hungry there.

But the catch is the snot nosed English kid has no idea as he had some kind of spell cast upon him.

Norman and Max really are more closer to each other than Virgil. Just saying.