Action Man

Action Man was a little bit like Kids WB's Max Steel but somewhat different. Alex Mann (aka Action Man) is a extreme sports competitor who uses his ability to instantly plan and perform death defying stunts to fight evil! During a deadly accident, he discovers his special ability called the AMP Factor, which is the ability, in extremely dangerous situations, to suddenly be able to examine his surroundings and computated mathematically the best possible action. This makes him capable of performing complex and daring stunts to save the day that are normally impossible. This discovery vastly complicates his and his support team's lives as they find themselves facing villains like Dr. X, who want to exploit Alex's power to his own end. This was a remake show of the 1995 Action Man cartoon created by DiC Entertainment. I can't believe that this show and Max Steel were both premiered at the same time and were both canceled at the same time! Except Max Steel still showed reruns on Cartoon Network after it was canceled and Action Man didn't air anywhere after it was canceled.

This series is another feather in the cap for Mainframe Entertainment. This series may not have been the first regular computer animation series to set in the present day world, but it has carved out a niche that distinguishes from worthy competitors like Max Steel.

Where as Max Steel focuses on the writing of each individual story with a loose continuity; Action Man stresses sheer kinetic action with a stricter story arc in the episodes. In doing so, you see an thrilling saga of our heroes in their war with the antagonists of the series chock full of stunning animation that is almost worthy of feature films.

Mainframe's reputation for animation excellence continues.

I don't understand: The first ten or so episodes of Action Man were really good, and the show was actually above most other kids programs. The emphasis was more so on plot and overall story. Alex Mann was a deep man who cared about his team, and his rival, Brandon Kane, whose body Dr. X had inhibited. And Dr. X himself was more than a simple "Bad Guy", he was a man who had a passion for his work and truly beleived neo-humanity was beneficiary for the world. Furthermore, he RESPECTED Action Man, and wanted him to join him. And he always referred to him as "Mr. Mann."

But, like a sudden snap, the show almost completely turned into a crappy, cliché, spoon-fed kids show, with no deep plot and the characters turned into uncomplicated, one dimensional steriotypes. Dr. X went from what is described above to an idiotic simple villain who, in those annoying new spoon-fed bio descriptions, "Hated" Action Man. And he started calling him "Action man" as well. Alex aslo became a dim-bulb jock who started spouting out crappy catch phrases such as "Show me that rush! WOOOOOOH!!!"

I can't understand why the producers made such a huge writing change when they had such a good thing going. While the show is still on, I hope they can save it and switch back.

Not only does Action Man provide great tv. The show effectively recreates the legend of a classic hero. I find so fascinating how the show integrates the characters and sets of the toy line, but in a very subtle way, by mildly interweaving these items in a creative manner into the story. Action Man is fun, and for those who want to compare this series to Max Steel, here's the difference: Action Man's animation is more colorful and fluid, while Max Steel's animation is less fluid, but the characters on Max Steel are drawn with more lifelike textures. I really hope production of Action Man continues, as this is one of the best of the new cartoons to debut since Batman: The Animated Series.