Mighty Max is a cartoon that ended in 1993. I think it's an underrated show. I don't hear much about it, and I think that's sad. It's fantastic for many reasons. I like how descriptive, worldly, and educational the show is especially for its time. It doesn't feel like it's all that educational, and that's the beauty of it. The struggles that he had in middle school balancing schoolwork and hero things I think is relatable for many school kids. He's also good at getting himself into trouble, but his wits are what stand out and get him out of trouble at the same time.
This series is about a 14-year old boy named Max, and he most definitely acts like it. The first episode starts with Max getting a mysterious package, which he of course opens. He takes out what looks like a statue and accidentally drops it, and finds a hat that was inside the statue. It resembles a baseball cap with the letter M emblazoned on the front. He puts it on to see if it fits, and as soon as it touches his head, it opens a portal that sucks him to another location on earth. There he bumps into a small creature that resembles a chicken, whose name is Virgil and will teach him all about the hat. There is one other individual, named Norm, who resembles a viking, he has a massive sword and incredible strength and acts as the protection for Max.
He learns that his house is adjacent to another portal, which takes you to the lair of a villain by the name of Skull Master. I believe he is the main antagonist of this series, though, there are plenty of other villains that Max has to deal with throughout. There's also Lava Lord, a subterranean creature who wishes to rule the surface world. Then, there is also Dr. Zygote who wishes to bring the world back to a more primitive state. Lastly, there are also the snake men. They worship a statue of a large cobra in Egypt.
In the final episode, Max has to fight Skull Master at Stonehenge. During this fight, time rewinds itself back to the beginning of the series, but this time, Max has additional knowledge, which he plans to use to correct the mistakes he made the first time. This series is two seasons long. I would recommend this show to teenagers because this show, above all else, is about growing up.
-John