History WesternAnimation / MightyMax

* EerieArcticResearchStation: The episode "Out in the Cold" has Max and company arrive at a research outpost in the Aleutian Islands. It turns out the recent cold snap across the globe is caused by cold-loving aliens who have arrived to terraform the planet to their liking. Oh, and they're also [[Shapeshifting shapeshifters]]. Why, yes, this episode was an homage to the horror classic ''Film/TheThing1982''.

* ProtectorBehindBars: Norman and Virgil spend "Werewolves in Dunneglen" arrested as murder suspects [[note]] Though it's fairly clear Norman could break out of the crackerbox county lockup if he wanted to, but doesn't because Max and Virgil tell him they'd just be making more enemies [[/note]]. Fortunately Max gets help from a werewolf who happens to look a lot like Norman and sound a lot like Virgil that episode.

* ResetButton: [[spoiler: The last episode.]]

* DropTheHammer: When he was known as Thor, Norman wielded the mighty warhammer {{Mjolnir}}. He uses it again when he fights the Doom Dragon. After the battle he throws it into the ocean, presumably returning it to the gods.

* ArtisticLicensePaleontology: One episode had a villain using a de-evolving ray to bring back dinosaurs (see the EvolutionaryLevels example above). However, the MadScientist used lizards to get his dinosaurs. Dinosaurs and lizards, despite some similar features, are only related very distantly. Ironically, the de-evolution beam is used on Virgil, who ''should'' become a dinosaur, but instead becomes a pterosaur. Although it is unclear how closely related dinosaurs and pterosaurs are, birds did not evolve from pterodactyls. Birds evolved from theropod (meat-eating) dinosaurs. That said, the [[AndKnowingIsHalfTheBattle educational epilogue]] attempted to rectify these inaccuracies by having Max correctly point out that birds like Virgil are descended from dinosaurs.

* ArtisticLicensePaleontology: One episode had a villain using a de-evolving ray to bring back dinosaurs (see the EvolutionaryLevels example above). However, the MadScientist used lizards to get his dinosaurs. Dinosaurs and lizards, despite some similar features, are only related very distantly. Ironically, the de-evolution beam is used on Virgil, who ''should'' become a dinosaur, but instead becomes a pterosaur. Although it is unclear how closely related dinosaurs and pterosaurs are, birds did not evolve from pterodactyls. Birds evolved from theropod (meat-eating) dinosaurs. And yet, the post-episode segment has Max correctly point out that birds like Virgil are descended from dinosaurs (although this further implies that the writers think pterosaurs are dinosaurs).

** Happens in a flashback in the episode "The Axeman Cometh." In ancient times Norman and his tribe were at war with a tribe of barbarians called the Strangers, who hated Norman's tribe so much that they had their shaman summon and release the demon of violence, Lockjaw. An hour into their final battle, Lockjaw used [[SuperScream his destructive scream]] and caused so much devastation on both sides that Norman's tribe and the Strangers immediately made peace and worked together to subdue the demon.

** Happens in a flashback in the episode "The Axeman Cometh." In ancient times Norman and his tribe were at war with a tribe of barbarians called the Strangers, who hated Norman's tribe so much that they had their shaman summon and release the demon of violence, Lockjaw. An hour into their final battle, Lockjaw used [[MakeMeWannaShout his destructive scream]] and caused so much devastation on both sides that Norman's tribe and the Strangers immediately made peace and worked together to subdue the demon.

* SpidersAreScary: Normon is a millenia old warrior in who acts as Max's bodyguard. He fights all manner of horrific creatures, but nothing ever scares him. That is, until he fights a spider. Specifically a giant spider the size of a school bus. In the final episodes we find out precisely why he's afraid, [[spoiler:there's an ancient prophecy that says he will finally die by being eaten by a giant spider]].

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

The show centers around a smartaleck boy, Max, who is sent an artifact by his archeologist mother, only to find an enchanted baseball cap signifying him as a [[TheChosenOne chosen hero]], the "cap bearer" or "mighty one." He comes across two individuals who are also destined to protect and train him, the immortal viking [[TheBigGuy Big Guy]] Norman provided the muscle and protection while MrExposition Virgil was to be his [[MentorArchetype mentor]], who happened to be a humanoid fowl (but ''[[InsistentTerminology certainly not]]'' a chicken-- indeed, he looked more like an owl). Oh... and that baseball cap is a legendary key to open a [[PortalNetwork series of ancient portals]] to transport them around the world and even beneath it.

The show was technically MerchandiseDriven, although this aspect wasn't too noticeable. It was also unusual as [[BadassNormal Max had no real 'powers' to speak of]], and its classic monster horror roots meant it never shied away from actually killing people (especially in the final plot arcs) during a time when most cartoons would NeverSayDie with Virgil even pointing out in one episode "Real violence has real consequences."

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: The final episode has all of the supporting cast die and Skullmaster nearly achieving his goal, but then Max interrupts Skullmaster’s ritual and resets the timeline to where the series began. Max is now back at square-one, but he is undaunted and ready to fight evil again with greater success alongside his revived friends.]]

* AnAxeToGrind: Norman eventually gains the confidence to beat Spike when Max and Virgil retrieve his father's battleaxe.

* BalefulPolymorph: Freako the Clown uses magical funhouse mirrors that transform anyone who looks at them into monsters in "Clown Without Pity." In addition to several children who have gone "missing," the sinister clown kidnaps Virgil and Norman after drugging them with cotton candy and turns them into freaks early on in the episode. During the climactic set-piece, Freako traps Max in his funhouse and drops a mirror directly in front of him. Max initially tries to avert his eyes, but reluctantly gazes into the mirror and reacts with utmost horror. He initially appears normal through our perspective of his reflection, but then his pupils swirl into spirals and Freako erupts with sadistic laughter. As the clown's spell begins to take effect, Max's blue eyes shrink into dots, his nose grows large with warts and his hands morph into claws. Looking down at his wrinkled arms, Max gasps in terror as he realizes that he's been warped into the hideous, hunchbacked creature reflecting back at him. Max cries out to Virgil and Norman for help, but Freako responds by saying "there is nothing you can do, but become a freak" and continues to cackle maniacally.

The show was technically MerchandiseDriven, although this aspect wasn't too noticeable. It was also unusual as [[BadassNormal Max had no real 'powers' to speak of]] ([[FridgeLogic which begs the question of why there needed to be a chosen one in the first place if any random child could've done it]]), and its classic monster horror roots meant it never shied away from actually killing people (especially in the final plot arcs) during a time when most cartoons would NeverSayDie with Virgil even pointing out in one episode "Real violence has real consequences."

* BalefulPolymorph: Freako the Clown uses magical funhouse mirrors that transform anyone who looks at them into monsters in "Clown Without Pity." In addition to several children who have gone "missing," the sinister clown kidnaps Virgil and Norman after drugging them with cotton candy and turns them into freaks early on in the episode. During the climactic set-piece, Freako traps Max in his funhouse and drops a mirror directly in front of him. Max initially tries to avert his eyes, but reluctantly gazes into the mirror and reacts with utmost horror. He initially appears normal through our perspective of the glass, but then his pupils swirl into spirals and Freako erupts with sadistic laughter as his spell begins to take hold. Max's blue eyes shrink into dots as his nose grows large with warts, his arms elongate with wrinkles and his hands morph into claws; he inevitably transforms into the hideous creature within his warped reflection. After Max cries out to Virgil and Norman for help, Freako states "there is nothing you can do, but become a freak" and continues to cackle maniacally.

* BalefulPolymorph: Freako the Clown uses magical funhouse mirrors that transform anyone who looks at them into monsters in "Clown Without Pity." In addition to several children who have gone "missing," the sinister clown kidnaps Virgil and Norman after drugging them with cotton candy and turns them into freaks early on in the episode. During the climactic set-piece, Freako traps Max in his funhouse and drops a mirror directly in front of him. Max initially tries to avert his eyes, but reluctantly gazes into the mirror and reacts with utmost horror. He initially appears normal through our perspective of the glass, but then his pupils swirl into spirals and Freako erupts with sadistic laughter as his spell begins to take hold. Max's blue eyes shrink into dots as his nose grows large with warts, his arms elongate with wrinkles and his hands morph into claws; he inevitably transforms into the hideous creature of his warped reflection. After Max cries out to Virgil and Norman for help, Freako states "there is nothing you can do, but become a freak" and continues to cackle maniacally.

* BalefulPolymorph: Freako the Clown uses magical funhouse mirrors that transform anyone who looks at them into monsters in "Clown Without Pity." In addition to several children who have gone "missing," the sinister clown kidnaps Virgil and Norman after drugging them with cotton candy and turns them into freaks early on in the episode. During the climactic set-piece, Freako traps Max in his funhouse and drops a mirror directly in front of him. Max initially tries to avert his eyes, but reluctantly gazes into the mirror and reacts with utmost horror. He initially appears normal through our perspective of the glass, but then his pupils begin to swirl into spirals and Freako erupts with sadistic laughter. Max's blue eyes shrink into dots as his nose grows large with warts, his arms elongate with wrinkles and his hands morph into claws; he's inevitably transformed into the hideous creature that the mirror reflected back at him. After Max cries out to Virgil and Norman for help, Freako states "there is nothing you can do, but become a freak" and continues to cackle maniacally.

* BalefulPolymorph: Freako the Clown uses magical funhouse mirrors that transform anyone who looks at them into monsters in "Clown Without Pity." In addition to several children who have gone "missing," the sinister clown kidnaps Virgil and Norman after drugging them with cotton candy and turns them into freaks early on in the episode. During the climactic set-piece, Freako traps Max in his funhouse and drops a mirror directly in front of him. Max initially tries to avert his eyes, but reluctantly gazes into the mirror and reacts with utmost horror. He initially appears normal through our perspective of the glass, but then his pupils begin to swirl into spirals and Freako erupts with sadistic laughter. Max's blue eyes quickly shrink into dots as his nose grows large with warts, his arms elongate with wrinkles and his hands morph into claws; he's inevitably transformed into the hideous creature that reflected back at him. After Max cries out to Virgil and Norman for help, Freako states "there is nothing you can do, but become a freak" and continues to cackle maniacally.

* BalefulPolymorph: Freako the Clown uses magical funhouse mirrors that transform anyone who looks at them into monsters in "Clown Without Pity." In addition to several children who have gone "missing," the sinister clown kidnaps Virgil and Norman after drugging them with cotton candy and turns them into freaks early on in the episode. During the climactic set-piece, Freako traps Max in his funhouse and drops a mirror directly in front of him. Max initially tries to avert his eyes, but reluctantly gazes into the mirror and reacts with utmost horror. He initially appears normal through our perspective of the glass, but his pupils begin to swirl into spirals and Freako erupts with sadistic laughter. Max's blue eyes eventually shrink into dots, his nose grows large with warts and his hands elongate into claws as he inevitably transforms into the hideous creature reflecting back at him. After Max cries out to Virgil and Norman for help, Freako states "there is nothing you can do, but become a freak" and continues to cackle maniacally.

* BalefulPolymorph: Freako the Clown uses magical funhouse mirrors that transform anyone who looks at them into monsters in "Clown Without Pity." In addition to several children who have gone "missing," the sinister clown kidnaps Virgil and Norman after drugging them with cotton candy and turns them into freaks early on in the episode. During the climactic set-piece, Freako traps Max in his funhouse and drops a mirror directly in front of him. Max initially tries to avert his eyes, but reluctantly gazes into the mirror and reacts with utmost horror. Through the perspective of the glass, Max initially appears normal, but his pupils begin to swirl into spirals and shrink his blue eyes into dots. Freako erupts with sadistic laughter as Max's nose grows large with warts, his arms become wrinkled and his hands elongate into claws as he's inevitably transformed into the hideous, hunchbacked creature that reflected back at him. After Max cries out to Virgil and Norman for help, Freako states "there is nothing you can do, but become a freak" while continuing to cackle maniacally.

* BalefulPolymorph: Freako the Clown uses magical funhouse mirrors that transform anyone who looks at them into monsters in "Clown Without Pity." In addition to several children who have gone "missing," the sinister clown kidnaps Virgil and Norman after drugging them with cotton candy and turns them into freaks early on in the episode. During the climactic set-piece, Freako traps Max in his funhouse and drops a mirror directly in front of him. Max initially tries to avert his eyes, but reluctantly gazes into the mirror and reacts with utmost horror. Through the perspective of the glass, Max initially appears normal, but his pupils begin to swirl into black spirals and shrink his blue eyes into dots. Freako erupts with sadistic laughter as Max's nose grows large with warts, his arms become wrinkled and his hands elongate into claws as he's inevitably transformed into the hideous, hunchbacked creature that reflected back at him. Realizing what he' out to Virgil and Norman for help, but Freako states "there is nothing you can do, but become a freak" and continues to cackle maniacally.