To honor the release of the Max Steel action figure line a cartoon series based on Max Steel was made. Max Steel was just a normal teenager living a simple life until he turned into a James Bond like alter-ego. When the Max Steel action figures came out in 1998 little did Mattel know that a cartoon series would follow. This cartoon was well done and later revived with a new cartoon series as well. I can remember when the Max Steel line came out that the action figures were so cool and awesome
Bestie

The Max Steel cartoon did not come out to "honor the release" of the toyline. The cartoon is from 2000 actually and the toyline was already 2 and a half years old before the first episode aired. The 2013 Max Steel series is 1000 times better. Both are fairly forgettable however.