Josh McGrath
Voiced by- Christian Campbell

     Our hero, or at least one side of him. He is, after all, equipped with a secret identity in the best tradition of superheroes everywhere. Josh McGrath is an ordinary college student, doing his best to lead a normal life. Simple, right? Not by a long shot.
     Despite his best efforts, Josh hasn't been able to keep Max's life from spilling over into his own. His constant absences and need to drop everything and run have had unfortunate effects on his life, causing his girlfriend Laura to break up with him and very nearly resulting in his flunking out of school.
     More than that, however, and the reason I've given them separate entries, is the fact that Josh and Max have significantly different behavior patterns. Josh is an easy-going, laid-back type, who never really expresses any type of strong emotion. The most reaction anyone ever gets out of him is a sort of perpetual cheerfulness, broken only by  mild annoyance.
     Josh is the biological son of Jim McGrath, formerly one of the best agents N-Tek had. Unfortunately, Josh lost his mother, Molly, at age two, when she drowned off the coast of France. Two years later, Jim was killed in an explosion. Jefferson Smith, Josh's foster father, is now N-Tek's head, so perhaps it was inevitable that Josh would fall into the family business.
     Josh has definite abandonment issues, stemming from his history of losing people he cares about... and especially where it concerns his biological father. He calls Smith "Dad," however, so it's obvious that as far as he's concerned, Jeff is his father, not Jim.

Favorite Moment:
     Josh facing off with Dread at the beginning of "The Return." Okay, technically, the behavior and speech patterns mark him as Max... but he was blonde at the time!

Max Steel
Voiced by- Christian Campbell

     The other side of our hero's split personality is N-Tek's Boy Wonder. Brash, courageous, protective, and surprisingly intelligent, Max is quite possibly N-Tek's most valuable agent. He's also Jefferson Smith's biggest headache.
     Max came about when Josh McGrath was accidentally doused with the experimental Max Probe nanotechnology by Psycho, who had snuck into N-Tek. The nanotechnology gives him enhanced speed and strength, enhanced sight and hearing, and the ability to become invisible at will. Unfortunately, it runs on transphasik energy, which means that Max will, for the rest of his life, require recharging so that he doesn't die.
     Unlike Josh, Max does tend to express one strong emotion-- anger. Given the nature of the world Max inhabits, this is understandable. It does, however, suggest that the persona of Max Steel is an outlet for Josh, a way of venting the emotions that he can't express as Josh.

Favorite Moment:
     That would be his freakout sequence in Sharks. Quite probably some of the best acting I have ever seen on a cartoon series. Everything from his growled "Going Turbo" up until that kiss with Rachel was just perfectly delivered.

Roberto Martinez
Voiced by- Jacob Vargas

     Eighteen years old at the beginning of the series, Berto Martinez has already earned his doctorate, although we have no idea in WHAT. However, it probably has something to do with the Max Probes, since he always seems to be the person consulted when the MX technology comes up.
     Most of the time, Berto seems to be your classic computer nerd and lab rat, always in front of a keyboard. His job, for the most part, seems to consist of monitoring Max's biolink, not to mention the state of his various systems. When he's not doing that, he's usually coming up with some type of device that will allow him to save the day. More recently, though, he's begun to venture out into the field on some of Max's missions, and is often indispensable there.
     Despite his typical "nerd" exterior, Berto is quite courageous and very good at thinking on his feet. He also has a wicked sense of humor that allows him to hold his own against the more outgoing Max without too much trouble. Much more sensible than his "hermano," Berto tends to be the voice of reason... not to mention exposition.

Favorite Moment:

     "Fun in the Sun," Berto's fight on the sub with L'Etranger. It was nice to see the techie hold his own in a physical fight and actually manage to defeat the much stronger and more experienced terrorist.

Rachel Leeds
Voiced by- Shannon Kenny

     Blonde, beautiful, and brainy, Rachel Leeds is the agent first assigned to shepherd and train Max Steel when he joined N-Tek. He drives her up the wall, though at least half of that is probably attraction. While she's less of a "fly by the seat of your pants" type than Max, she is certainly capable of making up things on the spur of the moment.
     Rachel tends to be fairly quiet and laid back, with a very dry sense of humor. Max irritates her easily enough, but it takes a great deal to make her angry. She's more than capable of dealing out punishment to any and all of Dread's flunkies, though. Despite their somewhat conflicting methods, Rachel has come to respect Max's abilities as an agent, as well as his courage and intelligence.

Favorite Moment:

     Yep, back to "Shattered." Most of her chase around the building, one step ahead of Vitriol... :)

Jefferson Smith
Voiced by- Chi McBride

     Pity this man. First off, he's the head of N-Tek, a job stressful in and of itself. Riding herd on an agency full of anti-terrorist operatives is generally enough to give anyone high blood pressure. Add in that his most effective (and reckless) agent is also his son, and it's no wonder most fans feel sure Jefferson Smith buys Maalox by the crate.
     For the most part, Jeff seems to be a fairly calm, laid-back individual. Of course, sixteen years raising Josh McGrath requires either phenomenal calmness or a large Valium prescription. Certainly he's had his share of arguments with Josh/Max, most of them conducted at high volume. But other than that, he seems to be able to keep his cool under fire.
     Not too much is known about Jefferson Smith, canonically. We know he's raised Josh from a very early age, (age four, according to Greg Wiseman,) and that desk job or not, he's still capable of kicking butt occasionally, as seen in the episode "Sacrifices," not to mention a good deal of the first season. Jeff's only current close friend seems to be Chuck Marshak, since they call each other by first name occasionally. He also seemed to have the "Director of Operations" position at one time, a post later held by Jean Mairot.
     It would also stand to reason that Jefferson Smith was a good friend to Jim McGrath, Josh's biological father, but I don't believe this has ever been canonically stated.

Favorite Moment:

      The end of "Fun in the Sun," where he comes to bail Max and Berto out of the stockade. What teenager HASN'T received that look from his or her parents?

Jean Mairot
Voiced by- Keith Szarabajka

     Jean Mairot was the head of Operations for N-Tek over the majority of the first season. He had the duty of overseeing the agents, coordinating operations and deciding who went where on various missions. His duties also seemed to include various internal security functions, and he was almost always present for Team Steel's more important briefings. It appeared as though Jeff was his immediate superior, giving Mairot a great deal of control and responsibility for the day-to-day running of N-Tek.
     A soft-spoken man, Mairot nevertheless excercises almost iron control over the agents under him. Greatly respected by his peers, perhaps his greatest flaw is his dislike for anything that runs contrary to plan. He CAN improvise... he just doesn't like it.
     (The final episode of the first season saw some major revelations about Mairot's character. If you want spoilers, highlight the space below.)
     The episode "Shattered" revealed that Jean Mairot was, in fact, a mole for DREAD. He'd been feeding Dread information for quite some time, and finally revealed his identity after a mole hunt threatened to expose him. During the mission, Mairot arranged for Max to be captured by Dread, and has since been presumed dead in the explosion that claimed Dread's airship. But if Dread survived...

Favorite Moment:

     "That's Dante. You have been studying your literature." From "Shattered." It was just SO much fun watching him needle Max about his schoolwork.

Chuck Marshak
Voiced by- Ed Asner

     Gruff, practical, and a bit of a grouch, Chuck Marshak is quite possibly the oldest agent N-Tek still has in the field. He's complained about wanting a desk job on occasion, but always seems to go back to the field when given a chance. Marshak has seen just about everything in his life, and is more than willing to share his experience. Even with people who don't ask for it.
     Marshak was obviously very close to Jim McGrath when the latter was still alive, as he is generally Max's only source of information about his biological father. At least twice, he has been seen telling the younger agent stories about the missions the elder McGrath undertook. In that sense, Marshak almost seems to be a mentor to Max.
     Marshak has a very dry sense of humor, sometimes to the point that you can't tell when he's kidding at all. He also personifies the term "curmudgeon," but he's got a fairly warm nature underneath.

Favorite Moment:

     "Nothing like a little plastique in the service ducts to lighten things up."
      Yep, "Shattered" again. Watching him blow hell out of a DREAD base is fun... Watching him smirk at the camera right before doing it is even better. Dread never had a chance.

Cat
Voiced by- Debi Mae West (Thanks to Morgan and Maxy Steel)

      If you've ever wondered what a female Max would be like, wonder no more. Cat pretty much answers that question. She's as reckless, headstrong, selfless, and courageous as he. As you can probably guess, they hated each other immediately.
      For Cat and Max, almost everything is a competition. Luckily for them, (or more appropriately, for Berto,) it's a fairly good-natured competition, conducted on friendly terms. Cat seems to balance being feminine with being "Just one of the boys" quite well. Max is the first partner she's had in quite some time, perhaps ever. She generally worked alone, before being assigned to Team Steel.

Favorite Moment:

     "Is there anything you DON'T carry?"
     "Lipstick."
     From "Trapped," and it basically sums up her character right there.

Jake Nez
Voiced by- Gregg Rainwater

     Jake is one of N-Tek's other field agents, not to mention Rachel's ex-boyfriend. He worked for NASA at some point in the past, and has definite experience with space-based missions. However, he also seems to do a fair amount of work in security, having made appearances on security teams in at least two different episodes.
    Not too much is known about Jake, save that he seems to be a fairly good-natured, level-headed man. Surprisingly enough, he doesn't seem to resent or dislike Max at all, despite the implication that Rachel actually left Jake for Max.

Favorite Moment:

     "See ya... Smiley."
     The fight outside the space station in "Sabers," where Jake sent Psycho spinning off into deep space.