The wise one, the strong one, and the eternally wisecracking yet always unlikely heroic Mighty One are really in deep s**t in this one when they find themselves faced with the diabolically digital wrath of the awesomely evil and megalomanical Cyberskull, a villain who in terms of immediate threat to the world as we know it and sheer chaotic freaky power, is arguably the strongest one of the whole series. I love this episode, it was always one of my very favourites. Some of the animation effects and styles that are featured in this trippy blast of an episode that is inspired by "Mighty Max Bytes Cyberskull", which was one of the last and most well-detailed of the Doom Zones, is some of the most impressive and interesting yet, and pushes the limits of the show's animation, like with the striking and very strange result whenever Cyberskull will transform the real world into a computer game-like realm that is very reminiscent of the movie Tron. I also love the classic 'cosmic power' look and sound effects of when Cyberskull uses his powers, they look like something from a classic superhero comic - Zzzap!!! Cyberskull is such a terrifically fun and over-the-top villain to watch in action, how much do I love his voice! Every crazy thing he bellows out is so hilarious because at the start of the episode the character's just an extreme stereotype of a nerd, and even after he changes and gains such awesome god-like abilities you kind of get the sense that he's still an insecure big nerd on the inside, and that's why I love the "I'm not a nerd" line, it's so tongue-in-cheek! Norman also gets some snappy dry-wit material, I love the football game scene where he says "I like it, but it'd be better with swords." I think everything'd be better with swords! For the concept and execution this was just one of the best episodes. The more I watch a lot of them for the first time since I was a little kid, I am continually impressed by what a sharp and intelligent series it is, and definitely by all the cultural references it makes. Like for instance the setup of this adventure seems to borrow a little from the film "The Lawnmower Man", Cyberskull's character design is similar to Robocop if he had a skull for a head, during the first arcade scene the original Donkey Kong can briefly be heard in the background, and the gear that Max puts on to play the virtual game looks a lot like the much-maligned Nintendo Power Glove! I also couldn't help but notice that Cyberskull's last words as he is banished into cybernetic oblivion are a vague take on Marlon Brando's "The horror, the horror!" Wonder how many kids ever got that one. Pure excellence, to the Max!!!
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