Titan Maximum is an American adult stop motion-animated television series created by Tom Root and Matthew Senreich for Cartoon Network's late night programing block Adult Swim. It originally aired from September 27 to November 22, 2009. A teaser premiered during the "Robot Chicken on Wheels" tour and at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con. It is a parody of the "Super Robot" anime style produced using stop motion animation.
Plot Drafted from the Solar System's best and brightest young people, Titan Force Five once defended the capital of Saturn's moon Titan by using the heavily armed Mecha Titan Maximum. However, the team was disbanded due to budget cuts after a series of escalating incidents caused by Titan Force Five.
Two years later, after the team members have long separated and gone to ground in civilian jobs (one of them, Spud, has even died in an accident), their former teammate Gibbs returns as a villain who wants to conquer the Solar System with an army of monsters.
The three remaining Titan Force Five members have to reform the team to stop him. Along for the ride are Palmer's younger brother Willie (a nerdy mechanical genius) and Leon (their silent monkey janitor), who take on the former roles of Gibbs and Spud, respectively.
Characters Titan Force Five Commander Palmer (voiced by Breckin Meyer) – The red teammate and leader of the group, Palmer is a narcissist who sees himself as the best member of the team. His ego irritates anyone close to him, particularly Gibbs, who describes Palmer as "an egomaniacal troglodyte who will let you all die a fiery hell before he shares even one iota of glory." Palmer never takes anything seriously, even in the face of danger, however has shown to be worried when a teammate is in trouble (like when the people of Eris tried to rape his brother or when Jodi was being arrested for treason). He is always referred to by his last name, even by close family like his brother and grandparents. Since the original team disbanded, he has lived off his prior fame and accomplishments while drinking heavily and bar hopping. He eagerly retakes his role as leader of Titan Force Five when Gibbs emerges as a villain. He has a younger brother, Willie, and takes every opportunity to demean him, but regardless does care for his well-being. He has a habit of starting a fight with the saying, "You have something in your teeth... my fist!", followed by a slight awkward pause then an attack that isn't a punch. Gibbs describes his fighting style as doing nothing but "hitting the A button". Ironically, despite Gibbs hatred towards Palmer, Palmer always thought of Gibbs as a friend back when they were a team; however, Palmer left him when he got captured because Palmer was trying to get to his date. Few months later, Palmer didn't even know Gibbs was gone. His ship forms the head and torso of Titan Maximum. Lt. Jodi Yanarella (voiced by Rachael Leigh Cook) – The quintessential "girl next door", Jodi is the bright, cheerful member of the team, reflecting her position as the yellow teammate. She is skilled in martial arts, works in many charities, and always tries to maintain a positive attitude. She's the only teammate that takes her job seriously. However, this falters around Sasha, who takes every opportunity to mock her; Jodi often finds herself incapable of gaining the upper hand in their bickering. Being the most intelligent member of the team, she finds satisfaction in being proven right while her teammates jump to conclusions. She had a previous relationship with Gibbs, who often refers to her as "Jo Jo", but Gibbs broke up with her before switching sides, later claiming it was to protect her. Her ship forms the right arm, even though in-story it is unheard of for a girl to pilot the right arm because of the constant so-called "training" a guy does with said arm. Lt. Junior Grade Sasha Caylo (voiced by Eden Espinosa) – The stuck-up sex symbol of the group, "tabloid harlot" Sasha is the black-suited member of the team. After the team disbanded, she took up singing, despite having a terrible singing voice (which others constantly remind her of). Unabashedly promiscuous, Sasha goes to clubs every night to drink and sleep with men, sometimes ending up so out of it that she cannot remember what day it is. Palmer boasts that "Sasha can find the genitals on anything that breathes" (something she is shown to be proud of). This boast comes in the form of attacking monsters in the groin, a strategy she believes is the best and only course of action. Troy commented that she "replaced her soul with a vacuous need for fame and penises." She has a rivalry with Jodi, insulting her any chance she gets as well as prone to blame her for anything that goes wrong, always saying "look what you did, Jodi." She is very emotional, prone to outbursts for the slightest reason, such as striking a reporter over the head with a bottle for an insult, whom she then saves from a falling sign. She is the most emotional in her reaction to Gibbs' turning to evil, going into a long, angry rant filled with obscenities that Palmer eventually mutes halfway through. Her father is the president of Titan, her excesses being her way of rebelling against him. She has also shown a sadistic side, such as repeatedly shooting a man in the knee and then stepping on it afterward, all while laughing maniacally. Sasha's ship forms the left arm, though she is sometimes seen controlling the right, as well. Space Seaman Willie Palmer (voiced by Dan Milano) – Willie is Palmer's younger brother, and a huge fan of Titan Maximum. Excited with the idea of being part of the team, he takes up the role of the blue team member when the team gets in trouble. Though he has played the Titan Force simulator hundreds of times, his application in handling the actual ship is poor at best, though he seems to have improved after his initial attempt. He deeply wanted the glory just like his brother. He has an ego just like his brother, but no one takes him seriously. He has a massive crush on Sasha, thinking he has a chance with her. He has a degree in robotics engineering from DeVry, which his brother mocks, and he is able to repair the Titan Force Five ships in an hour. He was also able to reassemble the damaged robot on a 10 million Zurich budget, despite the original costing about fifty times that amount, as well as making them better than they were before in only a two-week time frame (except for the face, which he didn't have time for, though later fixes). Willie constantly tries to win his brother's approval, in spite of Palmer's equally constant mockery. Willie is too blind to see through his brother and Sasha. He once ends up being kissed by a boy, whom Willie thinks is a girl. People often mistake him for a girl, and people call him Leon, or he is called a monkey. His ship forms the right leg. Leon – The silent monkey janitor of Titan Force Five, Leon becomes the green team member when it becomes apparent that the remaining three Titan Force members cannot win by themselves. He is a graduate of the military Primate Training Academy, which turns out trained monkeys to work for free in positions that humans won't do or are clearly suicidal. The ever-stoic Leon never reacts to anything said to him, the only sign that he's even paying attention being a single blink or a turn of the head. Despite his seemingly emotionless expressions, he has a non-verbal wit as shown in the pilot, where he is shown to have traced "Wash Me" and "Leon Rules" on the dirty windows of the Titan ships. He helps Willie in repairing Titan Maximum, and Sasha frequently mistakes the two for one another. His ship forms the left leg. Chief Petty Officer "Spud" Cunningham (voiced by Tom Root) – Spud was the original green team member and the "drug-fueled heart" or "lovable goofball" of the group. While his skills as a pilot and a warrior were lackluster, his friendly, lovable nature kept the team together despite their constant bickering, although it seems that he may have just sided by Palmer and Sasha in their antics. Some time after the disbanding, Spud died in what would be seen as a controversial death: after purchasing a large quantity of cocaine and a prostitute's services for a "Balcony Party," he fell off the exceedingly tall balcony to his death at age 27, the entire 50 second fall filmed by a camcorder he was using to film the party.
Titan Admiral Chester Bitchface (voiced by Billy Dee Williams) – Admiral Bitchface, age 66, is an official of the Titan military service, and comes from a line of Bitchface military officers. He is responsible for the original team's disbandment, wanting to save funds during peacetime and because of his own personal loathing for the Titan Force Five's antics in the past. Though he refused to rebuild Titan Maximum at first, Bitchface is forced to comply by the President due to the Titan Force Five getting the people's support and Gibbs (whom he assumed to be an idiot just like the rest of Titan Force Five. Bitchface underestimates Lt. Gibbs). having the platoon Bitchface sent after him systematically slaughtered. However, he manages to embezzle 490 million of the 500 million Zurich fund for his own attempt to stop Gibbs, Project Colostomy, forming a collaboration with Hammerschmiddtt Motors to create Titan Megamum. Eventually, when Jodi's sex tape is made public, Bitchface gets a suitable reason to disband the team for good and replace Titan Maximum with Titan Megamum (though he does not realize that Troy has joined forces with Lt. Gibbs). President Keith Caylo (voiced by Dan Milano) – Keith Caylo is the President of Titan and Sasha's father, which explains why she is able to get away with all she does and still be a member of Titan Force Five, even though he wishes she would give up being a member of Titan Force Five and get a real job. He has a hidden disdain toward his daughter for her selfishness and lewd behavior, usually having to suppress a strong anger just at the mere mention of her name. However, he nevertheless comes to his daughter's defense when someone speaks ill of her.
Mars Martian Prime Minister (voiced by Seth Green) – The unnamed prime minister of Mars. He seems to cave easily under pressure, and is more than willing to defy the Mars Constitution to ensure survival. President Caylo refers to him as a "Martian Windbag". Mr. Hammerschmiddtt (voiced by Hugh Davidson) – A savvy business man who runs Hammerschmiddtt Motors, and one of the more powerful men on Mars. He and his company are collaborating with Bitchface on Project Colostomy and sees Gibbs attack as finally bringing Mars and Titan together, to defeat him. He has a habit of using the metaphor "whipping that (something) like an uppity rent boy!", something Troy constantly reminds him to stop doing. Tiffany Hammerschmiddtt – Troy's younger sister, a silent and bookish looking young woman who will take over Hammerschmiddtt Motors. Her glasses have a habit of coming loose quite easily.
Mercury Jodi's Grandmother (voiced by Edie McClurg) – She is affectionately referred to as "Gammy" by her granddaughter. When Jodi confesses to her grandma about the many mistakes that she made in her life, Gammy is very supportive and proud of her granddaughter and promised to support her no matter what. But when Jodi's affair with Gibbs is made public, she promptly declares "You're dead to me" and walks off much to the dismay of the already emotionally shattered girl. Palmer & Willie's Grandparents – Referred to by Willie and Palmer as "Mamo and Bampo", they share the general hysteria when it comes to their elder grandson, and more often than not overlook Willie.