MaXaction all smiles after makeover

Sure, he's faster than a speeding soccer ball, more powerful than a healthy snack and able to inspire kids to get active with a single toss of one of his magical energy spheres.

But would this North Las Vegas superhero be able to overcome controversy over his "man-purse," spiky hair and snarky facial expression to become the face of the city's drive to promote healthy lifestyles among kids?

No sweat.

"We kept him," Recreation Supervisor Jody Walker said of MaXaction, a masked and caped cartoon figure that the city's Parks and Recreation Department adopted last year. "We've changed him a little bit."

They got rid of the little guy's "satchel" or purse or whatever it was, for example, and replaced it with a cylindrical "backpack" or messenger bag.

They're also using drawings of MaX wearing a smile instead of what one critic described as the "nasty look on his face" in one artist's rendering.

The original bag, with the tween crusader's wild hair and expression that belied a simple desire to get kids to exercise, raised the ire of Richard Cherchio, a North Las Vegas community activist who lost a bid for City Council in 2007.

"It looks like he's running from the police after graffiti-ing someone's backyard," Cherchio said of MaXaction at the time.

"It makes it look like it's OK to be flipping people off, answering back and throwing stuff out of the window just to be obnoxious."

Today, Cherchio's singing a more conciliatory tune about the once-scrawny boy in the red leotard, his opinion having evolved from staunch disapproval to reluctant acceptance.

"Any superhero for kids these days would be a good thing," he said. "I no longer think the mask is an issue. I remember, when I was younger, the Lone Ranger had a mask."

Cherchio said he was pleased that the final version of MaX has a nice smile and "doesn't look all that anorexic."

"He must be eating at the same Dunkin' Donuts I've been eating in lately," he said.

The city is using MaXaction's image and slogan -- "MaX it up!" -- to promote parks and recreation programs.

He has starred in his own comic strip in the department's activity schedule, and his figure is wrapped around a city "Rec N Roll" van that travels to low-income areas to provide recreational activities to kids.

"In areas where kids can't get into a rec center, we bring them balls and games," Walker said. "The staff plays with kids in parks every day, Monday through Friday."

MaXaction was the brainchild of Walker, a city employee for the last 23 years.

Her boy wonder is said to carry a collection of magical energy spheres that have a variety of uses, including creating an impromptu soccer field, tennis court or basketball hoop.

"He's a good guy just promoting physical activities and health for kids and their families," Walker said. "It's about using your imagination and your own power to have fun."

The city paid an artist a couple hundred dollars for preliminary drawings based on Walker's idea. And she has even more up her sleeve.

At the risk of letting the cat out of the proverbial man-bag, MaXaction has an entire family.

"He has a mom and dad and a grandfather and a cousin," Walker said. "His parents are Captain RC and Aqua Mom. She's actually a mermaid; she can breathe underwater."

But MaXaction's father is a mere mortal, she said.

Aqua Mom could one day represent the city's aquatics section.

North Las Vegas also is looking to create a MaXaction costume someone can wear out and about to further promote its activities.

Cherchio remains skeptical about that idea.

"I wouldn't want to be the guy walking around like that, with a mask and my hair like that," he said. "I guess we'll be able to spot him."

Contact reporter Lynnette Curtis at lcurtis@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0285.