Maxima (DC)

Revision as of 13:09, 15 October 2021

Maxima is a female comic character who features in DC Comics.

Biography

Origin

Maxima was a female inhabitant of the planet Almerac who lived in another galaxy. She was the product of generations of selective breeding by the House of Almerac and born to the imperial bloodline to be the ruler of her world. (Action Comics v1 #651)

Her world was preparing themselves for an inevitable war against the warlord Mongul when Maxima came to view a gladiatorial match on Warlord on the holo-cast. In that, she saw a warrior named Superman battle in the arena and Maxima was impressed at his prowess as she saw him defeat the reigning champion Draaga. She came to be even more intrigued at the Kryptonian when he defied the order of Mongul to kill Draaga and Maxima believing that he demonstrated some potential. At the time, the dissolution of Mongul's rule had demanded Maxima's attention and thus she could not investigate the Superman for herself. As such, she had a simulacrum created and dispatched on the task. (Action Comics v1 #651) Seeking to find the Superman, she had the simulacrum of herself being sent to Earth along with Sazu. Whilst in Metropolis, she was approached by some thugs who she killed for threatening her. She then used her powers to make a number of humans into her servants where she was shown various human fashion lines. Despite that, the Lady Maxima was looking to encounter the Superman and wanted information on him where one of her servants suggested going to the Daily Planet as no one knew a place the Man of Steel called his personal residence. She came to learn that Superman had a 'girlfriend' named Lois Lane who was a human reporter that worked at the newspaper. This led to Maxima wanting to encounter this female but upon seeing her she was not impressed and used her powers so that Lois Lane could not speak as she was left in a hypnotised state. However, she and the other people of the Daily Planet had no information on Superman's location with Maxima deciding to use other means to draw the Man of Steel out. Teleporting away, she used mentally controlled humans and outfitted them with advanced technology to take over city hall. This drew Superman's attention who disarmed the attackers where he confronted the mastermind that was Maxima who immediately used her mental powers to cause him to kneel. Seeing Superman, he came to impress her and she desired him to be her mate but Sazu believed to be unworthy of her. In fact, Sazu turned against Maxima and destroyed her simulacrum as she claimed that Maxima's bloodline must not be tainted by the unworthy joining the royal house. Before disappearing, the simulacrum touched Superman's mind and promised to return before dissipating. Angry at Sazu's actions, the Lady Maxima decided to punish her attendant whilst deciding to head to Earth in order to claim the Superman for herself. (Action Comics v1 #645)

She then took her flagship that headed for Earth where Sazu's betrayal led to Maxima making the journey alone. Arriving in orbit, she teleported to the surface with her arriving by Metropolis in order to track down Sazu to punish her for her betrayal. Finding her attendant at a detention centre, Maxima had her sent off-planet to suffer the punishment for her actions whilst the Almeraci royal went forth to find Superman. (Action Comics v1 #651)

Afterwards, Almerac came under attack from Braniac after he had taken over Warworld where their armies looked to oppose the invaders. Despite their strength, their armies were exterminated though Brainiac came to spare Maxima and forced her to serve him. (Action Comics v1 #674) Brainiac had her along with Draaga and Matrix as he took them in his plan to conquer Earth. (Superman: The Man of Steel v1 #9) During this time, the Coluan was responsible for kidnapping the New God Metron and bending him to his will. This saw his New Genesis compatriots Orion and Lightray attempting to free him but they were attacked by Brainiac's unwilling subjects. Maxima came to use her powers to defeat Orion whilst Brainiac prepared his assault on Earth. (Superman v2 #65)

Post-Flashpoint

Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events.

Overview

Personality and attributes

In appearance, Maxima was a beautiful woman with seemingly human features who had long red hair. She was said to be maybe around six-two in height with her being described as being a cross between a showgirl and a power-lifter. (Action Comics v1 #645)

She had stated that she took orders from no one and saw herself as the better of others with her being superior in every way. (Action Comics v1 #651) She was shown to have no compunction with killing someone who threatened her. (Action Comics v1 #645)

Upon learning of Superman, she became curious on seeing this figure and became impressed with him where she desired him to be her mate. (Action Comics v1 #645) She had her scientists examine Superman's genetic code from a sample that had been acquired where they noted that despite any differences the pair were compatible. Maxima attempted to tempt him by suggesting that their union would result in progeny and give the lost race of Krypton new life. According to her, she could give the Man of Steel something that no human woman could give which was children and offspring who could rule galaxies. However, Superman came to reject her advances as he claimed he did not want to father a race of despots that would be hot-blooded barbarians. This rejection made Maxima furious and she came to attack the Kryptonian with her wanting him to suffer a thousand torments for his actions. (Action Comics v1 #651)

Maxima claimed to belong to a hearty, star-spanning people with her family having spent millennia forging a rich empire throughout their galaxy. Their power was noted for being vast and that they had few rivals. Their early ancestors recognised that no single race embodied the many aspects of strength and power so the Almeraci began a cycle of continuous warfare. They chose their conquests carefully as they sought out worlds with rich genetic stock and assimilated only the strongest into their empire with the weak and removed from consideration. Meanwhile, the Imperial bloodline of the House of Almerac was the proud result of generations of selective breeding to produce superior specimens. (Action Comics v1 #651)

One of her attendants was Sazu who accompanied Maxima during her forays. Despite this, she said that her first duty was to the Royal House and she was capable of turning against her mistress if her actions weakened the bloodline. (Action Comics v1 #645)

Powers and abilities

Being of the imperial bloodline, she was the product of generations of selective breeding. It was said that her powers were psionic in nature giving her a range of mental abilities. (Action Comics v1 #651) Maxima was shown to possess a degree of mental powers allowing her to brainwash people to serve, compel their bodies to follow her command and control their movements. (Action Comics v1 #645) She could communicate telepathically with others allowing her to speak directly into another person's mind. (Action Comics v1 #651)

It was said that she was both strong and fast with this matching the might of a fully-powered Kryptonian. (Action Comics v1 #651)

She was shown to have the capabilities to produce a simulacrum of herself that she was able to operate remotely. (Action Comics v1 #645) These were said to be near-perfect doubles who could be proxies that were said to be underpowered constructs. (Action Comics v1 #651)

She was known to keep some attendants that aided her. (Action Comics v1 #645)

Notes

• Maxima was created by Roger Stern and George Pérez where she made her first appearance in Action Comics v1 #645 (September, 1989).

Alternate Versions

In other media

Television

• In Superman: The Animated Series, Maxima appeared in the setting of the animated television series in the episode "Warrior Queen" where she was voiced by actress Sharon Lawrence.
• In Smallville, Maxima appeared in the setting of the live-action television series in the season 8 episode "Instinct" where she was portrayed by actress Charlotte Sullivan.
• In Supergirl, Maxima appeared in the live-action television series set in the Arrowverse in the episode "Myriad" where she was portrayed by actress Eve Torres Gracie.

Films

Appearances

• Action Comics v1: (1989)
• Superman: The Man of Steel v1:
• Superman v2:
• Supergirl:

External Links

• DC Database Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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