{{Infobox comics character , image= , caption = Maximum from ''Supermen of America'' #1, art by Doug Braithwaite. , character_name = Maximum , publisher =

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

, debut = ''

Supermen of America The Supermen of America is the name of two fictional superhero teams published by DC Comics. The original group first appeared in a special written by Stuart Immonen published in 1999, and a later mini-series written by Fabian Nicieza, which was ...

'' vol. 2, #1 (March 2000) , creators =

Fabian Nicieza Fabian Nicieza (; December 31, 1961) is an Argentine-American comic book writer and editor who is best known for his work on Marvel titles such as ''X-Men'', '' X-Force'', ''New Warriors'', ''Nomad'', ''Cable'', '' Gambit'', '' Deadpool'' and ' ...

(writer)

Doug Braithwaite Doug Braithwaite is a British comic book artist. Career Braithwaite began his career working in the British comics industry starting with '' 2000 AD'' and '' A1''; later he worked on Marvel's ''Earth X'' sequels, ''Universe X'' and ''Paradise ...

(artist) , real_name = Maxwell Williams , species = , homeworld = , alliances =

, aliases = , supports = , powers = Can possess superhuman strength, speed, or

sense A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the surroundings through the detection of Stimulus (physiology), stimuli. Although, in some cultures, five human senses were traditio ...

s at will, but only individually. Maximum is a

fictional Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

published by

. He first appeared in ''

'' vol. 2 #1 (March 2000), and was created by

and

Fictional character biography

Maxwell Williams was a young

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

high school athlete with a bright future ahead of him, but became a quadriplegic after a tragic accident, and would have remained so without specially designed surgical implants provided by

LexCorp Alexander "Lex" Joseph Luthor () is a supervillain in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the character first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (published on February 22, 1940, with a cover d ...

. The Lexcorp implants made Maxwell more than human and he used his new powers to fight crime in

Suicide Slum Metropolis is a fictional city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, best known as the home of Superman and his List of Superman supporting characters, closest allies and some of his List of Superman enemies, foes. First app ...

under the name of Maximum. After

Psilencer The Supermen of America is the name of two fictional superhero teams published by DC Comics. The original group first appeared in a special written by Stuart Immonen published in 1999, and a later mini-series written by Fabian Nicieza, which was ...

's untimely death, Outburst and his inexperienced teammates in the

were deeply shaken and reconsidered their vocation. It was around this time that the team met and recruited Max. Unlike the rest of the Supermen, Maximum's identity was public recor

A disgruntled Lexcorp employee discovered that S.T.A.R. Labs had hidden a capsule inside a special holding chamber called Lockdown 6 in the waters near

Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural area for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big city b ...

. Luthor successfully deployed Pyrogen to retrieve the capsule from Lockdown 6, but he encountered the Deep Six and was rebuffed.

Darkseid Darkseid () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer-artist Jack Kirby, the character first made a cameo appearance in ''Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen'' #134 (December 1970), before being fully in ...

, lord of

Apokolips Apokolips is a fictional planet that appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The planet is ruled by Darkseid, established in Jack Kirby's Fourth World series, and is integral to many stories in the DC Universe. Apokolips is co ...

, also wanted the contents of Lockdown 6 and had sent the Deep Six to retrieve them. In the Vega system, the Warlords of Okaara sensed the danger presented by the capsule, and took preventative measure

The Okaarans overpowered Earth's defensive forces and White Lotus desperately rushed to negotiate a peace settlement before they "cleansed' the planet. While White Lotus was negotiating with the Okaarans in order to save Earth from worse attacks, the chamber was opened and the Unimaginable was unleashed. The Unimaginable's energy form possessed Maximum and he temporarily gained the powers of a god. With these powers, Max decides to transform Metropolis into the paradise he believes it should be, even if it means fighting his own team to do so. The hero known as Loser uses his null field to slow Max down until they can talk him down. Max's parents eventually convinced him to relinquish the power, which he dispersed safel

Powers and abilities

* Maximum's powers closely resembled those of

Ultra Boy Ultra Boy (Jo Nah) is a superhero appearing in DC Comics, primarily as a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th and 31st centuries. He gained his powers after being eaten by a whale-like beast in space and being exposed to large amounts ...

from the

Legion of Superheroes The Legion of Super-Heroes is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, the Legion is a group of superpowered beings living in the 30th and 31st centuries of t ...

. Max's powers come directly from the Lexcorp implant, he can use the implant to channel all his body's energies in order to maximize his strength, physical speed, reflexes, or his senses up to superhuman levels. * He can only maximize one ability at a time.

External links

Great Krypton: Supermen of America (Vol. 2) #1

DC Comics superheroes African-American superheroes DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds DC Comics characters with superhuman strength