Maya Hansen is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in 19 ...

Rebecca Hall Rebecca Maria Hall (born 3 May 1982) is an English actress and filmmaker. She made her first onscreen appearance at age 10 in the 1992 television adaptation of '' The Camomile Lawn'', directed by her father, Sir Peter Hall. Her professional s ...

portrayed the character in the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published ...

film ''

Iron Man 3 ''Iron Man 3'' (titled onscreen as ''Iron Man Three'') is a 2013 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Iron Man, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to ''Ir ...

'' (2013).

Publication history

Maya Hansen first appeared in ''

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...

'' vol. 4 #1 (Jan. 2005) and was created by

Warren Ellis Warren Girard Ellis (born 16 February 1968) is a British comic book writer, novelist, and screenwriter. He is best known as the co-creator of several original comics series, including '' Transmetropolitan'' (1997–2002), '' Global Frequency'' ...

and

Adi Granov Adi Granov (;) is a Bosnian-American comic book artist and conceptual designer. He is best known for his painted work with Marvel Comics, for whom most of his comics work is produced, in particular his work on Iron Man. He is especially known for ...

Fictional character biography

Within the context of the Extremis storyline, Maya is a scientist who developed the Extremis virus alongside

Aldrich Killian Aldrich Killian is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in ''Iron Man'' vol. 4 #1 (Jan. 2005) and was created by Warren Ellis and Adi Granov. Guy Pearce portrayed a retooled ver ...

. When Killian steals a sample of the virus and sells it to domestic terrorists, she calls up her old friend

Tony Stark Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The char ...

to help recover it. After Tony is severely beaten by Mallen, a terrorist who had been injected with the virus, he convinces Maya to inject him with Extremis too. Tony defeats and apprehends Mallen, but he discovers that Killian could not have acted alone in selling Extremis. Tony confronts Maya, who confesses to assisting in the crime as she knew it would force defense contractors to renew their funding. She is subsequently taken into custody. Later, Tony believes Extremis is altering his brain functions so he gets her out of jail to help him. She is placed under his custody. When Sal Kennedy is killed, Maya feels she could have saved him if she had been allowed to continue her research on Extremis. She is unknowingly tricked into giving The Mandarin samples of the virus. Following the events of the ''

Secret Invasion "Secret Invasion" is a comic book crossover storyline that ran through a self-titled eight-issue limited series and several tie-in books published by Marvel Comics from April through December 2008. The story involves a subversive, long-term i ...

'' storyline, Maya Hansen disappeared from the series and was not seen again until the relaunch of the ''Iron Man'' series during the ''

Marvel NOW! Marvel Now! (stylized as Marvel NOW!) is a comic book branding for the relaunch of several ongoing comic books published by Marvel Comics, that debuted in October 2012 with new #1 issues. The relaunch also included some new titles, including ''Un ...

'' event. It was revealed that she was kidnapped by A.I.M. to recreate the Extremis serum for them and succeeded. Though she was killed while trying to escape, she accomplishes her failsafe plan by sending a prerecorded message she made to Tony to warn him that the Extremis virus is on the loose again.

Powers and abilities

Maya Hansen has genius-level intellect. She was a brilliant scientist who designed Extremis, a virus that could rewrite humans' genetic code and provide enhancements to the body. She earned at least three Ph.D.s, one in

botany Botany, also called plant science (or plant sciences), plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "bot ...

. According to The Mandarin, Maya's genetic sequence would have allowed her to survive being exposed to Extremis.

Reception

* In 2021, ''

CBR.com ''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion. History Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...

'' ranked Maya Hansen 10th in their "Marvel: 10 Smartest Female Characters" list.

In other media

Film

* Maya Hansen appears in the 2013 film ''

'', where she is portrayed by actress

. In the film, Maya is a scientist and one of

's one-night stands; in a flashback to 1999, she reveals to him the prototype of the virus known as Extremis and is upset when he leaves her after their night together and forgoes aiding her research. Maya reunites with Tony during the film to warn him about the Mandarin and is saved by

Pepper Potts Virginia "Pepper" Potts is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She serves as a supporting character to Iron Man and sometimes a romantic interest of Tony Stark. Created by writers Stan Lee and ...

from the destruction of his mansion. She is later revealed to be working with

to improve on Extremis and use the Mandarin to cover up the deaths of their test subjects. To convince Tony to help perfect the virus, Maya tricks Pepper while in hiding and tells Killian where to find them, resulting in Pepper being taken captive. Later however, she has a change of heart when confronted by Tony and realizing the extent of Killian's agenda. Maya then tries to back out of Killian's plan by holding a vial of potent Extremis to her neck and threatening to kill them all in the resulting explosion unless he frees Tony and Pepper. Instead, Killian decides she is no longer necessary to his plans and shoots her himself. An extended scene of this shows Maya sending her files on Extremis to Tony as she is dying from her gunshot wound in order to help him stop Killian.

Motion comics

* Maya Hansen appears in the

motion comic A motion comic (or animated comic) is a form of animation combining elements of print comic books and animation. Individual panels are expanded into a full shot while sound effects, voice acting, and animation are added to the original artwork. T ...

production of the "Iron Man Extremis" storyline, voiced by Theresa Spurrier.

References

External links

Maya Hansen
at Marvel.com
Maya Hansen
at Marvel Wiki
Maya Hansen
at Comic Vine {{DEFAULTSORT:Hansen, Maya Characters created by Warren Ellis Comics characters introduced in 2005 Fictional female scientists Iron Man characters Marvel Comics female characters