The Maxx is the titular protagonist of the comic book series and the MTV animated series of the same name. He is a mysterious, foul smelling, cartoon loving, Pez eating, and self appointed hero to Julie Winters, a freelance social worker who often bails him out of jail. His adventures is followed in the real world and in an alternate reality, referred to as the Outback. In the real world, the Maxx is a vagrant, a "homeless man living in a box", while in the Outback, he is the powerful protector of the Jungle Queen. The Jungle Queen exists in the real world as Julie. While the Maxx is aware of the Outback, Julie is not, though it is integral to both of their stories.
In the MTV animated series of the same name, he was voiced by Michael Haley.
Background
Origin
Maxx’s social worker and friend Julie was raped, beaten and left for dead while trying to help a homeless man. The physiological impact forces Julie to create a realm she calls ‘The Outback’ to cope with this trauma. One evening, Julie hits a man with her car on her way to work. Still suffering the effects of the last time she tried to help somebody, Julie covers the homeless man with trash to hide the evidence and unintentionally opens a portal to the Outback.
The homeless man (Dave), accidentally merges with Julie's rabbit spirit animal as it tries to enter this realm through the portal. A purple lampshade among the trash transforms into the mask of The Maxx.
Character evolution
The Maxx has no memory of his life before Julie. His mind continuously shifts between the real world and Julie's "Outback" spirit realm of Pangaea.
He is driven by a strong urge to protect his "Leopard Queen" Julie. Maxx has an irrational fear that, if he takes off the mask, he will have the head of a giant rabbit. This fear stems from Julies childhood incident where she found and rescued a rabbit, but which it suffered and was left in a box in her family's shed, Julie could hear the kicking of the rabbit at night, much like the character in Silence of the Lambs that Julie was forever tortured by this fear.
Maxx deals with the nasty little critters named Isz that are sent after him by the cruel Mr. Gone. They turn twisted and black when crossing over from the Outback to the real world.
In other media
The Maxx has made cameo appearances in the graphic novel Popbot (which Sam Kieth co-wrote), issue #1 of the independent comic Armature, the Sonic the Hedgehog comic Sonic Super Special #7 Sonic/Image Crossover, the four issue limited series Altered Image, the Image mini-series Blood Wolf (1995) and The Savage Dragon #28 (collected in Savage Dragon Vol. 7: A Talk With God). He also briefly appears in the series Mars Attacks The Image Universe. He appears on a TV screen on the Frostbite version of the cover to DV8 #1. A Maxx story also appeared in Gay Comics. In 2018, Maxx made a long-awaited comeback with Batman in the Arkham Dreams series.
Gallery
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