Generations - Maxima

Maxima has appeared with Superman in many issues, and all the story lines save one have to do wth her coming to Earth to enlist Superman to be the father of her children. She's as powerful as he is, and as a Princess in the royal family on her planet, she has to find a mate strong enough to improve her genetic line. He's the only game in town.
Famously, he resists her charms, claimed he won't father despots, knowing as he does the cruel ways that her people rule. That pisses her off, and as the following picture shows, she doesn't handle disappointment well;



However, in one very interesting series, the story is radically different. Kal El is seen leaving Earth despondent and grieving after Lois dies while carrying his child. Kryptonian children have super powers even while in the womb. He travels deep into space and gets involved in some heroic deeds, one of which brings him to the attention of Maxima. She flies out to bring him back to her planet, and he decides he wants nothing more to do with being Superman, and becomes her consort. She's fulfilled because she's found a man with the power to give her the children she needs. But Kal grows weary of being her consort, and leaves to go back to Earth and resume his life as Superman. To the best of my memory, that's where the story ended.

Here's my continuation... twenty years later:

Clark is informed by his friend Bruce Wayne that there is a super causing havoc down in the warehouse district. Reports say its a woman with Kryptonian powers. Superman flies into the area to see cars smashed halfway through walls of buildings, some of them five stories in the air. A city bus is lying on its side -- on top of a ten story building. A riot of gunfire comes from around a corner in the alleyway, so he zooms off that way. He finds a group of men blasting away at a young woman, who doesn't seem at all bothered by the bullets. She's not exactly wearing body armor either.

The men scramble when he arrives, leaving the street covered in spent shell casings. A startling attractive redhead is standing in the opening of a chain link fence, her eyes shimmering with a green glow that he remembers so well. The resemblance is uncanny. His heart knows the truth before his mind can accept it.
She strikes a casual pose and says: "Hi Dad."
(Anyone want to continue this story...?)

---

Following picture is NSFW

---

Nicely done and tanks.

I recall that comic. If I recall correctly something happens when Superman returns to Earth. Maxima comes to help. He ends up leaving with her. One of the last panels of the has Superman saying someone about not able to see Lois gravestone anymore. As the 2 go off into space.

Fun fact:

In the new 52 Maxima is a Lesbian, with the concept that these attempts to get pregnant did happen....but well its not like she actually wanted him or anything.

The last issue of the Recent Supergirl run dealt with an attempt by her to do the same thing to Supergirl...except theres no violence, and its done very sweetly.



Which to my mind at least is a good example of what Supergirl the character can do(respond to a problem emotionally), and the new 52 does well(reinterprut characters in intresting well).

castor wrote: Fun fact:

In the new 52 Maxima is a Lesbian, with the concept that these attempts to get pregnant did happen....but well its not like she actually wanted him or anything.

The last issue of the Recent Supergirl run dealt with an attempt by her to do the same thing to Supergirl...except theres no violence, and its done very sweetly.

This image is hidden for guests.
Please log in or register to see it.

Which to my mind at least is a good example of what Supergirl the character can do(respond to a problem emotionally), and the new 52 does well(reinterprut characters in intresting well).

That's a very different Maxima. In the past, she was arrogant, egotistical, intolerant and had a violent temper that matched her red hair. Volatile. Very much the super-powered Princess who saw everyone but Kal El as a weakling to be exploited. She even joined the bad guys for a while, opposed Justice.

One time she tried really hard to be a compassionate, super-heroic person, hoping she could win Kal El's heart. Didn't work. He knew she was faking it.

She got taken down and locked up a few times, but she always breaks out. Kal really couldn't take her down by himself, but with the right backing, it was doable.

Anyway, I thought it might be fun to explore what the daughter of Maxima and Kal El might be like. She was raised by her mother, after all, But she has some of Kal El's selflessness and goodness inside. A good story there, I think.

She'd also be incredibly powerful, possibly well beyond the boundaries of Kryptonian if she has some of her mother's unique talents.

Biggest problem with Maxima, in my mind, was that she was too talented and powerful:

Superhuman Strength - Kryptonian-grade
Superhuman Speed - could give Barry a run for his money
Superhuman Endurance - never gets tired
Invulnerability - not quite at Krypt levels
Flight - flies like a Krypt
Telekinesis - more powerful than Mae, who was defeated by her
Empathy - makes people like her
Telepathy - listens to other's thoughts, influences them
Hypnosis - can compel people to do her bidding
Optical Force-Beams - no heat vision, but instead the power to smash things to bits with a look
Force Field-Generation - a handy power to protect others, or to tear buildings apart

Not to forget super-sex. In that one comic that detailed her relationship with Kal El, they alluded to the fact that she exhausted that poor Kryptonian.

Woodclaw wrote:

shadar wrote: That's a very different Maxima. In the past, she was arrogant, egotistical, intolerant and had a violent temper that matched her red hair. Volatile. Very much the super-powered Princess who saw everyone but Kal El as a weakling to be exploited. She even joined the bad guys for a while, opposed Justice.

One time she tried really hard to be a compassionate, super-heroic person, hoping she could win Kal El's heart. Didn't work. He knew she was faking it.

She got taken down and locked up a few times, but she always breaks out. Kal really couldn't take her down by himself, but with the right backing, it was doable.

I always worked under the impression that Maxima is amoral, rather than immoral. The difference is that an immoral character aknowledges that there are rules and limits, but doesn't care; an amoral character don't aknowledge these rules and limits to begin with. Maxima has swung all the way through the spectrum playing both the hero and the villain, but never being 100% commited to anything but herself.

Anyway, I thought it might be fun to explore what the daughter of Maxima and Kal El might be like. She was raised by her mother, after all, But she has some of Kal El's selflessness and goodness inside. A good story there, I think.

This bit makes me scratch my head, a lot. While this is good story material, it also touches on a rather iffy point that of nature vs nurture. Personally I'm an advocate of nurture being the defining factor, so I really don't see how some of Kal's morality could pass on to his daughter if she had never seen him before in her life. Granted it's possible that she knew of him through some kind of records, but this is rather different.

She'd also be incredibly powerful, possibly well beyond the boundaries of Kryptonian if she has some of her mother's unique talents.

Biggest problem with Maxima, in my mind, was that she was too talented and powerful:

Superhuman Strength - Kryptonian-grade
Superhuman Speed - could give Barry a run for his money
Superhuman Endurance - never gets tired
Invulnerability - not quite at Krypt levels
Flight - flies like a Krypt
Telekinesis - more powerful than Mae, who was defeated by her
Empathy - makes people like her
Telepathy - listens to other's thoughts, influences them
Hypnosis - can compel people to do her bidding
Optical Force-Beams - no heat vision, but instead the power to smash things to bits with a look
Force Field-Generation - a handy power to protect others, or to tear buildings apart

Not to forget super-sex. In that one comic that detailed her relationship with Kal El, they alluded to the fact that she exhausted that poor Kryptonian.

Also, she has show some ability to teleport others using her eye beams and manipulate matter.
What I always found weird is that it was stated that the Almerian royalty breed with alien species to increase the diversity of they gene-pool and add new abilities to their already impressive arsenal. Under this profile Kal-El seem like a poor choice from Maxima, given that she can already match almost every power he possess.

I think the story could focus on this issue of "nature" versus "nurture". My anecdotal experience from raising a child from birth who was not from my own lineage, plus raising one who was, is that nurture is dominant, but nature is clearly in the mix as well.

We are in the end animals. While most people accept that nature plays a huge part in determining an animal's personality, we like to downplay this for humans. Thinking of ourselves as being outside of nature because of our big brains.

My experience says otherwise.

I believe that Kal El would have provided his daughter with tendencies and biases and ways of processing gut reactions, along with temperament, but that would be buried most of the time under Maxima's nurturing. But it would come out when it was vitally important.

That would be the fun part of writing a meaty story along these lines. To explore where they conflict.

To your last point, I agree with Kal El not contributing anything new physically to Maxima's gene pool. Unless she actually values her children having some of Kal El's sensitivity, compassion and "goodness", which may or may not arise out of this nature versus nurture discussion. She's very intelligent and independent.

Women understand this better than most of us men. Ask any woman who has raised children from different fathers. I suspect you'll get an earful.

I work a lot with teenage boys.
"He's just like his Father!"
I hear that a lot from single moms raising boys with the biological father not in the picture.

I think Superman is a basically good person from his loving biological parents made even better by his loving adoptive parents.
The paranoia of the Kents in the Man of Steel movie was my number one complaint about that movie.

Markiehoe wrote: I work a lot with teenage boys.
"He's just like his Father!"
I hear that a lot from single moms raising boys with the biological father not in the picture.

I think Superman is a basically good person from his loving biological parents made even better by his loving adoptive parents.
The paranoia of the Kents in the Man of Steel movie was my number one complaint about that movie.

I agree that was a bit weird. The Kents as depicted in Smallville TV were fairly close to the comics version. They were little, frightened people in MOS, yet its clear that given the ways they influenced Kal El, they had to be a lot more. The comics portrayed them as the solid bedrock of American farmers who had been through some pretty tough times, but whose spirit was undimmed. Little people, but they cast a big shadow.

MOS missed that point, likely because the writers, producers and director have no idea what those type of people are like. They still exist in greatly reduced numbers, but perhaps not in Hollywood land.

Shadar