Maximum Ride Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Now everything gets doubly interesting

–"Max II", School's Out: Forever

Max II, or Maya, was Maximum Ride's clone; she was first introduced in School's Out - Forever. She looked exactly like Max, but had a different personality.

History

School's Out - Forever

Max II first appeared in the second book, where she was part of a plan to replace the original Max and have the Flock "retired". Throughout the novel, she was glad to carry this mission out and expressed irritation at the lack of productivity shown by the Flock, as well as the perceived weakness of non-Max members. When replacing Max, she commented on this frequently and acted quite arrogant. This helped Angel tell which Max was which, especially when Max II thought disparagingly about Total, Angel's dog. However, the Flock managed to figure out that she wasn't Max after she offered to cook, offered to fix Nudge's hair, and ordered Total off of the bed repeatedly. (Angel's telepathic abilities also contributed to this.)

At the end of the book, Max II fought what was supposed to be a fight to the death against the original Max. However, she was spared because Max refused to kill her, telling the whitecoats that she wouldn't sink to their pathetic level. Max also regarded Max II as another person.

Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports

Her whereabouts after the bomb at the Itexicon building in the previous book were unknown until the third book, which was when the Flock found her at Itexicon's German headquarters, along with other mutants preparing for termination. She warned the original Max about how fast Itex was killing the mutants and said that they only had about a day before they too were terminated. She seemed rather unconcerned about her impending death and was more irritated that Max and Nudge weren't taking their situation and her advice seriously. When reminiscing about her fight with Max, she said that "it was awful" that Max didn't kill her.

(When she first appeared in this book, she was seen with two other clones that looked exactly like Nudge and Angel; however, whether or not the boys of the Flock have clones is never revealed.)

ANGEL

Maya joined Fang's Gang in the seventh book. Max was furious after finding out about this, and she and Fang often argued about it. She began to think Maya is just her replacement. Although Fang showed signs of having feelings for her, she knew it was only because he missed Max. Maya also argued with Max, saying that she was her own person, and not just a clone. Fang was on Maya's side in these arguments, and he said she was unique.

Fang frequently described Maya in relation to Max, most notably mentioning how much "softer" than Max she was. In many ways he's right. Maya wasn't as driven, even saying "Do you think Armageddon can wait till morning? I'm wiped." However she was capable of fighting passionately for those she cared about, even if she didn't like them very much. She saved Max's life in Paris and tried to save Angel earlier as well.

Nevermore

In Nevermore, Maya was shown with Fang's Gang up to the moment Ari showed up. He mistakenly called her Max, and then Maya laughed when she said she wasn't Max; Ari was taken aback, then scoffed that she was slower and her reflexes weren't as fast as his sister's. Infuriated, Maya jumped up and the two fought until Maya fell from the sky and Fang caught her, finding out her neck was a mess of blood, and Ari ambushed them and lunged, crushing her chest with his arm. She died in Fang's arms from her injuries, leaving him heartbroken for a few chapters before he went back to liking Max.

Physical appearance

Max II (manga)

Max II, as shown in the manga

She was said to look exactly like Max physically, even having "identical scars and scratches" with her.

When she joined Fang's Gang, it was said that she had a faint magenta streak in her hair. In Nevermore, she was said to have a short pixie cut.

Personality

In the second book, Max II disliked the Flock and Total, thinking of them as irritating. She wondered why Max stays with them.

She seemed to have a bad temper, and wasn't much like the real Max. She seemed convinced that the original Max is full of herself, but spoke with empathy when observing her.

She had a soft spot for Ari, since she was known to hang around with him in suspicious ways, such as on rooftops and other places. Ari enjoyed Max II's company since she bothered Jeb.

In ANGEL, Maya assertively stated that she was her own person, not just Max's clone. She did not want to be anything like Max. This is in direct contrast to the Max II of the Fugitives arc, who embraced her status as a clone.

Trivia

  • Physically, she was an exact replica of Max; mentally, she was not.
    • She was also much more sensitive than the original Max.
  • In Nevermore she was also said to lower her voice at the end of a sentence instead of rising it in a question like Max
  • Unlike Max, she reveled in Ari's brutality, going so far as to help him rip chunks of flesh out of Angel's arm with his teeth.
  • Fang depended on her in many situations while making choices, and when she was gone Fang was completely brokenhearted.
  • In ANGEL, Max hinted that Maya was the bird-girl from the Institute for Higher Living. But, in the second manga of the series, the bird girl is shown and (mentioned by Max) resembles Max only in that fact that they have wings and are more or less the same age, not in appearance. Whether or not the bird-girl and Maya are one and the same still remains unknown.
  • In Sanskrit, "Maya" means "illusion". This might be a reference to Maya having a similar appearance to Max.
Advertisement