Max

Maxwell Swan
Portrayed By	Ryan Reynolds
Gender	Male
Date of Birth	12/16/1979
Age	29
Zodiac Sign	Your mother.
Aliases	Swan
Place of Birth	Tuscon, AZ, USA
Current Location	New York City, NY, USA
Occupation	Situations are fluid.
Known Relatives	Elena Swan (mother; deceased)
Significant Other	Percocet, Harley Davidsons, Unfulfilled rage.
Known Abilities	Magnetism, thwarting Bob Bishop
First Appearance	Coffee, Digits, Stab

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

History

December 16th, 1979. That night was considered by many to be both a blessing and a tragedy, for it was the night that Elena Swan died giving birth to her son Maxwell. With his father's name and location unknown, Max was immediately given over to the state of Arizona's care.

The trials Max's early life threw at him quickly took their toll. It became apparent at a young age that he bore some sociopathic and psychotic tendencies. At first his activities were disturbing, but could still be attributed to childhood thoughtlessness and curiosity. He was cruel to animals, bullied and stole from his peers, and offered almost no respect to his elders and betters. When questioned about his behavior the boy would only smile and shrug. When forced, he would admit that he acted as he did because he never saw it to be wrong. Then he turned fifteen and things really started to get out of hand.

It happened not long after a joyless birthday. Max was outside doing his best to enjoy a cool winter afternoon when he was found by several of the boys he had bullied in the past. He was no match for their combined, righteous anger. The four of them bore him to the ground under a flurry of flailing fists and sneakers. After several long minutes of abuse Max was a battered, bloodied mess. Unfortunately, like sharks, the blood only seemed to push his tormentors further into a frenzy. Finally one boy took up a length of steel pipe in both hands and prepared to swing it two-handed at Max's head. There was little more he could do than lift one hand in a futile, warding gesture. As it turns, that was enough.

The pipe came to an abrupt halt less than a foot from Max's open hand as if it had struck something solid. Startled, the other boy let go of it where it hung in the air, motionless. The four boys stood gaping as Max slowly made the connection. Then his eyes narrowed to slits and he grinned despite the blood running from his mouth and nose. He clenched his hand to a fist and with quick swings of his arm he poleaxed his attackers.

None of the boys talked about the incident with the pipe after that. They each claimed to have aquired their injuries from accidents except for Max, who never offered an explanation for his behavior. This event was a revelation for young Max. For the first time in his life, he felt powerful, and that feeling of power gave him freedom. Several days later he fled from the institution that had been his home for most of his young life.

After making his escape Max devoted his time to learning control over both his ability, and over himself. He found it easy enough to survive by using his power to commit small larcenies. However, it wasn't long before his activities began to draw attention from better-informed sources. The Company. Between Max's eighteenth and twenty-fourth birthdays they made three attempts to capture him. Only through a combination of skill, daring, running like hell, and sheer luck was he able to escape men and women in neat suits with tasers on each occasion. Finally, in a attempt to throw his pursuers off, he moved to Chicago.

The ploy seemed to work at first. Completely thwarted for the first time since he discovered his powers, Max was furious. Still, there is a time for war, and a time to run and hide while you try not to get killed. Unfortunately, now is the latter. Several years of meditation and comtemplation find Max now hiding in NYC. However, he now has far more control over his abilities and his emotions. He has little information about the people who had been - and probably still were - chasing him,(The Company) but that hasn't left him any less determined to put them out of business for good.

Until he figured out that all they wanted to do was give him a job.

Scary Max Is Scary

Timeline

• 12/17/1979 - Maxwell Swan is born.
• 12/22/1994 - Evolved ability to generate and control magnetic fields.
• 12/31/1994 - Max leaves the orphanage.
• 02/11/1998 - First Company extraction attempt.
• 04/01/2000 - Second Company extraction attempt.
• 09/01/2001 - Third Company extraction attempt.
• 09/02/2001 - Max moves to Chicago
• 11/11/2001 - Company forces locate Max. He skips town just in time to avoid capture; moves to NYC
• 02/18/2007 - Max meets Identity Woods. Rawr.
• 02/21/2007 - Identity and cohorts capture/mindwipe Max. :(
• 03/11/2007 - Max and Identity dissolve their Forbidden Romance(tm). Sort of.
• 03/19/2007 - Max leaves NYC to visit Arizona and Las Vegas, subsequently drops off of Company radar for several months.
• 06/14/2007 - As abruptly as he departed, Max returns to NYC. This time he has Big Plans.
• 06/22/2007 - Max is brought in by Nova, filled with Haitian pills, and left in a Primatech cell to stew.
• 07/05/2007 - Max is recruited and released by the Company, but under heavy restrictions.

It's Not Who You Know…

• Dr. Mohinder Suresh - Max believes that he and Doctor Suresh are like-minded, and Suresh is one of the few people he considers an intellectual peer. Never mind the fact that Suresh is probably much smarter than he is. Max genuinely likes the Doctor, and respects him for his scientific expertise and exquisite manners.

• Jordan Bonham - Max first met Jordan while in Company captivity. They formed a tenuous bond of friendship, mostly based on their mutual freakishness.

• Molly Walker - Visited Max on more than one occasion while he was being held by the Company. He considers her an exceptionally bright child, and is very curious about her potential and her reasons for being under the organization's protection

• Nova Armstrong - Agent Armstrong is responsible for both Max's capture and his subsequent recruitment. Now they work as partners. He admires her bold, tenacious attitude and finds her physical prowess to be intriguing.

• Identity Woods - Magic eight ball says, "Better not tell you now."

Quotes

• "If you give me some Percocet, I would be happy to tell you more about my gift."
• "Did you know it takes more pressure to crush a beer can than a human throat?"
• "Mmm. Yes, Sylar. Important fellow, I'm sure. Don't mind me, I'll just mop blood off of my own face."

Musical Selections

MP3s at the top of Max's playlist are as follows:

• Megadeth - Crush 'Em
• The Shins - New Slang
• Rehab - Rattle My Cage
• The Blues Brothers - She Caught The Katy
• Cake - Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps
• Offspring - Smash It Up

More to come, as always.

Trivia

• Max frequently overuses his abilities to the point of exhaustion. As a result, he suffers from near-chronic nosebleeds, aching joints and muscles, and a myriad of other major and minor conditions. He also takes frequent, heavy doses of prescription painkillers in an attempt to keep himself functional.
• Max is the only individual known to have been tagged twice by the Company.
• Kill count: 19