Who Is Maxima? Adria Arjona’s Rumored DCU Character, Explained
The DC Universe got a major update this week, with the news that Hit Man and Andor star Adria Arjona has joined the cast of Man of Tomorrow. The nature of who she’s playing has sent the Internet into a tizzy: although some reports have confirmed that she’s playing Maxima, some have speculated that the role is really just a decoy, and she is secretly cast as Diana Prince / Wonder Woman. Man of Tomorrow writer-director James Gunn already debunked that possibility earlier this year, but the conspiracy theories still remain… even though Maxima is a character who is already more than ready for her big-screen debut.
Created by Roger Stern and George Pérez in 1989’s Action Comics #645, Maxima was introduced as the Queen of the alien planet Almerac. Searching the cosmos for her “perfect mate”, she was soon impressed by Superman, and traveled to Earth to find him. Armed with a number of superpowers, including telekinesis and the ability to hypnotize people into doing her bidding, she soon got Superman’s attention… but he turned down her romantic advances.
This rejection, combined with her sense of duty towards the people of Almerac, fueled Maxima for the foreseeable future. She returned during 1992’s “Panic in the Sky” event as a reluctant ally of Brainiac, who was holding Almerac hostage so she could do his bidding. By the end of the event, she flipped sides and nearly killed Brainiac, but was stopped by Superman.
From there, Maxima began to operate as more of a superhero, joining the Justice League and its short-lived ’90s successor, Extreme Justice. She continued to find her ideal mate, flirting with fellow heroes like Captain Atom and Amazing-Man. She even attempted to proposition Superman again, but he turned her down since he had just gotten married to Lois Lane. She then sacrificed herself to stop Brainiac from destroying the universe during the “Our Worlds at War” event of the early 2000s.
Who Is Maxima?
Years later, Maxima was revamped during DC’s New 52 initiative, as a younger woman and contemporary of Supergirl’s at a space academy. This storyline remixed a lot of Maxima’s existing lore: not only was “Maxima” now a title held by high-ranking Almeracian women, but this specific Maxima was canonically queer, and had run away from home because she was uninterested in finding a male partner.
While Maxima has appeared onscreen before, in a handful of animated projects and on both Smallville and the Supergirl television show, she has yet to make her debut in a live-action movie. Sure, she might not already be a household name on the level of Wonder Woman… but there’s a good chance that a scene-stealing performance from Arjona in Man of Tomorrow could change that.
Man of Tomorrow will also star David Corenswet as Clark Kent / Superman, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher, María Gabriela de Faría as Angela Spica / The Engineer, Aaron Pierre as John Stewart / Green Lantern, Isabela Merced as Kendra Saunders / Hawkgirl, Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner / Green Lantern, Edi Gathegi as Michael Holt / Mister Terrific, Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr., and Lars Eidinger as Brainiac.
Man of Tomorrow is set to be released exclusively in theaters on July 9, 2027.
(featured image: DC)
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