List of characters in Maximum Ride

This is a list of all the characters in "Maximum Ride".

The Flock

Maximum Ride (Max)

Maximum Ride (Max) is fourteen years old, the oldest of the avian-human hybrids and the leader of the Flock. She is 5'8 and has a wingspan of about 13 feet across. Her wings are an off white and brown with tan specks. Max acts as a motherly figure to the Flock, nurturing them and looking out for them. She is also known as being a terrible cook of everything other than chocolate chip cookies, which are her favorite food.Max and the rest of the Flock are noted to be claustrophobic, a fear that came from being shut up in dog crates while at the School.

Several times throughout the series Max shows signs of attraction towards Fang, though she denies it. In "The Angel Experiment" Max kisses Fang on a beach near New York City after Fang has been injured. She does this very suddenly and cannot come up with an explanation for her actions, saying it happened "just like that". In "School's Out - Forever" Max shows intense jealousy when Fang kisses a red-haired girl named Lissa. Later, in "Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports" Fang kisses Max in a cave again. Max says her mind "shorts out" while Fang is kissing her, but she then tells Fang she's "not sure" and flies off, confused. Also in "Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports" Max is given Valium, and while under its influence she tells Fang that she "loves him sooo much". Fang later teases her about this, causing her to get immensely angry. Fang kisses Max another time in "The Final Warning," and this time Max says she "loves it... loves him." When she clears her head, however, she flies away again. However later in the book Max shows more jealousy when Fang gets close to a young scientist, Dr. Brigid Dwyer.

Like the rest of the Flock, Max has unique abilities other than flying. She has a Voice in her head that tries to guide her, though Max often does not listen to it. At one point Max believes the Voice to be that of Jeb Batchelder, a whitecoat at the School, but he denies this, telling her "I can do the Voice. I'm not the Voice." Max also has the ability to fly at warp speed, her top velocity at roughly 9803 mph. She has also shown a fear of snakes.

Max discovers there to be a microchip embedded in her arm in "The Angel Experiment" when a boy in a subway tunnel in New York City tells her that something on her body is interfering with his tech equipment. Max believes the chip gives off a signal that tells the scientists at the School where she is, though this is not proven. In "School's Out - Forever" Max, in a fit of anger, grabs a broken seashell and tries to cut the chip out of her arm, though she does not succeed. Later, in "Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports" Max goes to Valencia Martinez, a vet Max met in Arizona in "The Angel Experiment," and asks her to remove the chip. Although Dr. Martinez is successful in taking the chip out, Max temporarily loses the use of her left hand due to nerve damage done during the surgery.

Other than Iggy, Max is the only member of the Flock who has found her parents. She is stunned when she learns that Jeb is her father in "Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports. It is also at this time that Max discovers that Dr. Martinez is her mother. Max trusts Dr. Martinez completely but is still wary of Jeb, usually not listening to him unless Dr. Martinez agrees with him. Max is also close with her half-sister Dr. Martinez's daughter, Ella.

Fang

Fang has olive skin, dark eyes, and black hair. Fang is described as being slightly stronger than the rest of the Flock, though in battle he frequently takes near-fatal wounds.

In "The Final Warning" Fang's first "self-mutation" is discovered when he fades into near-invisibility while the Flock is camped in a state park. The rest of the Flock is unable to find him until he moves, instantly bringing him back. Fang denies that he was ever gone during this time. Other than this skill and flight, Fang has no special abilities or talents.

Fang's mother was believed to be a teenager who had put him up for adoption. Although it is not proven, it is believed that Fang's mother thought him to have been adopted and is therefore not a target of the school. In "Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports" she seems to be a crack addict and dealer, thus, Fang doesn't care about going back with her.

In "Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports" Fang is infuriated when Max rescues Ari Batchelder from the school after learning of Ari's expiration date, which had appeared on the back of his neck. Fang refuses to get along with or even travel with Ari, causing himself and Max to argue. Their argument ends with Fang, Iggy, and The Gasman heading towards the west coast of the United States, and Max, Nudge, Angel, and Ari to cross overseas to Europe. Later on they meet up again at Itex headquarters in Germany.

It is clear that Fang deeply cares for Max, and it is obvious that he loves.

Iggy

A fourteen year old kid, Iggy is the same age as Max and Fang, only 6 months younger than Max. He is around six foot four and has (sightless) blue eyes and strawberry blonde hair. Permanently blind, Iggy uses his other senses to make up for it. He can see things that are white, and can tell different colors apart by feeling them. The Whitecoats at the School did an experiment on Iggy to enhance his night vision, which failed horribly, and now he is blind. He says in Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports to doctor Roland ter Borcht," I have a highly developed sense of irony", although it is not clear whether this is true. His wings have a golden-yellow color to them, and he has a wingspan of over 14 feet. Iggy is the flock's chef, and can cook fairly well in most conditions. The flock uses taps in Iggy's hand to tell him silent commands, since he cannot see. He seems to have developed feelings for Max's half sister, Ella, but in the story "Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports" he has shown to be like most 14-year-old boys, a play boy.

Nudge

A Motor mouth, Nudge is an African American, 11 years old, and very talkative. Her wings are brown with russet streaks and streaked with white on the underside. She has curly brown hair (highlighted blonde during a makeover in ). She is a skilled computer hacker, and develops tenuous psychometric powers within the course of the first book. This has its disadvantages, as she appears to start crying whenever she touches something that has generated great sadness or if many people have touched it, as when she went to the Vietnam Memorial on a field trip in School's Out Forever. In the fourth book in chapter 5, Nudge develops the ability to attract metal when she wants to. When Jeb sees this he explains that he never gave her that power so he says that they could possibly be " mutating" on their own.Patterson, James. , pgs. 449] Patterson, James. , pgs. 408] Patterson, James. , pgs. 416] Patterson, James. , pgs. 272] Of all the Flock's members, Nudge is the one most determined to find her biological parents, forcing Fang to go down to Tipisco, Arizona, to try and locate her parents, in book one, with mixed results. She did find a woman who looked like her mother, but, before she could talk to her, Ari attacked them. Nudge sometimes acts slightly girly and events in the series suggest that she cares for her appearance and other things a girl would care about, although in the second book it is revealed that she is an expert with cars.She is revealed to be frightened of rats. Her real name is Monique.

The Gasman

The Gasman is eight years old. He earned his name from the fact that he frequently passes gas, although he is often called Gazzy, Gazzer, or Gasser instead. He also has the ability to mimic any sound or voice, an ability which he uses to play pranks. In the fourth book The Final Warning he gets the ability to release a gas that is yellow greenish.

The Gasman is a blond-haired kid with blue eyes, and is tall for his age like the rest of the flock. His wing color is a brown with white spots but wing size is unknown.

The Gasman and Iggy are best friends, and often work together to build explosives, pull pranks, or do tasks for the Flock. Gasman has assumed the names of Captain Terror (incorrectly spelled as Captin Teror when he was asked to spell it) when he was interrogated, and Zephyr, which is the name of the Roman god of the west wind. Max also called him "Jason" at Disney to cover up the fact Total could talk. His number at The School was F28246eff

He finds a photo of his mother, and with a high-tech image scanner, he revels that the paper on the desk is a check for $10,000.

The Gasman is the biological older brother of Angel and they are the only members of the Flock who are actually related. Gazzy is constantly throwing his voice, and in the Second book, Max suspects he has thrown his voice to make it seem as if Total is talking, as well as in the first book when he assumes Iggy's voice to make Max mad. He can also copy the voice of any person, opening the possibility that he has magpie DNA. Another one of his super powers is the ability to pass gas at his own will.

He is revealed to be afraid of spiders.

Angel

Biologically related only to Gazzy, Angel is the 'baby sister' of the entire Flock, and like a daughter to Max. She is six years old, with curly blonde hair and 8-foot-wide, pure white wings that together give her an "angelic" appearance. This causes her to immediately fall in love with the stuffed bear she calls Celeste, who is dressed up as an angel. She also owns a small, black Cairn Terrier dog, named Total, stolen from the Institute for Higher Living. He is a mutant as well, and has the ability to jump very high, speak, and grows wings in the 4th book.

Angel is a very powerful telepath; in book one she 'influenced' a woman to buy her a stuffed animal in a toy store. Later she 'influenced' a police officer in "School's Out Forever" that 'she is in a hurry and that she should just let them go this time' after Fang is caught driving without a license. She can also breathe underwater, and talk to fish. Generally sweet-tempered, Angel exhibits a vicious streak when using her mind-control abilities. At one point she forced an Eraser to fall out of the sky and on another occasion made one run into a tree repeatedly. Although it seems her power may not work on Max, it is possible that she just is unwilling to mentally control Max. Some other characters have been able to block her mind control; in "The Angel Experiment", Angel notices that Jeb is somehow able to block her mind-reading abilities, "as if he were dead". In "Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports", she tries to play mind tricks on ter Borcht and some Chinese scientists, but tells Max that she can't get into their heads (although she does seem capable of reading their minds). By "Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports" Angel has become quite effective at using her telepathy in combat. Even though uneducated, she is extremely smart for a six-year-old. In the fourth book she develops the ability to change her appearance, she can even grow feathers all over her body and make herself look like a large bird.

In the second book, Angel once expressed a disturbing desire to take over Max's job as leader of the Flock and that information is used in a plot created by Max in "Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports."

Angel was kidnapped at the very beginning of "The Angel Experiment" and is known as Subject Eleven to the whitecoats. It is speculated that Angel will become omnipotent later in life and will turn on the Flock. She seems sweet but she doesn't understand what the difference is between good and bad. Angel is the first one to figure out that Max II is a fake (though perhaps after Fang, who later says to the real Max he figured it out when Max II "offered to make breakfast," a task the real Max usually leaves to Iggy), due to her telepathic abilities.

By "Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports", the flock is re-captured by Itex. Angel, after being captured, was not with the others, but as later revealed, had 'turned over' and 'sided' with the Whitecoats. This however, was possibly just a cover to help the others out, probably with the aid of Jeb, as later on, when the flock is about to be 'retired', Angel turns on Ter Borcht and knocks him out, before distracting and keeping at bay the rest of the Whitecoats while Ari helped to free the rest of the flock.

Angel is very mature and tall for her age, standing at 4'11, but succumbs easily to the joys of places like Disney World and the beach, as shown in the second book.

Total

Total is a black scottie that joined the Flock after their visit to The Institute of Higher Living. He also can talk, which is revealed in "". Besides talking, he can also jump an incredible height: about 30 feet.

He is very sensitive about being a dog, and doesn't want to be treated any differently than the rest of the flock. In the second book, Total mentions that he wishes that he had wings after nearly dying when Gasman rammed into Iggy, which caused him to drop Total while flying. At the end of the third book, Total is extremely outraged when Dr. Martinez assumes he is a normal dog and gives him scraps in a bowl on the floor.

Total seems to know more about recent history than the Flock does, as he is able to identify Brad Pitt in Madame Tussauds and mentions that he thinks that there were two shooters in the JFK assassination. He is also very cultured, expressing disgust when Max refuses to stop and enjoy the sights of Paris.

He is also very close to Angel, telling the Flock that he will go where she goes. She never leaves him behind, and, in the second book, they even went back to Anne's house to get him despite the fact that it was swarming with Erasers. This dedication is possibly due to the fact that it was Angel that rescued Total from the Institute of Higher Living and convinced the rest of the Flock to keep him.

Total is deathly afraid of generic dog food as shown in "."

In the fourth book, he falls in love with a white Malamute named Akila, who nearly dies in a hurricane. When he discovers she survived, he licks her face, and she seems to like it. However, Akila is a normal dog, so she can't understand him when he tries to talk to her.

Also in The Final Warning, Nudge and Max find small wings growing from Total's back, but are too weak to let him fly with them yet.

Other Characters

Jeb Batchelder

Jeb Batchelder is a scientist from the 'School'. (A place were scientists conduct genetic experiments on humans.) He is Ari's father, although this did not stop the 'School' from turning Ari into an Eraser. Later Max learns that Jeb is her father too (in the third book).
Jeb helped the flock escape the first time and lived with them for two years, suddenly and inexplicably disappearing afterwards, making the flock presume his death for another two years. He later reappeared at the 'School' when the flock returned, driving Max to hate him with a passion. Seemingly, the scientists did something to him when he returned so Angel can no longer read his mind (though it's possible he possesses some sort of mental telepathy of his own that blocks Angel's). Throughout the series, he keeps insisting that he is still a friend of the flock and wants to help them. Every time he and the flock meet, he reminds Max that everything is a test. Jeb was the person that first informed Max that it was her destiny to save the world. In the third book Max thought that Jeb is the Voice inside her head that she has had throughout the series (in the fourth book she finds out that he isn't).

Ari Batchelder

Ari is the son of Jeb Batchelder, one of the top scientists at the School, and half brother of Maximum Ride. Unlike the other hybrids, Ari spent his early life as a non-mutant human. When he was three years old, Jeb disappeared along with the Flock, leaving Ari at the tender mercies of the School's genetic scientists. The geneticists used Ari as an experiment, splicing his DNA with that of a wolf in order to create a new breed of Eraser that could live longer than the previous versions (those whose DNA had been spliced in the womb). But Ari has his downsides too. When his claws and fierce canines come out they burn his hand and gums. He admires Max, even though he wants to personally see to it that the light is drained from her eyes. Ari is willing to do anything to kill the entire group, especially Fang. Since he likes Max, he seemingly doesn't want Fang moving in on her. He even allowed whitecoats to put wings on him so he could ambush Fang in mid-air.

Ari is the most 'wolfy-looking' of the Erasers, always in a partially morphed state, never quite human, never quite wolf. One time, he was mistaken for the X-men character Wolverine by a young boy at Disney World. While he was talking to the kid, the kid asks for his autograph and he signs "Wolverine with a flourish", but later in the series he can't write his own name.

During the climactic fight scene in "The Angel Experiment", Ari fought with, and had his neck broken by, Max. He was killed, but came back from the dead in order to kill Max, because of the School realigning his spine. However, the broken spine may have even been a blessing in disguise for him, as it allowed the School's scientists to graft a full pair of wings on his back. Ari is now a Flying Eraser.

Ari and Max share many similarities, the most obvious being that they are both mutants and both hear "their Voice" in their heads. In "The Angel Experiment", the possibility that Ari and Max are siblings is discussed.

In "School's Out Forever" it is revealed that Ari has a strong (but reluctant) admiration for Max. He even comes up with a plan to steal Max away, so she could 'read to him and play games with him'. However his wolfish-seven-year-old self shows through when he adds that he planned to cut off her wings.

Ari's greatest desire is to have his father be proud of him, and is extremely and horribly jealous of how his father dotes on Max. He one time expresses a desire to choke his father until Jeb realizes he ought to pay more attention to him. His father is proud of him in "School's Out Forever" when Ari tells him of his plan to steal Max.

Ari may appear to be an adult in many ways because of his genetic engineering. In the second book, you discover Ari's feelings and thoughts are often like those of his seven-year-old self. This is best shown when he goes to BestMart in the second book. Where he does all needed to steal a Game Boy and is also disgusted by a woman holding a bra in public.

Ari also exhibits slight masochistic tendencies, as illustrated when he bites himself several times in "School's Out Forever", because the pain 'felt better.' Ari joined up with Max's half of the flock in Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports. While the other Erasers were "retired" (killed), the whitecoats allowed Ari to continue to live, as his expiration date had recently appeared on the back of his neck, indicating that he'd die on his own anyway. After learning that his death is approaching, Ari becomes extremely depressed and seems to lose his hatred of Max and the Flock. When the Flock is held captive in the School, he shows Max some of the experiments and tells her of the whitecoats' plans for Re-Evolution, saying that even though he knows he will die soon, he hopes that the Flock can still escape and stop it. He helps Angel find Total (who the whitecoats took from the Flock) and breaks open a cage that they're trapped in. Realizing that the whitecoats will probably kill him for helping them escape, Max asks Ari to join them, much to the displeasure of the rest of the Flock (except, perhaps, for Angel). Ari is very grateful to Max for taking him in and promises to keep her safe. He joins Max's "mini-flock" when the Flock splits and goes with her, Angel, Nudge, and Total to Europe. During this time, Max notes that he doesn't talk much, as if he didn't think he had a right to an opinion. It is revealed that, because Jeb is Max's father, Ari is her half-brother. Ari tries to back up Max during her tests against Omega and later, when a mutant riot breaks out, uses his strength to literally "toss smaller mutants into the mosh pit of death". In the midst of the fight, he suddenly collapses. Max tries to find where he was hurt, but he wasn't injured. His time has run out and he suddenly expires, looking frightened and calling to Max.

The first appearance of the Flock and Jeb is at Ari's make-shift funeral. Each of the flock drops dirt onto the casket, and most say a few words. Most of the Flock - primarily Max, Nudge, Total and Angel - break down and cry.

Ari also had a Voice similar to Max's, as shown in School's Out Forever.

Max II

Max II is a clone of the original Maximum Ride who attempts to destroy the flock by killing the original Maximum Ride. At the end of "School's Out Forever" Max asks Fang how they knew that the other Max (version 2.0) wasn't her (Original Max). Fang replies, "She offered to cook breakfast" and they both start laughing. It is also noticeable when she wondered "Why is the blind guy cooking?". She was also exposed by not knowing many things about the flock, such as Angel being able to read minds.

At the end of "School’s Out Forever" she fought with, and was defeated by, the original Max. However, the difference between her and the original Max are that while Max 2 was willing to kill Max in their fight, Max had the chance to kill Max 2 but did not take it, saying that if she killed Max 2 she would be sinking to the level of the whitecoats. The whereabouts of Max 2 were unknown, until the 3rd book when they found her at the headquarters of Itex in Germany, with other mutants preparing for termination. She warns the original Max about how fast Itex is killing the mutants while they are being "exercised" in a courtyard. It is uncertain what happens to her at the end of the third book.

She is known to hang around with Ari in suspicious ways, on rooftops and other places, as told in "The Maximum Ride Blog, 6 kids, 12 wings, 1 blog" (see External Links). Ari enjoys her company since she bothers Jeb and since she is identical to the original Max. Max 2 is convinced that the original Max is full of herself, however in the second book she seems to understand that Max feels alone, no matter how many people are with her.

Unlike the original, Max 2 seems oblivious to some the talents of the Flock and seems to dislike them all. She makes several mistakes the first morning she replaced Max, offering to cook breakfast, wondering why Iggy was cooking breakfast when he was blind, offering to fix Nudge's hair, and ordering Total off of the bed. When they left to break into an Itex building, she found it bizarre that they were bringing Total (who she didn't know had the human intelligence and the ability to talk) with them and mentally commented "Okaaaay, I'm beginning to put my finger on why you're slated for termination". She is annoyed by Nudge's constant talking, although she is aware of Nudge's skills with computers (although she does seem to underestimate them). Max 2 is also annoyed by the Gasman and finds Angel "creepy", apparently unaware of the fact that Angel can read minds. However, she never seems to discover anything especially irritating about Fang, besides his silentness.

Anne Walker

Anne is an FBI agent that the flock meets during an incident when Fang has to be taken to the hospital. She offers them protection in exchange for a chance to study them in nonpainful, noninvasive ways. She takes them to her country chateau, and the flock is happy there. Anne treats them with kindness and generosity, almost like a parent, that is totally alien to them. Anne also enrolls them in a school without asking, and acts inappropriately when Iggy and Gazzy set off bombs in their new environment. After this event, she gave them hot chocolate and cookies. She is unused to any domestic activities, and struggles valiantly to make the best possible meals and other comforts for her new guests. The greatest success she has is the flock's very first Thanksgiving meal, and it is at this point in time that she makes her offer to adopt them all. However, all throughout their stay, Max cannot settle down as the others, and is jealous, because she thinks that Anne is taking care of her flock. Very soon after Thanksgiving, Max is cornered by the headmaster and several whitecoat plants (pretending to be teachers), convincing her that it was definitely time to leave. The flock escapes from the whitecoats and Erasers in the school, returning to the house to collect Total. Erasers have arrived at Anne's house and Anne seems to be giving them no resistance to their search, even yelling at Ari and poking him in the chest. After securing Total, Max flies down to talk to Jeb, Ari, and Anne, and Jeb reveals that Anne is his boss. The heartbroken flock then leaves in a hurry.

Anne is seen later in "Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports" when the Flock is captured and taken back to the School. According to Max, she acts "in an un-adopted Mom way" and tries to convince the Flock that they had dreamed all of their adventure away from the School. When the Flock is in a cage, to be terminated, she tells them "You know what's really sad?...We gave you every chance", leading Max to angrily point out that they only gave them "some" chances and that giving them every chance would include letting them out of the cage.

William Pruitt

William Pruitt is the principal of the school Max and the flock attend. He is hateful, and loathes children; this makes Max question his career choice. He has a shiny bald head, nose hair aplenty and wet-looking, round dark pink lips. He speaks with a British accent. He is not a whitecoat but is definitely associated with the School in some way or form. While spying at recess, Iggy and Gazzy come across a file room with a file that says that the school used to be an insane asylum. One of their more interesting ideas about this is that Pruitt was a patient who killed everyone else and started the school. When the two escape from the private school that Anne enrolled them in, they take the insane asylum idea into consideration. When the Flock realizes his connection to the School, Pruitt threatens Max unsuccessfully with a taser and tries to catch them. As they escape, he yells that they are "mistakes".

Roland ter Borcht

Roland ter Borcht is a brilliant, albeit controversial, German geneticist who was known for sinister experiments he performed on humans. He is one of the leading scientists at the School. Ter Borcht is first mentioned in "School's Out Forever", when Max finds his name in some documents she stole from Itex and then finds out more about him through an online search engine. Later, when the Flock breaks into an Itex plant for information, they notice that Nudge's parents supposedly signed a document allowing ter Borcht to "treat" their baby.

Ter Borcht meets the Flock in person in "Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports". He tries to examine the Flock when they are re-captured and brought back to the School, in an attempt to see if they are worth sparing. Instead, the Flock becomes angry at the way he treats them and are rude and refuse to cooperate. Later, ter Borcht gases them and moves them into a cage to have them executed, as he said that they gave no reason as to why they should be spared. He is then knocked unconscious with a lead pipe by Angel, who was acting as a spy for the Flock. Max, Nudge, Angel, Ari, and Total run into him again in Europe, when he tries to get them to answer the questions of Chinese scientists who are interested in buying the Flock as weapons.

The entire time, Ter Borcht seems firmly against allowing the Flock to live. He is described as having a heavy accent, like Arnold Schwarzenegger's. He is also described as fat and out of shape.

Marian Janssen

Also known as the Director, she is the one who pulls all of the strings for the School and Itex, and also, she claims, one of the few successful Itex species combinations, being part Galapagos Tortoise (allegedly, because there is no way she could possibly be over one hundred years old if she were a recombinant). She is mentioned several times in previous books, however she plays a very important part in "Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports", as she is the one who plans the Re-Evolution and By-Half Plans.

Max, Nudge, Angel, Total, and Ari meet the Director in the Itex headquarters in Europe. They are caught by Flyboys and brought to her. Shortly before meeting her, Max vows to take her apart "using only [her] teeth if necessary". When the Director first appears, Max is surprised to find that she is female, since Max seems to associate mass killings with men. The Director further shocks the mini-Flock by announcing that she is actually Max's mother. Because they look and act very similarly, everyone assumes this to be the case, much to Max's horror. Although she claims to be her mother, the Director seems to think that Max is only a part of the "bigger picture" and has no problem with retiring her or submitting her to horrible "tests". She also urges Max to work for the Chinese as a weapon, saying it's her only chance to survive, causing Max to angrily question the Director's morals and ethics.

Later in the book, Jeb questions why Max hates the Director so much, since she will one day be the most powerful person in the world, giving Max almost unlimited power as well. Max tells Jeb that if she had so much power, she would have the Director and everyone else involved in the plans arrested, as well as providing health care and schooling to everyone for free and other helpful ideas. Jeb tells Max that she passed the test of being uncorruptable by power and tells Max that the Director is not actually Max's mother. She only oversaw the developtment of Max as an embryo, which Jeb comments "to her, that must feel like motherhood".

Shortly after learning this, Max is called up to a gathering by the Director and is instructed to take part in three tests and a battle to the death against Itex's best creation, a boy named Omega, something of an irony, as omega is the last letter in the Greek alphabet. Although Max wins the first test (a race), the Director disqualifies her because Max flew and it was "a race on the ground". Max then loses the other tests, however the Director ignores her protests that the tests are a waste of time and have nothing to do with being able to survive. Shortly before the fight to the death, Angel causes a massive mutant riot and the Director calls for the Flyboys to break up the fighting. After the riot ends and the Flyboys are destroyed, Max and Nudge capture the Director and take her into the sky, demanding to know who Max's real mother is. The Director answers all of the questions and Max drops her, intending to let her die in the fall. Jeb, as the Voice, manages to convince her otherwise however, and Max ends up catching the Director before she hits the ground. Her fate at the end of the third book is unknown, however it is possible that she is arrested.Being a hybrid of human and Galapagos tortoise, she has extremely long life (she is actually 107 years old, Born 1900). She is also revealed to be the reason Max had a chip in her arm. The chip recorded Max's flight speeds and heights, giving the Director information to give the Chinese scientists.

Omega

Omega is considered by the Director to be the most successful experiment created by The School. He looks human, but is superhuman in his ability to run at high speeds, have superior strength, sight, and intelligence, obey orders unquestionably, and the ability to fight off all diseases. His only known weakness is that he doesn't have quick sight reflexes.

Omega's first, and only, appearance was in "Saving the World and other Extreme Sports". He is introduced by the Director at the end of the book to a crowd of scientists as the new 'perfect human' who would be able to survive if the world were to be blown up. After announcing Omega's many talents, she tells the crowd that he will demonstrate by defeating an "obsolete but somewhat successful avian-human hybrid" (Max). She then forces Max to compete with Omega is several challenges to try to show off Omega's superior skills. The first challenge is a race, in which he is bested when Max flies instead of runs to the finish. He is declared the winner however, as the Director insists that Max cheated by flying. He then beats Max in a contest of strength, pulling the weights they had to pull a foot for her inch. During the contest of intelligence, Omega also bests Max. The Director then instructs them to fight to the death, but Angel, a member of the Flock, causes a massive riot, in which the Flyboys, robots created by the School to try to control the muntants gone wrong, quickly try to quell. During the riot, Omega finds Max and insists that they must still fight. Max points out that he can choose to not fight and he looks confused, saying "I don't know how to...not". He almost defeats Max during the fight, however she is told by Jeb that Omega cannot track things fast with his eyes. She then tests the theory by pretending to hit him from many different directions at once. Omega then becomes very confused and disoriented, allowing Max to knock him out. Max then refuses to kill him, although she knew Omega would kill her if given the opportunity. It is uncertain what happens to him after the fight, and he is never mentioned again.

Lissa

Lissa is a 14 year old redhead girl who goes to the school that the Flock temporarily attends. Max calls her the Red-Hair-Wonder. Lissa's only part in the series was during "Maximum Ride: School's Out Forever", in which she is a minor love interest for Fang. Max is jealous of her because she is wanting (Max doesnt realize that they love each other yet, niether does Fang) a relationship with Fang, but Lissa is unaware of this, as she is under the impression that Fang and Max are brother and sister.

Tess

Tess is a 14 year old girl that goes to the school that the Flock temporarily attend. She is discribed as tall. Iggy might have liked her, who knows, but she is only mentioned in a couple of paragraphs in the whole series. Shows up in "Maximum Ride: Schools Out Forever" The passage says Iggy "felt like a blind idiot" when she talked to him on a field trip.

am

Sam is a 14 year old boy that goes to the school that the Flock temporarily attend. Max finds him attractive, describing his tortoiseshell eyes and his chestnut hair that "kind of fell across his forehead" pleasant. He initially flirts with her in the library of their school, and invites her on a date. Max agrees, and they have a "nice" date, and afterwards, they kiss on Anne Walker's front porch.

As Max took a disliking to Lissa, Fang also takes a disliking to Sam because even he still has feelings towards Max. Although Sam doesn't seem to realize the jealousy Fang has towards him.

While Max is trying to escape the evil teachers in the school, Sam tries to get her to hide in a classroom. She thinks he is beginning to resemble an Eraser, but this is most likely due to paranoia, because Ari (while spying on Max's date) called him a 'a fragile little human'.

Ella Martinez

Ella is the 12 year old daughter of Dr. Martinez and the half sister of Max. Throughout the series, Ella wishes that Max is her sister and is thrilled at the end of "Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports" to find out that Max is her half sister. Max first meets Ella in "The Angel Experiment" when Max stopped bullies from beating Ella up. While fighting for her, Max is shot by one of the bullies. Max asks Ella for help, and spends two days recuperating at Ella's house.

Ella appears twice in "Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports", once when Max asks to see Dr. Martinez, and Ella comes with her, and the second time at the end of the book.

Ella only appears only once in the "The Final Warning", when she is present at the ribbon cutting of the new school intended for the flock.

Ella has a love interest in Iggy, but it is unclear whether or not Iggy likes her back. Ella also has a fascination about Iggy's blindness, wondering how he could put food in his mouth without spilling anything.

Dr. Valencia Martinez

Dr. Martinez is a veterinarian and mother of Max and Ella. She is first introduced in the series in the book "Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment" when Max was shot. At this time, Max was forced to heal at Dr. Martinez's house, unaware that Dr. Martinez was her mother. While there, Max reveals to Dr. Martinez that she has wings, and says that it was one of the only times she felt like she had a home and a family.

Max sees Dr. Martinez for the second time in "Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports", when Max needed help removing a chip stuck in her arm. While there, Fang, a member of the Flock, meets Dr. Martinez while she goes to get the chip removed. He finds a book on birds and another book on DNA combinants, with a picture of Gasman, another Flock member, as a baby wedged between them. Max sees Dr. Martinez again briefly at the end of "Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports", in which she discovers that Dr. Martinez was her mother, and Jeb her father. Jeb explained that they both 'created' Max for this project, even though they both had no personal connection. After Max was created, she was to leave the project, not by Jeb but by the other scientists, who were under the impression her motherly instincts might get in the way of her job.

In "Maximum Ride: The Final Warning", Dr. Martinez is at the first meeting with the flock and the government, and she introduces the Flock to Dr. Brigid Dwyer. The last time she is seen is at the ribbon cutting for the new school intended for The Flock.

Dr. Brigid Dwyer

Dr. Dwyer is 21 years old and works in Antarctica, where the flock are to 'save the world'. She also escorts them there in a small research boat. Max is jealous of her because she and Fang get along very well, even if they are 7 years apart. Also Fang seems to ignore Max for a period of time while he is hanging around Brigid. Brigid herself is clueless of this tension, not knowing that Max has feelings for Fang.

Gozen

Gozen is a inhumanly cruel robot who serves the Uber Director by leading the Director's personal army. His first appearance is in "Maximum Ride: The Final Warning", in which his purpose was capture the Flock and bring them to the Director. He later succeeds in capturing the Flock. While the Flock are being transported to the Director, Gozen breaks Angel's, a member of the Flock, arm to frighten the rest of the Flock. After he brings the Flock to the Director, he watches as the Flock is about the auctioned off to the highest bidder. A hurricane then suddenly ripped through the building where the auction was being held, killing Gozen.

The Uber Director

The Uber Director a somewhat inhuman, yet infamously rich, director of an unknown company. He is made up of organs in glass cases that are connected by metal limbs, making him part machine and part human. He is also unable to walk, so he is confined to a wheelchair.

The Uber Director only appears in "", in which he plays the 'criminal mastermind', who captured the Flock and put them for sale in an auction. After capturing the Flock, he tries to auction them off to the highest bidder. During the auction, a hurricane wipes through the building the Flock and the Director were in. The Director dies in the hurricane.

References

ee also

External links

* [http://www.maximumride.com/ Official Maximum Ride Website]