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Cyclone (alias Maxine Hunkel) is a fictional superheroine in the DC Comics universe. She is the granddaughter of the original Red Tornado and a member of the Justice Society of America. Cyclone was created by Mark Waid, Alex Ross, Geoff Johns and Dale Eaglesham.
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Publication history
Although not named as such at the time, the character who would eventually become known as Maxine Hunkel first appeared (as a new Red Tornado) in Kingdom Come #2 (1996) by Mark Waid and Alex Ross. A decade later, prior to the relaunch of the Justice Society of America series, writer Geoff Johns created Maxine Hunkel, a heroine who would follow the legacy of the Red Tornado. Remembering the character he designed for Kingdom Come, cover artist Alex Ross based his design for Maxine on the earlier character, retroactively making them one and the same. Johns is quoted by Newsarama.com:[1]
| “ | I came up with the character and concept [of Maxine]. When I told Alex, he told me about this character that he’d put into Kingdom Come, and discussed Maxine being the ‘younger’ version of that one. | ” |
Maxine made her debut in the DC Universe in Justice Society of America #1 (December 2006).
Fictional character biography
Maxine Hunkel is the granddaughter of the original Red Tornado, Abigail "Ma" Hunkel, an honorary member of the Justice Society and current caretaker of their headquarters. Maxine grew up idolizing her grandmother's allies in the JSA. As a 6-year old, Maxine was once kidnapped by T.O. Morrow, the mad scientist who created the second Red Tornado, a powerful android. Morrow infected Maxine with "nanobytes" that are the apparent source of her powers. Cheerful, bubbly, and extremely intelligent (4.0 GPA and a 1300 SAT score in high school), Maxine is a 19-year-old student at Harvard University and an avid fan of musical theatre, particularly the play Wicked. However, her talkative nature and know-it-all personality often alienate her peers and leave the young woman isolated. Her outcast status causes her to suffer from atypical depression. In recent months, she has begun to manifest unusual superhuman abilities. A sneeze demolished her grandmother's garage and, the next day, she awoke inside a tornado five hundred feet off the ground. The young woman soon realized that she has the power to manipulate wind. When the Justice Society decides to expand its ranks and provide training to new heroes, Maxine is one of the first recruits on their list. She is invited to join the team by Power Girl and Mr. Terrific and accepts through extreme amounts of excitement (her motormouth response nearly causes them to revoke the offer). Shortly afterwards, she is introduced to the rest of the JSA and her fangirl personality becomes evident in her bubbling reaction to meeting her heroes, particularly fellow teen Stargirl. As a way to ease her pain over seeing Mr. America's death, Stargirl takes her to a room full of colorful fabrics, and (playing on Maxine's college major and interest, the theatre) asks her to select her new outfit. Maxine officially debuts as Cyclone in Justice Society of America #3, honoring both the Red Tornado and her former sidekicks, the Cyclone Kids (Maxine's aunt and uncle).
Powers and abilities
- Maxine possesses the power of wind manipulation. She is able to mentally summon cyclones and whirlwinds, project powerful bursts of air, and glide through the air on wind currents.
References
- ^ HIGH SOCIETY II: THE JUSTICE SOCIETY'S NEW BLOOD by Troy Brownfield, Newsarama.com, retrieved March 1, 2007
