List of Maximum Ride characters

This is a list of characters in the Maximum Ride young adult fiction book series by James Patterson.

Maximum Ride (Max)

Maximum, known as Max for short, is the leader of the 'flock'. She has brown hair and brown eyes. She is 5'8", a little over 90lbs with a wingspan of 13 feet. Her wings are colored many different shades of brown, and her primary feathers are streaked black and white. She strives to make the flock happy, and when they face challenges, she feels as if she has to protect them. They are all often viewed as her children, though Max sometimes forgets that she is not much older than the rest of them. She, like the other members in the flock, is 98% human and 2% avian (bird), giving her wings, lighter bones, stronger muscles, and faster healing time.

In MAX Max talks with Fang in hotel after talking to him about Nudge wanting to cut her wings off, she holds her fear and stays. Later the Flock meets Dylan who, according to Dr. Gunther-Hagen, is Max's "perfect other half". Max begins to feel an attraction for Dylan. In Angel, she and Dylan grow closer, confusing her feelings about Fang, who begins to grow closer with Maya, who is Max's clone.

Max is one of the two members of the Flock who found her parents; Iggy is the other. Yet she is the only one to love her parents, Iggy leaving his after only a week or so because he thought they were using him. She was stunned when she learned that Jeb Batchelder (a "white coat" who helped them escape from the school and then raised them) is her father. Dr. Valencia Martinez is her biological mother. Max trusts Dr. Martinez completely, but remains wary of Jeb. She is also close to her half-sister, Dr. Martinez' daughter Ella.

Max dislikes and feels pity for Ari (Jebs's son), with whom she is constantly fighting until he joins her "mini-flock" that was created in Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports for a short time after rescuing them from the School. A short while after Ari is rescued from the School, he expires ("white coat" word for died). After Ari's "death" the two mini-flocks created by Max and Fang come back together. It is then that Jeb is revealed as Max's father, making Ari her half-brother; however, she'd already considered him as her "brother-in-law" while trapped in the dungeon with man-eating monsters.

Max has a Voice in her head, which gives her cryptic messages that she sometimes disregards. She initially feared that it was an enemy inside her, or someone from the School tracking the Flock. At one point Max believes the Voice to be Jeb Batchelder's; she is later disappointed when he assures her he is not the voice, but he can be. In Nevermore, it is revealed that Angel is Max's voice,and doesn't believe it.

In Angel, Max lets Dylan replace Fang. She was angry that Fang replaced her with her clone, and she figured out the clone's name was Maya. Also Fang created a new "flock" with all kinds of new talents. This deeply pains Max. There is also the doomsday group. They put a strange spell-like hypnosis on people so they act like zombies and believe in nothing but the "One Light". So, Max's flock and Fang's gang are forced to work together. Max and Fang fight almost nonstop, so this plan was not a success. In the end, Angel goes missing after a huge explosion, which pains Max a great deal. Nonetheless, Max and Fang end up kissing each other passionately at the end of Nevermore. Throughout a few of the books before this one, Max and Angel were somewhat at odds; after Angel goes missing and then is found in Nevermore, she and Max's relationship is stronger and better.

Max also has the ability to fly extremely fast, her top speed at roughly 240–250 miles per hour (verified by the Director through a microchip in her arm), or over 350 miles per hour in a fast dive. Unlike any other member of the Flock except for Fang - this may be because in School's Out--Forever, Max donated her blood to Fang; afterwards, he says he is experiencing the same heat waves that Max suffered from before she gained her supersonic flight abilities. In MAX, it turns out she also has gills like Angel. Her bird DNA is from a hawk, as confirmed in the excerpt from Nevermore, found in the Deluxe paperback of ANGEL. In the book Maximum Ride Forever, Max ends up being pregnant with Fang's child.

Fang

Fang is a 14-year-old avian-human hybrid (turns 15 in Fang), and second-in-command of the Flock. He is tall, with olive skin, dark eyes and black hair. Fang has black feathers, and a wingspan of 14 feet. He is generally quiet, rarely showing his emotions (the "strong and silent type") Fang has the ability to seemingly "disappear" by blending in with dark backgrounds (camouflage) or just in a regular area (invisibility) as long as he stays quiet and makes no sudden movements. His good-looking features and past relationship with Max helps her to fall in love with him. (This happens in Max)

Fang has romantic feelings for Max, as shown when they kiss a couple of times, which makes Max confused. Max keeps pushing Fang away but he never gives up on her. Finally, Max doesn't run away from Fang when they make-out in the desert, and they become an item. She kisses Fang before she goes under water to save Dr. Martinez, expressing her love for him.

He was taken by the School as a baby shortly after he was born. Fang eventually learns that his mother was a teenager when he was born and that she had been told he had died prior to being taken. In Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports, Fang was furious when Max rescued Ari from the School and invited him to join them. As a result, the Flock split, with Fang, Iggy and Gazzy traveling to the West Coast of the United States and Max, Nudge, Angel, Total, and Ari going to Europe. Later, at the end of the book, the Flock regrouped.

Angel correctly predicts that Fang will be the first to die in Fang, but Max revives him by injecting his heart with adrenaline. He leaves in the second epilogue because he thinks he is endangering the Flock by distracting Max from her role as leader. He lets her know numerous times in a letter that he loves her more than anything, and leaves Max a promise ring. He says to her that if they are both still alive in 20 years and the world was still in one piece, he will meet her at the top of the cliff where they met the hawks in The Angel Experiment.

In Angel Fang tries to defeat the Doomsday Group with the help of some Gen 77 kids and a clone of Max named Maya . When Maya first arrives, he thinks this is a bad idea, making it even harder to be apart from Max, but he soon starts to notice differences and recognizes Maya as a unique individual. He also mentions several times that he has felt attracted to her. "He had to force himself to keep his breathing regular" and "had to force himself not to kiss her", though it's never clear that he has these thoughts because he truly likes Maya, or she just reminds him of Max. Meanwhile, he is jealous of Dylan, who loves Max. He almost accepts him toward the end, saying that "he is trying to be a team player."

In Maximum Ride Forever, Fang leaves when the flock decided to split up. He travels to North America, trying to find a girl who posted something on his blog. Fang soon has to fight erasers, and comes across Dylan. Dylan tries to save him, but blacks out. Fang than has to fight off a few erasers. They tear off his left wing before being killed. At the end, Dylan brings Fang back to life by killing himself. We also learn that Max and Fang slept with each other, leading to Max's pregnancy. Fang becomes a loving father.

Iggy

Iggy is a 14-year-old avian-human hybrid (turns 15 in Fang). He is blind, but has adjusted well. Like all the others [except for Max, Fang, and Angel] he has not developed gills, and thus cannot breathe underwater. In Angel: A Maximum Ride Novel, Iggy is described as six feet tall and skinny. He has really pale skin, strawberry-blonde hair, and light blue eyes. His wings span over fourteen feet and are a light grey in color, sometimes being considered as white when Angel once compares him to an albatross. He is sarcastic by nature.

Iggy is blind because the School tried unsuccessfully to enhance his night vision. As a result, his other senses are enhanced; he develops the ability to feel color, and "sees" contours when snow-blind. He can distinguish the Flock members by their footsteps, fingerprints and feathers; they tap his hand to communicate silently. In Fang, he can make out shapes and identify cars from pictures in magazines. He is also described as being a good cook. He loves explosives and is a skilled bomb-maker, usually working with the Gasman to destroy a target. In The Angel Experiment, he and Gazzy build a bomb they call "Big Boy" to protect their home and get rid of the Erasers. He is described as being very smart.

In School's Out Forever Iggy learns about his past; his real name is James Griffiths and he was kidnapped by the School when he was four months old. He finds his parents and decides to leave the Flock; However, he soon returns after he learns that his parents were only interested in making money of his story. In Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports, he leaves the Flock and joins Fang and Gazzy's "mini flock". When the Flock members reunite, they go to Dr. Martinez. In Angel, Iggy is brainwashed by the Doomsday Group. Max, Dylan, and Angel snap him out of it by forcing him under cold water. In Nevermore: The Final Maximum Ride Adventure, Iggy and Ella kiss.

Nudge

Nudge is an 11-year-old avian-human hybrid ( turns 12 in Fang ). She is fairly tall with curly brown hair, mocha colored skin, and dark-brown eyes. She is African American, as Max describes. Nudge is a "motormouth" which Max says repeatedly, the flock calls her the Nudge channel because when she's awake it's all Nudge all the time. Nudge's wings are a tawny brown, sometimes described as cream in coloration. She doesn't like rats. Her real name is Monique; Tiffany-Krystal is her alternate name (she likes it better than her real name), and her code is N88034gnh.

Nudge can sense old emotions, attract metal to her hand, and hack into almost any computer system. Sensing old emotions has its disadvantages; she feels great distress when touching something which has seen great sadness, as she did at the Vietnam Memorial. Of all the Flock, Nudge is the one most determined to find her biological parents and exhibits a strong desire to be normal, up to the point where she even wishes to get rid of her wings (which never happens). She is feminine, loves fashion, and is concerned with her appearance. Nudge is the most agreeable character, usually allied with Max. She uncharacteristically leaves the Flock in Max, but soon returns.

The Gasman (Gazzy)

Gazzy is an 8-year-old avian-human hybrid ( turns 9 in Fang ). His wings resemble a barn owl's in color, and his wingspan is 10 feet (3.0 m). He earned his name because he frequently passes gas. Gazzy is Angel's older brother; they are the only members of the Flock who are blood relatives, and share the same blue eyes and blond hair (Gazzy has a cowlick). When Angel told him that their parents had sold them to the School for $10,000 each he was horrified, complaining for hours that they were "sick jerks". Gazzy has a fear of spiders. His code at the School was F28246Jeff and while the Flock attends school in Virginia, he is known as Zephyr. Gazzy is skilled in mimicry and ventriloquism. He can pass gas at will, giving off a mushroom cloud of green gas.

He, along with Iggy, is skilled at making bombs and has a lot of knowledge about them, as Max states, "You could lock the Gasman in a padded cell with some dental floss and a bowl of Jell-O, and he'd find a way to make something explode." For example, when he and Iggy had to escape from their original house in The Angel Experiment they created a bomb to distract and, hopefully, rid themselves of the Erasers for the time being. In Max he and Iggy turned the "dumb-bots" into "popcorn" at the Flock's safe house by shooting a lightning rod at a crowd of them. They dub this the "Gaz-Ig-Nart" technique, using it once more against a nuclear submarine when Dumb-bots attacked it. Gazzy also knows a lot of information about guns, which is briefly shown in Max when he and the rest of the flock are training at the Navy Base in Hawaii. In Angel, Gazzy is traumatized after nearly allowing Jeb to die after a plane crash. Afterwards, he and Angel join the Doomsday Group as spies for the Flock. At the end of the book, Gazzy has seven minutes to disarm an arsenal of bombs and poison gas under Paris and is mostly successful.

Angel

Angel is the youngest of the flock, a 6-year-old avian-human hybrid ( has a birthday, her seventh, with the rest of the Flock in Fang, but said that she turned seven in Max). She has curly blonde hair, blue eyes, and white wings that make her look angelic. According to Max, Angel "hit the genetic jackpot", developing a variety of powers throughout the series. She is a telepathic, and can influence most people to do her will. Angel can breathe underwater, talk to animals, send animals mental messages, and change her appearance at will, although this power is mentioned only once or twice throughout the series.

Angel owns a small black Scottish Terrier named Total, whom she stole from the Institute for Higher Living, and a small stuffed bear dressed as an angel named Celeste. Although she is somewhat claustrophobic unlike the rest of the Flock, she also likes small cozy spaces. Max describes Angel's bed in their original house as "like a nest—full of stuffed animals, books, most of her clothes". She wants to replace Max, and is more likely to disobey her than the others. Angel disappeared after the explosion in Angel; Max and the others mistakenly assume she is dead. In Nevermore, she was being held captive by the School. She was eventually rescued by the rest of the flock.

Total

Total is a black Scottie, who joined the Flock after their visit to the Institute of Higher Living. He has the ability to leap great heights of up to fifteen feet or more and he can talk in English and French, and he could probably talk in more languages if he learned them. Total seems to know more about recent history than the Flock does; he can identify Brad Pitt in Madame Tussauds, and opines that there were two shooters in the JFK assassination. He is refined, expressing disgust when Max refuses to stop and enjoy the sights of Paris. Total is devoted to Angel at first, gravitating towards Max as the series progresses. Angel never leaves Total behind; in the second book the Flock returned to Anne's house for Total, although it was swarming with Erasers.

In the fourth book Total falls in love with a white Malamute named Akila, who nearly dies in a hurricane. When he discovers she survived he licks her face, which she enjoys. However, Akila is a normal dog; she cannot understand Total when he speaks to her in English or French. Max talks to Total about this; Total says he can talk to Akila in his "native language" (dog language). Total and Akila marry at the end of Fang. He reappears as a minor character in Angel, staying with Dr. Martinez and Ella while Akila visits her family after their honeymoon. His small black wings, developed in The Final Warning, have grown to their full size, and he can fly without difficulty.

Phoenix

Phoenix, who has nickanmes like Fifi and Ninja Nix, is a flock member born at the end of Maximum Ride Forever. Her father is Fang and her mother is Max. Phoenix, like her parents, is a human-avian hybrid. Being the daughter of Max and Fang, she is powerful, although exactly what abilities she inherited from her parents are currently unknown as they were unmentioned or not yet discovered. Phoenix is only briefly spoken of in the last book of the series, although the last chapter is a short introduction to the flock's new lives and Phoenix's first flying lessons with her family. Phoenix has brown eyes like her mom, Max, and has raven black hair and wings like Fang, her dad. She is also almost 5 years old by the end of the book Maximum Ride Forever.

Characters from the School

Dr. Jeb Batchelder

He is the mentor and teacher of the Flock, after helping the Flock escape, he leaves, supposedly dead. When Angel is captured, the Flock sees him again, but as a white coat. Throughout the next few books, he is seen as one of the enemy whitecoats; at the end Saving the World and other Extreme Sports, it becomes clear that Jeb is a working as sort of a double agent for the Flock, though Max and her gang still see him as untrustworthy. He is the father of Ari, who was turned into an Eraser when his father took the Flock from the School. Relations between the two become strained after this episode. However, Jeb still demonstrates that although he may not be the best of fathers, he still loves his son.

Also at the end of the third book, it is revealed that Jeb is Max's father: this explains how after Max killed Ari in the first book, Jeb called out, "You killed your own brother!" He and Dr. Martinez, Max's mom, did not have a personal relationship - they made Max through IVF; he is not Ella's father. He and Max both had dirty blond hair (as well as Ari), but Jeb, unlike Max, has blue eyes.

Ari Batchelder

The School made him to hunt the Flock. He is the most wolflike of the Erasers—always in a partially morphed state, he was once mistaken for Wolverine by a young boy at Disney World. Ari is illiterate; he, like Max, and hears a Voice in his head too. As the son of Jeb Batchelder, he is Max's half-brother. When he was three years old his father disappeared with the Flock, leaving Ari in the care of the School's genetic scientists. They experimented with Ari, incorporating his original DNA with wolf DNA and transforming him into an Eraser; the change causes him burning pain. His features before the transformation were dirty blond hair and blue eyes.

Despite his desire for Max's death, Ari admires her. He is willing to do anything to kill the entire group, especially Fang. During the fight in The Angel Experiment, Max kills Ari by breaking his neck. The School saves him by realigning his spine, and grafts a pair of wings onto his back. Ari also appears in "Schools Out Forever" when he plans to kidnap Max in order to win her approval and attention. Ari's greatest desire is to have Jeb be proud of him; he is jealous of how his father dotes on Max. He expresses a desire to choke his father, and Jeb realizes he ought to pay more attention to him. He does not talk much, "as if he didn't think he had a right to an opinion."

Ari tries to support Max during her tests against Omega and later, when a mutant riot breaks out, uses his strength to "toss smaller mutants into the mosh pit of death". In the middle of the fight, he suddenly dies. Jeb and the Flock attend Ari's makeshift funeral, each tossing dirt onto the casket; most say a few words. Max, Nudge, Total and Angel break down and cry. In the fifth book the Flock's new enemy, Mr. Chu, creates an Ari lookalike robot in an attempt to frighten Max; it is destroyed in Iggy and Gazzy's explosion.

In Nevermore, a clone of Ari that Jeb creates because he felt he could try to go back and correct his mistakes with Ari, brutally beats up Maya and she dies while in Fang's arms.Ari has dirty blonde hair and blue eyes

Maya (formerly Max II)

At the beginning of the series, Max II is an evil clone of the original Max who attempts to destroy the Flock by killing her predecessor. In School's Out Forever, Max is kidnapped and replaced by Max II; however, she is exposed by announcing she was going to cook breakfast (despite the fact that Max often cooks or helps cook breakfast), by her ignorance of the Flock, and by Angel's mind-reading (Angel very conveniently forgot that she could read minds until both Maxes were in the same room). She had been spying on the Flock (aided by Ari) because they annoyed her. At the end of School's Out Forever, Max II fights what is supposed to be a death match with the original Max, who spares her because she regards her clone as another person. Max II seems convinced that the original Max is self-confident, but speaks with empathy when observing her.

In Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports, the Flock finds 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, and says that they have about a day before they too are terminated. There are also clones of Nudge and Angel, but they are never mentioned again. She returns in Angel where she has changed her name to Maya, gained a tolerance for teenage antics and a romantic interest in Fang, taken a pixie cut, added a magenta streak to her hair, and joined Fang's new group. Fang, at first, has some problems with Maya due to her resemblance to Max; he has to force himself not to kiss her. Throughout the book she tries to establish that despite being Max's clone, she has her own personality and feelings. Fang eventually appreciates this.

In Nevermore: A Maximum Ride novel, Maya is fighting Clone Ari, and falls, Fang catches her, then Clone Ari suddenly elbows her in the rib cage and she dies in Fang's arms. Before Maya dies she tells Fang that she loves him and Fang tells Maya, "I know.", not returning her feelings due to him loving Max.

Anne Walker

Anne pretends to be(and may be) an FBI agent, whom the Flock meets shortly after an attack which forces Fang to be taken to a hospital for treatment. She offers the Flock (who are disguised as children of missionaries) protection in exchange for a chance to study them in "non-painful, noninvasive" ways. Anne brings them to her country château, and treats them with parental kindness and generosity.

Anne also enrolls the Flock in a school without their knowledge. When Iggy and Gazzy set off bombs in their new home she gives them hot chocolate and cookies, annoying Max. Living alone, she is unaccustomed to domesticity and struggles to cook and make her new guests comfortable. Her greatest success was the Flock's first Thanksgiving meal and she offers to adopt them—unsettling Max, who is jealous of Anne's position with the Flock. Soon after Thanksgiving Max is cornered by the school's manner and several whitecoats, which convinces her it is time to leave. The Flock escapes from the school, returning to the house to get Total. Erasers arrive at Anne's house; she does not resist their search. After retrieving Total, Max flies down to talk to Jeb, Ari and Anne; Jeb reveals that Anne is his boss. Heartbroken, the Flock leaves quickly. In Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports, the Flock is captured and taken back to the School. According to Max, Anne acts "in an un-adoptive Mom way" and tries to convince the Flock that they had dreamed their adventure away from the School. When the Flock is caged in preparation for termination, she tells them "You know what's really sad? ... We gave you every chance"; this leads Max to angrily point out that they only gave them some chances—giving them every chance would include letting them out of the cage.

Dr. Roland ter Borcht

Roland ter Borcht is a brilliant, controversial German geneticist who was notorious for sinister experiments he performed on humans. He is one of the leading scientists at Itex, although he appears to also play an important role 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 see that Nudge's parents supposedly signed a document allowing ter Borcht to "treat" their baby. However, the signature on the document is in Jeb Batchelder's handwriting.

Ter Borcht meets the Flock in person in Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports. He tries to examine the Flock when they are recaptured 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; they are rude, and refuse to cooperate. Later ter Borcht gasses them and moves them into a cage to be executed, since he said that they gave no reason why they should be spared. Angel (spying for the Flock) knocks him unconscious. Max, Nudge, Angel, Ari and Total encounter him again in Europe, when he tries to force them to answer questions posed by Chinese scientists interested in buying the Flock as weapons. Ter Borcht is firmly against allowing the Flock to live. He is described as having an Arnold Schwarzeneggeresque accent and is fat, in stark contrast with the Flock (who are skeletal avian-human recombinants).

Dr. Marian Janssen (the Director)

The Director pulls the strings for the School and Itex, and claims to be one of the few successful Itex species combinations. She plans the Re-Evolution and By-Half Plans. The Director claims to be a hybrid human—Galápagos tortoise, 107 years old. She is the reason Max had a chip implanted in her arm. The chip recorded Max's flight speed and height, giving the Director information to relay to the Chinese scientists.

Max, Nudge, Angel, Total and Ari meet the Director in the Itex headquarters in Europe, when they are caught by the Flyboys and brought to her. When she first appears, Max is surprised that she is a female. The Director further shocks the mini-Flock by announcing that she is Max's mother. Because they look and act similarly this is assumed to be true, to Max's horror. However, the Director has no problem with submitting Max to horrible "tests". She also urges Max to work for the Chinese as a weapon, saying it is her only chance to survive. Jeb wonders why Max hates the Director, since she can give Max power. He tells Max that she passed the test of being uncorrupted by power, and that the Director is not really her mother; she only supervised Max's development as an embryo.

Shortly after learning this, Max is summoned to a gathering by the Director; she is instructed to submit to three tests and a battle to the death against Itex's best creation, a boy named Omega. Although Max wins the first test (a race), the Director disqualifies her because Max flew; it was "a race on the ground". She fails the other test, and 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 Angel causes a mutant riot with her mind, and the Director orders the Flyboys to break up the fighting. After the riot is over and the Flyboys destroyed, Max and Nudge capture the Director and fly away; they demand to know who Max's real mother is. After the Director answers their questions Max drops her, intending to let her die in the fall. Jeb (as the Voice) convinces them to catch her instead.

Omega

The Director considers Omega Itex's most-successful experiment. He looks human, but is superhuman in his speed, strength, sight, intelligence, obedience and flawless immune system. His only known weakness is slow sight reactions and tracking (despite the Director's claim that he is perfect). Omega's only appearance is in Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports. He is introduced by the Director (at the story's end) to a group of scientists as the new "perfect human", who could survive if they blew up the world. She forces Max to compete with Omega in several challenges to demonstrate Omega's superior skills. At first, Max defeats him in battle, saying to him,"You should change your name to Theta. Or Epsilon." Max wins the first challenge (a race), but he is declared the winner (the Director insists that Max cheated by flying). He defeats Max in contests of strength and intelligence. The Director instructs them to fight to the death; Angel incites a riot, which the Flyboys attempt 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; he looks confused, saying "I don't know how to...not." He nearly defeats her, but she uses her knowledge of his inferior sight tracking to overcome him. Max refuses to kill him, although she knows that Omega would kill her if he could.

Erasers

Erasers are human-lupine mutants, trained to return the Flock to Itex. Designed as guards and killers, they are trained to be ruthless in addition to their bloodthirsty nature. The Erasers appear as supermodel-like humans, but they assume a wolf-like appearance for killing. They are considered useful, but generally unsuccessful. Erasers have a short lifespan, usually living for only a few years, so the scientists designed them to reach maturity in about four years. Erasers have increased muscle density in both human and lupine form; they usually weigh over 200 pounds (91 kg). The Eraser version 6.5 has wings. The graft does not work as well as the Flock's, so their flying is awkward and painful.

Ari is changed into an Eraser in the first book, so the whitecoats could see what would happen if lupine DNA was not grafted in infancy. In the second book Ari receives wings, which makes him envy the Flock; his wings are clumsier, and do not fold as neatly as theirs do. The Erasers were killed by the whitecoats at the beginning of the third book because they were unsuccessful; although replaced by the Flyboys, they reappear in Fang. Also, in Nevermore, Fang's gang is shown to be fighting them.

Gozen

Gozen is a malevolent cyborg who serves the Über-Director by leading the Director's personal army. He has great strength, but is clumsy and stupid. Gozen appears in The Final Warning to capture the Flock and bring them to the Director. He is not cruel, like the Erasers; he was merely programmed as an unsympathetic military commander who would execute orders without question and remain absolutely loyal to the Über-Director. Gozen captures the Flock; during their transport, he breaks Angel's arm to frighten them. After he brings the Flock to the Director he watches the auction, during which a hurricane tears through the building. Gozen and the Über-Director escape; when he begs Max for help she kicks his arm, forcing him to release his grip on the Über-Director.

The Über-Director

The Über-Director heads an unnamed company, possibly Itexicon (as his name implies he is the replacement for the Director.) He is composed of organs in glass cases connected by metal limbs (making him half-machine and half-human), and uses a wheelchair. It is implied that the Über-Director is one of the experiments Max saw when Ari gave her a tour of the school's experiments. Max calls him "the ÜD" to annoy him. In The Final Warning, he captures the Flock and auctions them. During the auction a hurricane tears through the building, and the Über-Director is killed. He is the only person Max has ever killed; she justifies it with the claim that "(Über-Director) was a machine, someone's consciousness hooked up to a bio-mechanical body", and rarely dwells on it.

Dumb-bots

The "Dumb-bots," as the Flock refers to them, are humanoid robots (serving the Über-Director) who became flawed during their development. They shoot laser beams from their eyes, and are addicted to reward shocks from the Über-Director.

Flyboys

Flyboys are the Erasers' robotic replacements; some have guns attached to their hands. Flyboys are strong, fast and nimble both in the air and on the ground. They do not adapt well to change, and are slow-witted. Fang, Iggy and Gazzy fight off the Flyboys in the third book at an abandoned airplane hangar after the Flock splits up. They are nearly shot, but Fang returns fire with a gun stolen from a Flyboy. They cause the Flyboys to fly into the Hollywood Sign; later they lure them into the water, shorting them out.

Allies

Ella Martinez

Ella is the 12-year-old (possibly 13 by the final book) daughter of Dr. Martinez. Ella has a crush on Iggy, which makes Max uncomfortable because she "feels like a mom to Iggy". Max first meets Ella in The Angel Experiment, when she stopped bullies from beating Ella up. While defending her, Max is shot by one of the bullies. She 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 (Ella comes with her) and again at the end of the story. She appears once in The Final Warning, when she attends a ribbon-cutting at the new school intended for the Flock.Shae has blond hair and hazle eyes.

In MAX, Ella is hysterical when her mother is kidnapped; they are both in tears when they are reunited. In Angel, Ella is brainwashed by the Doomsday Group and programmed to "save the planet, kill the humans". Max and the Flock free her by soaking her in a desert hot spring, while Angel repairs her memory. When she discovers her mother and Jeb are missing, she wants to go with the Flock to find them; she expresses a wish to stay with them and Max sadly tells her she cannot, because they will be flying. Ella leaves, writing in the sand "I was meant to have wings." At the end of Nevermore, Ella kisses Iggy, which may have kindled a relationship between them. She is killed in the final book, Forever, by the flood.

Dr. Valencia Martinez

Dr. Martinez is a veterinarian, the mother of Ella and (as is later revealed to the readers) Max as well. In The Angel Experiment she meets Max, treating her bullet wound. Dr. Martinez bakes cookies and cares for her; she also reveals Max's chip. She removes Max's chip in Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports and is horrified when she learns Max has temporarily lost the use of her hand; however, she regains its use after her kidnapping by the whitecoats. Max's mother is at the first meeting with the Flock and the government, and she introduces the Flock to Dr. Brigid Dwyer in The Final Warning. The last time she is seen is at the ribbon-cutting for the new school intended for the Flock. She has dirty blond hair and brown eyes.

In MAX, Dr. Martinez is kidnapped by Mr. Chu and his M-Geeks. They torture her, trying to force her to denounce her environmentalism and fearing that their illegal dumping of radioactive material will be uncovered. Dr. Martinez refuses to denounce the CSM; she is starved, electrocuted, and nearly killed by Mr. Chu's second-in-command when she is rescued by Max and Angel. She is last seen convalescing in a United States Navy infirmary. Nudge asks Dr. Martinez to care for Max in Angel: A Maximum Ride Novel. She allows Jeb and Dr. Hans into her home and agrees with most of their ideas, except for "breeding" Max. Dr. Martinez agrees to visit Gen-77, and is in the plane which explodes. Max catches her, and she treats the Flock's injuries; Total sees her leaving the house with Jeb. She is killed by the flood in Forever.

Akila

Akila is a malamute with whom Total falls in love in The Final Warning. She is with the Flock when they are taken by Gozen to the Über-Director's auction, when the hurricane kills the Über-Director. In MAX, Total muses about leaving the Flock to marry Akila. In the first epilogue of Fang she and Total are married, with the Flock in attendance. She later dies in Forever.

Celeste

Celeste is Angel's teddy bear, an angel bear with a halo. Angel uses post-hypnotic suggestion to encourage a woman to buy it for her in The Angel Experiment. She nearly loses it in New York when they are surrounded by scientists disguised as police officers. Ari took Celeste, using it to lure Angel into a trap, but she uses her mind power to make him choke himself and gets her bear back. She carries Celeste tucked either under her shirt or in the waistband of her pants. Angel does her best to take good care of Celeste but, due to the nature of their missions, she usually ends up looking like a mess. By Fang, Angel no longer carries Celeste.

Harry

Harry is a bird-kid that Max meets in Maximum Ride Forever. He is described to be more bird than human, being completely covered by feathers (except his head), and able to fly perfectly and effortlessly. He can not talk, and when Max asks him, "Who are you?" he repeats, "Huryu"! When Max introduces herself as Maximum Ride, he introduces himself as Huryu, which Max changes to Harry. He becomes part of the flock and calls Max "Max Mum".

Other characters

Dylan

Dylan is an avian-human hybrid who is introduced to the Flock in Fang. He claims to have been raised in a lab in Canada, and to be eight months old. Dylan is tall and bulkier than Fang (which makes Max think he has regular access to food); he is tan, with longish blond sun-streaked hair, blue eyes and white with a tint of black and brown wings(in other words he's extremely hot). Dylan was cloned from another Dylan, who "died in a car wreck" eight months before the present Dylan's introduction to the Flock. He has keen sight, and hints that he can "see things happening far away, can see people across oceans – maybe even across time". Dylan can also heal minor wounds with his saliva. Max's Voice told her that Dylan was "designed for her", describing him as her "perfect other half"; for his part, he acts as if this were true. Dylan's wings resemble Max's, but she notes that while her wings have been designed for speed, his are designed for strength.

Dylan claims that while he has only been alive for eight months, he is a fighting machine. He tries to convince Fang that he is endangering Max and the others, since Dylan was obviously designed to protect and love Max. After many failures to gain Max's attention, he attempts suicide at the end of Fang but fails. In Angel, Max and Dylan's relationship begins to warm. At first Max feels uncomfortable, but as more affection is shared she feels as though it is "right" and "beautiful". When Fang's group and Max's Flock unite against the Doomsday Group, Fang begins to be jealous of Dylan. His jealousy pleases Dylan and he continues to try to make Fang jealous so that he can have Max to himself so while Fang is gone he builds a tree house and tells Max it's a gift. Max and Dylan are having a date in a tree house that Dylan built. Their candlelit dinner is interrupted by Nudge, Iggy and Gazzy spying on them. Their Voices have told them to record everything so they have a video camera which they filmed Max and Dylan's kiss with. Max is angry so she kicks the table causing the candle to fall over. This sets fire to the tree and the tree house. Once the Flock gets to safety she apologizes to Dylan saying that the treehouse was the most beautiful thing that she had ever seen. Dylan tells her that she's the most beautiful thing he has ever seen.

In Maximum Ride Forever, Dylan pretends to work with his father as he attempts to kill off the flock.But unfortunately he blacked out when trying to save Fang from an eraser attack. Fang dies. But at the end of the book, Dylan makes a scheme to bring Fang back to life. Max later finds a note that states Dylan knew she didn't love him, but he wanted her to be happy.

Dr. Hans Gunther-Hagen

A wealthy German philanthropist, Gunther-Hagen is introduced to Max in Fang during the Flock's visit to Africa; he later introduces Max to Dylan. He has written a book advocating genetic engineering for humans, and wants Max to join him in his genetic studies. He hopes Max will agree willingly (accepting Max's initial demand of $1 million), but seems willing to use force if necessary. Gunther-Hagen accidentally causes Fang's death near the end of Fang; claiming he did not expect his genetic accelerator to kill Fang, he is the first to try to revive him. Mr. Chu works for Gunther-Hagen.

He returns in Angel, offering to take Max and Dylan to Germany where they could have children and establish a post-apocalyptic dynasty. Later, he is presumed dead when the Flock cannot find him after a plane crash. Max considers Gunther-Hagen an enemy, despite the ambiguity of his actions. He is apparently in communication with Jeb Batchelder, and they try to convince Max to go with Dylan to Germany. She ridicules him, calling him various nicknames such as "Dr. Hans", "Dr. God", "Dr. Häagen-Dazs", "Dr. G-H", and "disgusting supremacist". He is also revealed to be the Remedy in Maximum Ride Forever.

Mark

Mark is a member of the Doomsday Group, which attempts to blow up Paris. He is greedy, with a lust for power; in battle he is strong. Mark is defeated when Max and Maya unite to overcome him. Holden charged him, making him look like "Swiss cheese," and depleting Mark's ammunition. He is presumed dead at the end of Angel, when Max sees his body on the ground with wires protruding from it. He is also very mean but in Nevermore where he makes an appearance when the school burns down, he seemed oddly happy, even though his body is covered with burn marks and cuts. He then hysterically throws himself out a window and dies from an iron rod through his throat.

William Pruitt

Pruitt is the principal of the school Max and the Flock attend. He is hateful, and loathes children; this causes Max to question his career choice. He has a bald head, profuse nose hair and wet, plump dark-pink lips. He has a British accent and is not a whitecoat, but is associated with the School.

While spying at recess, Iggy and Gazzy find files indicating that the school was an insane asylum for the incurably ill; they also discover a tunnel in the school basement. Based on this information, they theorize that Pruitt was a patient who killed everyone else in the asylum and founded the school. When they escape from the school and the Flock realizes his connection to the School, Pruitt threatens Max with a taser and tries to catch them with scientists posing as teachers. As they escape, he shouts that they are "accidents, stains, mistakes".

Lissa, Tess and Sam

Lissa is a 14-year-old student at the school temporarily attended by the Flock, and a minor love interest for Fang. Maximum calls her the "Red-Haired Wonder", and is immensely jealous of her. Tess is a tall girl, also 14, who appears in School's Out Forever. She is an unexplored love interest for Iggy. Sam is a 14-year-old boy, also a student at the school, who is a minor love interest for Max. She finds him attractive, describing his tortoiseshell eyes and his chestnut hair that "kind of fell across his forehead" as pleasant. Fang is jealous, and mocks the budding relationship.

Dr. Brigid Dwyer

Dr. Dwyer is quite young (21 years old); she works in Antarctica, and escorts the Flock there in a small research boat. She is petite, "pretty and blonde" (however, she has red hair in the fifth book). Max is jealous of her friendship with Fang, despite their seven-year age difference. Fang seems to ignore Max when he is around Brigid, who is unaware of this tension (and of Max's feelings for Fang). Max also resents the fact that Fang writes about Brigid in his blog, but not about her. Max compares her with Lissa, since she thinks that Fang has a "thing for red hair". She calls Brigid sarcastic mental names, such as "Dr. Amazing". At the end of MAX Brigid interacts with Mr. Chu, which Max and her Voice find suspicious.

The Voice

The Voice is in Max's head, and appeared halfway through the first book. It gives her advice and directs her in a cryptic way. The voice is also very skeptical of Max's choices. Max once said that the Voice "has been watching too much Oprah again," and "has been reading Hallmark cards" due to its riddles and clues. Max originally thought the Voice originated in her arm chip, but it remained after Dr. Martinez removed the chip. There have been long periods without the Voice. It insists that Max can save the world by whatever means necessary; she says she cannot tell if the Voice is "male or female. Friend or foe. Human or not". The Voice was once thought to be Jeb, but he explained to Max that while he "can do the Voice", he is not the Voice. Similarly, in the first book Max can "see" the Institute for Higher Living.

In School's Out Forever, it is revealed that Ari has a Voice. Angel also has a Voice in Fang; Max thinks Angel's voice is imaginary, because she wants to emulate Max and take over the Flock. When Dylan joins the Flock Angel finally takes it over, later returning it to Max.

In the 8th book, Nevermore, Angel reveals that she is actually the Voice, saying "Max! I am your Voice!".

Mr. Chu

Mr. Chu is an Asian man who tries to force the Flock to "sever all ties with the CSM or be killed". When his mask of false skin is removed at the end of Fang, he is lizard-like in appearance; his real name is Robert. He is also seen in the beginning of "Fang", when found to be experimenting on refugees in Chad, Africa. He kidnaps Dr. Valencia Martinez, in an attempt to stop the CSM permanently. Max brings down Mr. Chu's underwater base with Angel and the Krelp, and rescues her mother.

M-Geeks

M-Geeks are humanoid robots who serve Mr. Chu in MAX. They are stronger and faster than humans, but have several weakness (their ankles, the tops of their heads—which split like an orange—and their spines). The first version have no weapons, but later versions have Uzi machine guns attached to their arms. The M-Geeks have little difficulty operating in difficult environments, such as 1 km below sea level. Some display emotions, like pride in their abilities. The M-Geeks appear originally human, but with cyborg bodies inside their flesh. Although they are mechanical Angel could order them away during an attack, indicating that some organic components remain in their bodies.

Generation-77

Mentioned by Fang in the epilogue of Fang and later clarified by Jeb and Dr. Hans in Angel, Gen-77 have powers either given to them by laboratories or developed naturally.

Star

Fang's second recruit in Angel, Star is also part of Generation-77 (along with the rest of Fang's group). Star is from an upper-class family; she is often depicted in her school uniform, and her ability is super-speed (she can run extremely fast). However, as a result, her body burns energy quickly and she must eat a lot to compensate. She and Ratchet often quarrel, with Kate (Star's friend when they both attended Catholic school) mediating. Star received her powers when she was abducted from a school field trip and subjected to experiments. Another of her abilities is emitting a high-pitched sound, similar to a hummingbird's (demonstrated when she spun around in a circle), which un-hypnotizes members of the Doomsday group in seconds—which takes Angel hours with water. She also becomes useful when the gang needed Doomsday group information and is "transporting from one place to another." In Nevermore, she is revealed to be a traitor on the Erasers' side.

Kate

Kate Tan Wei Ying is the third member of Fang's flock, who appears at a hotel where the rest of the gang is waiting. She has hair that Max would "kill for" and a nice figure; her powers include strength and quick reflexes. A pacifist and vegan, Kate breaks up fights between Ratchet and Star. She is an old friend of Star's; Ratchet flirts with her. Kate also becomes useful when the gang needed Doomsday group information and is juggling heavy things to show off. In Nevermore, she is revealed to be a traitor on the Erasers' side.

Holden

The final recruit for Fang's Flock, Holden was experimented on and has scars on his arms as a legacy. He can regrow limbs, heal quickly and breathe underwater. The other members (and Holden himself) call him "Starfish". He is 15, but looks more like a 10-year-old.

Ratchet

The first recruit for Fang's Flock. Has extraordinary senses. Can see a post-it note at 300 yards, can hear whispers at a distance of a mile, and is very macho.

Beth

Organizer of a Doomsday Group rally in Paris during Angel, Beth attempts to exert mind control on Fang and others through a television news channel but the attempt fails when Moon changes the channel. Beth is described as "the Queen of the Doomsday Group" when she asserts herself against Mark, ordering him not to kill Max.

External links

• Official Maximum Ride website