The powerful, sexually aggressive female adversary has been an enduring archetype, for better or worse, through the ages. Whether a tragic figure like Dido or a more malevolent creature like Circe or Medb, characters of this sort represent an ambivalent, androcentric perspective on female empowerment.

Although humanity’s slow, lurching progress toward a truly egalitarian society has gradually refined how such women are generally depicted, adding degrees of depth or revisionist elements, the unreconstructed version can still be found, especially within the confines of the pulpier realms of entertainment — the sci-fi, superhero, fantasy, and “male adventure” genres.

A big surprise, that, given that the traditional target audience for such fare has been adolescent (real or perpetual) males and/or Walter Mitty types. In such works, the powerful seductress performs the important function of warping (or reinforcing already warped) gender attitudes while adding a very marketable slice of titillation to the fictional proceedings. Dale Arden might be the type of woman a guy wants to eventually marry, but only after he has sowed his wild innuendo with Princess Aura in her Mongolese pleasure chamber.

Food for thought? Perhaps. Or maybe it’s just my long-winded way of introducing this week’s Nobody’s Favorite, Maxima…

Maxima, the red-headed Empress of Melmac — excuse me, “Almerac” — made her debut in Action Comics#645 (September 1989) in a story where she tried to get Superman’s attention by standing around looking pouty-sexy and commenting on the Man of Steel’s “suitability” (for what shall be revealed shortly, though I’m sure you can figure it out) while dispatching a bunch of brainwashed minions to kidnap the mayor of Metropolis.

As it turned out, this Maxima was only a simulacrum of the real deal, sent along with one of Maxima’s minions on a reconnaissance mission. Fake Maxima saw “potential” in Superman, but the minion objected to the Man of Steel’s lack of ruthlessness. The disagreement sparked an argument which resulted in the construct’s destruction and setting the stage for the real Maxima’s arrival six issues later with the stunning revelation about why she sought out the Man of Steel.

(Hint:It wasn’t to discuss Kryptonian poetry with him.)

As the superhuman product of generations of selective breeding, Maxie had long been on the lookout for genetically compatible mates. Upon discovering that Kryptonian DNA is compatible with Almeracian, she decided to make the trip to see if Big Blue was up for some horizontal rhumba…in the proper, “family values” sense of breeding a race of super-warriors, of course.

While Supes was tempted by the prospect of some wild inter-species loving, he was less than keen about being pinned down by a litter of world-wrecking hybrid super-tykes, and decided to pass on Maxie’s offer. (I also suspect the long and bitter experience of dealing with another manipulative, controlling quasi-girlfriend made him a little gun shy, as well.)

As a woman used to getting (or “having”) her way, Maxie didn’t handle the rejection well, and quickly spiralled into a pattern of insane behavior which led to both Alderaan — excuse me, “Almerac” getting destroyed by Brainiac and — even worse — Maxie spending time as a member of (you can type this, Andrew, you have the strength) Extreme Justice.

Her time with the World’s Shittiest JLA Spin-off was marked by efforts to enlist both Captain Atom and Amazing Man as cures for her baby fever…

…as well as getting puked on by an inebriated Firestorm. I’ll leave it to you to decide which was the more degrading experience.

Having seen the worst horrors of the superhero game first hand, Maxima decided to abandon her road to redemption in favor of her original mission of sexing up (the now-married) Man of Steel during the middle of his “Superman Red/Blue” phase. (Remember that? I wish I didn’t.). Superman: Man of Tomorrow#9 (Winter 1998) featured Maxima and another super-groupie battling for Superman’s affections in the most hollow (and uncalled for) bit of vicarious wish-fulfillment ever presented in a superhero comic.

Maxima won the catfight, but was once again shot out of the saddle by the Man of Steel (actually “Men of Electricity”), who zapped her unconscious and shipped her off to a super-penitentiary. Despite promising unholy vengeance, et cetera, et cetera on Superman for the indignity, the Empress of Similac — excuse me, “Almerac” made her “final” appearance in 2001′s Our Worlds At War crossover, where she sacrificed her life in a scene cribbed from the end of The Last Starfighter.

Maxima may have been a shallow, somewhat sexist caricature, but her character concept (“hot chick who wants to bone Superman”) has repeatedly appealed to the creators of several Superman-related television projects. Versions of the character have appeared in the syndicated Superboy series, the Superman cartoon, and, of course, Smallville, where according to Wikipedia…

Maxima (Charlotte Sullivan) comes to Earth to seek a Kryptonian mate after her home planet of Almerac receives a signal that originated from a Kryptonian artifact. Not knowing who sent the signal, she begins kissing random strangers; her kiss causes heart rates to peak, killing human males, but Clark Kent’s Kryptonian physiology registers only arousal.

The above passage says a lot, actually, about:

- Maxima
- Smallville
- why I sometimes lie awake at night hoping for an extinction event

Just one more reason why Maxima, the horny Empress of Zantac, deserves classification as Nobody’s Favorite.

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