Maximus Boltagon (Earth-616)/Expanded History

Preface

A number the incidents recounting Maximus' life are cited to have occurred in specific decades relative to the era of publication. However, it should be noted that the so-called "modern era" of the Earth-616 universe operates on a Sliding Timescale. As such these events could not have occurred in the times they appeared due to the fact that it would drastically age the character.

As Inhumans age much slower than humans some elements of his life prior to the birth of the Fantastic Four may be tied to specific dates. However as of this writing there are few specific examples of this, and as such most events in her life prior to the birth of the Fantastic Four should be considered as happening relative to a number of years prior to the beginning of the Modern Age than a specific date unless otherwise specified.

Early Life

Childhood

Maximus as a child.

Maximus is a member of the Inhumans an offshoot of humanity that was genetically altered by the Kree centuries ago. The Inhumans kept themselves hidden from humanity in their city known as Attilan (also known as the Great Refuge) out of fear for centuries, developing a high technological society with a focus on genetics. With the discovery of the Terrigen Mist, the Inhumans would expose themselves it in order to gain fantastic abilities. He was one of two children of Agon and Rynda. His older brother Black Bolt was born over 100 years ago, and while most Inhumans are typically exposed to the Terrigen Mists after obtaining a degree of merit, Black Bolt was exposed to the mists while still in his mothers womb. After Black Bolt was born, Agon began to run experiments on his son in order to learn how the mists effected him. They were surprised to find that he had an incredibly destructive voice that could not be controlled. When Bolt first cried, he caused an entire building collapsed, but saved himself from being crushed to death thanks to his control over electrons creating a shield. Agon realized that his son had to be isolated until such a time that he could control his powerful voice. This decision was also further decreed by the Genetics Council who governed over the Inhumans.

While Black Bolt was in isolation, they had their second son, Maximus. When Maximus was exposed to the Terrigen Mists, they apparently had no mutagenic effect on him. Maximus was cousins to Medusa and her younger sister Crystal as well as Gorgon, Karnak and Triton.. As a young boy Maximus was a trouble maker. During his youth he challenged his cousins Medusa, Crystal and Karnak to see who could sneak into the royal throne room and sit upon the Inhuman throne without getting getting stopped by their parents. Medusa allowed herself to be caught sneaking around by her parents. Medusa then told them the game that they were playing and while her parents Quelin and Ambur stopped Maximus, Karnak and Crystal dead in their path, Medusa quietly sat upon the throne winning the competition.

Adolescence

Driven insane by Black Bolt.

Although, Medusa was betrothed to marry Black Bolt, who was slated to succeed the Inhuman throne, she often flirted with Maximus and made time for him. Years later on Black Bolt's 19th birthday, his father Agon allowed his son to finally leave isolation now that he had found the discipline to never speak. When Maximus attempted to force his brother to speak to cause untold destruction in the hopes he could eventually claim the Inhuman throne, Medusa, Gorgon and Karnak stopped him.

Eventually Maximus began to develop latent mental powers to a limited scale and utilized these powers on petty tricks. His relationship with Black Bolt had grown closer, but soon became strained due to his crueler tendencies. This all changed the day that Maximus began consorting with the Kree, hoping to exploit his people to their cause in exchange for rule over the Inhumans. Black Bolt caught his brother during his meeting with Kree emissaries and a fight broke out. When the Kree troops attempted to flee, Black Bolt unleashed his voice to stop them, causing a two fold tragedy. The sound of Black Bolt's voice drove Maximus completely insane, and while it damaged the Kree ship, it caused it to crash land in Attilan killing Black Bolt's parents in the process.

After the death of their parents, a new wise king started ruling Attilan. One day, when he and the two princes were contemplating a new monument the Alpha Primitives were building, they were attacked with neural inhibitors and the king was rendered unconscious. The princes began fighting to protect the King and, after Black Bolt's voice blacked every attacker out, Maximus killed Dkamas, the leader of the Uprising.

Later, the corrupt viceroy Kadlec the Seeker led the king to suspect the young princes were conspiring to steal the throne, and Elisha, one of the Alpha Primitives, convinced the two brothers that the king was plotting their demise, due to being humiliated when they saved his life. When Kadlec branded Medusa as a traitor, she and the two brothers escaped with Elisha and Lockjaw to New York City.

In New York, they were introduced to Ben Wittman, the scientist who designed the inhibitors used in the Uprising, and he provided the princes with some tech that allowed them to better control their powers, including enabling Black Bolt to speak. Medusa, on the other hand, stayed with Elisha and Lockjaw while the princes were training.

Seizing the Throne

Black Bolt is forced to crown his brother king.

For unknown crimes against his people, Maximus -- now dubbed Maximus the Mad -- was locked away in a prison for years. In the meantime, Black Bolt became a respected leader of his people and when fears that humanity was going to discover his people, had Attilan moved from the North Atlantic to a remote location within the Himalayan Mountains. Over the years, Maximus slowly regained the use of his mental powers and sought to use them to seize the throne from his brother. To this end, he used his powers to manipulate three members of the Alpha Primitive slave class into exposing themselves to the Terrigen Mists. This transformed the trio into a powerful energy being known as the Trikon. The Trikon then caused the Alpha Primitives to revolt against their masters. Black Bolt and the Inhuman royal family organized to face off against this threat. During the ensuing battle, Medusa was knocked out of the kingdom aboard a rocket sled and the resulting crash struck her with amnesia. While she wandered away from the kingdom, Black Bolt and the others dispatched the Trikon into the antimatter universe known as the Negative Zone. While they were busy, Maximus and his loyal followers took many influential Inhumans, including parents of the royal family, and held them hostage. By threatening their lives, Maximus forced Black Bolt to relinquish the Inhuman throne, then join his cousins in exile. In order to cover up his deception, he had everyone involved in the Alpha Primitive uprising murdered.

Not long after he usurped rule over the Inhumans, Gorgon returned to the Hidden Land to try broker a deal with Maximus for the royal family to return. Maximus agreed to release all the hostages except for Gorgon's parents, in exchange for Gorgon bringing back the exiled members of the House of Agon, particularly Medusa, whom Maximus secretly intended to force into becoming his queen. However Gorgon soon learned that Maximus' minion the Seeker murdered his father. In order to spare the life of his mother, Gorgon agreed to follow through with his mad cousin's orders. After Gorgon had left, Maximus ordered the Seeker to monitor his progress.

At some point during this period of time, Maximus established ties with Russian spy Colonel Stalyenko, although these activities are unrecorded.

Modern Age

Maximus the Mad

Maximus the King.

Medusa eventually resurfaced and became a member of the Frightful Four, foes of the heroic Fantastic Four. The rest of the royal family tracked her down, with the Seeker in tow, and battled the Fantastic Four themselves before deciding to flee back to Attilan.. Upon Black Bolt's return, Maximus set his Alpha Primitives upon him, but the rightful leader of the Inhumans easily bested them. Cowering in fear, Maximus allowed Black Bolt to take the Inhuman crown from him and reclaim his throne. While Black Bolt and the others were distracted by the arrival of the Fantastic Four to Attilan, Maximus prepared to unleash his Atmo-Gun a device he hoped would wipe out the entire human race so that the Inhumans could take over the Earth. Before he could activate the device, Black Bolt discovered its existence and destroyed it. But Maximus was far from defeated and scored the ultimate victory. Breaking away from his brother he activated a "Negative Zone" barrier around Attilan, forcing the Fantastic Four out and trapping the Inhumans within. Maximus and the Seeker then tried to flee with Gorgon following after them to avenge the death of his father. Black Bolt followed and was briefly put under Maximus' control as the madman's mental powers slowly began to return to him. In the end, Gorgon was forced to use his leader to block a weapon blast from the Seeker. The blast reflected off Black Bolt's tuning fork and pierced the mind of Maximus driving him even more insane than ever and stripping him of his powers once more and the Seeker soon died by Gorgon's hands.

The Inhumans quickly found that they were trapped behind Negative Zone barrier, and Black Bolt began to puzzle out a means to break through it. Maximus watched as his cousins tried everything. When every attempt failed, the other members of the royal family tried to coax Maximus into giving them the key to escaping. Maximus however appeared to be completely insane and was only interested in making toys (he did, however, produce a new water circulation system for Triton that allowed him to breath on dry land). With no other options available, Black Bolt attempted to use his control of electrons trigger an Absorba-Bomb to destroy the barrier. This attempt also failed, and realizing that the Absorba-Bomb could destroy them all Black Bolt injured himself attempting to stop it. As soon as Black Bolt began to recover, Maximus revealed the only way the barrier could be destroyed, also revealing to the others the secret of why Black Bolt never spoke. Medusa tried to stop Maximus from speaking, but it was too late and the secret was out: the only way to destroy the Negative Zone barrier was in the destructive power of Black Bolt's voice. Something that could possible destroy them all in the process. With no other choice left to them, other Inhumans sought shelter below the city while Black Bolt unleashed the awesome power of his voice. The only one who refused to seek shelter was Maximus, who Black Bolt shielded as he unleashed his powerful scream. Although Black Bolt succeeded in destroying the barrier, Attilan was decimated in the process. In the aftermath of the battle the Ruling Council of the Inhumans decreed that Black Bolt and the rest of the Royal Family leave the Great Refuge until the city could be rebuilt to its former splendor. Maximus meanwhile, plotted to take over the kingdom again in their absence.

Renegade Inhumans

Maximus and the Renegade Inhumans confront the Hulk

With Attilan completely rebuilt, Black Bolt was the first of the royal family to return to their fabled city. Upon his arrival he was asked to try six Inhumans, Falcona, Leonus, Aireo, Timberius, Stallior and Nebulo, who committed acts of treason in his absence. Black Bolt found them guilty and had Lockjaw exile them to the Un-Place, a dimensional prison. However the rogue Inhumans were soon freed thanks to the machinations of Maximus who manipulated events that the gamma spawned monster known as the Hulk got trapped in Un-Place as well and assisted in breaking the rogue Inhumans free. Maximus and his minions then manipulated the Hulk into breaking through a barrier that protected a powerful weapon created by the Inhuman known as Romnar. With this weapon, Maximus threatened Attilan, demanding that he be reinstalled as king of the Inhumans. While the Hulk went on a rampage, defeating the minions of Maximus, Black Bolt dealt with his mad brother, disarming him of Romnar's weapon. With the Hulk still causing damage to the city, Black Bolt then battled the neigh invincible brute. Not only was Black Bolt able to spar with the Hulk one-on-one, he was able to drive the creature from his domain, restoring peace to the kingdom once again. Despite this defeat, Maximus managed to retake the throne of Attilan, using hypnosis to defeat Black Bolt and the rest of the royal family and take them prisoner. By this point, Medusa's sister Crystal was asked to join the Fantastic Four to take the place of the Invisible Girl who had just discovered that she was pregnant. The group learned of the fate of Black Bolt and his family before being captured themselves. With no opposition, Maximus began preparing to unleash his massive Hypno-Gun to enslave the entire world.

Captured the throne again.

Ultimately, Black Bolt freed himself and the other Inhumans while the Fantastic Four broke out of their prison. The pair then stormed the Hypno-Gun, destroying the device before Maximus could employ it. In the ensuing battle Maximus, and his loyal renegades managed to escape in a ship.

Maximus and his minions then attempted a plot to take over the world. Developing a robot that could place a large radius of people under his hypnotic control, Maximus took over the nation of San Salvador. Using San Salvador as a staging ground for his plans, Maximus was interrupted by the chance arrival of the Hulk. He sent his renegades against the Hulk, but they were easily trounced by the gamma spawned monster. However when the President of the United States sent the Air Force to investigate the situation in San Salvador, Maximus attempted to appeal to the Hulk to try and get the brute on his side. The Hulk agreed to help Maximus and battled the Air Force, led by his long time persecutor General Thaddeus Ross. However, the Hulk instead turned on the evil Inhumans when the life of the General's daughter Betty Ross was threatened in the ensuing battle. Maximus and his Inhumans abandoned their plans for conquest, escaping capture in a secret tunnel. Maximus later discovered the cosmic being known as the Silver Surfer and tricked him into attacking Attilan. The Surfer was ultimately driven from the region by Black Bolt and his followers, much to the chagrin of Maximus.

Third Reign

Having established a new base on a deserted island, Maximus plotted to turn his brother and his family against their closest allies. To this end, Maximus fooled his brother into thinking that the Fantastic Four were launching missiles at Attilan. Black Bolt then brought Medusa, Karnak and Gorgon to the Baxter Building to battle the Fantastic Four, while Triton went to investigate the possible involvement with Maximus. Triton was able to locate the island of Maximus and fight past his renegades. Maximus was easily defeated by Triton and taken prisoner. Once Black Bolt learned the truth he called off his attack on the Fantastic Four and the royal family returned home. Discovering that his brother's mental powers were beginning to return, Black Bolt placed Maximus within a device that kept him in a state between life and death. This did not sit well with Gorgon and Karnak who believed that Maximus might die while incarcerated, thus violating Black Bolt's oath never to kill another Inhuman. While Black Bolt was off exploring the city of San Francisco, Gorgon and Karnak made the foolish decision to free Maximus from his prison. The first thing Maximus did was use his mental powers to strike his brother Black Bolt with amnesia, leaving him stranded in San Francisco. Maximus quickly realized that his powers were limited that he could only control a pair of the royal family at a given time. Having to deal with Gorgon, Karnak and Medusa, Maximus instead turned his powers upon the rest of the Inhuman population, making them all his willing slaves. With the entire kingdom under his control, Maximus forced his subjects to force Medusa and the rest of her family into exile.

Maximus battles the Avengers.

This most recent take over also coincided by the renewed Kree-Skrull War that was being waged in part on Earth. Seeking to benefit from this, Maximus reconnected with the Kree in the hopes of being able to continue to rule over his people in the event the Kree won the war. By this point, the exiled royal family recovered Black Bolt and restored his memory. Thanks to the heroic Avengers, Black Bolt was brought back to Attilan where he tore down a new barrier Maximus had erected over the hidden land. Bolt and the Avengers easily trounced the resistance and drove the Kree away. Seeing his plans for supremacy dashed by his brother once again, Maximus suffered another mental breakdown and plunged back into insanity. With Maximus defeated once again, Black Bolt reclaimed the Inhuman throne. Eventually, the Avengers managed to halt the Kree-Skrull conflict for a time.

Omega

Maximus became a prisoner once again, and now madder than ever eventually began plotting against the Inhuman throne once again. He secretly constructed a massive android he dubbed Omega. By the time his plans were ready, his cousin Crystal had long since returned from the Fantastic Four and rescued the "mutant" speedster known as Quicksilver and began to romance him. When her former boyfriend, the Fantastic Four's Human Torch came looking for Crystal, he discovered her new relationship. It was during the inevitable battle between Quicksilver and the Torch that Maximus unleashed Omega. The android then captured Crystal and enticed an Alpha Primitive uprising. Even with the Fantastic Four joining the battle, the Inhumans were not able to stop Omega who continued to grow larger and become stronger. Ultimately, Crystal realized that he was powered by the Inuhmans collective guilt over the willful enslavement of the Alpha Primitives. When she got her people to realize this and come to terms with the truth, Omega was rendered inert, foiling Maximus once again.

Later, Attilan was visited by Spider-Man who was seeking the Inhumans help to return to the 23rd Century to rescue the Avengers from Zarrko the Tomorrow Man and Kang the Conqueror. Maximus was given one of the villains "Time Bombs" which he converted into a device that was able to send Spider-Man and the Inhuman royal family to the future where they rescued the Avengers.

Scheming against his brother once again, Maximus recovered the deactivated head of the robot known as Ultron and began attempting to reactivate it. Maximus then plotted to attack his enemies during the wedding of Crystal and Quicksilver, a celebration which included bother Avengers and the Fantastic Four as guests. By this time, Ultron had repaired himself and instead of teaming up with Maximus, incapacitated him instead. Ultron managed to rebuild himself into the body of Omega to attack the wedding. Although Ultron managed to incapacitate the human guests with his mental bolts, Ultron was seemingly destroyed by Franklin Richards, the son of the Fantastic Four's Mister Fantastic and Invisible Girl. For his part in the attack on the wedding, Maximus was punished by Black Bolt, who put his brother in chains.

War of the Three Galaxies

Maximus soon began receiving telepathic warnings from the Kree, and tried to warn Black Bolt and the others that their Katroid robots would soon be unleashed upon Attilan. Black Bolt and the other members of the royal family ignored this and Bolt used his powers to put the raving Maximus to sleep. The warnings of Maximus proved true when the Kree unleashed the Negative Zone creature known as Blastaar to activate the Kaptroids. Black Bolt and the others defeated the Kaptroids, and went to New York City to try and seek the aid of the Fantastic Four, leaving Crystal in Quicksilver in charge. However they were attacked by the Kree warrior known as Shatterstar. While the royal family defeated Shatterstar, Maximus was freed by the Kree possessed members of his former rogue Inhumans. Maximus then took over Attilan, taking Crystal and Quicksilver prisoner. The Kree had then made a deal with Maximus that he would be allowed to rule over the Inhumans if he gave up half their population to the Kree to be used as cannon fodder in the so-called War of the Three Galaxies. When, Black Bolt and the others returned, Maximus had completed his take over and ordered his family to surrender. Maximus then had the royal family imprisoned. He purposely shackled Black Bolt outside forcing him to watch as the Inhumans were being forced to build a huge space ark to transport half of the Inhumans to the Kree. Even as the rest of the royal family broke free and were about to liberate their people, Black Bolt gave into despair after nine days of torture and let out a scream. Bolt's scream decimated Attilan once again. As the city began to collapse, Maximus and his loyal followers fled once again. Eventually, Black Bolt and the Kree traitor Captain Marvel put a stop to the War of the Three Galaxies by defeating the Kree. Meanwhile, Attilan was eventually restored to its former glory.

Posing as Black Bolt

Still continuing to try and seize control of the Inhuman throne, and with the pollutants making his people deathly ill, Maximus allied himself the rogue scientists known as the Enclave. While the Enclave captured Medusa and began attacking Attilan, they were actually a means to an end, part of a gander scheme of Maximus to conquer his people. During the ensuing final battle, Medusa was rescued and the Enclave routed. However the weapon that Maximus was using in battle backfired on him, putting Maximus in a death like coma. Black Bolt ensured that his mad brother was hailed as a hero for his sacrifice against the Enclave and had him encased in an air tight class coffin for all to see. Not long after this, the pollution plaguing the Inhumans forced them to consider moving. With the help of the Fantastic Four, the Inhumans relocated their home to the Blue Area of the Moon with its pollution free atmosphere. Before leaving Earth, Black Bolt created an eternal flame commemorating the sacrifice his brother appeared to have made. During the naming ceremony for Quicksilver and Crystal's daughter Luna, the Inhuman Triton discovered a mysterious crystal deep below Attilan. This crystal triggered hallucinations in the minds of everyone gathered. With Black Bolt's mind weakened, Maximus was then able to use his own mind powers to swap bodies with Black Bolt.

Maximus, posing as Black Bolt, order the royal family to attack the Avengers.

Maximus' ruse was so total that nobody suspected for quite some time. As "Black Bolt", Maximus was one of the many super-humans gathered by the Grandmaster and Death in their so-called Contest of Champions. However, "Black Bolt" was not chosen to participate and when the competition ended he was returned home along with the other involved. Later when the Hulk briefly regained the mind of his alter-ego, Bruce Banner, and was pardoned for his history of violent attacks a massive celebration was thrown. Maximus continued his impersonation of Black Bolt by representing the Inhumans at the celebration. "Black Bolt" was also present when the mutant terrorist Magneto came to Attilan to confront Quicksilver and his sister the Scarlet Witch over the "truth" that he was allegedly their father.

Eventually the United Nations became aware of the Inhumans living on the moon and dispatched the Avengers to go there and ensure that the Inhumans were of no threat to the Earth. Maximus used this as his opportunity to put his final plans in motion. While the Avengers were present, he began launching meteors at the Earth hoping to wipe out all life on the planet. He then used his position as "Black Bolt" to order the rest of the royal family to attack the Avengers. When the She-Hulk began attacking "Black Bolt" directly, Maximus blew his cover by speaking aloud. Medusa and the other Inhumans then forced Maximus to reverse the body swap, restoring Black Bolt to rightful body.

Prolonged Incarceration

Thus begun a long period where Maximus was incarcerated. Unknown to all at the time, Maximus was using his mental powers to transfer his madness to Quicksilver. Following the revelations that Crystal was having an affair with her husband. Maximus influenced Quicksilver to return to Earth to menace his old allies in the Avengers, and the Fantastic Four, before being captured. In light of this, Crystal demanded that she get divorced from Quicksilver, but the royal family would not allow it due to Inhuman laws set to preserve the "sanctity" of marriage. In response, Crystal returned to Earth and rejoined the Fantastic Four for a time, while the Inhumans took Quicksilver into custody.

Maximus then began focusing his powers on Black Bolt as, plaguing him with headaches. Seeking to destroy his enemies, he enthralled Lockjaw and had him send Quicksilver to Earth to capture the Fantastic Four's son Franklin Richards. This kidnapping was interrupted by Franklin's friends the Power Pack as well as the mutant heroes known as X-Factor. Capturing Franklin, Quicksilver and Lockjaw fled back to the moon, taking X-Factor with them. After Pietro escaped both X-Factor and the royal family, the two groups worked together to track him down. When Maximus was exposed the two groups battled him, making his hold on Black Bolt and Quicksilver weaken and he was eventually defeated. Without Maximus' insane influence, Quicksilver quickly returned back to normal.

By this point the aging Genetics Council had caused much turmoil among modern Inhumanity with their selective marriage and breeding policies. This came to a head when Medusa discovered that she was pregnant with Black Bolt's child. When they announced to the kingdom this news the Genetic Council objected, for fear that their child could have a destructive voice like Black Bolt, be as mad as his brother Maximus, or both. When they ordered the pregnancy to be aborted, Medusa refused to comply. When Black Bolt refused to support her, Medusa fled to Earth with Gorgon, Karnak, Triton, Crystal and Medusa's midwife Minxi. There they made a makeshift home among derelicts that lived in a dump outside of Las Vegas, Nevada. Hearing this news, Maximus secretly broke free from his cell and ventured to Earth where he taunted Medusa in secret with visions of Black Bolt, and memories of their past tryst when Black Bolt was still in isolation years ago. Eventually Maximus convinced Medusa to return to Attilan as it was the best thing to do. Maximus then returned to Attilan himself and returned to his cell before anyone noticed that he was gone. Having given birth to her child, a boy she named Ahura, she turned the young boy to the Genetics Council for examination. Medusa was present when Black Bolt went to check on his brother and found that he was back in his cell.

Unknown to the royal family at the time was that the Genetics Council had sent Ahura to Earth to be used in experiments by Earth scientists. However the boy ended up being found by a rural family who began raising Ahura as their own, naming him Pope. Ahura was recovered and brought back to Attilan when he was being pursued by the Inhuman Genetic Council, as one member sought to absorb the boy's great power for himself. During the ensuing battle between this rogue member, the Inhumans and the Fantastic Four, Maximus broke free from his cell. Eventually, the rogue member was slain by Ahura and the Inhumans decided to form a democracy.

Maximus triumphant.

Even though the royal family no longer ruled, Maximus was still incarcerated, but soon a series of events came together to see to his eventual freedom. This began when the 6th century sorceress known as Morgan Le Fay cast a spell to raise the kingdom of Atlantis from the ocean floor. This coincided with Mister Fantastic's father Nathaniel Richards accidentally triggering a device within the Watcher's citadel that threatened to destroy Attilan. The Genetics Council fled to Earth with the Terrigen Mists to try and stake a claim over Atlantis, their ancestral home. Leonus and those loyal to Maximus sought to free their former leader as Attilan plunged into chaos. The fabled city was saved when the Fantastic Four managed to shrink it down to size and contain it within a bottle. When seeking to speak to a representative of Attilan on what to do next, Leonus tricked the FF into restoring Maximus and his followers to full size. Caught off guard, the Fantastic Four were quickly immobilized. Maximus then shrank down the Invisible Woman, the Thing, Ant-Man and Kristoff Vernard and trapped them within Attilan while he began mentally conditioning the Human Torch to be his slave. Kristoff's guardian Boris assisted in their escape. When Maximus realized what was happening he order the Torch to attack his comrades. While the Fantastic Four restored themselves to their normal size, Nathaniel Richards teleported away with Attilan, taking the Torch with him. Before the FF could subdue Maximus their ship was attacked by the Asgardian thunder god Thor.

Somehow Maximus managed to escape, and Atlantis was restored to its original size on the ruins of Atlantis which remained on the surface. When Maximus was seen next, he was once again incarcerated within Attilan. By this point the royal family had returned some semblance of rule over the Inhumans, and Ahura was locked away due to his dwindling insanity. Also during this period, Crystal seemingly perished during the Onslaught crisis, only to return alive and well many months later.

Maximus enthralls Black Bolt.

Maximus was visited by Fabian Cortez of the Acolytes who sought to obtain the Terrigen Mists. With his mental powers boosted, Maximus used them to make Quicksilver interrupt a Terrigenesis celebration leading to his incarceration. When Black Bolt deduced that his brother was involved, he confronted Maximus only to be ambushed by Fabian Cortez and enthralled by Maximus. Maximus then enthralled the rest of the royal family and set them to attack Quicksilver and Crystal. Maximus and Cortez then tried to unleash the Terrigen Mists upon the Earth, but this was opposed by Quicksilver, Crystal and the Scarlet Witch who were joined by the royal family once they shook of the mind control. Maximus tried to hold them back with the Crimson Cadre and an army of Alpha Primitives, but ultimately failed. Cortez fled the scene upon their plan falling apart, and Maximus was knocked out by Black Bolt and incarcerated once again.

War with Portugal

Eventually a new barrier was erected around Attilan to protected to isolate it from the outside world and keep the pollutants of the outside world out. Black Bolt soon became increasingly uneasy by the appearance of corporate interests that began mining the nearby ruins of Atlantis for Vibranium with backing from the Portuguese army. When visited by his brother, Maximus taunted him with the fact that he was responsible for their parents death. This was about the time that a group of young Inhumans were to undergo Terrigenesis. They were Neifi, Tonaja, Dewoz, Nahrees, Kalikya, and Dinu. The night before their transformations, they all accepted a dare to sneak into the dungeon to view Maximus. While they climbed into the ventilation system, Dewoz was spotted by Maximus, who used his mental powers to affect Dewoz. Later the celebration was marred when Dewoz's transformation turned him into an Alpha Primitive, much to the horror of those gathered. Dewoz was then remanded to the caverns below Attilan with the rest of the Alpha Primitives, leaving none aware that this transformation was orchestrated by Maximus in another one of his schemes to destroy his brother and take over the Inhuman throne.

Soon Dewoz's teleportation powers kicked in, allowing him to traverse through mirrors. He was then drawn to the mirror in Maximus' cell. The Inhumans presence also began to be known to the outside world which was getting increasingly more fearful of the enigmatic Inhumans. Suspecting that Maximus might be up to something, Gorgon and Karnak questioned him, but learned nothing. Maximus used Dewaz to reach out to his old ally Colonel Stalyenko, providing him with data that would allow him to breach the barrier that protected Attilan. With this information in hand, Stalyenko gained control of the Portuguese army on site and launched an attack on the Hidden Land. As the city was pounded by artillery, Maximus comforted Dewoz, until the barrier around Attilan fell. As the Portugese soldiers began breaching the kingdom, Black Bolt still continued to tell his people to stand down and further shocked his family when he gave Medusa orders that their people were to retreat from the conflict. Medusa sent a mind reader to probe Maximus' mind, but still found nothing, as his insanity hid the truth from them.

Maximus cuts Medusa's hair.

As things began to look dire, Maximus kidnapped Medusa and took her below Attilan. There Maximus tortured Medusa and eventually used his access to the master machines below Attilan to shut everything down, leaving the Inhumans defenseless against their attackers. Medusa attempted to fight back, but she was no matched for her insane brother-in-law while shackled. As a form of torture, Maximus began cutting Medusa's hair. As it turned out, Black Bolt was well aware of the schemes that were being played against him and was secretly plotting a means to victory by first tricking his enemies into thinking they had won. Medusa was part of the plan and was purposely allowed to get captured. Even with her hair cut off, she still had mental control over the strands and use it to reconnect Attilan's vital systems so that her people could defend themselves. Freed by Black Bolt, Medusa informed the others that Black Bolt's endgame was for the apparent destruction of Attilan. After breaking the fault lines along Attilan, Bolt had Crystal use her elemental powers to cause massive volcanic upheaval causing Atlantis to sink once more. In the ensuing chaos, Black Bolt had Lockjaw teleport Attilan back to its previous location hidden in the Himalayan Mountains. Although this was a victory, the loss of lives and secrecy surrounding Black Bolt's plan to save his people caused much tension between the other members of the House of Agon.

Negative Zone

Maximus in the Negative Zone.

Black Bolt had security within Attilan increased. This extra vigilance proved to be useless against the Kree soldier known as Ronan the Accuser who managed to enslave the Inhumans overnight with his army of warriors. Ronan intended to reign in the Inhumans as cannon fodder for the Kree and use them to destabilize the Shi'ar empire that ruled over his people. To this end, Medusa and her people were enslaved and Attilan was converted into a massive warship that was then taken out into space. During the invasion, Maximus managed to break out of his cell and seek refuge with the Alpha Primitives, rallying them to fight back against the Kree. While the other Inhumans were being prepared to go to war against the Shi'ar, Maximus gathered an army of Alpha Primitives to free his people. Maximus and his Alpha Primitives attacked, but they were easily defeated by the Kree. In retaliation, Ronan banished Maximus and his Alphas to the Negative Zone.

While in the Negative Zone, Maximus discovered the ruins of the Fantastic Four's old headquarters the Four Freedoms Plaza and put his Alpha Primitives to work re-purposing its equipment for his own uses. When the Fantastic Four ventured into the Negative Zone to prevent the Gideon Trust from stealing the Cosmic Control Rod from Annihilus, they crossed paths with Maximus who called a truce. Maximus provided the FF and their allies Hellscout and Gornaki for the battle ahead. In the final battle, Maximus sent an army of Alpha Primitives to help the Fantastic Four. Ultimately, the members of the Gideon Trust were stopped and Hellscout seemingly slew Annihilus. When the Fantastic Four returned to their home dimension, apparently Maximus stayed behind.