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 (June 1996) by writer Mark Waid and artist Alex Ross.
A decade later, prior to the relaunch of the Justice Society of America series, writer Geoff Johns created Maxine Hunkel, a hero 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 said: [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 (vol. 3) #1 (February 2007).
Fictional character biography
Maxine Hunkel is the granddaughter of Ma Hunkel, an honorary member of the Justice Society who operated as the original Red Tornado and is currently a caretaker of the Justice Society of America's headquarters. In addition, Maxine is also the niece of the Cyclone Kids, Hunkel's sidekicks. Maxine grew up idolizing her grandmother's allies in the JSA.
Maxine is a student at Harvard University and an avid fan of the works of L. Frank Baum, particularly The Wizard of Oz. However, her talkative nature and know-it-all personality often alienates her peers and leave the young woman isolated. Her outcast status causes her to suffer from atypical depression.
As an adult, Maxine manifests the ability to manipulate wind. When the Justice Society decides to expand its ranks and provide training to new heroes, Maxine is one of the first on their list. She is invited to join the team by Power Girl and Mr. Terrific and accepts. 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. [2]
Maxine officially debuts as Cyclone in Justice Society of America (vol. 3) #3, honoring both the Red Tornado and her former sidekicks, the Cyclone Kids. During this time, she also gains a pet monkey named Frankie, whom she dresses up to resemble one of the winged monkeys from The Wizard of Oz. [3]
In "Doomsday Clock", Cyclone returns alongside many other superheroes to the DC Universe when Doctor Manhattan, inspired by Superman, undoes the changes that he made to the timeline that erased the Justice Society of America and the Legion of Super-Heroes. [4]
This page is based on this
Wikipedia article Text is available under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
