MAX

MAX

Gender: Male Game(s): Bomberman MAX, Bomberman Tournament, Bomberman MAX 2, Bomberman Generation, Bomberman Online (PC), Custom Battler Bomberman, Bomberman (2014), Taisen! Bomberman Affiliation(s): Dr. Ein, White Bomber

Max (マックス, makkusu), often stylized as MAX, is a recurring protagonist in the Bomberman series.

Classic Bomberman

Bomberman MAX

MAX is one of the warriors at Bomber Base who receives Dr. Ein's order to shut down Brain, the rogue supercomputer of Future Star, and rescue the captured Charaboms. A cool, collected, and completely enigmatic soldier, MAX decides to challenge his friendly rival, Bomberman, to a race to complete the mission. However, beneath his outward calmness, he is filled with a violent wrath toward Brain and its forced mechanization of lifeforms.

MAX is the playable protagonist of the Bomberman MAX Red Challenger version of the game. He is functionally identical to Bomberman, but his bombs are said to be electrical, and display a lightning bolt emblem on the front. He uses the MAX Speeder to patrol the universe.

In the Normal End, MAX returns to Bomber Base with all the Charaboms he rescued, regarding the mission as easy for him, and is surrounded by them as they celebrate.

In the Good End, both MAX and Bomberman touch down at Bomber Base at the same time, surrounded by all the Charaboms they both were able to save. Dr. Ein appears on a monitor and congratulates them, saying that they both did well. Because their rivalry ended in a tie, MAX challenges Bomberman to battle with their Charaboms, which leads into the game's Battle Game.

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  MAX is disappointed in the Bad End.

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  The MAX Speeder tows the Charaboms to safety in the Normal End.

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  MAX is surrounded by the Charaboms.

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  Both Bomberman and MAX are racing to the finish line.

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  The two heroes celebrate amongst the Charaboms at Bomber Base.

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  Dr. Ein congratulates them over the monitor.

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  MAX challenges Bomberman to a Charabom battle.

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  The rivalry continues.

Bomberman Tournament

Artwork from the guidebook depicts a wounded MAX.

Around a week before the events of the game, Dr. Ein sent MAX to answer a distress call from planet Phantarion. MAX traveled there, but met Plasma Roc at Plasma Base and was defeated. Dr. Ein lost contact with him, and eventually sends Bomberman to investigate and search for him.

In the final rooms of Magnet Base, Pretty Base, Plasma Base, and Golem Base, MAX has left a hologram of himself for Bomberman to find, as well as the four medals required to open the path to Fantasy. His holograms encourage Bomberman to press forward and sometimes offer information, such as where to go next. These holograms and the medals are guarded by four of the Five Dastardly Bombers, who are responsible for the attack.

MAX also left a Radar with a treasure hunter named Ralph, and asked him to store it in a basement labyrinth that only Bomberman could navigate.

Throughout his journey, Bomberman can learn things about MAX's past by listening to various inhabitants of Phantarion. Though some claim no knowledge of any MAX,, others interacted with him recently or in the distant past. These interactions begin in the Snow Zone with two civilians, one of whom claims that "some guy... who looked like Max" came the day before the blizzard set in, and another who saw MAX and notes that "He knew a lot about this place even though he's never been here." Later, in Fairy Palace, three soldiers remember a "blue-eyed samurai" named Max who fought against the Five Dastardly Bombers when they attacked Phantarion long ago, and saved the planet from them, but none of them know if he survived. Queen Emeralda is said to have awaited him ever since his disappearance.

In Omega, an old woman reminisces about the same blue-eyed Max, who was heralded as a hero after digging out a tunnel to carry water to the desert towns during droughts. A man living there adds that this Max fought against Brain Bomber during the previous attack, and that both of them injured each other. Lastly, when Bomberman confronts Golem Bomber, the villain hints at a connection between the two Max's, asking Bomberman if he "know[s] who he really is".

In the depths of the corrupted Fantasy, Bomberman finally finds Brain Bomber using a brainwashed MAX to complete the "Ultimate Weapon". Brain Bomber ascends out of sight and commands MAX to attack his friend, which he does. He is freed of his mind control when Bomberman defeats him, and the two fight alongside each other for the first time to defeat Brain Bomber and destroy the Ultimate Weapon. MAX thanks Bomberman for his help.

Back at Fairy Palace, Queen Emeralda thanks both Bomberman and MAX for saving the planet. In an instant, she recognizes MAX as the same hero she had been awaiting for so long. However, she returns to Fantasy without saying a word to him. Bomberman and MAX then head home together.

Boss Battle

MAX is the penultimate boss of the game. Under Brain Bomber's mind control, he attacks Bomberman, acting as a normal Bomberman opponent. He moves slightly slower than Bomberman at maximum speed, can place up to three bombs, and has three firepower. He has a tendency to place small chains of three bombs.

In the following battle with Brain Bomber, MAX operates similarly, but targets the villain instead of Bomberman. He is immune to the lightning attacks, but can still be momentarily stunned by a bomb blast. He tends to place a single bomb when Brain Bomber is moving on the floor.

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  A brainwashed MAX is building the Ultimate Weapon.

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  Brain Bomber sends MAX after Bomberman.

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  MAX responds robotically.

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  MAX's bombs have three firepower.

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  Unlike in his previous appearance, his bombs look normal.

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  MAX is hit by a blast.

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  After his defeat, he regains consciousness.

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  MAX teams up with Bomberman to fight Brain Bomber.

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  He places a single bomb on the field when Brain Bomber is walking around.

Cutscenes

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  MAX discovers a mysterious fortress.

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  He enters Plasma Base.

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  A large monster awaits.

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  MAX is defeated by Plasma Roc.

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  A hologram left behind by MAX.

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  MAX thanks Bomberman for saving him.

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  He congratulates Bomberman for his efforts.

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  Both heroes return to Fairy Palace.

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  Bomberman and MAX stand side-by-side.

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  Queen Emeralda sees through MAX's mask.

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  Bomberman takes MAX home again.

Bomberman Story: Omen of a Fierce New Battle!

Possible Non-Canon Information

This official prologue manga by Inuki Eiji depicts an origin story for Bomberman and MAX. In it, Bomberman meets a rogue MAX for the first time when the cyborg knocks him down with a bomb blast. Though Bomberman uses both Normal and Napalm Bombs, MAX is able to defend himself by spinning an electromagnetic whip around his body. He uses the whip to grasp and electrocute Bomberman, but when Bomberman grabs onto the whip, he is able to throw another Napalm Bomb while preventing MAX from dodging or blocking. By chance, this strike destroys a "brainwashing chip" that had been planted in MAX by an enemy who had previously captured him. After regaining his consciousness, he joins Bomber Base and begins to work with Bomberman and Dr. Ein as an ally. The final page of the manga depicts the villains as Professor Buggler, Mujoe, and Mechado of the Hige Hige Bandits, despite the fact that none of these characters appear in Bomberman Tournament, and that Buggler has no canonical affiliation with the Hige Hige Bandits in classic canon.

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  "Bomberman MAX" as he appears in this manga.

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  MAX uses the electromagnetic whip to create a defensive barrier.

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  MAX wraps Bomberman in his whip.

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  The brainwashing chip is destroyed.

Bomberman MAX 2

MAX and Bomberman are assigned to Bomber Base on Planet Bomber with the objective of maintaining peace in the universe. Mujoe and the Hige Hige Bandits infiltrate Bomber Base and set up the Mini-Mini Machine to lure the two heroes into a trap. When Bomberman and MAX arrive, they are shrunken by the device while Mujoe flees. MAX must work together with his rival to disable the device, restore himself to normal size, and stop Mujoe.

MAX is the playable protagonist of the Bomberman MAX Red Advance version of the game. He is functionally identical to Bomberman, but he uses the electric bombs he had in the previous Bomberman MAX. In the Blue Advance version, in areas in which the area clear condition is to destroy all soft blocks, MAX appears as an Assistant Bomber and offers a tip to Bomberman before the area begins. He wanders about, attempting to destroy soft blocks. He has one bomb and his firepower varies from area to area.

In the normal end, with the Mini-Mini Machine disabled, Bomberman and MAX return to their original sizes. Mujoe attempts to flee, so Dr. Ein asks MAX to stop him. MAX flies his MAX Speeder into space and shoots down Mujoe's craft.

In the good end, the normal end sequence is followed up until the point that Mujoe flees. Dr. Ein asks both Bomberman and MAX to stop Mujoe. With the heroes on his trail, Mujoe's craft fires a missile back at them. Bomberman intercepts and destroys the missile, while MAX shoots down Mujoe's craft.

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  Bomberman and MAX stumble upon Mujoe.

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  They try to stop him from escaping.

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  However, the Mini-Mini Machine shrinks them.

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  The two rivals must join forces to survive.

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  MAX falls from the sky in the title screen.

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  MAX shows up to help Bomberman.

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  He often gives pointers on traps.

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  The game over screen.

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  MAX in the bad end.

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  Poor performance on the Rating Notice.

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  Good performance on the Rating Notice.

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  Great performance on the Rating Notice.

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  In the normal end, MAX pursues Mujoe.

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  The MAX Speeder leaves Bomber Base.

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  MAX is in the cockpit.

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  The MAX Speeder fires an attack.

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  Mujoe is defeated.

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  In the good end, MAX leaps into the MAX Speeder.

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  Both allies fly into space.

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  The Bomber Craft shoots a missile before it hits the MAX Speeder.

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  Bomberman has saved his friend.

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  Working together, Bomberman and MAX defeat Mujoe.

Bomberman Generation

Dr. Ein dispatches Bomberman and MAX to the planet Tentacalls to retrieve the lost Bomb Elements, but MAX, intending to do things his own way, goes alone and arrives first. When Bomberman collects enough Lightning Cards in a world, and his HP drops to half or below, and the big boss' HP is at least one big heart, MAX will arrive and toss a bomb to damage the boss in a cinematic sequence, then leave a Life Recovery (Big) item. If all 73 Lightning Cards in the game are collected, MAX becomes available as a playable character in the Battle Game. If he is unlocked, a player can select him by pressing the Z button on the Player screen. He functions identically to the normal Bombermen.

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  MAX arrives to help Bomberman in the Normal Game.

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  MAX as a playable character in the Battle Game.

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  The golden variant of MAX.

Special Appearances

MAX in Bomberman Online.

MAX as he appeas in 2014's Bomberman.

• A plush toy of MAX makes a cameo appearance in the opening for the Special mode of Bomberman Land.

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  A plush of MAX can be seen at the lower-right.

• MAX was a playable character in Bomberman Online for the PC.
• In Custom Battler Bomberman, a set of four unlockable parts carry MAX's visage: Maximum Helmet, Maximum Suit, Maximum Hands, and Maximum Boots. They are described as the gear of "the legendary hero, Bomberman Max". They must all four be equipped at once in order to be used, and will maximize Bomberman's stats and make him immune to Skull effects. As Bomberman Max, Bomberman's animations are replaced with unique ones.

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  All parts equipped on the Equip screen.

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  Bomberman Max's idle pose.

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  Bomberman Max's victory pose.

• In the 2014 mobile game Bomberman, MAX is a purchaseable character. He costs 485 Bon and has the following stats:
  • Fire Up: 7
  • Bomb Up: 7
  • Speed Up: 4
  • Bomb Kick
  • Penetrating Bomb
• In Taisen! Bomberman, MAX is a secret unlockable character. His appearance is identical to that of his 2014 Bomberman incarnation.

Bomberman Jetters

A different character adapted from MAX appears as a primary antagonist in the anime Bomberman Jetters. Please see the related article for details.

Super Bomberman R

Max

Gender: Male Game(s): Super Bomberman R Character Type: Bomber Type 10

Max (マックス, makkusu) is a playable character who appears in Super Bomberman R. He is exclusive to the Nintendo Switch version of the game, and was added to the game in update 2.1 on June 27, 2018. In update 2.2 on September 19, 2018, he was given Plasma Bomber's Grand Prix stats and special ability.

Biography

A mysterious masked warrior who's [sic] origins are unknown.

He is working to protect the peace of the universe, but unlike the Bombermen Bros. who are often too kind, he fights absolutely ruthlessly. He is full of pride and seen as being cold. He flies through space with his private spaceship "Max Speeder".

~ Super Bomberman R Official Website

Special Ability

Max's special ability is the Plasma Bomb (プラズマボム, purazuma bomu). This alternate bomb type has an adjustable fuse. The longer the player holds down the special ability button, the longer the fuse of the bomb will be, up to a maximum of 10 seconds. The bomb will only be placed on the field when the player releases the button.

Original Stats

Before Max was given a special ability, on his initial release, he was given the following stats:

Trivia

Max's original biography text.

In the teaser trailer for Max, and in his biography on the official website, it was stated that Max uses "electric bombs". However, his bombs appear normally in-game. This line of text was later removed from the website in all languages.

Merchandise

A keychain of MAX was produced by Pentel as a promotion for the Game Boy game Bomberman MAX.

Trivia

• The Japanese name for Bomberman MAX Red Challenger is closer to Bomberman MAX Dark Soldier (ボンバーマンマックス闇の戦士, Bonbāman makkusu yami no senshi). MAX is also referred to as a "dark soldier"^? yami no senshi in documentation for Bomberman Story and Bomberman Generation, and in his description for the 2014 mobile game Bomberman.
• The Bombergirl character Grey wears a hairpin and doll in the shape of MAX, and her style of dress emulates his design. She also utilizes similar abilities.