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Cyclone (DC Comics)
Encyclopedia
Cyclone is a fictional character
, a comic book
superhero
in the DC Comics
universe
. She is the granddaughter of the original Red Tornado and a member of the Justice Society of America
. Cyclone was created by Mark Waid
, Alex Ross
, Geoff Johns
and Dale Eaglesham
.
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 (1996) by Mark Waid and 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 is quoted by Newsarama.com:
Maxine made her debut in the DC Universe in Justice Society of America #1 (December 2006).
As a 6-year old, Maxine was once kidnapped by T.O. Morrow, the mad scientist
who created the second Red Tornado
, a powerful android. Morrow infects Maxine with "nanobytes" that are the apparent source of her powers.
Cheerful, bubbly, and extremely intelligent (4.0 GPA and a 1300 SAT score in high school), Maxine is a 19-year-old student at Harvard University
and an avid fan of the works of L. Frank Baum
, particularly The Wizard of Oz
, and linked works such as the musical Wicked
. 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 she reached adulthood, she began to manifest unusual superhuman abilities. A sneeze demolishes her grandmother's garage and, the next day, she awoke inside a tornado
five hundred feet off the ground. The young woman soon realizes that she has the power 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 through extreme amounts of excitement (her motormouth response nearly causes them to revoke the offer). 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. During the first meeting of the group, the current holder of the Mr. America
mantle literally falls into their midst and perishes. As a way to help her deal, fellow member Stargirl distracts her into building a superhero outfit.
Maxine officially debuts as Cyclone in Justice Society of America #3, honoring both the Red Tornado and her former sidekicks, the Cyclone Kids (Maxine's aunt and uncle Amelia "Sisty" Hunkel and Mortimer "Dinky" Jibbet). During this time, she also gains a pet monkey named "Frankie", whom she dresses up to look like on of the winged monkeys from The Wizard of Oz
(she also wears a green pointed hat from time to time, causing her to resemble both the Enchantress
(who wore an identical hat) and the Wicked Witch of the West
). She undergoes a brief crush on teammate Damage
when he is made incredibly handsome temporarily, and slowly starts learning to become less of a motormouth.
Maxine is seen as part of the superhero army drafted by Alan Scott
to defend various Earth interests from the conquering forces of Darkseid
.
After the JSA suffers a massive supervillain attack, the team divides into two. Cyclone joins the newly-formed JSA All-Stars team, and soon after finds herself becoming attracted to her teammate King Chimera
.
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
, a comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
in the DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
universe
DC Universe
The DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
. She is the granddaughter of the original Red Tornado and a member of the Justice Society of America
Justice Society of America
The Justice Society of America, or JSA, is a DC Comics superhero group, the first team of superheroes in comic book history. Conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox, the JSA first appeared in All Star Comics #3 ....
. Cyclone was created by Mark Waid
Mark Waid
Mark Waid is an American comic book writer. He is well known for his eight-year run as writer of the DC Comics' title The Flash, as well as his scripting of the limited series Kingdom Come and Superman: Birthright, and his work on Marvel Comics' Captain America...
, Alex Ross
Alex Ross
Nelson Alexander "Alex" Ross is an American comic book painter, illustrator, and plotter. He is praised for his realistic, human depictions of classic comic book characters. Since the 1990s he has done work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics Nelson Alexander "Alex" Ross (born January 22, 1970) is an...
, Geoff Johns
Geoff Johns
Geoff Johns is an American comic book writer, best known for his work for DC Comics, where he has been Chief Creative Officer since February 2010, in particular for characters such as Green Lantern, The Flash and Superman...
and Dale Eaglesham
Dale Eaglesham
Dale Eaglesham is a comic book illustrator who has been working in the industry since 1986. He is best known for his work on titles like Conan, Punisher, Green Lantern, Villains United, Justice Society of America and Fantastic Four...
.
Publication history
Kingdom Come (comics)
Kingdom Come is a four-issue comic book mini-series published in 1996 by DC Comics. It was written by Alex Ross and Mark Waid and painted in gouache by Ross, who also developed the concept from an original idea...
#2 (1996) by Mark Waid and 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 is quoted by Newsarama.com:
Maxine made her debut in the DC Universe in Justice Society of America #1 (December 2006).
Fictional character biography
Maxine Hunkel is the granddaughter of the original Red Tornado, Abigail "Ma" Hunkel, an honorary member of the Justice Society and current caretaker of their headquarters. Maxine grew up idolizing her grandmother's allies in the JSA.As a 6-year old, Maxine was once kidnapped by T.O. Morrow, the mad scientist
Mad scientist
A mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if...
who created the second Red Tornado
Red Tornado
Red Tornado is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the DC Comics universe. He first appeared in Justice League of America #64 , and was created by Gardner Fox and Dick Dillin.-Publication history:...
, a powerful android. Morrow infects Maxine with "nanobytes" that are the apparent source of her powers.
Cheerful, bubbly, and extremely intelligent (4.0 GPA and a 1300 SAT score in high school), Maxine is a 19-year-old student at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and an avid fan of the works of L. Frank Baum
L. Frank Baum
Lyman Frank Baum was an American author of children's books, best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
, particularly The Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of...
, and linked works such as the musical Wicked
Wicked (musical)
Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is based on the Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West , a parallel novel of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard...
. 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
Depression (mood)
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...
.
As she reached adulthood, she began to manifest unusual superhuman abilities. A sneeze demolishes her grandmother's garage and, the next day, she awoke inside a tornado
Tornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
five hundred feet off the ground. The young woman soon realizes that she has the power 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
Power Girl
Power Girl is a DC Comics superheroine, making her first appearance in All Star Comics #58 ....
and Mr. Terrific
Mister Terrific (Michael Holt)
Michael Holt is a fictional character, a comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics. First appearing in Spectre #54 , he is the second character to take up the Mister Terrific mantle....
and accepts through extreme amounts of excitement (her motormouth response nearly causes them to revoke the offer). 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. During the first meeting of the group, the current holder of the Mr. America
Mister America (DC Comics)
Mister America, in comics, is the name of three fictional DC Comics superheroes:...
mantle literally falls into their midst and perishes. As a way to help her deal, fellow member Stargirl distracts her into building a superhero outfit.
Maxine officially debuts as Cyclone in Justice Society of America #3, honoring both the Red Tornado and her former sidekicks, the Cyclone Kids (Maxine's aunt and uncle Amelia "Sisty" Hunkel and Mortimer "Dinky" Jibbet). During this time, she also gains a pet monkey named "Frankie", whom she dresses up to look like on of the winged monkeys from The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
(she also wears a green pointed hat from time to time, causing her to resemble both the Enchantress
Enchantress
Enchantress may refer to:*Magician , a magician or spell-caster, sometimes called an enchantress or witch when female*Seduction, the enticement of one person by another, called a seductress or enchantress when it is a beautiful and charismatic woman-Literature:*"The Enchantress of Venus", a 1949...
(who wore an identical hat) and the Wicked Witch of the West
Wicked Witch of the West
The Wicked Witch of the West is a fictional character and the most significant antagonist in L. Frank Baum's children's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
). She undergoes a brief crush on teammate Damage
Damage (comics)
Damage is a DC Comics superhero who first appeared in a comic book of the same name during the Zero Hour crisis. He is the son of the original Atom Al Pratt. He has been a member of the Titans, the Freedom Fighters, and Justice Society of America....
when he is made incredibly handsome temporarily, and slowly starts learning to become less of a motormouth.
Maxine is seen as part of the superhero army drafted by Alan Scott
Alan Scott
Alan Scott is a fictional character, a superhero in the and the first superhero to bear the name Green Lantern.-Publication history:The original Green Lantern was created by young struggling artist Martin Nodell, who was inspired by the sight of a New York Subway employee waving a red lantern to...
to defend various Earth interests from the conquering forces of Darkseid
Darkseid
Darkseid is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 and was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby....
.
After the JSA suffers a massive supervillain attack, the team divides into two. Cyclone joins the newly-formed JSA All-Stars team, and soon after finds herself becoming attracted to her teammate King Chimera
King Chimera
King Chimera is a fictional superhero in the DC Comics Universe, a member of the superhero team the Justice Society of America. King Chimera first appeared in Justice Society of America King Chimera is a fictional superhero in the DC Comics Universe, a member of the superhero team the Justice...
.
Powers and abilities
- Maxine possesses the power of wind manipulation. She is able to mentally summon cycloneCycloneIn meteorology, a cyclone is an area of closed, circular fluid motion rotating in the same direction as the Earth. This is usually characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate anticlockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere of the Earth. Most large-scale...
s and whirlwinds, project powerful bursts of air, and fly through the air by riding wind currents. - Recently, Maxine has unveiled that she can control sound currents as well, gathering and sending sound waves.
Other versions
- An alternate-reality version of Cyclone is seen in the TrinityTrinity (comic book)Trinity is the title of an American weekly comic book limited series published by DC Comics that debuted during the first week of June, 2008. It ran for 52 issues.-Conception and production:...
series, as a member of the time-altered Justice Society International. She is killed in that timeline when she is sniped down while riding one of her cyclones.