DEATH
Earth-295

Real Name: Maximus Boltagon

Identity/Class: Alternate Earth (Earth-295), Inhuman, citizen of Attilan

Occupation: Horseman, world conqueror

Group Membership: None
    formerly Horsemen of Apocalypse (Mr. Sinister/Nathaniel Essex, unidentified others)

Affiliations: Apocalypse (En Sabah Nur), House of Agon (clones of Black Bolt/Blackagar Boltagon, Crystal/Crystalia Amaquelin, Gorgon, Karnak, Lockjaw, Medusa/Medusalith Amaquelin, Rhino, Triton)

Enemies: Prelate Scott Summers, X-Men (Blink/Clarice Ferguson, Magneto/Erik Magnus Lensherr, Morph/Kevin Sidney, Nightcrawler/Kurt Darkholme, Rogue/Anna Marie Lensherr, Sabretooth/Victor Creed, Sunfire/Shiro Yoshida)

Known Relatives: Blackagar Boltagon (brother, deceased), Crystalia Amaquelin (cousin, deceased), Gorgon (cousin, deceased), Karnak (cousin, deceased), Medusalith Amaquelin (cousin, deceased)

Aliases: "Lackey" (nickname used by Magneto), "Death-guy" (nickname used by Morph)

Base of Operations: Apocalypse's Celestial Ship;
    formerly Attilan

First Appearance: Tales from the Age of Apocalypse I#1 (December, 1996)

Powers/Abilities: Prior to becoming a Horseman, Maximus possessed terrigen-based powers which provided him with  superhuman level intellect, particularly in the fields of science, engineering and strategy. His mental capabilities far surpass those of normal humans, allowing him to instantly devise complex schemes and create complex inventions. As Death, he was able to project forceblasts from his hands. Death suffered from severe mental instability which manifested itself as megalomania and paranoia. The effectiveness of his powers fluctuated based on his mental state.

Height: 5'11
Weight: 180 lbs.
Eyes: Black
Hair: Black

History:

(Tales from the Age of Apocalypse I#1(fb) - BTS) - Maximus rose to power in Attilan when he killed the members of the Inhuman royal family. He used their genetic templates and the mutating Terrigen Mists to create the House of Agon: a monstrous clone army loyal only to him.

(Tales from the Age of Apocalypse I#1 (fb) - BTS) - Apocalypse saw potential in Maximus and the Terrigen Mists. He allowed the devious, ruthless Inhuman to become his newest Horseman of Death, granting him access to his Celestial ship where Maximum ran a laboratory that was more akin to a torture chamber.

(Tales from the Age of Apocalypse I#1 (fb) - BTS) - When Apocalypse was injured during a battle with the X-Men, he had to enter a period of regenerative hibernation. He chose to undergo this process aboard Ship, which he had flown to the Blue Area of the Moon where he was convinced none of his enemies could reach him.

(Tales from the Age of Apocalypse I#1 (fb) - BTS) - Mr. Sinister requested access to the Terrigen Mists for research purposes and sent prelate Scott Summers to the Moon to oversee the transport of some canisters back to Earth.

(Tales from the Age of Apocalypse I#1 (fb) - BTS) - Mad with power, Death figured that his control over the Terrigen Mists should rank him chief among the Horsemen while Apocalypse was indisposed. To pass the time, he enjoyed torturing the mutant Sunfire who had recently been captured.

(Tales from the Age of Apocalypse I#1) - Death met with prelate Scott Summers who was none too pleased with the way the Inhuman was treating Sunfire: rebel or not, he was still a fellow mutant. Death did not care for the prelate's tone and questioned his loyalty while making him wait for the canisters he had come to collect. Later, he summoned Summers to him while he was sitting on Apocalypse's empty throne. Death showed the prelate what horrors the mists could create, telling him to go back to Earth to tell his "peers" that for as long as En Sabah Nur is at rest, he is in control.


(Tales from the Age of Apocalypse I#1 - BTS) - The X-Men, having learned of Apocalyse hiding on the Moon, arrived in the Blue Area thanks to their new recruit: the teleporter Blink. It didn't take long for the mutants to be picked up by Ship's sensors.

(Tales from the Age of Apocalypse I#1) - Eager to further cement his reputation as Apocalypse's successor, Death took it on himself to defeat En Sabah Nur's most implacable foes. He tookthe House of Agon to the Blue Area of the Moon to face the X-Men. He quickly grew furious when the mutants openly mocked him, with Morph even daring to kiss him. He blasted the shape shifting X-Man away and ordered his clone army to attack. Death stood by and watched as the mutants quickly fell before his creations, unaware that Morph had taken the shape of Blink who managed to remain on the loose.

(Tales from the Age of Apocalypse I#1 - BTS) - Blink ran into prelate Scott Summers who was eager to help the young mutant out. At the same time, Death had the X-Men brought to his lab where they were restrained in preparation for exposure to the mists.

(Tales from the Age of Apocalypse I#1) - When the X-Men woke up, Death announced he was going to use Terrigenesis to further mutate them into disfigured creatures loyal only to him. He went on to explain they would become the foot soldiers of his new army which he would inevitably turn against Apocalypse. As if on cue, Blink and prelate Scott Summers teleported in over head. Summers used the confusion to blast away the restraints on Sunfire's cell. Now free and out for revenge, the furious Shiro Yoshida instantly fried Death with his plasma bolts that also destroyed much of Ship itself.

(Tales from the Age of Apocalypse I#1 - BTS) - Blink teleported prelate Summers and the X-Men to safety. From their Kentucky base, they could see the explosions on the Moon that signaled the end of Death's mad dreams of power. 

Comments: Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby;
  adapted by Scott Lobdell & Ralph Macchio, Joe Bennett, Joe Pimentel.

Considering Earth-295's divergence point from Earth-616 is the death of Charles Xavier, this technically means that Earth-295's Maximus had the same past as his Earth-616 counterpart. However, since this has not (yet) been confirmed on panel, it's not included in the profile.

There is no explanation given for Maximus' altered appearance or energy projection powers. Either he subjected himself to Terrigen experiments or it's a result of Apocalypse turning him into a Horseman. Either way, he looked the part as Death.

Having Maximus join up with Apocalypse feels like such an obvious choice. Of course he would betray his own family for more power... and of course Apocalypse would have an interest in Terrigenesis. It would make more sense for En Sabah Nur to simply conquer Attilan and take the crystals for himself, but I suppose he was impressed with Maximus' ruthlessness. Killing your own family and making them serve you as an army of tweaked clones? Brutal.

Not sure who the Rhino member of the House of Agon was supposed to be, it's probably an unrevealed Inhuman otherwise Aleksei Sytsevich really made some poor decisions on Earth-295.

All locations mentioned are Earth-295, unless otherwise specified.

Profile by Norvo

CLARIFICATIONS:
Death of Earth-295 should not be confused with

• Death of Earth-295, his female predecessor--X-Men Chronicles I#1
• Maximus of Earth-616, the original mad Inhuman--Fantastic Four I#47
• Maximus Lobo, death dealing lupine mutant--Uncanny X-Men I#417
  
• or any other "Maximus" or "Death" characters

Appearances:
Tales from the Age of Apocalypse I#1 (December, 1996) - Scott Lobdell & Ralph Macchio (writers), Joe Bennett (pencils), Joe Pimentel (inks), Mark Powers, Jason Liebig (editors)

First Posted: 01/02/2025
Last Updated: 01/06/2025

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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