Max Payne (series)/Characters

Max Payne
The titular protagonist. A former NYPD detective and DEA Agent, his wife and daughter were murdered by junkies three years prior to the events of the first game. This causes him to go undercover hunting for the source of the drug, 'Valkyr'. In the second game, he returns to the NYPD and crosses paths with Mona Sax, an assassin that he falls in love with. Things... don't go well. The third game takes place a decade later, with Max having left the NYPD and New York behind in search of a new life in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Three guesses as to how it goes.

": "What the fuck is wrong with you, Max? Why don't you just die? You hate life, you're miserable all the time, afraid to enjoy yourself even a little! Face it, you might as well be dead already. Do yourself a favor, give up!""
 * Anti-Hero: Type IV.
 * The Alcoholic: Jim Bravura believes he is one in the second game. But he first becomes one by the time the third games comes around.
 * Badass: Max spends most of his time doing one of two things: Tearing himself down, and tearing other guys to shreds.
 * Badass Beard: Gradually grows one in 3, starting out as a Beard of Sorrow.
 * Badass in A Nice Suit: If you're going to act as bodyguard to the rich and famous, you need to look the part. (Needless to say, his suit gets trashed.)
 * Badass Longcoat: Blood doesn't show as much on black leather.
 * Bald of Awesome: Throughout part of the third game.
 * Because I'm Good At It: Why Raul comes to Max with an offer. It's work that only a guy like him can do.
 * Becoming the Mask: Max dreads turning into a violent killer like the mob he's infiltrating, and later the "rent-a-clowns" who have their boots on the necks of the poor in Brazil.
 * The Call Knows Where You Live: You better believe it. His home and office gets trashed in every game!
 * Resigned to The Call: When Passos shows up to recruit him in 3.
 * Calling the Old Man Out: While he never did so vocally, the young Max, with no hints that he was kidding what-so-ever, pointed a very realistic looking gun-replica at his father's head after his mother had been driven to an early grave due to his neglect and abuse, making it very clear what he thought of him.
 * Chronic Hero Syndrome: When pointed towards a case or a conspiracy, Max will always put his life on line and follow it through to the bitter end to ensure that Justice Will Prevail, no matter how hopeless his odds are and how much he is going to regret it afterwards.

"Nicole Horne: "What do you mean, 'He's unstoppable'? You are superior to him in every way that counts. You are better trained, better equipped, you outnumber him at least 20 to 1. Do... your... job!""
 * Cowboy Cop
 * Cycle of Revenge: Max can't do much of anything without provoking a blood feud with somebody. He managed to get into a shooting war with yet another New York crime family while sitting on a bar stool minding his own business.
 * Dark and Troubled Past: Max's father, Jack, was a severely traumatised Vietnam veteran who would constantly take out his frustrations out on his wife Helen and his son for what he considered weaknesses and lack of respect. It drove the former to the bottle, which eventually killed her, and the latter openly fantasized about killing him.
 * Dating Catwoman: Max keeps threatening to slap cuffs on Mona, and never does.
 * Dead Little Sister: Well, dead wife and daughter.
 * Deadpan Snarker: The very bitter kind of Deadpan.
 * The Determinator: Nothing keeps him down for long. Even when he has nothing left to live for.
 * Drunken Master: The third game implies it pretty strongly. Max is even more of a badass when he's on the sauce than when he's off.
 * The Dulcinea Effect: Don't hit women. It makes Max irritable.
 * Dye or Die: Before venturing into the favela, Max shaves his head as an admittedly feeble disguise.
 * Failure Knight: The poor guy can just never, ever catch a break. It gets worse with every game, too.
 * Forgets to Eat: His diet consists of bad coffee, week-old-donuts, and booze.
 * Guilt Complex: It doesn't help that half his friends betray him in each game, and the other half die messily.
 * Hawaiian-Shirted Tourist: Which Max comments on in 3, labeling it "ridiculous."
 * Ink Suit Actor: In the third game Max is not only voiced by James McCaffrey, but his face is also based on him as well.
 * Interface Screw: The camera in Max Payne 3 is constantly flickering and throwing up bright sparks across your field of vision. This is because Max is either really drunk, hung over, or in detox during every single level in the game.
 * Made of Iron: Especially in the second game. Shot in the chest, the head, thrown out of a building: guy just keeps on trucking.
 * Mighty Whitey: Max is characteristically glib about it ("a fat bald white guy with a bad temper"), but he's indeed a hero to the underprivileged of São Paulo. He smashed up the guerrillas who were oppressing them, the policia who were straight-up murdering them (and harvesting their organs), and the politician who was exploiting them.
 * Morality Pet: Ironically, he's Mona's.
 * My Greatest Second Chance: Max views every Distressed Damsel he meets as this, which is tragic since they all die, too.
 * Love Martyr: Possible can be seen as this in the second game after he falls in love with Mona.
 * One-Man Army

"Max: """
 * The Other Darrin: Developer and scriptwriter Sam Lake was originally his model, followed by Timothy Gibbs. James McCaffrey (of Viper fame) voices him in all three games, and was his motion capture actor in 3.
 * Private Eye Monologue
 * Riding Into the Sunset: At the conclusion of 3, Max kicks back and retires to the beach.
 * Roaring Rampage of Revenge
 * Sociopathic Hero: Implied by the fact that you can kill any NPC in the first game, including random druggies that don't attack unless provoked (then again)
 * The Stoic
 * Not So Stoic: His normally calm exterior does break a bit when he in the third game.


 * Survivor Guilt: Has this in spades, to the point that his self-blame for what happened to his family makes up the bulk of his nightmare sequences at certain points in the first game.
 * 'Tis Only a Bullet In The Brain: In the second game, mirroring Mona's injury.
 * Tranquil Fury: One of his trademarks.
 * Turn in Your Badge: Without Woden to protect him, Max finally gets the boot in the aftermath of 2.
 * Vigilante Man
 * Walking Disaster Area: Max's boss in 3 is hip to his reputation. "Max, try not to completely destroy the place?!"
 * Walking Wasteland: Summary of each Max Payne game: Everybody dies, except Max Payne. He's quite aware of it; the message "Everyone I touch dies" is scrawled on the monster-ridden cellar of his brain.
 * Weapon of Choice: Max's weapon of choice is the Beretta, of which he usually carries two. In Brazil he transfers to the Brazilian copy, the Taurus PT92.

Mona Sax
An assassin that is revealed to work for the Inner Circle. She's the sister of Lisa Punchinello, and Max's equal in combat. Over the course of the second game, she falls in love with Max.


 * Broken Bird
 * Career Killers
 * Creepy Twins: She and her twin sister, Lisa Punchinello. Lisa is also implied to be a psychic.
 * Dark Action Girl
 * Dead Little Sister: Lisa or Natasha.
 * Femme Fatale
 * Hitman With a Heart: You're a nice guy, Max. She doesn't kill nice guys.
 * Made of Iron
 * Polar Opposite Twins: As evidenced by a family photo.
 * 'Tis Only a Bullet In The Brain: In the first game she gets shot in the head but her body mysteriously disappear. She is shown to have survived in the second game, but the details on how, remains rather vague., Max comments on the bullet "coming to the end of its slow-motion journey."
 * The Vamp
 * Weapon of Choice: In both games, Mona's default weapon is a Desert Eagle.
 * Wife-Basher Basher: Set out to brutally kill Punchinello in retaliation for beating her sister. She even drugged Max rather than risk him beating her to it.

Vladimir Lem
A charming Russian crime boss that comes to Max's aid in the first game. They quickly become friends

"Woden: Don't flatter yourself."
 * Affably Evil
 * The Apprentice:.
 * Blond Guys Are Evil
 * Card-Carrying Villain: "It's better to rule in Hell than serve in Heaven."
 * Card-Carrying Villain: "It's better to rule in Hell than serve in Heaven."

"Max: "Vladimir was one of those old-time bad guys with honor and morals, which made him almost one of the good guys.""
 * Catch Phrase: "Have no fear, Vlad is here!", and "Dearest of all my friends." (He refers to everyone as this.)
 * Chronic Backstabbing Disorder:
 * Neighbourhood Friendly Gangsters:


 * Reformed Criminal: Or so he claims at the beginning of 2. His restaurant is only a front for the Cleaners.
 * Renegade Russian
 * The Mafiya
 * Man in White: In the sequel.
 * Weapon of Choice: Vlad, like Mona, prefers the Desert Eagle as his sidearm, but he's even more well known for using bombs.
 * "Well Done, Son" Guy:

NYPD Deputy Chief/Lieutenant Jim Bravura
A by-the-books cop whose seen it all in a long and storied career. Hunts Max throughout the first game while he's undercover and is his immediate superior in the second.


 * The Alcoholic: He has managed to beat the bottle in the second game. A fact he is very proud of.
 * Benevolent Boss
 * Da Chief
 * Determinator: The second game he is gets shot repeatedly by a submachine-gun, but he still manages to survive despite his age. Seeing footage of him lying on a operating table Max mentions that he is simply "too stubborn to die."
 * A Father to His Men: Despite his hash attitude, he is quite concerned with the well-being of his fellow officers, and he turned down a promotion to be able to stay close to them.
 * Hero Antagonist
 * Inspector Javert
 * Jerk With a Heart of Gold
 * Worthy Opponent: As he's taking Max into custody, Bravua grouses that he gave them "one Hell of a ride."

Alfred Woden
A United States Senator with ties to the Inner Circle, a very old and powerful secret society/criminal syndicate.


 * Ancient Conspiracy
 * Chronic Backstabbing Disorder:
 * Dirty Old Man: A regular visitor of the prostitute, Candy Dawn..
 * Eyepatch of Power
 * Manipulative Bastard: He is the cause of Max's entire crucible in the first game.
 * Manipulative Bastard: He is the cause of Max's entire crucible in the first game.

Vinnie Gognitti
A mid-level, high-strung Mob boss that Max is forced to deal with. He's got the brains to run the business, but he lacks the balls, and often takes out his frustrations on underaged addicts and call-girls. After being left to bleed after a shootout with Max in the first game, he returns in the second game, where he is now the leader of his own gang, and is the process of waging a war against Vald and his men.

"Max: "I don't know about angels, but it's fear that gives men wings.""
 * Butt Monkey
 * The Determinator: Despite getting shot in the stomach by Max, he manages to run across several rooftops, while loosing blood all the way.

"Vinnie: "What? I'm a collector! There's nothin' nerdy about it, I'm a collector! Lots of tough guys are into this stuff!""
 * Dirty Coward/Lovable Coward
 * The Mafia
 * Nerd in Evil's Helmet: He is a fan of Captain Baseball Bat Boy and has his apartment decked with merchandise from the show..

Nicole Horne
The CEO of Aesir Corp., a rich and influential pharmaceutical corporation. An utterly cold and ruthless woman with an army of mercenaries at her command. .


 * The Aggressive Drug Dealer
 * The Baroness
 * Big Bad: Of Max Payne.
 * Complete Monster
 * Corrupt Corporate Executive
 * Evil Overlooker: During Woden's Expospeak, Horne is shown taking a drag over the Manhattan skyline.
 * Evil Redhead
 * Good Smoking, Evil Smoking
 * Iron Lady: Villainous example of this trope.
 * Mad Doctor: She was originally a government scientist before hatching a plan to market Valkyr.
 * Moral Event Horizon:.
 * The Woman Behind The Man

Angelo Punchinello
The head of the Punchinello Crime Family.


 * Disc Two Final Boss
 * The Don
 * The Mafia
 * Smug Snake
 * Unwitting Pawn: To Horne.
 * Unwitting Pawn: To Horne.

Jack Lupino
A high-ranking lieutenant in the Punchinella Crime Family with some serious issues.


 * Ax Crazy: Lupino's always been something of a nutjob, which is made worse with his use of Valkyr.
 * Bad Boss: Does things like shoot underlings because he wants to see what their brains look like splattered on the wall.
 * Bald of Evil
 * Disc One Final Boss
 * Large Ham: "THE FLESH OF FALLEN ANGELS!"
 * The Mafia

Frankie "The Bat" Niagara
An assassin hired by the Punchinellos to hunt down and kill Max. Has a love of violent comic strips such as Captain Baseballbat-boy.

"Frankie: "Nothin' wrong with a little laugh now and then. Take me for example. I love to watch cartoons. Cartoon violence's a fascinatin' thing.""
 * Batter Up: The baseball bat is his weapon of choice.
 * Career Killers
 * Evilly Affable
 * Guns Akimbo: Though he loves his bat, Frankie's also not averse to dual wielding MAC-10s.
 * The Mafia
 * Nerd in Evil's Helmet: He is a fan of Captain Baseball Bat Boy.


 * Psycho for Hire

The Trio (Vince Mugnaio, Pilate "Big Brother" Providence, and Joe "Deadpan" Salem)
The Don's notorious henchmen, a trio of killers hired to deal with Max.


 * Ax Crazy
 * Career Killers
 * The Mafia
 * Psychos For Hire
 * Token Minority: Pilate.

Rico Muerte
A hitman hired by Punchinello to oversee a Valkyr deal going down in Lupino's hotel. He meets his end at Max's hands at the hotel bar soon after servicing Candy Dawn. .


 * Ax Crazy: While not as nuts as Lupino or the Trio, Rico does have his moments, such as strangling two mad dog killers to death with video game cables because he was depressed after watching them settle their differences with a fighting game instead of murdering each other like he'd hoped they would do.
 * Career Killers
 * Dirty Coward: Literally.
 * The Mafia
 * Psycho for Hire

The Finito Brothers (Joey and Virgilio)
The first two mobsters to try to kill Max when his cover is blown at Lupino's hotel.


 * The Mafia
 * Those Two Bad Guys

Alex Balder
Max's best friend and partner in the DEA. Murdered at the start of Max Payne 1 that begins Max's journey.


 * Dead Partner
 * In the Back
 * Prophetic Name
 * Stuffed Into the Fridge

B.B.
Max's other partner in the DEA, who first sends Max to Roscoe Street Station. .


 * Badass in A Nice Suit
 * Badass Longcoat
 * Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are
 * Sinister Shades / Sunglasses At Night
 * Terms of Endangerment: Patronizingly refers to Max as "Maxie."
 * You Have No Chance to Survive
 * Sinister Shades / Sunglasses At Night
 * Terms of Endangerment: Patronizingly refers to Max as "Maxie."
 * You Have No Chance to Survive
 * You Have No Chance to Survive

Mike the Cowboy
Lem's second-in-command that thinks he's in a Western.


 * Career Killers
 * Disc One Final Boss
 * The Dragon: To.

Kaufman
An elite member of the Cleaners.


 * Famed in Story

Raul Passos
A friend of Max's from the police academy,  He offers Max a private security gig in Sao Paulo, which is what prompts Max to leave New York.


 * The Lancer: He's Max's sidekick for a couple of levels, although he always seems to be doing the least dangerous job that he possibly can be.

Anthony DeMarco
During a drunken dispute in a bar in Hoboken, Max kills Anthony DeMarco's only son. DeMarco promptly sets out to waste Max, sending dozens of armed thugs against him in a berserker rage.


 * Evil Old Folks
 * Inelegant Blubbering
 * Milking the Giant Cow
 * Papa Wolf
 * Sympathy for The Devil: Despite his numerous attempts to kill him and Passos, Max feels a hint of sympathy for him when seeing his grief.
 * The Unfought
 * You Killed My Son

Rodrigo Branco
Max's new boss in Sao Paulo. He is an industrialist who is paranoid about kidnapping attempts.


 * May-December Romance: Fabianna is considerably younger than Rodrigo.
 * Reasonable Authority Figure: Rodrigo is the oldest of the Branco brothers and Max's direct boss. Even after his wife Fabianna is kidnapped, he's much calmer about it than either of his brothers.
 * Reasonable Authority Figure: Rodrigo is the oldest of the Branco brothers and Max's direct boss. Even after his wife Fabianna is kidnapped, he's much calmer about it than either of his brothers.

Fabianna Branco
Rodrigo's trophy wife and the subject of the kidnapping attempt in the third game.


 * Always Save the Girl
 * May-December Romance: By Max's cynical appraisal, Fabianna mostly married Rodrigo for his money, and the two now mostly ignore one another.
 * Rich Idiot With No Day Job: Fabianna doesn't do a lot, really. She gets kidnapped before she receives any real characterization, but every time she's seen before that point, she's partying on her husband's dime.

Victor Branco
Rodrigo's brother. He is a local politician that wants to clean up the city.


 * Make It Look Like an Accident
 * Non-Action Guy: He does nothing but gives orders to Max
 * Make It Look Like an Accident
 * Non-Action Guy: He does nothing but gives orders to Max
 * Non-Action Guy: He does nothing but gives orders to Max
 * Non-Action Guy: He does nothing but gives orders to Max

Marcelo Branco
Rodrigo and Victor's younger brother, he is a party-loving playboy.


 * Rich Idiot With No Day Job: Marcelo's not so much a person as a device used to dispose of cocaine.
 * Rich Idiot With No Day Job: Marcelo's not so much a person as a device used to dispose of cocaine.

Giovanna Taveres
Fabianna's younger sister, Giovanna lives in two worlds. By day, she's a social worker in Sao Paulo's impoverished lower-class neighborhoods, but by night, she parties with her sister in Sao Paulo's night spots.



Wilson De Silva
De Silva is a reasonably honest cop and a family man in Sao Paulo, which requires him to have a certain amount of moral flexibility. He's an unexpected ally to Max after Fabianna's kidnapping.


 * Loophole Abuse: His entire role in the game's plot is essentially to point Max in the right direction, because while de Silva's hands are tied - either by the vast wealth and influence of the person he's after, the corruption of the local police forces, or his target being a large heavily-armed organization of some kind - Max's aren't.

Armando Becker
Becker is the leader of the Unidade de Forças Especiais (UFE), a  special police organization in Sao Paulo.



Serrano
Serrano is the leader of Comando Sombra, a powerful São Paulo street gang with ties to South American drug cartels. He and his gang kidnap Fabiana Branco in the hopes of collecting a hefty ransom from her wealthy husband.


 * Scary Black Man
 * Scary Black Man
 * Scary Black Man
 * Scary Black Man
 * Scary Black Man