Max Payne (series)/Characters: Difference between revisions

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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.

* [[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.

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.

* [[Wife-Basher Basher]]: Set out to brutally kill Punchinello in retaliation for beating her sister. She even drugged Max rather than risk him [[The Only One Allowed to Defeat You|beating her to it]].

A charming Russian crime boss that comes to Max's aid in the first game. They quickly become friends {{spoiler|which makes his betrayal in the second game even harder to stomach for Max.}}

* [["Well Done, Son" Guy]]: {{spoiler|A phone message makes it clear that he viewed Alfred Woden, his mentor in the Inner Circle, as a father figure, and was angry about him not respecting him as a son. So he settles for killing him instead.}}

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.

* [[Worthy Opponent]]: As he's taking Max into custody, Bravua grouses that he gave them "one Hell of a ride."

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

* [[Manipulative Bastard]]: He is the cause of Max's entire crucible in the first game. {{spoiler|It is he who sends Valhalla files to Max's wife, knowing that Horne will send psychos to kill Max's wife, which in turn will drive Max to kill Horne.}}

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.

{{quote|'''Vinnie''': "What? I'm a collector! There's nothin' nerdy about it, I'm a collector! Lots of tough guys are into this stuff!" }}

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. {{spoiler|A member of the Inner Circle, she is the key figure behind Project Valhalla, the twisted mind behind the nightmare drug Valkyr, and the one behind the murder of Max Payne's family}}.

* [[The Man Behind the Man|The Woman Behind The Man]]

The head of the Punchinello Crime Family.

* [[Unwitting Pawn]]: To Horne.

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

* [[The Mafia]]

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

* [[Psycho for Hire]]

The Don's notorious henchmen, a trio of killers hired to deal with Max.

* [[Token Minority]]: Pilate.

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. {{spoiler|In Act 2, he's revealed to have been sent by an unknown party (later revealed to be Nicole Horne) on an assassination job on the Mayor himself, but never has the chance to pull it off}}.

* [[Psycho for Hire]]

The first two mobsters to try to kill Max when his cover is blown at Lupino's hotel.

* [[Those Two Bad Guys]]

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

* [[Stuffed Into the Fridge]]

Max's other partner in the DEA, who first sends Max to Roscoe Street Station. {{spoiler|He's revealed in the middle of Act 3 to be the one who murdered Alex and set Max up to take the fall}}.

* [[You Have No Chance to Survive]]

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

* [[The Dragon]]: To {{spoiler|Vlad}}.

An elite member of the Cleaners.

* [[Famed in Story]]

A friend of Max's from the police academy, {{spoiler|or so Max thinks.}} He offers Max a private security gig in Sao Paulo, which is what prompts Max to leave New York.

* {{spoiler|[[Screw This, I'm Outta Here]]: When he learns Giovanna is pregnant with his kid, he wisely decides to skip town with her.}}

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.

* [[You Killed My Father|You Killed My Son]]

Max's new boss in Sao Paulo. He is an industrialist who is paranoid about kidnapping attempts. {{spoiler|He gets killed by a crooked cop during an attack on his company's headquarters while Max is busy fighting off the invading paramilitary goons.}}

* {{spoiler|[[Bodyguard Betrayal]]: Rodrigo gets shot in the back of the head by the head of the police unit he called to save him.}}

* [[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.

Rodrigo's trophy wife and the subject of the kidnapping attempt in the third game. {{spoiler|She's killed during the rescue about midway through.}}

* [[Always Save the Girl]]

* [[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.

Rodrigo's brother. He is a local politician that wants to clean up the city. {{spoiler|In actuality, he is the mastermind behind a human organ trafficking ring, and the [[Big Bad]].}}

* {{spoiler|[[Tempting Fate]]: After his final confrontation with Max, he laughs and says he'll walk, so Max breaks his leg.}}

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.

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.

* {{spoiler|[[Screw This, I'm Outta Here]]: After revealing she's pregnant with Raul's baby, the two decide to skip town.}}

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.

Becker is the leader of the Unidade de Forças Especiais (UFE), a {{spoiler|''spectacularly'' corrupt}} special police organization in Sao Paulo.

* {{spoiler|[[Final Boss]]: Becker is the half-dead guy who Max is about to execute in his early flashback to the end of the game.}}

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.

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[[Category:Max Payne]]

[[Category:Characters]]