Maxwell's shares a similar story to Karl Fritz

[SinancoTheBest]

As the title claims, Maxwell's story has remarkable similarities to the story of Karl Fritz, the 145th king of the walls. Based on their similar circumstances, I took a segment of Fritz' bibliography and modified some words to make it  reflective of Maxwell. Beyond demonstrating their similarities, this should also help in getting a better understanding of Maxwell' potential mindset and character traits since homages work both ways:

Some hundred years in the past, the ancient conflict was ended, not by weapons nor by the advancement of technology. The saviour who ended the fighting, the hero who saved the world was Maxwell himself. He was plagued by guilt over the ancients' vicious past. He'd grown weary from watching families and countryman haunted by shadows and he wept for humans, a species under constant pressure. So when he inherited the Codex Umbra, he plotted his own downfall with his assistant. Her name, Charlie. Together they created a tragic accident which would drive the magician out. After that, Maxwell moved as many survivors to the Constant as he could, erecting great waves around it. He left a warning, that if anyone threatened his rule, countless calamities would be unleashed in retaliation. However, he never intended to make good on this thread. 

Maxwell made a vow renouncing war, and bound his successors to uphold it, just as he had. Thus, his ideology was passed down to each new occupant of the nightmare throne. And the shadow creatures with the power to invade the world remained in the constant. Wilson didn’t stop the ancients, and science hasn’t kept the world from being haunted by nightmares. It was the king of the constant Maxwell, a man who yearned for peace. That’s it, that’s all he wanted. He said that if the survivors grew strong someday and came in force to shatter his reign and seize his throne, he would accept it. He believed the sins he committed were so horrific that they could never be atoned for. “When the day of retribution finally comes, I will accept it, but until then, let me enjoy this lost paradise free from strife. I ask for nothing but a brief span of peace.” Those were the final words Maxwell left us with.

[HowlVoid]

This is cool but I have a lot of conflicting thoughts about the start of the story. Maxwell is set up as a tragic hero when in reality he has been everything but.

Maxwell was mostly a failure in his adult life and when he got a small taste for power it consumed him. The self proclaimed "Maxwell the great" was a charlatan that had no real power nor talent, only that which he borrowed. His folly ended up costing Charlie her freedom when she was an innocent bystander who did not deserved what she got.

On the throne he enjoyed watching the other survivors suffer as he did. He imagine they were nothing but puppets to Them and had completely given up. When Wilson got close to the throne he was terrified because he did not know what would happen to him, perhaps death. He was a coward who wished many times that Wilson would die along the way because of his fears. In the end he gave up because he is a loser and that is what he does when the going gets tough.

Also while on the throne, did he learn his lesson and repent for his sins? No. He continued to used others for his own gains. He may have had theories of what could happen if he was set free but I doubt he cared for the one who took his place. When reunited with Wilson he asked "How did you escape?" Meaning he fully expected for Wilson to endure the same torture he experienced with no remorse. He only wanted his freedom at any cost.

Even now I don't believe Maxwell has repented or even set right what he did with to the other survivors. He will even insult them in some instances because he knows they have no choice but to trust him. His stance is you're in this hell hole with me wether you like it or not, in my opinion. 

I think this is what makes him a good character because it is believable. Some people never change and only adapt to their surroundings because survival demands it. He may feel some camaraderie now but mostly due to a gained mutual benefit, at least at first. He obviously does feel remorse for what he did to Charlie though and some survivors have probably gained his respect. 

TL;DR: Maxwell is a butt.

I also think that if he was confronted by the others he would say something along the lines of:

"You would have done the same in my position."

So, yeah...

[GenomeSquirrel]

2 hours ago, SinancoTheBest said:

The saviour who ended the fighting, the hero who saved the world was Maxwell himself. 

He saved 0 lives, killed countless people, including children

He was plagued by guilt over the ancients' vicious past.

That's like saying I feel guilt over the Cuban Missile Crisis, he wasn't alive at the time, he's too detached to feel guilt.

He'd grown weary from watching families and countryman haunted by shadows and he wept for humans

He buried people around a giant statue of him laughing maniacally, and decorated the world with chess motifs, self congratulatory symbols of his "strategic superiority"

So when he inherited the Codex Umbra, he plotted his own downfall with his assistant. Her name, Charlie. Together they created a tragic accident which would drive the magician out.

They never gave us Charlie's full story,

After that, Maxwell moved as many survivors to the Constant as he could, erecting great waves around it. He left a warning, that if anyone threatened his rule, countless calamities would be unleashed in retaliation. However, he never intended to make good on this thread. 

At this point he was unable to move survivors to the constant, had no one to threaten, and little power to back up any threats, not even that spider or hound from that comic was afraid of him.

Maxwell made a vow renouncing war, and bound his successors to uphold it, just as he had. Thus, his ideology was passed down to each new occupant of the nightmare throne.

His successor instigated about 4 wars so far; Fuelweaver, 2 with Pugna, THEM

And the shadow creatures with the power to invade the world remained in the constant.

Tell that to young Willow

Wilson didn’t stop the ancients, and science hasn’t kept the world from being haunted by nightmares. It was the king of the constant Maxwell, a man who yearned for peace. That’s it, that’s all he wanted. He said that if the survivors grew strong someday and came in force to shatter his reign and seize his throne, he would accept it. He believed the sins he committed were so horrific that they could never be atoned for. “When the day of retribution finally comes, I will accept it, but until then, let me enjoy this lost paradise free from strife. I ask for nothing but a brief span of peace.” Those were the final words Maxwell left us with.

If you call this peace ...

Spoiler

 

 

Contrary points because I'm bored, but not tired enough to sleep

[kiwikenobi]

@HowlVoidThat's an excellent analysis of Maxwell's character you wrote. It sums him up very clearly and well, and it makes points that I feel like I had sort of intuited before without being able to put them into words as well as you did. Well done.

1 hour ago, HowlVoid said:

TL;DR: Maxwell is a butt.

And that part made me laugh.