In 2001, Marvel launched the Max imprint, subverting the longtime Comics Code Authority with its own age-rating system for readers and offering uncensored content intended for mature readers only. The new imprint featured stories, both in and outside of Marvel Universe continuity, that introduced brand new characters and properties while reimagining existing ones, unfettered by traditional content restrictions.
Now, CBR is taking a look at how the Max imprint changed the Marvel Universe forever by injecting new life into characters that hadn't quite met their potential and introducing new heroes that would play a major role in Marvel's publishing line and media adaptations.
The Return of Luke Cage
By the 90s, Luke Cage had largely fallen into a period of relative obscurity, appearing occasionally in short-lived comic series or as a brief supporting character throughout other characters' stories in the Marvel Universe. Brian Azzarello and Richard Corben reimagined the character in a 2002 Max miniseries simply titled Cage that had the streetwise superhero investigate a young girl's murder putting him on a collision course with the longtime Spider-Man villain Tombstone.
The character's true revival would come as a prominent recurring character in Alias, introduced as a love interest for Jessica Jones that would eventually blossom into the main Marvel Universe culminating in their marriage and birth of their daughter Danielle. Since then, the character would join up with the New Avengers and star in both his own solo series and a relaunched Heroes for Hire alongside his best friend Iron Fist. The more gritty depiction of Cage would inform the character's live-action debut in his own eponymous Netflix series, where he was portrayed by Mike Colter.
Introducing Jessica Jones
The most iconic character created through the Max imprint was Jessica Jones, who debuted in the line's inaugural series, Alias, a neo-noir ongoing series by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos. Set in the heart of the Marvel Universe, Jessica was a former superhero who retired after suffering a particularly traumatizing incident that left her dealing with PTSD through alcohol and casual sex. Setting up shop as a private investigator in Manhattan specializing in superhuman cases, Jessica encountered many classic Marvel characters in her subsequent adventures.
The series' frank depiction of mature subject matter was considered ground-breaking for a mainstream superhero comic, on par with Vertigo's earlier material. Jessica Jones quickly became a fan-favorite, breakout character and would appear in non-Max titles in the Marvel Universe (understandably toned down), before eventually joining Bendis' subsequent New Avengers lineup. Jessica's popularity and acclaim eventually led Marvel Television to develop an eponymous series starring Krysten Ritter as the character for three seasons on Netflix.
The Punisher Unleashed
The Marvel character most associated with the Max imprint, classic or brand new, is the Punisher. After an acclaimed Marvel Knights run on the character, writer Garth Ennis relaunched the character as part of the Max line in 2004 and penned the first 60 issues of a searing, no-holds barred series set in its own separate continuity without mainstream superheroes and villains.
Retaining Frank Castle's Vietnam War history and advancing age, the series was grounded in gritty realism as the Punisher took on various real-world threats in increasingly brutal stories that revealed the determined stoicism of Castle in his never-ending war against crime. Additionally, Ennis' success in relaunching the Punisher through Max would lead him to create two spinoff miniseries focused on the series' version of Nick Fury, a haunted, tough-as-nails old veteran who buried his demons in plenty of cigars, alcohol and female companionship.
Universally acclaimed, Ennis' adults-only Punisher would inform the character's subsequent depictions in years to come and serve as a major inspiration to 2009's Punisher: War Zone and his portrayal by Jon Bernthal for his appearances in Marvel's Netflix original programming.
While the Marvel Max imprint is currently inactive and all of the Netflix shows it helped inspire are done, Max still marked a turning point for Marvel. While the line was filled with bold, adults-only storytelling, the creation of Jessica Jones and the revitalization of Luke Cage showed what the Marvel Universe could be when it was unbound from its traditional content limitations, and the ripple effect of those two ideas can still be felt throughout the Marvel Universe today.