Divine Right: The Adventures of Max Faraday

Divine Right: The Adventures of Max Faraday is a twelve-issue comic book limited series created, written, and drawn by Jim Lee and published by Wildstorm from 1997 to 1999. Its protagonist is Max Faraday, a computer science student who inadvertently becomes the receptacle of an incredible mystic power.

Synopsis

The story shows how, millennia ago a gigantic creation fell to Earth, impacting into a Middle-Eastern desert. An engine capable of unthinkable power, it was later to be called the Creation Wheel, potentially able to provide a user with the power of God. It would lay dormant for centuries, with its power creating a holographic realm of energy-projection to be known as the Hollow Realm, regarded as the gates of Heaven by the artificial beings who lived there.

However, whilst there were people ready to wait for the Messiah, other wished to take the power for themselves and begin again, rewriting the universe to their own desire. The principal architect of this dream was the shadowy ((Cardinal Lazarus)), backed with the might of Lord Acheron, the villainous brother of Tobruk, and Lord Jesthra, a powerful minion.

The story then flashes forward to the modern day, minus a few years. Operation Divine Right, run by the super-espionage group I.O (International Operations), has uncovered the Creation Wheel, and the Dark Arts, a sub-section of I.O, working with the Coda assassins (ultimately working for Cardinal Lazarus), sponsored a translation of the futuristic hieroglyphics by Dr Mattheus Senreich, rendering the codes into binary, a number string known as the Creation Equation, supposedly capable of allowing an individual to access the full power of the Creation Wheel. Only one copy existed, which was stolen by I.O operative Christy Blaze, working deep undercover as a Coda warrior.

A chase ensued between Acheron's forces (known as The Rath) and Blaze, as they struggled to regain the code; they were ultimately too late, and while they killed Blaze, she had already uploaded the Equation to Icore, the I.O mainframe.

This is where we meet Max Faraday; 20-year-old computer science major, lovable loser, at home, with older friend Devan Lawless; bored, Dev logged into Icore using his old professor's access codes. Something starts downloading: a binary code string. Max views it all (barring one file, which he forwarded to his cyber-girlfriend, Susanna Chaste), when the computer blows up as a result of channelling the Equation.

Seemingly fine, Max and Dev head out, only to be pursued by strange creatures, bringing about the first manifestations of his power, and the first meeting with The Fallen, his protectors and mentors. The Fallen are Brande, Tobruk and Exotica; a trio of super-powered beings who have a fraction of Max's power which bonds them to him.

Hunted for this power he now wields, he is helped notably by The Fallen, Christy Blaze, John Lynch (Gen¹³'s mentor) and Caitlin Fairchild, the peer leader of Gen13.

The ensuing journey sees Max embrace his Divine Right, as he takes control of the situation, and ultimately the universe, only to face off against the WildC.A.T.S., Gen13, The Fallen, and even Susanna herself, as he truly tests the limits of what God can do, and how much humanity can be retained.

Characters

Max Faraday

A 20 year old computer-science student who accidentally views the Equation and gains the powers of Divine Right.

Susanna Chaste

Max Faraday's cyber-girlfriend.

Devan Lawless

Max Faraday's best friend.

Aftermath

After the "World's End" storyline, when Tao siphons large amounts of the Void and Providence powers to become the nihilistic god of an apocalyptic, ruined universe, John Lynch convinces Team 7 and the WildCATs to seek Max Faraday's help. Despite the assembled heroes remembering him as a slacker, good for nothing, they find him maintaining an Eternal Honeymoon dimension, a pocket dimension for the few people he managed to save from the apocalypse, where he resides torturing himself (and comforting himself at the same time) with imagery and illusions of his now dead family. Despite Lynch claims, Max Faraday claims that even his power may be not nearly enough to reverse the ruination fallen on their universe, but still hopes to be able to help.

However, when Jack Marlowe, once again empowered with the Void powers, breaches the gap between Max's paradise and the earthly plane, Tao suddenly becomes aware of Max Faraday, vowing to stop him.^[1] Still resentful with the post-human, who deliberately left out of his paradise dimension hoping that, being left in the ruined universe of Earth-50 they'll likely kill themselves out, thus sparing humanity their endless battles, he reluctantly agrees to fight Tao, but only to protect his paradise dimension, channeling his anger into vision of Tao past defeats.^[2]

References