| Maximilian Shreck | |
 | |
| Alias(es) | Max Shreck |
| Appeared in | Batman Returns |
| Status | Deceased |
| Actor | Christopher Walken |
Maximilian "Max" Shreck was a greedy and murderous businessman who wanted to build an eletrical central that would suck the energy out of Gotham City.
Biography[]
Batman Returns[]
Max Shreck is introduced in the film as the ruthless and ambitious owner of the multi-million department store Shreck's. His only family is his son, Charles "Chip" Shreck, and it is implied by dialogue that he murdered his wife for unknown reasons.
In the film, Shreck's goal is to build a supposed "power plant" for Gotham City's future. Standing in Shreck's way, however, is Mayor Hill, who believes such a power plant to be unnecessary. Bruce Wayne is also unconvinced of the need for a new plant, and opposes Shreck's plans.
Later on, that same night, while Shreck is giving the town a speech (he is viewed as "Gotham's Santa Claus"), a group of clown-like criminals known as the Red Triangle Circus Gang attack the city and demand Shreck. Chip valiantly defends his father long enough for Shreck to escape, although Shreck is caught in a trap and he falls into the sewer, where he sees the same gang and meets their enigmatic leader: a mysterious Penguin-like creature, about whom unbelieved rumors had been spreading. The Penguin demands Shreck help him make his way to the surface in a positive light, and when Shreck at first refuses, The Penguin blackmails him with incriminating evidence of Shreck's past crimes (the Penguin had been studying Shreck for a while in preparation for this). On the condition that the Penguin help him out as well, Shreck agrees.
Shreck then returns to his office, where he finds his timid and shy secretary, Selina Kyle, doing a last-minute check-up for his meeting the next day with Bruce Wayne about the power plant. Kyle accidentally reveals that she has found out the true nature about the power plant, that it will siphon off power from the Gotham electrical grid and give the Shreck family a hugely-profitable energy monopoly. Shreck, fearing that Kyle might let it slip, and refusing to risk what he considers his legacy to his son Chip, pushes her through a window to her death. Unknown to him, however, she survives the fall, and takes up the mantle of Catwoman.
The next day, during a speech, Mayor Hill's baby son is kidnapped by a Red Triangle gang member, who flees into the sewer, where he is "attacked" by the Penguin, who "rescues" Hill's son and brings him to the surface, becoming a public hero. Shreck witnesses this, and demands the Penguin be granted access into the Hall of Records to search for his parents' names, in the process learning his human name: Oswald Cobblepot. The same day, Shreck meets with Bruce Wayne in his office, who also opposes the idea of the Power Plant and points out that Cobblepot is the leader of the Red Triangle Gang. Shreck denies this, however, and they are then visited by a heavily plastered but "amnesia-suffering" Selina, who displays a more confident attitude and even impresses Shreck, who vows to kill her only if she tries to blackmail him.
Shreck then reveals his plan: to recall the elections by using the Red Triangle Gang's attacks and set up Cobblepot as a candidate for Mayor of Gotham, who will approve of the Power Plant. Meanwhile, Selina, as Catwoman, starts her own revenge crusade against Shreck and blows up an entire floor of his department store.
Later, however, Shreck's plans to make Cobblepot the new Mayor are ruined when Bruce Wayne, from the Batcave, jams the microphones during Cobblepot's speech and plays some rantings Cobblepot had made towards the city while controlling the Batmobile with Batman inside it. Cobblepot's true personality and his schemes are uncovered, and he loses his popularity and is forced to return to the sewer, especially after Shreck abandons him.
At Shreck's annual "Maxquerade Ball", the Penguin crashes through and informs the party that his goons are targeting their first-born sons to murder in the sewer. His intention is to take Chip Shreck and kill him, but Shreck, in his first and only noble act, begs that he be taken instead, on the basis that it was he, not Chip, who manipulated and betrayed him. The Penguin accepts (as he would like to see him die a horrible death), and takes Shreck prisoner, holding him in a cage above a deadly vat of toxic waste, into which he plans to dump Shreck along with the firstborns.
When Batman intervenes and tricks the Penguin into firing missiles at Gotham Zoo (under which the Penguin's lair is), Shreck manages to escape from the cage, only to be ambushed by Catwoman, who is determined to kill him there and then. Batman arrives, and Shreck attempts to bribe him, only for Batman to push him back and tell him of his impending incarceration as he found out about his plans. When Batman, however, removes his mask and reveals himself as Bruce Wayne, Shreck uses the Fat Clown's gun to shoot Batman. Narrowly, Batman plays dead to protect himself. He then fires a few shots into Catwoman, who, thanks to her nine lives, is able to survive until Shreck runs out of bullets. Catwoman, using a taser, sacrifices her penultimate life to electrocute Shreck, giving him a "kiss" by forcing both her lips and the taser into his mouth, pulling one of the generator cables at the same time, engulfing both herself and Shreck in a massive explosion which is soon after revealed to have killed Shreck, frying him horribly and reducing him to nothing but a scorched, skeletal corpse finally ending his reign of terror for good. After his death, his crimes became public, Shreck Industries were shut down permanently and his son, Chip was arrested.
Relationships[]
- Bruce Wayne/Batman - Rival.
- Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin - Ally turned enemy; deceased.
- Selina Kyle/Catwoman - Employee turned enemy, attempted victim and killer.
Appearances/Actors[]
- Burtonverse (1 film)
- Batman Returns (First appearance) - Christopher Walken
- Burtonverse (1 comic)
- Batman '89 (Mentioned only)
Behind the scenes[]
- Screenwriter Daniel Waters, has stated that in the earlier drafts of the script, Max Shreck was the "golden boy" of the Cobblepot family, whereas Penguin was the deformed outsider. It turned out that Shreck would be the Penguin's long-lost brother. He was supposedly ashamed of his father, after he threw his baby brother into the sewer, and he emancipated himself from the Cobblepot family as soon as he became of age. The latter would explain how he acquired his own wealth by illegal means. This was cut to avoid making Shreck sympathetic to the audience.
- What happened to Shreck's corpse after his death is completely unknown but it was probably left in the sewers to rot.
Trivia[]
- Max Shreck was an original character, who was created for the film. The character is named after the actor Max Schreck, who famously portrayed Count Orlok in the silent film Nosferatu. The character is a figuratively viewed as a vampire, who wants to drain the city's power with his proposed power plant. The interior of his office is intended to resemble padding in a coffin.
- Max Shreck was originally intended to feature as a villain in Batman: The Animated Series, but his inclusion was scrapped and the character of Roland Daggett was created instead.
Gallery[]
Batman Returns[]
