Mae (Planet of the Apes)

Mae is the deuteragonist of the 2024 sci-fi action film , the fourth installment of the reboot franchise. A loan human survivor, she is a mysterious woman who allies herself with Noa and joins him on his journey whilst having an agenda of her own. 
Mae is portrayed by , who also plays Ciri in The Witcher TV series.
== Characteristics ==
===Appearances===
==== Physical ====
Mae is a young human woman in her early twenties sporting a mostly scruffy appearance and clothing in poor condition due to time spent in the wild. She had a slender build due to repeated malnutrition but a non-negligible physical fitness due to surviving. Her eyes are blue, her hair is brown and long but disheveled, a small nose with big nostrils and a scar stitched up on her left arm.
==== Attire ====
To be added...
=== Personality ===
While seeming meek, Mae is actually incredibly strong-willed and cunning. Though she is not a bad individual, Mae does have a lot of extremist behaviour despite being quite merely a product of suffering subjugation and being hunted, as well as burdened by solitude and exclusion from proper human contact. She presented herself as a normal human that is, a herd animal, with low intelligence and inability to communicate, as she mutely followed Noa, who eventually met Raka; due to Raka's following of Caesar's teachings; which promoted kindness and compassion to Ape and human alike, he offered food to Mae, encouraging the youth Noa to do the same, as well as offering the Eagle Clan shroud for her warmth. Despite hiding her intelligence, Raka detected that; she was far more intelligent than normal humans; but he had still greatly underestimated her; Mae's apparent helplessness; made Raka protective and fond of her, while Noa remained sceptical.
When cornered; by Proximus' forces, Mae revealed her ability to talk to gain Noa's help. Raka was thrilled at the discovery; but Noa was unhappy; due to his belief that; even; withholding information constituted lying. Mae had the wits to placate Noa; by using the truth of how she would expose herself to greater danger; if her mind was known; by the apes; since most would believe her to be a danger; Noa remained wary; but believed her reasoning. While Proximus would try to bribe and then threaten Mae, she had refused to bend. Proximus' existing enslaved; if coddled, human inventor, Trevathan, tried to reason with her by noting that humanity's time had passed and the best chance they have is to serve in comfort; but Mae had rejected his logic, condemning him as a traitor to their species; which hinted at her hidden prejudice.
Mae planned to sabotage Proximus; by arming explosives along a sea dam; which would unleash a flood; into the bunker; when opened. She convinced Noa to help; who in turn enlisted his friends, Soona and Anaya. Trevathan confronted them and; when he again had rejected Mae's argument to resist Proximus, she choked him; until she had snapped his neck; despite her goal to restore humanity, Mae somewhat ironically had zero hesitation nor guilt in killing another human to advance her goal.
After the vault is opened, Proximus tries to coerce cooperation from Noa and Mae; by threatening Soona; while Mae saved Soona; by shooting the ape; who had held a knife to her throat, Mae still had rushed to detonate the dam explosives, displaying remorse; but again no hesitation in risking the lives of Noa and his clan just to destroy ape plans to adopt humanity's creations. Mae revealed an incredibly entitled; if understandable, attitude about ownership of man-made inventions and weapons; but this entitlement extended to dominance of the world itself; perhaps reasonable that she'd feel frustrated about being lower on the species hierarchy; but this frustration expands; into disdain for the apes, blaming them for "stealing" the Earth from humans.
Mae does despise apes; with a rational hate being Proximus, as he had killed her mother and her tribe; but she does hold the capability to build friendships of sorts; with ambivalent Apes; proving that; she understands there are good and bad apes, the same as; with humans. While for the progression of her own agenda, her friendship; with Raka and Noa was built; with a genuine fondness for them; she was upset and grateful that; Raka had (apparently) sacrificed his life to save her. After the collapse of Proximus' kingdom, she meets Noa at his clan's rebuilt village; Mae felt danger from his well-above average intellect and was planning to shoot him; until Noa gives her the ultimate question; whether apes and humans should share or take rule over the world. Mae's answer of uncertainty is possibly her own; since she chose to leave in peace. On a tangent, while she was willing to kill her friend for what she thought would be the benefit of humanity, she was highly reluctant, hence she is capable of compassion for the species she considered enemies.
==Biography==
===Background===
Mae was born to a tribe of humans that; were immune to the original world-wide virus and it's mutated strain, therefore; unlike most other humans, they maintained their intellect and sapience. At some point, her tribe or she alone; made contact; with a group of other humans; who had managed to exist; within a quarantined satellite base and therefore; Mae worked to gather parts; such as satellite communication decipher keys; which she had to deliver to the base, so they can repair a communications network across the country; if not world to reconnect; with other survivors and possibly plan to retake the Earth from the apes. 
Before the network could be completely repaired, a squad of Proximus Caesar's forces had discovered Mae's tribe, killing all of them; except for her. Proximus had realized that; the tribe were actually intelligent humans, therefore; he sent his right-hand gorilla, Sylva and his grunts to hunt her down, as the ape king aimed to use still intelligent humans to build him an arsenal and; allow access to a military bunker to salvage weapons; such as firearms and explosives.
===Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes===
After collecting an Eagle egg each for their initiation, chimpanzees Noa, Soona, and Anaya notice a figure watching them from the woods. They pursue it, but it seemingly passes through a tunnel that is forbidden for the Eagle Clan to enter. At the village during the night, Noa fixes a broken fish stand; he hears a noise in a storage hut. Noa inspects the hut, but Mae rushes passed him, bumping against him, thus breaking his egg.
Noa returns to the skyscraper entwined with trees to get a new egg, but finds a party from his village dead, with one last asking him to warn everyone before he died. Noa hides as gorilla Sylva's squad of chimps arrive, however, they find his horse, so smack it to drive it home, so they can follow it to the village.
Noa reaches home, and goes to aid his father in the aviary tower; they free the eagles, but Sylva attacks them. Sylva knocks Noa out of the tower, with his fall broken on thatches on the way down, but he still hits the ground hard enough to lose consciousness. Noa awakens to find his father's body, which he buries in an impromptu funeral. The Eagle Clan suffers deaths, while the survivors are taken as prisoners, with the trail followed by Noa. Behind Noa, his father's eagle and Noa follows.
Noa is caught in a trap, revealed to be set by orangutan Raka, who mistakes the youth for one of the raiders, until corrected. After a day of Raka teaching Noa what he believed human civilisation was like - including a mistaken belief that man and Ape were equals - Noa learns that what his village label "echoes," are actually humans. At night, they rest around a fire; Raka notices Mae from the shadows, tossing her food. Mae eats the apples, so Raka names her "Nova," because he believes all human women have the name; while Noa is reluctant to share his father's shroud, Raka mentions that humans experience cold, so he loans the shroud to Nova.
Noa prepares to ride his horse away, but Raka asks him to wait, so he can get his own horse, as well as provide a ride to Nova. The riders come across a herd of zebras, although think they are merely horses with stripes. The zebras are around the shallow part of a river, and they are joined by a herd of humans. Raka bids farewell to Noa, as the youth plans to ride ahead, while Raka wants to help Nova integrate into the human herd; Nova, however, indicates body language that she doesn't want the group to separate. Before Noa gets far, Sylva's mounted troops arrive, rounding up the humans; Raka helps Nova escape into long grass. Sylva and a small offshoot hunt for Nova in the grass; Nova sees Noa on the edge of the grass. As Noa is about to ride away, Nova calls out his name, alerting him to ride to her, but also exposing her location to Sylva. Noa scoops up Nova, who is grabbed by Sylva, but Noa's tactical riding knocks the gorilla away.
Noa, Nova, and Raka reunite, with the orangutan scholar thrilled that a human could talk, but Noa is upset at her deception. Nova apologises for her silence before, explaining that she had to hide her intellect to avoid detection from those who would kill her for being a threat or use her for their own ambitions; Nova also corrected her name is Mae. Raka and Mae offer to help Noa in finding his clan, although Mae has her own goals.
The trio reach halfway across a bridge built over, though slightly through, a violent river. A raider chimp on horse waits at the exit, so they turn around, only to find the entrance similarly blocked. Sylva and chimps emerge from beneath the bridge, attacking the trio. Noa is overpowered and held down. Mae is knocked into the river, holding on to a net attached to it; Raka jumps into the water, rescuing Mae, as she reaches the bridge. However, Sylva begins cutting the net; Raka repeats Caesar's ethic, "strong together," before the net is cut, and the river drags him away, apparently, dropping him off the falls to his death.
In binds, Mae and Noa are taken to the Kingdom of Proximus Caesar, a megalomaniac bonobo; they are taken into a fortress, which is made from the rusted remains of an oil tanker, beached into a cliff. Mae is sent to a relatively well-furnished room, where the human inventor, Trevathan, inhabits. Mae looks through some of the many books, before being interrupted by Trevathan; he welcomes her, noting that the living situation is better than it looks. Trevathan also explains that Proximus loves hearing about human history, particularly Ancient Rome.
Mae watches from above - a "window" being a rusted hole - as Proximus Caesar enters the courtyard, and mounts the podium to begin an apparently daily speech. Proximus twists Caesar's legacy, first by stealing his name, then reinterpreting "apes together strong" as not a mantra for unity and equality, but as an order for obedience to one power, with that one power being Proximus; he also claims that he is now Caesar himself, so all should obey him, with the enslaved and indoctrinated crowd cheering for him. Mae witnesses lines of worker Apes pulling chains attached to an immense vault door; while Trevathan enthusiastically tells her to watch the next step, the ignited gunpowder simply burns a fire around the vault door, failing to weaken it, as the chains break. Proximus is visibly disappointed, but states that perhaps the next day will be more successful.
After Proximus had already begun his recruitment speech to Noa, he has Mae brought to them in the throne room. Proximus explains about how Mae was one of a tribe of intelligent humans like her, and that his troops had unknowingly killed what would have been a useful supply of knowledge for him; although, he expresses cruel gratitude that Mae survived. He monologues about humanity's technological achievements, including sharing that he knows the evolution of Apes was advanced by humans, and he wishes to advance it further; although, he admits to be only mortal, so expresses his desire to claim the treasure of knowledge and whatever else is behind the vault doors. Mae spitefully tells Proximus that the content of the vault belongs to humans, and that he had no right to it; although, he disagrees with a taunt. Proximus tries to coax information of Noa, believing that Mae confided something in him, but Noa reveals she told him nothing; Proximus angrily doubts this, yet still leaves them to be free, although only within the confines of his Kingdom walls.
Noa had discovered his clan as servants of the kingdom, so Mae persuades him to help him, and bring whatever aid he can recruit. Mae has Noa, Soona, and Anaya position gunpowder kegs in tactical points in the sea dam, which would unleash ocean tides over the courtyard and into the vault, if it were open. Trevathan, assuming Mae's resistance, meets them at the dam; he defeatedly mentions that Proximus would only rebuild the dam, so they'd achieve nothing. Mae talks with Trevathan, he argues that humanity's time is gone, and trying to change it, is futile, whereas she counters that anything he had done to help the tyrant Ape doesn't matter, and he can still help prevent the Kingdom's further expansion and conquest. Trevathan seems to consider her points, but rejects her invitation nonetheless, pitifully saying that they are doomed. Tervathan walks away, however, is stopped as Mae wraps her arms around his neck; they fall to the ground as she strangles him, before jerking to break his necks. The chimps walking appear highly disturbed by the killing, though to protect the plan, they throw his body into the ocean.
Mae knows of an alternate entrance into the vault, so leads the three chimp friends over a precarious rock edge, with sharp cliff on one side, and the wild sea waves to the other. They arrive at a point from which she directs them to ascend the cliff; Soona and Anaya climb themselves, while Noa has to carry Mae on his back. Some loose rocks fall, knocking Mae loose, but Noa catches her, and returns her to his back. At the top of the cliffs, they find a broken ventilation shaft, so follow Mae into the vault, which is actually a large military bunker.
Mae restores power at the generator, which alarms the chimps, until they realise it was planned; they split up, with the chimps looking through a children's classroom, learning about planets by models and unsettling realities from a picture book. Mae navigates the bunker, finding a communication relay; she locates a decipher key, retrieving it and packing it into her pocket. Mae reconvenes with the chimps, who are still unnerved, but continue with her plan. Mae opens the bunker door, with it slowly revealing that Noa's mother at the entrance, with the fully open door showing that Proximus Caesar had corralled the Eagle Clan to the entrance, while surrounding them with his forces.
Proximus congratulates Noa on his ingenuity, but derides him for being foolish in trusting a human. Proximus has one of his Apes hold Soona at knife-point, implying the end result if he isn't given the knowledge and weapons he desires for his conquest. Noa screams at him to stop, but the knife starts to scratch Soona's throat; the surrounding Apes holler in distress or support. The cacophony is ceased by the loud sound of a gunshot; the knife Ape feels his chest, as a bullet wound leaks blood, before he collapses. The shot came from a pistol that had been scavenged by Mae; she aims at Proximus, who carefully moves behind the gathered crowd, expressing admiration and interest in retrieving similar weaponry for himself.
Noa suspects Mae's next move, asking her to wait, however, Mae apologises, then rushes through the Apes to reach the detonator outside; Mae detonates the planted explosives in the dam, which damage it. While nothing happens at first, the dam bursts open, with the ocean flooding over the gathered chimps, and into the open bunker. Noa is able to direct his clan to safety, climbing above the water, ironically using directions that Mae had given to him. Mae herself flees the Kingdom.
As the Eagle Clan are rebuilding their village, Mae visits to talk with Noa, wanting to say goodbye, but Noa is initially hostile to her, noting that Proximus was right about how humans will never give up and claim everything for themselves. Mae counters this by saying the equipment was meant for humans, to which Noa responds what is for apes. He states that the Eagle Clan will rebuild and be stronger from what they learned. After calming down, Noa then proceeds to ask the ultimate question to Mae; if apes and humans could live together. Mae, who was holding her gun behind her, answers that she doesn't know. Noa, satisfied with the answer, then gives her the medallion of Caesar, stating it to be important. After receiving it, Mae then departs from the village. 
After a lengthy horse ride, Mae reaches a satellite base. At the entrance, a woman in a hazmat protective gear meets her; Mae hands over the satellite decipher key. Mae leaves, seeming that she isn't permitted within the base, as she may be a vector for the virus. The woman passes through some levels of decontamination, until just in regular clothes; she inserts the decipher key in the one vacant slot in the control station. The crew of still intelligent humans activate the relay, Mae watches the satellite dishes turn to position. The quarantined humans; make contact; with another human, somewhere far away, though sounding like located in the former USA territories, therefore; Mae had successfully completed her mission; allowing her allies to reconnect vastly divided intelligent human remnants.
==Gallery==
===Promotional===
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Promotional 01.jpg
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Promotional 02.jpg
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Promotional 03.jpg
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Promotional.jpg
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Jem Ward Textless Poster.jpg
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes kino maniac Textless Poster.jpg
===Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes===
File:Proximus Caesar , Mae and Trevathan.jpg
File:Proximus Caesar and Mae.jpg
File:Proximus Caesar and Mae 01.jpg
Proximus Caesar , Mae and Noa.jpg
==Trivia==
*Mae is given the name "Nova"; by Raka, a reference to the character of the same name from War for the Planet of the Apes, both of; which were a reference to the original film.
**It's likely that; the story of orangutan Maurice and his adopted human daughter, Nova was carried down history; by the Order of Caesar; but like many other details; became distorted over time, therefore; Raka was under the assumption that; all other human females in general must also be called "Nova".
*Unlike most other human protagonists in the previous films; such as Will Rodman, Malcom and Nova respectively. Mae put herself first and recklessly endangered apes for own kinds need; when the previous human allies wanted to help them; instead of; make things worse. Despite her intentions; it; made Noa think Proximus was right about her that; she is selfish, and doesn't believe that; apes and humans should co-exist, like Ceaser wanted; but she had apologised and they both left on good terms for now.
==External Links==
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