AlMax

AlMax is the het ship between Albert Rothstein and Maxine Hunkel from the DC Comics and DC Extended Universe fandoms.

Canon
DCEU = Black Adam (2022)

Albert Rothstein aka Atom Smasher (Age 20) and Maxine Hunkel aka Cyclone (Age 19) are both recruited into the Justice Society, led by Carter Hall aka Hawkman and co-led by Kent Nelson aka Dr. Fate. They both are seen traveling to Hawkman's estate for their first mission and both meet for the first time in the council room. They exchange heartfelt excitement and shock over being a part of the Justice Society with each other. Maxine tells him she has goosebumps and Albert makes a nervous but excited sound in agreement. They, alongside Carter and Kent, walk down a long walkway into the hangar where the Hawkjet is kept. Maxine asks Carter what the "op" or operation is and he tells the team that they're headed to Kahndaq to apprehend and contain a CLASS-A, rogue meta-human. Albert cuts in and says he didn't bring a passport with Kent replying that they don't need passports because they're the Justice Society. Maxine is seen briefly looking at Albert with a smile before turning to look at the Hawkjet. They board the Hawkjet and Maxine asks if the jet is entirely made of Nth metal. Carter tells her that everything down to the screws is made of it and that it's completely indestructible. He tells the rest of the team that he'll be in the cockpit if they need him. Albert quickly says the ship is pretty cool and then abruptly jumps to asking Kent for snacks. Kent looks at him and walks away with Albert responding that it takes a lot of energy to smash atoms. He's left standing there alone and awkward rubbing the back of his head while the Hawkjet powers up. He starts to walk to the area where Maxine is situated. She's seen watching the jet power up with shock and intrigue.


 * Maxine was listening to Albert the entire time and gives him a snack to eat. He thanks her. She smiles. He introduces himself and tells her his name is Al. She looks down and smiles and tells him her name is Maxine. She smiles as she turns on a computer-table device with her nanobots and he tries to start a conversation with her. While eating the snack, he asks her what she does (referring to her powers) with awkward hand motions. She smiles at him and responds with "wind". She then asks what he does with a look of curiosity and he casually tells her he grows. She ponders what he tells her and tells him that his powers are cool while fangirling with excitement.


 * -|Comics =

In DC Comics, Albert Rothstein and Maxine Hunkel are purely friends, teammates, and allies with Albert being 27 years old and Maxine being 19 years old. They are both members of the Justice Society with Albert being an old member and Maxine being a new member. Their ship/romantic pairing wasn't a concept that existed until the DCEU.

Fanon
There were many rumors among the DCEU fandom about their relationship. Fans suspected the two characters were going to be romantic interests when their involvement in Black Adam (2022) was announced.

Many moments they shared were shown in advertising and promotional material till Black Adam (2022)'s release. Many fans noticed how flirty, cute, touching, and romantic their interactions were and grew fond of them. It was very clear to fans that they had a crush on each other. This is what started the fandom's shipping of the pairing.

Post the film's release, fans pointed out how cute and wholesome they were in it, with many pleading to see more of them. Some fans were disappointed they didn't get together at the end or kiss. The former is partly due to them having little screentime as a whole in the film but also due to the fact that fans loved the potential their characters had individually and together. There is a slowly growing campaign for them to have a spinoff series together. This is an idea which was created and is strongly endorsed by Noah Centineo and Quintessa Swindell (the actors who play Albert and Maxine).

On A03, there are very few fanfics about them. However, there is a strong desire among AlMax's small shipping community to write fics about them (especially on tumblr).

Fandom
FAN FICTION

TUMBLR