Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment Character Roles
Protagonist: Maximum Ride
She may be just fourteen-years-old, but Max is basically the ideal protagonist: strong, loyal, and self-sacrificing in the face of danger. Despite all of the dangers that she and the flock face, Max is unwavering in her quick thinking and fearlessness. Under her leadership, the flock is able to free Angel and go all the way to New York City, where they find out the valuable information about their origins that they've been seeking their whole lives. While we root for them the whole way, with Max in the lead, we can't say we're surprised they make it.
Antagonist: The School
It would be easy to cast the Erasers as the antagonists in this story (after all, they are literally big bad wolves), but in a way, they're victims in the same way that the flock members are—they've all been experimented on against their will by the scientists at the School, who see them as objects rather than real people. The School obviously doesn't care about the kids' well being, and is focused on tracking down the members of the flock and capturing them for who knows what reason. Talk about a nefarious organization.
Guide/Mentor: The Voice
The voice inside of Max's head may not be a traditional character, but it certainly leads her in the right direction when it comes to finding the Institute. Although Max never fully trusts the voice, she opts to follow it because it gives her information that she cannot find anywhere else. Only time will tell whether the voice is a force for good or evil… Is it trying to help out Max, or just leading her and the other flock members into a trap?
Foil: Maximum Ride and Ari Batchelder
Max and Ari may be fighting throughout the entirety of The Angel Experiment, but they represent two very divergent paths that come from the same place. Both Max and Ari were basically raised by Jeb and are hybrids—Max is a bird hybrid, while Ari is an Eraser. And while Ari hates Max, his feelings for her are complicated by jealousy; he feels like Max got more attention and affection from Jeb. Even though Max eventually has to kill Ari in order to escape, she still feels sorry for him and regrets the circumstances that turned him into a bloodthirsty Eraser.