Max Mordon

"Max Mordon on the case!"

- Max Mordon's catchphrase.

Maximillian "Max" Mordon is the main antagonist in the 2012 Spanish animated film Tad, the Lost Explorer. He was first viewed as a world-famous archaeologist explorer, but is actually a mercenary.

He was voiced by Adam James.

History
In the film, he is idolized by the hero, Tad Stones, a brickmason who dreams of being an adventurous explorer like him. Mordon is also dating Sara Lavrof, who joins Tad in his adventure to retrieve the lost idol of Paititi, which is being hunted by the evil Odysseus Inc. (led by the pursuing Kopponen). In the scientific community, Mordon is regarded a joke and a bad-taste one, with real archaeologists like Tad's friend Prof. Humbert and Sara's father Prof. Lavrof both showing little respect for Mordon's recklessness and the fact that he seems to be more concerned with cultivating his celebrity image than doing actual archaeology of any kind.

Later, Mordon is much more than a narcissist: he is actually an evil man who is working alongside the Odysseus Corp. to get his hands on the idol, in hopes of achieving eternal life. To do that he kidnaps his bride's father (as Lavrof is the only one who can translate the ruins) and pretends to be kidnapped as well to conceal his real goals. During the journey, Tad learns about Max's true nature and the latter secretly ordered his men to kill him and Freddy. Tad later exposes Max's true intentions to Sara. Max informs Sara to dismiss Tad. Max then exposes that Tad is not a professor as he claimed but a bricklayer. But Max also unintentionally reveals his own true nature to Sara, causing her to realize that Max is the mastermind behind the evil operation, kidnapped her father, and tried to kill Tad and Freddy. Sara slaps Max in the face, furiously calling off their engagement. Max nonetheless holds Sara and Tad at gunpoint as he orders his goons to move on.

As the group travels through the temple, several of the booby-traps were activated, causing Max to lose Kopponen and all of his remaining men. However, Max actually manages to get the idol and is about to receive immortality. Though it would seem that Max has finally succeeded in his goal to become immortal, it turns out that the statue will only make the person immortal by turning him into a mummy obligated to guard the idol, something Max didn't expect. As a result, Max is turned into a living mummy, much to his horror. Upset by this turn of events, Max demanded that there must be an antidote to revolve the curse, only to learn in shock that there is no antidote. The other mummies of Paititi then arrive to take Mordon to a prison in their hidden city, dragging him to the darkest cell as punishment for his actions. As he is being dragged away, Max cries out in agony over his fate while demanding that he be released.

It is unknown what happened to Max Mordon after this, but it can be assumed that he served a life sentence in the mummies' prison, or that he was killed once he was released.

Quotes
"Give it up, Toad! This is the last time I have to worry about you, pathetic bricklayer!"

- Max fighting Tad

"Too bad, Toad! LOSER!"

- Max Mordon insulting Tad Stones as he achieves his goal (which would ultimately be his undoing).

"Don't even think about it, Toad. (Tad Stones: My name is Tad!)"

- Max Mordon as a mummy before Tad grabs his neck.

"What!?! No. NO! Who are you talking to? You can't do that! I'm Max Mordon! I'm the most famous archeaologist in the WORLD! No, NOOOOOOOoooooooo!!!!!"

- Max Mordon's last lines as he is dragged away to the mummies' darkest cell.

Trivia

 * When it's thought that Max Mordon misspelled Tad's name by calling him "Toad", it's more likely an insult, considering the last scene he calls Tad "Toad" when he's a mummy. Also, Max called him that several times in the film, so he also likely knew Tad's real name as well as "Toad" being an insult.