Max Mordon

"Max Mordon on the case!"

- Max Mordon

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

- Max fighting Tad

Maximillian "Max" Mordon is the hidden 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 is 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 is 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've 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 which 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 the curse to be lifted, only to learn in shock that it's permanent. The other mummies of Paititi then arrive to take Mordon to their hidden city, dragging him to the darkest cell to serve an eternal life sentence as punishment for his actions. As he is being dragged away, Max cries out in agony over his sealed fate.

Trivia

 * Max shares some similarities to Lyle Tiberius Rourke from Atlantis: The Lost Empire, and Cecil Fredericks from Night at the Museum.
 * They are archaeologist explorers (Cecil was a night guard) who search for a certain artifact (Rourke: The Heart of Atlantis, Max: The Lost Idol of Paititi, and Cecil: the Tablet of Ahkmenrah). They appear to be benign and friendly, but later on, they betray the protagonist for their own selfish ends. Also, once they obtain the artifact, it actually brings about their downfall (Rourke gets crystallized and destroyed, Max is mummified and forced to guard the idol, and Cecil is forced to become a museum janitor after being sent to jail). In addition, they have henchmen at their disposal.
 * He is also similar to Louis Strack Jr. from Darkman, as they are famous people who hire gangsters to serve as their henchmen.