Mae, also known as Nova, is the sole survivor of a human expedition team who allied herself with Noa and Raka in hopes of fulfilling her mission to help establish communication with other remaining human settlements around the world to rebuild human civilization.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
In the decades following the Simian Flu Pandemic, much of the surviving humans of the outbreak and the Human-Ape War regressed to a primal state after the Simian Flu mutated. As a result, their descendants are unable to speak. However, other humans were immune to the new strain and lived in isolated settlements. Within the ruins of the Very Large Array in New Mexico, in a functional satellite base, Mae was born with intelligence and the ability to speak like humans before the pandemic. In her past life, Mae's mother taught her that silence could save her.
As the apes expanded in numbers and established various clans throughout the years, Mae sought to find a way to communicate with other human settlements through the world's operational satellites. Mae and her other members of her settlement soon sought to search for a decipher key that could fulfill their goals. Therefore, Mae was sent among an expedition team, alongside her mother by Korina, the leader of the Satellite Human Colony. However, Mae's mother and the rest of her expedition party were massacred by apes belonging to a rogue ape clan led by Proximus Caesar, a chimp despot who seeks to enslave other ape clans and gain access to human technologies to expand his clan farther. Mae was able to escape, although Proximus ordered his followers to hunt her down and capture her.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes[]
Mae runs into meets the young chimpanzees, Noa, Soona and Anaya, in the forest, who are returning to their clan after getting their eagle eggs for tomorrow's ceremony. She had taken Noa's blanket because of the cold. They discovered her and chased her but she managed to escape through a tunnel that they are prohibited from crossing. That night, the young woman secretly entered the Eagle Clan village, hiding inside a fish warehouse, looking for food, which alerted Noa and he tried to catch her, but again she managed to escape, without realizing it she accidentally broke Noa’s eagle egg, and the young chimpanzee was forced to go looking for another one in the middle of the night. When Proximus Caesar's squad of apes, led by the gorilla Sylva, discover Mae's blood on Noa's blanket and Sylva knows it is hers, the gorilla orders a search in all directions, unfortunately the masked apes arrive at the Eagle Clan and attack the village and capture the villagers. During the attack, Noa witnessed the death of his father and leader, Koro at the hands of Sylva.
Mae would then follow Noa from his village to reach the bunker, following the trail of the survivors. She would be discovered again, stealing Noa's horse, now accompanied by an oraguntan named Raka. Noa scares her away; but Raka tries to prevent it. While they camp, Raka notices Mae from the shadows, throwing food at her. Mae eats the apples, so Raka calls her "Nova", because he believes all human women have that name; which is from Caesar's epoch, the first ape king; while Noa is reluctant to share his mother's robe, Raka mentions that humans experience cold, so he lends the garment. During the night, Nova discovers with Noa an old telescope looking through the stars, the young chimpanzee noticed in the human's eyes, impression like him.
In the morning, while Noa prepares to leave on horseback, Raka asks Nova to ride with him on horseback, taking her with them. Along the way, they encounter a herd of zebras, although they think they are simply striped horses; Around the shallow end of a river, they are joined by a pack of wild humans. Raka says goodbye to Noa, as the young ape plans to go ahead, while Raka wants to help Nova integrate into the human pack; Nova, however, indicates with body language that she doesn't want the group to break up. Before Noa can go far away, Sylva's troops arrive, cornering the humans; Raka helps Nova escape into the tall grass. Sylva and the ape mauraders look for Nova in the grass; Nova sees Noa at the edge of the grass. As Noa is about to leave, Nova calls out his name, alerting him to come towards her, but also exposing his attention to Sylva. Noa grabs Nova, who is grabbed by Sylva, but Noa's tactical driving hits the gorilla and knocks him over.
They manage to escape and flee to the horses to buy time, Noa tells Raka about Nova; she spoke and said his name, which leaves the orangutan scholar delighted that a human can speak; Nova tells them her name is Mae. However, Noa is upset by her deception, Mae apologizes for her previous silence, explaining that she had to hide her intellect to avoid detection by those who would kill her for being a threat or use her for their own ambitions; he offers to help Noa find her clan, who knows where they are, although Mae has her own goals. The trio reach the middle of a bridge built over a violent river, although they barely cross it. A raiding chimpanzee on horseback waits at the exit, so they turn around, only to find the entrance similarly blocked. Sylva and the apes emerge from under the bridge, attacking the trio. Noa is dominated and restrained. Mae falls into the river, clinging to a tied net; Raka jumps into the water, rescuing Mae, when she reaches the bridge. However, Sylva cuts the network; Raka repeats Caesar's ethos, "strength is in numbers," before the net is cut, and the river seemingly sweeps him away, letting him fall over the falls to his death.
While on their way to the coast, they are attacked again by Sylva and his apes. Raka sacrifices himself to save Mae from drowning. Mae and Noa are then captured and taken to Proximus' settlement, the Coastal Ape Colony. Mae was taken aboard a shipwreck and locked in a room with Trevathan, another human immune to the mutated Simian Flu. He has allied with Proximus and urges Mae to do the same, believing that he is securing his place amongst the apes in a world that will never again be dominated by humans. Trevathan also explains that Proximus loves hearing about human history, particularly Ancient Rome. Mae watches from above as Proximus Caesar emerges and takes the podium to begin a seemingly everyday speech. Proximus twists Caesar's legacy, first by stealing his name, then by reinterpreting "apes together are strong" not as a mantra of unity and equality, but as a command of obedience to a power, and that power is Proximus; He also claims that he himself is now Caesar, so everyone must obey him, while the enslaved and indoctrinated crowd cheers him on. Mae witnesses rows of ape workers pulling chains attached to an immense vault door; as Trevathan enthusiastically tells him to watch out for the next step, the ignited gunpowder simply lights a fire around the vault door, without weakening 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 takes Mae to the throne room. Proximus explains that Mae was part of a tribe of intelligent humans like her, and that his troops had unknowingly killed what would have been a useful source of knowledge for him; though he expresses cruel gratitude for Mae's survival. He monologues about humanity's technological achievements, including the fact that he knows that ape evolution was advanced by humans and wishes to advance further; although he admits to being only a mortal, so he expresses his desire to claim the treasure of knowledge and everything inside the vault. Mae spitefully tells Proximus that it belongs to humans and that he had no right to it; although he does not agree with a mockery. Proximus tries to get information out of Noa, believing that Mae confided something to him; but Noa reveals that she didn't tell him anything; Proximus angrily doubts this, but still sets them free, albeit only within the confines of the walls of his kingdom.
Later that night, Mae is confronted by Noa who demands the truth in exchange for his help. Mae says that she wants access to a special "book" that will allow humans to speak again. Noa agrees to help her gain access to the vault, wanting to defeat Proximus and lead his clan back home. Noa, Mae, Soona, and Anaya plant explosives around the dam that surrounds the vault. Trevathan appears and plans to warn Proximus, Mae tried to convince him to change sides, but failed which forced her to strangle him.
The group then scales a cliff to reach a secret entrance to the vault. Mae reactivates the generators and acquires a revolver and the decipher key. They open the main door to the bunker, unintentionally allowing Proximus and all his apes to get inside. Mae scares the apes by shooting and killing an ape, Lightning, who was holding Soona hostage, freeing her. Proximus agrees to let Mae leave if she tells him where the weapons are. Mae refuses to give the apes the weapons and triggers the explosives, flooding the bunker while all the apes are inside.
Later, after the defeat of Proximus, Mae arrives at the Eagle Clan, which is being rebuilt, to say goodbye to Noa. She explains that humans deserve to return to their advanced species status, but Noa wonders if apes and humans can coexist, something Mae doesn't know; she seems unsure but satisfied with his answer, so she doesn't use the gun she was holding on her back. In memory of Raka, Noa gives Mae the necklace of the Order of Caesar, after which he bids her farewell; the memory of the ape who treated her kindly and sacrificed his life for her seems to further shake Mae's prejudice against apes; but she still leaves to finish her mission. Mae travels to an area of plains where the satellite base is located, still operational and inhabited after 300 years. She gives the decryption key to the people there, who use it to activate enormous satellite dishes and successfully contact other human settlements, giving hope for the restoration of human civilization.
Personality[]
Relationships[]
- See Mae/Relationships.
Gallery[]
Notes[]
- When Freya Allen was announced to appear in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, it was commonly speculated that she would portray an adult Nova, before she was announced to be playing Mae.[1]