Maine (Edgerunners)

Maine is a tritagonist in the anime series Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, known for his complex background and relationships within the narrative.

Character Background

Maine is the tritagonist of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. He was the son of a jazz singer and his mother was pregnant while in Portland. Maine's mother worked as a waitress for around ten years. During his childhood, Maine was small, sickly, and frail. He fought in underground boxing matches and bought cyberware after his first prize win, with his first cyberware being titanium metacarpals and phalanges.

Military Service and Edgerunning

After his mother's passing, Maine started working as a bouncer in clubs but was fired for beating up NUSA SpecOps. He received a job offer from NUSA SpecOps and was deployed in South America with a unit of SpecOps, where he befriended Solomon Reed and witnessed the burning of many villages. Maine took his discharge from the NUSA after two years of service and decided to become an edgerunner in Night City.

Crew and Relationships

Maine followed Dorio Gunnarsdóttir for several days, saved her life, and recruited her to his crew. He also befriended Falco and recruited Pilar and Rebecca into his crew, valuing friendship over glory. Maine was drinking in the Afterlife with Dorio, Rebecca, and Sasha when he recruited Lucy Kushinada into his crew. He made a deal with Gloria Martinez for cyberware and brought Dorio and Pilar with him on missions.

Conflict with David Martinez

Maine confronted David in Lucy's apartment, where he assaulted David and discussed plans to end his life. However, after Lucy vouched for David's abilities, Maine involved him in a job to steal data from Arasaka bodyguard Maxim Kuznetsov. Maine saved David from being killed by a Mantis Blade and executed the gang member with his hand cannon.

Downfall and Death

Maine began to experience medical issues due to over-reliance on cyberware, leading to episodes of cyberspychosis. He attacked Kiwi, removed her cyberware jaw, and took Tanaka's resurrected body for use as a meat shield during a confrontation with the NCPD and Trauma Team. Maine broke down into full cyberpsychosis during the fight, resulting in Dorio's death at the hands of a panicking NCPD officer. He constructed a pyre for Dorio out of explosive canisters and was killed after detonating them.

Legacy

Maine inspired David to embody his cyberware physique and values. After Maine's death, David returned to Lucy's car with one of Maine's arms, which offered him something to bury and the opportunity to inherit Maine's cyberware hand. Lucy later wrote about Maine in the North Oak Columbarium.

Appearances

Maine is first mentioned in Episode 1 of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and does not appear until the end of Episode 2, where he meets David Martinez in Lucy's apartment. Maine demands David's Sandevistan from him and seems touched when David talks about his mother's death.