Jorge Gutierrez is well-known for his superhero Nicktoon, “El Tigre”, as well as his Day of the
Dead animated film, “The Book of Life”. Now, he’s bringing a whole new adventure to Netflix.
Maya and the Three is a 9-part miniseries set in a world based on Mesoamerica. It stars Maya,
a warrior princess, who must embark on a quest to fulfill a prophecy, defeat the God of War and save
humanity itself from destruction, meeting many different heroes, villains and gods.
But of this huge cast of characters, which rank as the most noble and which are the most vile?
I’m Caleb with WickedBinge, and this is Maya and the Three: Good to Evil.
As usual, we’ll be starting with the most pure and
noble characters and working our way down… These characters are The Good.
Easily getting our Gold Medal of Good is Picchu. Despite the stereotypes you may
have about barbarians, Picchu is easily the most honorable character of the main group.
Looking at his backstory, Picchu was a barbarian who spared the life of one of his enemies.
Unfortunately, this act of mercy came back to bite him, resulting in him losing his
family. Despite this, Picchu never becomes bitter, nor does he regret his act of mercy.
Once the team recruits him, it’s made clear that Picchu is more than willing to fight for them,
and that he cares about their mission just as much as he cares about getting a warrior’s death.
Picchu is the first of the heroes to die, sacrificing himself so his friends could
get away as he tries to buy them time by fighting Lord Mictlan on his own.
But even before his most noble moment, Picchu is shown to be kind and caring, even being willing
to carry the others when they get tired. This guy truly has a heart of pure, heroic gold.
For the Silver Medal of Good, we’re giving it to Camazotz, the God of Bats, and his wife,
Zyanya, AKA Zatz’s parents. While they don’t play a huge role in the story, they do play a
significant part in making sure their son was a good person. Zyanya actually sacrificed herself
when Zatz was a baby so that he and Camazotz could get away safely. As Zatz grew, Camazotz did his
best to raise him and teach him about honor. Later on, when Mictlan threatened Zatz’s life,
Camazotz jumped in without hesitation to try and stop him. Much like his wife, he was willing to
exchange his own life for his son’s. Both these characters are incredibly noble and loving, and
even if they weren’t major players in the story, we wanted to give them the credit they deserve.
Moving onto the Bronze Medal of Good, we’re ranking Zatz, the Prince of Bats, next. Yes,
Zatz ranks only a little below his parents. Huh, I guess his whole family is just that good! Despite
his vampiric aesthetic, Zatz certainly tends to lean more into his princely side. When he first
comes to collect Maya, he’s polite and insists that he doesn’t want to hurt or fight anyone,
only engaging in combat when he’s forced to. Later on, after the death of Maya’s brothers,
Zatz returns their broken weapons to the Teca family and refuses to fight King Teca
while he’s injured. Zatz believes in being honorable, and he never really breaks this code.
As such, it’s no surprise when he joins Maya’s quest and fights alongside her,
even dying in the final battle for her. However, there are a couple things that
keep him from being put any higher. We have to remember that, before falling in love with her,
Zatz had originally planned to sacrifice Maya so that he and his father could overthrow Lord
Mictlan. Even if he didn’t stick to this plan, he still had it briefly. We also have to mention
that, considering his relationship with Acat and what she says about him, there’s a chance that
Zatz wasn’t always so honorable. But hey, what teenager isn’t a bit rebellious?
Following him is the briefly seen Gran Brujo. As the original leader of Luna Island, Gran Brujo
was kind and encouraging to all young wizards - including a young Rico. Even when everyone else
saw the boy as a stuttering mess, it was Gran Brujo that always believed in him. Even after
Rico’s peasant magic accidentally killed him, Gran Brujo never had any resentment and encouraged both
Rico and his daughter, Gran Bruja, to look after each other. For all the kindness Gran Brujo gives,
however, we are detracting a couple points for pushing Rico to perform on stage.
We know that he was just trying to encourage and help Rico, but if he had just let Rico go and then
encouraged him later on in private, he might have saved both Rico and Gran Bruja a lot of pain.
Next up is another noble and kind leader, Queen Teca. Being a queen isn’t easy,
but try being a queen, mother AND warrior. As a whole, Queen Teca seems to represent
the best of the Teca Kingdom. She’s patient and kind, but also knows when to be firm and take
action. She’s protective of her family, and her love for them always shines through.
She was even willing to be a loving mother to Maya despite Maya not being her daughter
by blood. That’s extremely admirable! But, like many motherly queens before her, Queen Teca can
sometimes be a bit too stern. Even if she was just trying to encourage Maya to be a diplomat
instead of risking her life in the fight pits, tearing her luchador mask was a bit harsh…
Thankfully, this was just one bad call, and is hardly enough to get her put any lower.
Ranking next on our list of heroes is Chimi. In one episode, Maya describes Chimi as having
“the kindest heart she’s ever seen”. While it may not always seem like it, that is pretty accurate.
Although Chimi grew up isolated and shunned, thus causing her to be pretty blunt and
fairly aggressive with strangers, it’s obvious that she has a pretty big soft side. She’s kind
to all animals, and is even willing to eventually trust humans again despite all the hurt they had
done to her. Chimi is also able to convince the God of Jungle Animals that humans are capable
of being allies instead of enemies. Although it may sometimes take a bit for her more positive
traits to come out, Chimi still has enough of them to earn her a high spot on our list.
Following her is fellow trio member and love interest, Rico. Being yet another outcast, Rico
starts out pretty timid and unsure of himself. He even comes off as a bit of a con-man at first,
pretending that he’s missing a leg and only agreeing to guide people for money. But,
once Maya and the others start to encourage him, we see more of Rico’s hero side come out.
Although he’s easily intimidated, he’s far from cowardly. He’s sympathetic to
the others on his team, and pushes himself to be strong enough to help his friends.
Rico is even willing to forgive Gran Bruja, despite how badly she treated him.
While we don’t blame him for starting out as someone so nervous and self-conscious,
it was amazing watching him grow as a character and become braver throughout his journey.
We finally come to the titular character and awesome Eagle heroine, Maya. Maya encompasses many
traits that you can find in a classic hero. She’s brave, determined, and cares deeply for her people
and family, even being willing to die for them. We see her go from someone focused on her own destiny
to someone who learns how to be responsible as a leader, being more diplomatic and considerate
of others. This even extends to a couple of her enemies, like Cipactli. Unfortunately,
some of her other classic-hero traits aren’t quite as positive. Her determination can sometimes make
her incredibly prideful, not to mention her fiery temper that comes out when she’s angry.
For a good chunk of the series, she only cares about completing her destiny through battle,
and is willing to take risks in order to avenge the deaths of her brothers. This of
course leads to her lying to her team about their true goal, which is pretty messed up. When you’re
going to try and take on the God of War, you should probably let people know ahead of time.
This isn’t exactly the first time she’s lied either, considering how often she snuck out to
go fight despite her parents’ wishes. Still, Maya regrets this and does what she can to make up for
it once her team learns the truth. This combined with the fact that she’s literally the one who
defeats Lord Mictlan in the end means that we can’t really dock her too many points in the end.
Just under her, we’re going to rank her Jaguar Brothers - Lance, Dagger and Shield. We don’t
see these guys for very long, but we do see why Maya loves them so much. Though they are goofy and
pretty dumb, they’re just as eager to protect their kingdom as their father and sister are.
Speaking of their relationship with Maya, while they may be a bit protective of her,
they never look down on her for being a girl or for being younger. They even take the time to
get her some pretty fantastic birthday gifts, and are willing to help Maya eavesdrop on her parents.
That last one may be more on the sneaky side, but it still shows that they’re loyal to their
sister - something that continues on even in death. While not the most
noble characters, they still make for a pretty great trio of brothers.
Wrapping up the Teca royal family, we have King Teca. Right off the bat, King Teca is
a pretty lovable dad character. He’s goofy, loving, and always ready to defend his kingdom,
laughing at the odds no matter what they are. It’s obvious that he loves his family,
trying to protect them over and over again even when he’s hurt. However,
there’s one pretty big flaw that King Teca has that puts him this low: the time he cheated on
his wife with Lady Micte. Yeahhhh, that’s a pretty big oops, and although King Teca
clearly regrets it and is apologetic towards his wife, we still can’t really excuse it.
Whether it’s with another human or a goddess, cheating on your wife is never a good call.
Heading over to the Jungle Kingdom, next is the Widow Queen. Despite her name,
the Widow Queen actually isn’t too bloodthirsty. ...Well, for the most part. Outside of the fairly
dark origins of her name, she did briefly order Rico and Maya to be fed to her hyenas,
but that can partially be blamed on Rico for being condescending. Thankfully, she gets a
lot nicer after that point. We see in a flashback that the Widow Queen had been the only one in the
Jungle Kingdom willing to give Chimi a chance, and when her father decided to burn down the jungle,
she tried to stop him and then warned Chimi of the fire when she couldn’t. As queen,
she’s willing to stand up for what’s right, even if it means going against
what she knows her father would have wanted. As such, she comes off as incredibly mature,
as well as kind. It’s no wonder people are able to respect her at such a young age.
Wrapping up the good, we have the Goddess of Life and Death herself, Lady Micte. For a while, Lady
Micte was just like her husband - only interested in power, and willing to do whatever it took to
get it. This included only marrying Mictlan for status and later creating a half-mortal, half-god
child. However, when Maya was born, the love Micte felt for her was enough to change her interests.
Instead, she tried to do what was best for Maya, giving her up to a loving family and
visiting her each year on her birthday. Once Lord Mictlan started coming after her,
Micte began doing more to protect Maya - first in subtle ways, then in outright defiance. Though
it’s hard to overlook her original motives, we get to see all the ways that Micte has changed
from a power-hungry goddess to a loving mother. Given that she fights for Maya until the very end,
we feel that Micte gets enough of a redemption to keep her in the good tier.
That’s it for the good characters.
Now it’s time to descend into neutral territory. This is the Grey Area.
Starting off this tier, we have the powerhouse couple, Cipactli and Cabrakan, the Goddess
of Alligators and the God of Earthquakes respectively. Although they share a spot,
we’re ranking Cipactli just a little above her husband. While both of them tried to trick and
capture Maya, it was Cipactli that recognized how dangerous it would be to try and overthrow
Lord Mictlan. When her husband started raging out, Cipactli actually helped Maya escape,
and after Maya saved her, Cipactli returned the favor by showing her where the Jungle Kingdom was.
Additionally, both characters returned to help Maya in the final battle, ultimately giving
their lives. While they may have started out as antagonists, they definitely didn’t stay that way.
Just under her we have the God of Jungle Animals, Vucub. Vucub is an interesting character. Although
he’s part of the team of gods that fight Maya and the Three, he’s easily the least evil of
the team. It does take a bit for his good side to come out though, as we first see him trying
to guilt trip Chimi, claiming that she turned her back on her animal family when she agreed
to work with humans while also guilting her for not being strong enough to save her family.
However, Vucub ends up actually listening to Chimi’s claims that humans can be trusted,
and even decides to switch alliances. He teaches Chimi how to summon her magical arrows, and in the
final battle, he works with both Chimi and the Widow Queen to try and slow Lord Mictlan down.
As such, Vucub easily rises above his former teammates in terms of morality.
Finishing up the Grey Tier, we’re going to rank the Gran Bruja next. Although she’s the new leader
of Luna Island, the Gran Bruja doesn’t quite live up to the legacy of her father. Wracked with grief
about his death, Gran Bruja blames Rico and exiles him, forcing him to live as an outsider.
She’s also incredibly dismissive of Maya’s quest, even trying to trick her just so that Maya leaves
her alone. Although we understand her belief that Luna Island shouldn’t have to suffer because of
the Teca Kingdom’s mistakes, it was still rude. Thankfully, Gran Bruja does eventually decide
to fight for Teca after being convinced by Rico, and the two of them are even able to
make amends when she acknowledges how wrong she was. Although it took her a while to get there,
we don’t feel like the Gran Bruja was bad enough to rank any lower, even at her worst.
That wraps up the grey area. Now it's time to shine a light on the more wicked characters
in the world of Maya. These characters are the Bad to Evil.
Getting spared from the Podium of Evil, we have Acat, the Goddess of Tattoos. In many ways,
Acat is a parallel to Maya. She’s all about fighting and proving herself, but tends to
do so in a more vengeful and malicious way. She likes taunting and messing with her victims first
before going in for the kill, and can be pretty bloodthirsty when she feels offended or slighted.
She outright ignored Zatz’s warnings about killing Maya, which ultimately caused the two to break
up. We should also note that while she clearly cared about him, Acat didn’t really seem like
she respected Zatz, frequently encouraging to ignore his more ‘honorable’ side.
Still, we will give her a couple points for refusing to reveal where Zatz was,
a choice that ultimately cost her her life. Poor Acat...
Taking the Bronze Medal of Evil is Chivo, the God of Dark Magic. Being such a powerful god and
wizard, Chivo naturally serves as Lord Mictlan’s second-in-command and leads his team of gods.
Like many other wizards, Chivo looks down on Rico for using peasant magic - partially because he’s
intimidated by it. However, this fear doesn’t stop Chivo from being a total jerk. Throughout
their battle, Chivo is constantly putting Rico down, shoving his tragic past in his face,
and even forces Rico to call himself worthless. Ouch… He also seems to be the most loyal to Lord
Mictlan, standing by the god’s side until the very end. Even his small acts of mercy,
like fixing Rico’s staff, have a cruel or selfish motive behind them.
It’s really no wonder why this guy has such a high ranking in this universe’s pantheon.
For the Silver Medal of Evil, we’re giving it to Xtabay, Goddess of Illusions. Talk about
someone who doesn’t know the value of mercy… In a battle with Picchu, Xtabay begged for mercy,
which Picchu gave to her. Unfortunately, Xtabay wasn’t grateful. Instead, she later knocked
Picchu out and killed his entire village. She even taunts him afterwards, calling him weak for being
merciful and saying that he’s undeserving of a warrior’s death. Later on, when they fight again,
Xtabay again tries to taunt him into abandoning his merciful ways. We also see her mocking Lord
Mictlan’s victims as a sort of ‘entertainment’ for herself and the other gods. Honestly, this
goddess is about as wicked and cruel as they come. However, there’s still one person that’s worse...
Of course, we’re awarding the Gold Medal of Evil to Lord Mictlan, the God of War. As the god of
war, Lord Mictlan absolutely revels in killing as many humans and gods as he can. He’s even willing
to kill his own followers like Chivo and the rest of his team. Additionally, the only reason why he
didn’t just kill Maya as a baby was because his wife convinced him that he’d gain more power if he
killed her as an adult. Gee, how kind... Nevermind the fact that he seemed to revel in the idea of
also causing pain to Maya’s adoptive family once he killed her. If this guy has ANY goodness,
it’s that he (apparently) genuinely loved Lady Miche, and seemed heartbroken when he learned
that his wife had betrayed her. However, not even she could convince him to give up any
chance of power, and Mictlan ends up murdering her, adding to his already long body-count. So,
while he does have a bit of a heart, this hardly counts for much. Simply put, Mictlan is a villain
through-and-through, and more than deserves to be called the Most Evil character of this series.
Well, that’s our list. But before we go, we’ve got a few additional medals to give out.
Easily earning the Lust Medal is Zatz. Considering he fell for Maya from the moment he met her and
flirted with her even while fighting - yeah, there was no one else who deserved this medal more.
The Gluttony Medal is going to Lord Mictlan. While he may strive for power above all else,
he gains this power in a pretty glutenous way - by literally eating the hearts of other gods. Yikes!
As for the Greed Medal, we’re giving it to his wife, Lady Micte. While we can commend her for
growing out of this mindset, we still have to acknowledge that at one point,
she was just as obsessed with gaining power as Mictlan was, perhaps even moreso.
We’re giving the Darwin Medal to Lance, Dagger and Shield. These guys may be strong,
but they’re dumb enough that they sometimes forget which one they are
in the trio. That’s pretty dumb, but at least they have good hearts.
Funnily enough, the Pride Medal is going to go to their little sister, Maya. It’s obvious that Maya
is very proud of her skills and starts the show wanting a chance to show others what she can do.
We’re also giving her the Wrath Medal because boy oh boy, she sure does have a fiery temper.
Finally, the Envy Medal is going to Acat. While she may seem like she just enjoys taunting Maya,
it’s pretty obvious that she’s jealous of her
and her skills - especially once Maya earns the attention of Zatz.
Alright, that’s all we’ve got. Let us know in the comment section if you agree with our ranking,
and tell us what we should cover next. Remember to hit that notification bell and binge our Good to
Evil playlist, where we break down the morality of the characters in your favorite cartoons,
shows and movies. But most importantly, stay wicked!