Before gaining superpowers, Mikhail Romanov was a young scientist who had been working on the Manhattan Project, conducting tests at the University of Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory. One day in 1942, a mishap occurred. Mikhail was bathed in radiation, though later tests indicated that it was a heretofore unidentified form of radiation. Mikhail suddenly found himself gifted with superhuman strength and many other talents. In 1943, Max was recruited into The Power Society. In the course of a year he had gone from an obscure student to the being amongst the prestigious mystery men in America.