Max Dire was a detective for the Los Angeles police department. He was married to a woman named Anna and his partner was the late Jim Sheldon. Max distinguished himself for his involvement in the Club O hostage situation and was a Medal of Valor recipient for 1993. His strong moral code and dedication to duty made him a prime recruit for Adam Garou's special police detachment known as the Pack.

Max Dire was a pseudo-werewolf and not a true werewolf. As such, he could not shapeshift into a full, half-man/half-woman form like Adam Garou. Instead, his overall physique increased in size and heartiness. He grew a set of claws that protruded not from his fingertips, but rather from his knuckles. He also developed sharpened canine teeth. Although he still felt pain, he could not be injured through coventional weaponry. So long as he continued to inject himself with Adam's formula, he could instantly heal from nearly any injury. The only thing that could harm Max was direct exposure to silver. Even touching something made of silver caused him severe pain. During a full lunar eclipse, Max was virtually invincible and not even silver could harm him.