That should've been the first red flag, but I'd turned a blind eye to dumb stuff before, especially in this mini. And the Starfire thing I saw coming from the solicits. But when Maxine pulled the "you were never really there" line, I absolutely lost my shit. If anyone, anyone should've been there to understand or defend Buddy, it would fucking be Maxine.
Now I'm jut gonna plug my ears, close my eyes, and imagine a beautiful future for the lot of them, where Buddy gets to keep his powers, and Maxine grows up to be Animal Girl. She can till have the basketball and the i-swear-to-god-that's-gotta-be-her-girlfriend, but he gets ANIMAL POWERS and a good relationship with her dad on top of it.
And silly goggles. Can't forget the silly goggles.