Spoken like a true jock. How dare that 100 pound kid come up with a plan to discredit his 200 pound bully and ruin his chances at a college degree? He should have just hit him and then get the snot kicked out of him, plus get charged with assault because he threw the first punch, ruining his own scholar career.
At the start of the game, Max says he got kicked out of school because of circumstances that had nothing to do with his grades, but everyone seems to think he's not as smart as he appears to be. Granted, it's biased information, but it's the only information we get, and hey, we're the MC, so it's obvious the world is against us, and no one sees our hidden potential. But later it becomes relevant due to his dependance on Kira that DS indeed wrote him as the standard trope with no original thought in his perved brain.
And there's a difference between being a coward and someone smart enough to know you'll lose the fight head on. If you get bullied, you either come up with a plan to get revenge, or you try to beat up the guys who are bigger than you and get your ass kicked, again and again. Guess which one will bring you satisfaction and which one will grant you ridicule by everyone?
But hey, if you need violence to ease your mind, that's fine. You do you.
By the way:
You forgot option three (which I've been advocating for all this time): You bide your time and plot your revenge. During World War 2, after Germany invaded France, the French didn't run to their safe place nor did they attack the Germans head on (they had already lost, so they would have been butchered). Instead, they went underground and the French Resistance did massive damage to the German troops and supply lines, which played a massive role in the defeat of the German troops. When you face an invincible enemy, you go underground and win. All other options lead to defeat.
