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Maxwell Lord

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Maxwell Lord
Maxwell Lord as depicted in Countdown to Infinite Crisis #1 (March 2005). Art by Phil Jimenez (penciler), Andy Lanning (inker), and Steve Firchow (colorist).
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceJustice League #1 (May 1987)
Created byKeith Giffen
J. M. DeMatteis
Kevin Maguire
In-story information
Alter egoMaxwell "Max" Lord IV
SpeciesMetahuman
Team affiliationsCheckmate
Extremists
Justice League
Black Lantern Corps
Justice League International
Project Cadmus
Notable aliasesBlack King, Lord Havok
AbilitiesTelepathic persuasion

Maxwell Lord IV is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Justice League #1 (May 1987) and was created by Keith Giffen, J. M. DeMatteis, and Kevin Maguire.[1] Maxwell Lord was originally introduced as a shrewd and powerful businessman who was an ally of the Justice League and was influential in the formation of the Justice League International,[2] but he later developed into an adversary of Wonder Woman and the Justice League.

The character made his cinematic debut in the 2020 DC Extended Universe film, Wonder Woman 1984, portrayed by Pedro Pascal. A new iteration portrayed by Sean Gunn will appear in the upcoming DC Universe (DCU) franchise, starting with the film Superman (2025).

Fictional character biography

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Maxwell Lord IV is the son of Maxwell Lord III, a successful businessman and head of the Chimtech Consortium. Maxwell III set out to be a good example for his son by striving to always do what was right.[3] When Maxwell IV was 16, he came home to find his father dead in an apparent suicide. His father had discovered that his company had produced a carcinogenic product, and could not bear the guilt.

Lord's mother was convinced by her husband to employ a similar practice, cajoling heroic metahumans to help Lord. Thus, he sparked the plans to bring the Justice League, leaderless and broken after the Crisis on Infinite Earths event, under his exclusive control.[4]

Giffen and DeMatteis years

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Lord initially worked behind the scenes to establish the Justice League, while under the control of a computer created by Metron. The computer wanted Lord to set up a worldwide peacekeeping organization as part of its plan to dominate the world.[5]

Lord talks with the Martian Manhunter on the need for a strong League in Justice League America #40 (July 1990). Art by Adam Hughes and J. M. DeMatteis.

A later retcon changed his controller to the villainous computer program Kilg%re (pronounced Kilgore[6]), which had taken over Metron's machine. A much later retcon mitigated the Kilg%re's and Metron's influence, stating that Lord already had plans for taking over the League with his company Maxwell Lord Enterprises, and that he would have pursued them regardless.[4]

Lord's ruthlessness at this time was illustrated when he set up a disturbed would-be terrorist as a villain for the League to defeat, resulting in the man's death. Later, Lord rebelled against the computer's influence and destroyed it.

Once free of the computer's influence, Lord is portrayed as an amoral businessman, but not a real villain. During the time that Giffen and DeMatteis were writing the Justice League, Lord is shown struggling with his conscience and developing heroic qualities, though he would remain a con-artist.[clarification needed][citation needed]

From Invasion! to Identity Crisis

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Originally a normal human, Lord is one of many people on Earth gifted with superpowers during the Invasion crossover, when a Gene Bomb is exploded by alien invaders. This bomb activates Lord's latent metagene, granting him the ability to control the minds of others, albeit at great difficulty.[7] Despite being a metahuman, Lord never identifies as one. Instead, at the urging of his mother to act for the benefit of non-metahumans, he shifts his hatred for the generic "authority figures" who caused his father's death to the metahuman community.[4]

After he is shot and placed in a coma at the beginning of JLAmerica/JLEurope crossover Breakdowns, Supervillain Dreamslayer takes over Lord's body and supercharges Lord's power, allowing him to control thousands of minds at once. Using Lord's body and power, Dreamslayer almost forces the Justice League International (JLI) to disband. While possessed Lord forces the JLI to battle itself, the mortally wounded Silver Sorceress manages to contain Dreamslayer, and holds him within her mind as she dies, taking him with her. When Lord is freed, his power is burnt out.

Lord reflects on his time with the League in Justice League America #60 (March 1992). Art by Kevin Maguire and J. M. DeMatteis.

Later, Lord is diagnosed with a brain tumor and dies. Kilg%re downloads Lord's consciousness into a duplicate of Lord Havok that he later alters to resemble Lord's human body.[8]

Doomsday later crash lands on Earth, easily trounces the League and kills Superman. With Earth undefended, world-conqueror Mongul invades and destroys Coast City killing Lord's mother. This event further fuels his hatred and paranoia against the metahumans, as well as leading him to believe that not only can metahumans not be trusted, but that their personal battles and scuffles are enough to shatter world safety.[4]

Lord puts together several former JLI members, including L-Ron, Captain Atom, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, and Fire as the "Super Buddies", advertised as "heroes the common man could call". These stories are told in the six-issue miniseries Formerly Known as the Justice League in 2003, and its 2005 sequel, I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League.[9]

In Brad Meltzer's Identity Crisis (2004), Lord attends Sue Dibny's funeral and speaks to Booster Gold, further denting his already dwindling faith in superheroes.[10]

Infinite Crisis

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Main article: Infinite Crisis
Lord kills Ted Kord in DC Countdown #1 (May 2005); art by Phil Jimenez.

Countdown to Infinite Crisis reveals that Lord is no longer a cyborg, and is a criminal mastermind who spent years running the JLI while gathering sensitive information about the world's superheroes, whom he considered a threat to the planet. Simultaneously, he sabotaged JLI efforts to render the superhero team as ineffectual as possible. At the end of the prologue special issue, he shoots and kills Ted Kord.

During this time, Alexander Luthor Jr., the son of Lex Luthor from an alternate Earth, gives Lord control of Brother Eye, a satellite system Batman created to monitor superhumans worldwide. Lord uses Brother Eye to create an army of OMACs to hunt down and kill all superhumans before Wonder Woman kills him by snapping his neck.[11][12][13]

Wonder Woman seemingly kills Lord in Infinite Crisis #1 (Dec, 2005); art by Phil Jimenez.

At the "Crisis Counseling" panel at Wizard World Chicago, Dan DiDio explained DC's reasoning in using Lord's character in Infinite Crisis. After going through several possible characters who could be the "new leader for the offshoot of Checkmate", Maxwell Lord was suggested. Many of the editors thought that the idea made sense, as Lord had been shown to have a mean streak and to have killed previously. The idea was dropped due to the continuity errors, such as him being a cyborg, but they went back to it later after deciding none of the other possible characters were suitable. Didio explained: "We thought about that aspect of the story [where Maxwell was turned into a cyborg] some more. And then asked, 'Did anyone read it?' No. 'Did anyone like the idea?' No. So we moved ahead with Max as being a human, and having been a human, and not letting that small part of the past stand in the way of this story. We wanted what was best for Countdown [to Infinite Crisis], and for us, that meant that Max had to be a human".[14]

Blackest Night

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Main article: Blackest Night

In Blackest Night and Brightest Day, Maxwell Lord is revived as a Black Lantern before the Life Entity fully resurrects him. He kills Magog and captures Blue Beetle before the Justice League rescues him.[4][15]

The New 52

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In The New 52 and DC Rebirth relaunches, Maxwell Lord is the leader of Project Cadmus. He is possessed by Eclipso before Killer Frost and Superman free him.[16][17][18]

Powers and abilities

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Maxwell Lord is a metahuman who can control the minds of others and force them to act on their subconscious desires. In his original depiction, he is born a human and transformed by the Dominators' Gene Bomb, but he is later depicted as having been born a metahuman.[19][20][21]

Other versions

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  • Maxwell Hodge, a fusion of Maxwell Lord and Marvel Comics character Cameron Hodge, appears in the Amalgam Comics universe.
  • An alternate universe variant of Maxwell Lord appears in Justice Riders. This version is a 19th-century railroad baron.[22]
  • An alternate universe variant of Maxwell Lord appears in Wonder Woman: Earth One as a disguise of Ares.[23][24]

In other media

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Television

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Film

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  • Maxwell Lord was meant to appear in Justice League: Mortal, portrayed by Jay Baruchel.[29] This version, named Jonah Wilkes, was abducted as a child and given psychic abilities by the US government as part of the OMAC Project.[30]
  • Maxwell "Max" Lord appears in Wonder Woman 1984, portrayed by Pedro Pascal as an adult, Lambro Demetriou as a child, and John Barry as a teenager.[31] Born Maxwell Lorenzano, this version grew up poor, was abused by his father, picked on by bullies, and bootstrapped himself on the idea of image and publicized promises. By 1984, he became an aspiring businessman, the owner of the company Black Gold, and father to a son named Alistair (portrayed by Lucian Perez). While seeking out the Dreamstone, an artifact created by the Duke of Deception that grants users one wish while extracting a heavy toll unless they renounce their wish or destroy the stone, he manipulates Barbara Ann Minerva into helping him acquire it and grants himself the stone's powers to save his failing company and grant others' wishes in exchange for whatever he desires. Over time, he rapidly rises to power and becomes an influential figure while unknowingly causing international chaos and self-inflicted mental and physical distress. After learning of and utilizing a satellite system to grant wishes around the world and restore his health, he is confronted by Wonder Woman, who eventually convinces him to renounce his original wish. Following this, Lord comes to terms with his flaws and reunites with Alistair, promising to be a better father to him.
  • Maxwell Lord will appear in the DC Universe franchise, portrayed by Sean Gunn.[32]

Video games

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Maxwell Lord appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.[33]

References

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  1. ^ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 184. ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0.
  2. ^ Greenberger, Robert; Pasko, Martin (2010). The Essential Superman Encyclopedia. Del Rey. pp. 215–217. ISBN 978-0-345-50108-0.
  3. ^ "Maxwell Lord (Character) - Comic Vine". Comic Vine. Retrieved 2016-12-15.
  4. ^ a b c d e Justice League: Generation Lost #20 (February 2011)
  5. ^ Kirk, Jason (2010-06-13). "Who is Maxwell Lord? – Part I: Origin | the Captain's JLA blog". League.jmkprime.org. Archived from the original on January 26, 2012. Retrieved 2011-04-25.
  6. ^ Flash vol. 2 #51 (1991)
  7. ^ Kirk, Jason (2010-06-15). "Who is Maxwell Lord? – Part II: The JLI | the Captain's JLA blog". League.jmkprime.org. Archived from the original on July 13, 2010. Retrieved 2011-04-25.
  8. ^ Kirk, Jason (2010-06-19). "Who is Maxwell Lord? – Part III: The Fall | the Captain's JLA blog". League.jmkprime.org. Archived from the original on January 26, 2012. Retrieved 2011-04-25.
  9. ^ Kirk, Jason (2010-06-27). "Who is Maxwell Lord? – Part IV: The Super Buddies | the Captain's JLA blog". League.jmkprime.org. Archived from the original on January 26, 2012. Retrieved 2011-04-25.
  10. ^ Identity Crisis #1
  11. ^ The OMAC Project (2005). DC Comics.
  12. ^ Trinity #14 (September 2008)
  13. ^ Kirk, Jason (2010-07-06). "Who is Maxwell Lord? – Part V: Checkmate | the Captain's JLA blog". league.jmkprime.org. Archived from the original on January 26, 2012. Retrieved 2011-04-25.
  14. ^ "WWC: DAY 2 – DC Crisis Counseling Panel". Newsarama.com. Archived from the original on 6 February 2009.
  15. ^
    • Blackest Night #1, #3, and #8 (September 2009 - May 2010)
    • Blackest Night: Wonder Woman #1 and #3 (February - April 2010)
    • Brightest Day #0, #7, and #14 (April - November 2010)
    • Justice League: Generation Lost #1 - #10 (May - September 2010)
    • Power Girl (vol. 2) #15 (August 2010)
    • Power Girl #18 (November 2010)
    • Justice League: Generation Lost #13 - #19 (November 2010 - February 2011)
    • Justice League: Generation Lost #22 - #24 (March - April 2011)
  16. ^ O.M.A.C. #1 - Office Management Amidst Chaos
  17. ^ Justice League vs. Suicide Squad #1 - #6 (February - March 2017)
  18. ^ Wonder Woman #764 (December 2020)
  19. ^ Justice League: Generation Lost (vol. 1) #4 (August 2010)
  20. ^ Justice League: Generation Lost #17/23 (2010-2011)
  21. ^ Justice League (vol. 3) #12 (March 2017)
  22. ^ Justice Riders
  23. ^ Wonder Woman: Earth One #2
  24. ^ Wonder Woman: Earth One #3
  25. ^ "Maxwell Lord Voices (DC Universe)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved July 24, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
  26. ^ "KryptonSite Scoop: Maxwell Lord Is Coming To Smallville!". Kryptonsite.com. Retrieved 2011-04-25.
  27. ^ Anthony D'Alessandro (12 July 2015). "Supergirl Finds Her Maxwell Lord: Peter Facinelli Joins CBS Show – Deadline". Deadline.
  28. ^ "Supergirl Recap: Episode 112, Bizarro". SuperHeroHype. 2 February 2016.
  29. ^ "Justice League: Mortal - What Really Happened?". 23 November 2018.
  30. ^ "EXCLUSIVE: Leaked 'Justice League: Mortal' Script Review ~ Superhero Movie News – Comic Book Movie News 24/7". superheromoviesnews.com.
  31. ^ Pantozzi, Jill (October 24, 2019). "Pedro Pascal's Wonder Woman 1984 Character Is Exactly Who You Thought He Was". io9. Archived from the original on October 24, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  32. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 8, 2023). "Sean Gunn To Play Villain Maxwell Lord In James Gunn & Peter Safran's DC Universe – The Dish". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  33. ^ Eisen, Andrew (October 2, 2013). "DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide". IGN. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
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