When the highly anticipated Wonder Woman 1984 hits theaters next summer, it will bring a classic DC villain to the big screen for the first time. Maxwell Lord, who will be portrayed by The Mandalorian star Pedro Pascal, is set to play a pivotal role in the sequel to the 2017 hit film. So, who exactly is Pascal's mysterious businessman?
Making his comic debut in 1987's Justice League #1, Lord was a crucial figure in the formation of Justice League International, a version of the superhero team lacking most of its iconic members. However, Lord's reasons for forming the group weren't his own. He was under the influence of an evil computer built by Metron. The artificial intelligence wanted Lord to help create a peacekeeping organization as part of a plan for world domination.
This introduction to the villain has been retconned twice over the years. First, the intelligence taking control of Lord went from a rogue agent of Metron's to Kilg%re, a villainous computer program. That again was changed post-Infinite Crisis, which saw Lord's actions reimagined as his own when the nefarious businessman transitioned to a full-time villain.
While his introduction is meaningful in the history of DC Comics, it isn't Lord's most notable run. In 2005, DC released the 80-page one-shot Countdown to Infinite Crisis, which revealed that Lord had been gathering intel on the JLI for years, seeing them as a threat to humanity. When the original Blue Beetle, Ted Kord, discovered the villain's deceit, Lord shot and killed him. From there, events kicked off that would change the DC Universe for years to come.
Having been given control of Brother Eye -- a satellite system Batman created to monitor all superhuman contact -- by Lex Luthor's god-like son, Lord created an army of cyborgs programmed to eliminate all enhanced individuals. The villain then took control of Superman's mind, sending him to brutally beat Batman, who he believes is his enemy, Brainiac.
Lord then orders the Man of Steel to do the same to Wonder Woman, under the pretense that she's Doomsday. Things take a devastating turn when Diana snaps Lord's neck to free Superman. However, Lord had anticipated this move and released the footage of his death to the world, ruining Wonder Woman's reputation in the process.
Since these events transpired in Infinite Crisis, Lord has played a role in a few major DC storylines. In Blackest Night, his corpse is brought back as a Black Lantern. Wanting revenge on Wonder Woman, Lord lures her to Arlington National Cemetery, where he springs a trap using fallen soldiers. He's swiftly defeated by Diana but finds his way back to the world of the living later in the event, eventually taking on the heroine again. Recently, in DC Rebirth, Lord formed a pseudo-Suicide Squad that faced off against the Justice League with the help of Amanda Waller.
Lord is no stranger to live-action appearances, either, having popped up in two influential DCTV series. First up, Lord made his way into the ninth season of the Superman origin series Smallville as a member of the criminal organization Checkmate. The villain came face-to-face with "The Blur," Clark Kent's hero alter-ego, before being killed by Checkmate's mysterious Red Queen. More recently, Twilight star Peter Facinelli portrayed Lord in The CW's Supergirl. Throughout the show's first season, he attempted to expose Kara's secret identity but never succeeded.
Directed by Patty Jenkins, Wonder Woman 1984 stars Gal Gadot as Diana, Chris Pine as Steve Trevor, Kristen Wiig as Barbara Minerva/Cheetah, Pedro Pascal as Maxwell Lord, and Natasha Rothwell. The film opens on June 5, 2020.
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