Whether Maxwell Lord will appear in Wonder Woman 1984 has been one of the many mysteries surrounding the film.
The long-awaited sequel to the Amazons’ 2017 solo outing will fast forward to the 1980s, where Wonder Woman will meet new allies and face new foes. Not much else is known about the hero’s upcoming adventure.
But a few days ago, director Patty Jenkins took to Twitter, revealing that Pedro Pascal will play Lord.
Who is he?
Debuting in 1987’s ‘Justice League #1’, Lord is an amoral businessman who helped form Justice League International (JLI), which he controlled. For most of its life, the team was free from big names with members like Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, Dr Light, and Mr Miracle.
Lord proved ruthless when he set up a would-be terrorist for the League to defeat, which resulted in their death. The would-be terrorist believed a bomb was connected to his heartbeat, but Lord had disconnected it. Throughout his time with the heroes, Max struggled with his conscience but remained a con-artist.
Years later, Blue Beetle discovered Lord was a criminal mastermind who helped found JLI to gather information about the world’s superheroes. Lord believed powered people were a threat to the planet and sabotaged the JLI to make them as ineffective as possible. After learning the truth, Blue Beetle refused to join his former friend and Max killed him.
Wonder Woman and Maxwell Lord
Lord later used his mind-control abilities to turn Superman into a weapon. Wonder Woman fought and beat him but wouldn’t have been able to hold the Kryptonian off forever. To find a way to save the Man of Steel she confronted Lord, binding him with her lasso of truth. Under its spell Lord revealed the only way to end his control of Superman was to kill him. As a warrior, seeing no other choice, Wonder Woman snapped the villains’ neck.
But Maxwell Lord had the last laugh, as his death was broadcast all around the world. Although she had a good reason, Wonder Woman’s actions meant she lost the trust of the people she protected. Lord’s murder had far-reaching consequences that tarnished her reputation, and led to a revenge attack on the Amazons.
It’s highly likely that Maxwell Lord will be a secondary villain or partner with Kristin Wiig’s Cheetah. However, in the 80s Lord acted as an ally to the world’s superheroes, and the image shared with Jenkins’ tweet was from the pages of ‘Justice League International.’ Which may hint at the director playing with expectations. So for his cinematic debut, at least, Lord may be Wonder Woman’s friend.
Wonder Woman 1984 premieres in cinemas June 2020.
