This comics-related article or section describes an element of the series in a primarily in-universe style. Please rewrite this article to explain the fiction more clearly and provide non-fictional perspective.

Maxwell Lord is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe. A shrewd and powerful businessman, he was very influential in the formation of Justice League International. Image File history File links Maxwellord. ... DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company. ... In comic books, first appearance refers to first comic book to feature a character. ... This article is about the year 1987. ... Keith Ian Giffen (born November 30, 1952) is an American artist, writer, and penciller of comic books. ... John Marc DeMatteis is an American writer of comic books. ... The Defenders, as drawn by Maguire Kevin Maguire (born 1960) is an American comic book artist and penciller, best known for his work on the Justice League series in the late 1980s for DC Comics. ... Checkmate is a fictional covert operations agency within the DC Comics universe. ... The Super Buddies are a team of comic book superheroes in the DC Comics universe who appeared in the six-issue Formerly Known as the Justice League miniseries in 2003, and its 2005 sequel, I Cant Believe Its Not the Justice League (published in JLA Classified). ... The Extremists are a team of supervillains in DC Comics Justice League titles. ... For the animated television series, see Justice League (TV series) or Justice League Unlimited. ... Illuminata redirects here. ... Mind control (or thought control) has the premise that an outside source can control an individuals thinking, behavior or consciousness (either directly or more subtly). ... For other uses, see Cyborg (disambiguation). ... DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company. ... A fictional universe is an imaginary world that serves as the setting or backdrop for one or (more commonly) multiple works of fiction or translatable non-fiction. ... For the animated television series, see Justice League (TV series) or Justice League Unlimited. ...

Fictional character biography

Initially, Lord worked behind the scenes to establish the League, while under the control of a villainous computer created by Metron (a later retcon would say that this was actually the villainous computer program Kilg%re, which had taken over Metron's machine). The computer wanted Max to set up a worldwide peacekeeping organization, as part of its plan to dominate the world. Metron is a character created by Jack Kirby for his Fourth World series in DC Comics. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Alexander the Great Philip II of Spain Napoleon Bonaparte For other uses, see World domination (disambiguation). ...

Lord talks with the Martian Manhunter on the need for a strong League.

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. (The would-be terrorist believed he had a bomb connected to his heartbeat, but in fact, Max had disconnected it.) Later, however, he rebelled against the computer and (seemingly) destroyed it. Image File history File links Maxmartian. ... Image File history File links Maxmartian. ... Martian Manhunter is the superhero alias of Jonn Jonzz, alternately known as the Manhunter from Mars, a fictional comic book superhero who was created by DC Comics. ...

Once free of the computer's influence, Lord was portrayed as an amoral businessman, but not a real villain. During the time that Giffen and DeMatteis were writing the Justice League the character was shown struggling with his conscience and developing heroic qualities, though he would remain a con-artist; however, more recent changes to his character by different writers seem to contradict these previous characterizations. See also Morality and Ethics. ...

Newfound power

Originally a normal human, Lord was one of many on Earth gifted with super-powers during the Invasion crossover, when a Gene Bomb was exploded by alien invaders. This bomb activated the latent metagene present in a small percentage of Earthlings. Lord gained the ability to control the minds of others, albeit at great difficulty. For other uses, see Invasion (comics). ...

After he was shot and placed in a coma, at the start of the 15-part JLAmerica/JLEurope crossover Breakdowns, Dreamslayer, a supervillain who, with the aid of the Extremists, a team of robotic servants, had once destroyed all life on their planet, took over Lord's body and "supercharged" this power, allowing him to control thousands of minds at once. Using Lord's body and power, he caused the JLI to lose its charter, and almost forced them to disband. Finally, however, while the possessed Lord forced the JLI to battle itself, the mortally-wounded Silver Sorceress managed to contain Dreamslayer and held it within her mind as she died, taking it with her, and while Lord was freed, his power was burnt out. It has been suggested that Gaming crossovers be merged into this article or section. ... Dreamslayer is a fictional character, a DC Comics supervillain, part of the evil gang called Extremists. ... The Extremists are a team of supervillains in DC Comics Justice League titles. ... The Silver Sorceress is a DC Comics character and member of the Champions of Angor. ...

Cyborg

Lord reflects on what has happened in his time with the League.

Later, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and seemingly died. The Kilg%re, however, had been waiting patiently for the right moment to reactivate its control of Lord and downloaded his consciousness into a duplicate of one of the Extremist robots, Lord Havok. In this form he spent some time testing the League, for unknown reasons. He also took control of the secret organisation known as the Arcana. Image File history File links Maxjl. ... Image File history File links Maxjl. ... A brain tumor is any intracranial tumor created by abnormal and uncontrolled cell division, normally either in the brain itself (neurons, glial cells (astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, ependymal cells), lymphatic tissue, blood vessels), in the cranial nerves (myelin-producing Schwann cells), in the brain envelopes (meninges), skull, pituitary and pineal gland, or... The Extremists are a team of supervillains in DC Comics Justice League titles. ...

His cyborg body later came to resemble his original human form. Recently, he pulled 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." L-Ron is the name of a fictional character in the DC Comics universe. ... Captain Atom is a fictional comic book superhero. ... Blue Beetle is the name of three fictional comic book superheroes. ... Booster Gold is a fictional character, a superhero in publications from DC Comics. ... Fire is a fictional superheroine published by DC Comics. ... The Super Buddies are a team of comic book superheroes in the DC Comics universe who appeared in the six-issue Formerly Known as the Justice League miniseries in 2003, and its 2005 sequel, I Cant Believe Its Not the Justice League (published in JLA Classified). ...

Infinite Crisis

Lord shoots Blue Beetle. Art by Phil Jimenez.

The 2005 80-page one-shot Countdown to Infinite Crisis revealed that Lord was no longer a cyborg and, apparently, a criminal mastermind who spent years running the JLI gathering sensitive information about the world's superheroes, whom he considered a threat to the planet. At the same time, he sabotaged JLI efforts in order to render the superhero team as ineffectual as possible. At the end of the prologue special issue, he shoots and kills one-time JLI member Blue Beetle when the hero discovers Lord's secret and refuses his offer to join him. Infinite Crisis was a seven-issue limited series of comic books published by DC Comics, beginning in October of 2005. ... Image File history File links Maxwell Lord shoots Blue Beetle. ... Image File history File links Maxwell Lord shoots Blue Beetle. ... Cover to DC Special: The Return of Donna Troy #1. ... Cover to Countdown to Infinite Crisis. ... Blue Beetle is the name of three fictional comic book superheroes. ...

During this time, Lord was given control of Batman's Brother Eye project (created to monitor all superhuman contact; Batman had grown paranoid when discovering the JLA had mindwiped him; see Identity Crisis) by Alexander Luthor, Jr. (the god-like son of Lex Luthor from an alternate earth), taking it over and creating an army of cyborgs called OMACs (humans infected with a virus that transformed them into the OMACs) programmed to hunt down and kill all superhumans. This article is about the DC Comics series. ... Alexander Luthor, Jr. ... Lex Luthor is a fictional DC Comics supervillain and the archenemy of the superhero Superman. ... OMACs are an organization of powerful cyborgs that exist in the DC Universe. ...

Lord is killed by Wonder Woman. Art by Phil Jimenez.

He also used his powers to influence Superman's mind, causing him to brutally beat up Batman and attack Wonder Woman, believing them to be his old enemies (ie Brainiac, Darkseid, Ruin, and Doomsday). This is significant because he was never before shown to actually be able to cause full blown hallucinations through his minor psionic powers. After barely escaping from Superman, Wonder Woman confronted Lord and bound him in her lasso of truth; telling him to tell her how to free Superman; Lord tells her she has to kill him, and she snaps his neck. In response, Brother Eye broadcasts the footage of Wonder Woman executing Lord all over the world, destroying her reputation and her friendship with Batman and Superman (who rejected her despite the fact that she saved their lives). Image File history File links WWMax. ... Image File history File links WWMax. ... For other uses, see Wonder Woman (disambiguation). ... Cover to DC Special: The Return of Donna Troy #1. ... Superman is a fictional character and comic book superhero , originally created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian artist Joe Shuster and published by DC Comics. ... Batman (originally referred to as the Bat-Man and still referred to at times as the Batman) is a DC Comics fictional superhero who first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939. ... For other uses, see Wonder Woman (disambiguation). ... Brainiac is a fictional character, a DC Comics supervillain created by Otto Binder. ... Darkseid is a fictional comic book supervillain in the DC Comics Universe. ... Pete Ross is a fictional character who appears in the Superman comic books published by DC Comics. ... Doomsday is a fictional character from a comic book in the DC Comics Universe, best known for its mutual fight to the death with Superman in the Death of Superman storyline published in 1993. ...

One Year Later

In Booster Gold #6, Booster Gold and a troop of Blue Beetles go back in time to the day Lord killed Ted Kord, and save the Blue Beetle. On their return to the present, however, Beetle and Booster discover that in saving Ted they have created a new timeline where Lord was never killed by Wonder Woman, and his OMAC's, and a mind controlled Superman, have turned the entire planet into a police state. The story is ongoing. Superman is a fictional character and comic book superhero , originally created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian artist Joe Shuster and published by DC Comics. ...

Criticism

How Lord recovered his original human body and received a different variation of his telepathic powers has not been revealed, and fans have criticized this reboot of the character, especially after interviews where prominent DC comics administrators revealed they knew about the continuity problems but decided to ignore them (see next paragraph). In-story, it is possible to explain the various continuity errors as one of the side-effects of Superboy Prime "punching" the universe and changing history (see Continuity changes during Infinite Crisis for more details); this may also explain his character change from hero to villain, as might influence by Alexander Luthor and/or the Psycho-Pirate. While it was probably the writer's intent to suggest that Lord's previous 'heroic behavior' was simply a part he played to ingratiate himself with the heroes before his intended plan of betrayal, this is contradicted by his various thought-bubbles over the years. Superboy-Prime is a fictional character, a superhero turned supervillain in the DC Universe. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... In the course of the DC Comics event Infinite Crisis (the seven-issue limited series, its lead-in stories, and various tie-ins), several events in the DC Universes past were retroactively altered by either Superboy-Prime or the separation and re-merging of alternate Earths. ... The Psycho-Pirate was the name of two DC comics supervillains. ...

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. "We thought about that aspect of the story [where Maxwell was turned into a cyborg] some more," DiDio explained. "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."[1] Dan DiDio is an American comic book editor and executive. ...

A further retcon placed the cyberization of Maxwell Lord in a brief temporal period, after which Maxwell Lord used his connections with Cadmus Labs, Checkmate and the Project M to reverse the changes made to him by the Kilg%re and get back into an healthy human body ^[1] Project Cadmus is a fictional government genetic engineering project in the DC Comics Universe. ... The Creature Commandos are a fictional DC Comics team of military superhumans first deployed in World War II. The original team was introduced in Weird War Tales #93 (November 1980) created by Robert Kanigher and Jim Craig. ...

Other media

Lord in a scene from Justice League Unlimited.

Lord has appeared in the Justice League Unlimited episode, "Ultimatum", voiced by Tim Matheson. Image File history File links Maxjlu. ... Image File history File links Maxjlu. ... Justice League Unlimited (or JLU) was the name of an American animated television series that was produced by and aired on Cartoon Network. ... Tim Matheson, an American actor, was born Timothy Lewis Matthieson on December 31, 1947, in Glendale, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. ...

A normal human with no special powers, he acts as the manager of the Ultimen, a superhero team that works independently of the Justice League. It turns out, however, that the Ultimen are a series of artificial life forms cloned and given false memories. The team was developed with the assistance of Project Cadmus as part of an ongoing project to protect the earth from the Justice League. As the clones, which are imperfect, die, they are replaced, until one generation of the clones learns the truth and rebels against Lord and Cadmus. The Ultimen are a fictional superhero group featured in the animated series Justice League Unlimited. ... Project Cadmus is a fictional government genetic engineering project in the DC Comics Universe. ...

References