When it comes to the great Trinity of DC Heroes, there is one major difference between two of the heroes and the third: killing. Batman has taken an oath to not kill. Superman has taken an oath to not kill. Maxwell Lord.
Originally portrayed as part benefactor/part man-behind-the-curtain, Lord has had an interesting story arc over the years. Max Lord first appeared in the first issue of Justice League (which would later be known as Justice League International and Justice League of America and historically known as the “Bwah-ha-ha League”), created by Keith Giffen, J. M. DeMatteis and Kevin Maguire. He led and manipulated JLI from behind the scenes, allowing them their misadventures to discredit the world’s premier superteam. After the JLI disbands, Lord eventually becomes the leader of the international spy agency/strikeforce, Checkmate. Now pursuing a human-first philosophy, Lord takes over Batman’s failsafe, Brother Eye, in the pages of The OMAC Project. Lord is now able to control the strongest of minds, and he forces Superman to attack Batman and Wonder Woman. When Wonder Woman understands that Lord can and will control Superman’s (and supposedly others’) mind from wherever on earth he is, Wonder Woman does not hesitate to snap Lord’s neck.
Through Checkmate. Through one thing and another, Lord is eventually brought to justice and is placed in an unnamed high-max penitentiary. In Wonder Woman #759, by Mariko Tamaki, Mikel Janín, and Jordie Bellaire. Wonder Woman instinctively knows that it must be Max Lord, and that he somehow has the ability to control minds from hundreds of miles away. She literally drops into the middle of a prison riot. Lord greets her by forcing all the rioting inmates to kill themselves immediately.
The face-off continues in Wonder Woman #760. Lord tells Diana that he is not the man she once knew, despite having forced all the prisoners to commit suicide. He claims that by controlling their minds, he has actually saved her from the mob. After their tete-a-tete, Lord simply struts away back to his cell escorted by the soldiers that arrived on the scene “five minutes too late.”
It looks to be a strong story ahead. Maxwell Lord is back clearly toying with Dianah in new and interesting ways. What role will Wonder Woman play in Maxwell Lord’s evil plot?
