It’s common to see superheroes become villains and vice versa, though these changes don’t always last. Lex Luthor often acts like a hero for a while before returning to his hatred of Superman. One well-known example is Hal Jordan, who destroyed the Green Lantern Corps and became a major threat as Parallax. While those shifts were temporary, there’s one character who has permanently gone from being a true hero to one of DC’s most dangerous villains.
Maxwell Lord started as a well-intentioned, practical man who genuinely wanted to help the Justice League in 1987. However, he’s since become a villain often focused on eliminating metahumans and even working with Darkseid. He recently had a small role in the Superman movie, backing the Justice Gang, and is expected to appear more in future DC projects. To make the most of the character, the DC Universe should stick with Lord’s heroic roots, as that’s when he’s both most effective and most compelling.
A Complex Man to a Bargain-Bin Villain
From the moment Maxwell Lord showed up, I, like many fans, fully expected him to be a villain. A wealthy, capable businessman suddenly offering to fund a team of superheroes? Huge red flag! And my suspicions proved correct – he orchestrated a terrorist attack just to give himself an excuse to rebuild the Justice League, and it turned out he was being manipulated by the powerful AI, Kilg%re. But here’s the surprising part: once freed from Kilg%re’s control, Lord didn’t revert to type. He didn’t become a power-hungry jerk or try to dismantle the League. Instead, he doubled down on his commitment to helping them save the world, which was a genuinely unexpected twist.
Maxwell Lord was far from a typical hero. He was a driven and often ruthless businessman, incredibly ambitious and willing to use others to get ahead. He shared many of the same negative traits as classic villains like Lex Luthor, but surprisingly chose a different path. Instead of becoming a villain himself, he allied with heroes and became a strong advocate for them.
Look, I always loved Lord. He was messed up, sure, but that’s what made him compelling. He had every reason to be a bad guy, but he actively fought against that, which was really cool. But then Countdown to Final Crisis happened, and it totally ruined him. They rewrote his entire backstory to make him this over-the-top, scheming villain who’d been plotting for years to wipe out all superheroes and metahumans. Honestly? Ever since then, the character’s just been…flat. It completely sucked the life out of what made him interesting in the first place.
A Character Robbed of Purpose
Maxwell Lord started as a complex character – a sarcastic but ultimately good businessman – but he was later simplified into a typical, straightforward villain. This change erased what made him special. Lord was intentionally created as someone who seemed villainous but didn’t act like one, and that contrast was his defining trait. By making him truly evil, the writers destroyed what made his character unique, as his appeal stemmed from subverting expectations. Now, he doesn’t stand out from DC’s many other villains, and those villains are often far more compelling.
Maxwell Lord is a complicated character – he’s proud, driven, and willing to do what heroes wouldn’t, but he still had principles. His admiration for heroes and genuine desire to help them were core to who he was, and turning him into a villain felt like a waste of a good character. Unfortunately, he was villainized largely because DC executives needed someone to play a specific role in their Countdown storyline and he was the character they chose. Maxwell Lord could be a truly great character in the DC Universe, but that potential can only be realized if he’s not constantly portrayed as a villain.
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2025-10-31 22:11