Lex Luthor wasn’t the only billionaire in the metahuman business during the events of Superman. The Lord Tech-sponsored Justice Gang helped out David Corenswet’s Man of Steel during the 2025 movie, and Maxwell Lord even cameoed to tell the world that Luthor sucks. We’ll spend a little more time with Lord when Peacemaker Season 2 premieres tomorrow on the 2025 TV schedule tomorrow, but in the meantime, James Gunn shared a take on his younger brother Sean Gunn’s character that, while interesting, also has me suspicious.
The elder Gunn, who co-runs DC Studios, wrote and directed Superman, and created Peacemaker, brought up Maxwell Lord while talking about Lex Luthor’s fall from grace in the DC Universe. The filmmaker noted how Nicholas Hoult’s character has done “some really great things for the world,” including creating a battery that makes cars run more efficiently. However, when Superman came along, the Kryptonian made Luthor “feel like shit, so he’s been sort of obsessed with him ever since and has gone evil.” In contrast, James Gunn said this about Sean’s version of Lord:
I don’t think Lord Tech is the same. It’s run by Maxwell Lord, who we meet in the first episode of Peacemaker. He’s not the greatest guy in the world, but as far as billionaires go, he’s probably more on the right side of things than Lex Luthor.
This appraisal of Maxwell Lord’s characterization came as James Gunn was speaking with Rainn Wilson, whom he directed in 2010’s Super, for Interview Magazine about the three “factions” that hold power in the DCU: metahumans, governments and corporations. He further explained that the four corporations “vying for another type of world domination” are Luthor Corp, Lord Tech, Stagg Industries and Wayne Enterprises. In Lord Tech’s case, it’s looking to earn the public’s goodwill with a superhero team consisting of Guy Gardner, Hawkgirl, Mr. Terrific and, as of the end of Superman, Metamorpho.
So while money is still Maxwell Lord’s chief interest since he’s running a corporation, he falls more into the good guy category than the bad guy one, at least compared to Lex Luthor. The thing is, I don’t think this is always going to be the case. In the comics, Lord starts out as the Justice League International’s benefactor, but then he gained mind control powers and eventually went full supervillain. Him shooting Ted Kord, the second Blue Beetle, in the head in the pages of DC Countdown #1 remains one of DC Comics’ most shocking moments.
Now an argument could be made that Sean Gunn’s Maxwell Lord will simply remain the man running the Justice Gang, but I’m personally not buying that. Just like Pedro Pascal’s Lord in Wonder Woman 1984, something will push the DCU’s Lord into villainy, whether it involves him mind-controlling people or not. When that day comes, he’ll have a lot more in common with Lex Luthor, and frankly, Stagg Industries head Simon Stagg is hardly an upstanding citizen either. Oh well, at least we don’t have to worry about the guy running Wayne Enterprises turning to the dark side… that would just be batty.
In addition to still playing in theaters, Superman can also now be purchased digitally. Make sure you’re subscribed to HBO Max to see Maxwell Lord’s appearance in Peacemaker Season 2, and keep visiting CinemaBlend for more news about the DCU.
