Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, the release of the much-anticipated Wonder Woman sequel Wonder Woman 1984 was pushed back to an unknown date. It was then announced that the latest DCEU film would be released December 25, 2020 in theaters and on HBO Max. With it, there would be the cinematic debuts of Wonder Woman's most famous arch enemies: Cheetah and Maxwell Lord.
Looking at the character of Maxwell Lord, there are many inevitable changes made to fit into the film's narrative, but there are also just as many accuracies to the Maxwell Lord of the comics. Be wary of spoilers.
10 ACCURATE: Business Man
There have been a few different iterations of Maxwell Lord but just about all of them have one thing in common: Maxwell is a businessman. While comic book Maxwell has been a businessman with companies like Innovative Concepts, Maxwell Lord Enterprises, and even a benefactor for Justice League International, this film's Maxwell Lord runs Black Gold Cooperative. Besides the company names and the specific industries, the biggest deviation from the comic books is that movie Maxwell started from nothing, whereas comic Maxwell was born into business.
9 INACCURATE: Completely Different Backstory
The Maxwell Lord that's portrayed by Pedro Pascal in Wonder Woman 1984 is a man of Latinx descent who grew up in a poor, abusive home where his last name was Lorenzano, not Lord. In the original comics, Maxwell Lord is the son of an altruistic and successful businessman who eventually killed himself over the guilt he felt when it was revealed that one of his company's products caused cancer. While the exact details of Maxwell's comic origins have changed, he was always born wealthy.
8 ACCURATE: Started Out As A Regular Human
In Wonder Woman 1984, Maxwell Lord is an ordinary businessman and entrepreneur who acquires the powers of the Dreamstone after he makes the wish that he wants to become the stone. While the Maxwell Lord of the comic books also changes from a regular human into a metahuman, this only happens after the events of the late 1980s Invasion! crossover story.
Maxwell's dormant "meta-gene" was triggered by the alien-designed Gene Bomb, which was meant to negate the powers of already active meta-genes in Earth's metahumans.
7 INACCURATE: His Powers Are More Limited
While Maxwell Lord literally becomes a living Dreamstone in Wonder Woman 1984, where he grants the wishes of anyone in contact with him, his powers in the comic books are quite different. After his meta-genes are triggered, Maxwell has the power of mind control, as well as the ability to manipulate memories and create realistic illusions. He's even powerful enough to control Superman's mind. The only link between movie Maxwell and comic book Maxwell is that he uses his powers to get what he wants.
6 ACCURATE: Formidable Wonder Woman Villain
Wonder Woman 1984 isn't the first live-action depiction of the character Maxwell Lord (that would be the television show Smallville) but it is the first time he's shown up against his most famous rival: Wonder Woman. Maxwell Lord is a great Wonder Woman villain because his entire persona is based on the element of manipulation and lies, whereas Wonder Woman always comes from a place of truth. What also makes Maxwell a formidable Wonder Woman villain is how his powers match up against hers.
5 INACCURATE: Hatred For Metahumans
One major personality trait of Maxwell Lord in the comics is that he has a hatred of authority figures and metahumans, even though he eventually becomes one himself. However, in the DCEU, metahumans are set up as a fairly new phenomenon that began to appear once Superman made his debut in 2013's Man of Steel. Since this movie is set in 1984, there aren't any established metahumans for him to hate. The only thing the film's Maxwell Lord seems to hate is being a failure.
4 ACCURATE: His Powers Cause Blood Loss
Even though Maxwell's powers aren't accurate to the comic books, he still has the same loss of blood when he uses his powers. The premise of the Dreamstone's powers in the film is that same as the Monkey's Paw - your wish is granted, but something is taken away from you. Diana wished for Steve Trevor to return to her, but she began losing her powers. For Maxwell, his health was declining, which was visualized by bloodshot eyes and blood coming from his nose and ears.
3 INACCURATE: Has A Young Son
While Maxwell Lord has a few ex-wives and a grown daughter in the comic books, he never had a young son. In Wonder Woman 1984, Maxwell's son is named Alistair and Maxwell tries his best to live up to the lies he's told his son, wanting to prove to Alistair that he isn't a "loser."
Throughout the film, as Maxwell becomes more and more powerful, he also becomes more neglectful of his son, leading to a precarious situation where Maxwell's actions put Alistair in peril.
2 ACCURATE: Master Of Manipulation
Another major personality trait that the page and screen Maxwell Lords share is their skills at deception, even before he acquired his mind control powers. In the comics, he used the Justice League International to sabotage the public's trust of metahuman superheroes, and he uses those same skills in Wonder Woman 1984. With his charm, Maxwell is able to con the public and Barbara Minerva into believing he's a bigger shot than he is and he's then able to get his hands on the Dreamstone.
1 INACCURATE: Big Showdown With Wonder Woman
An infamous showdown between Wonder Woman and Maxwell Lord takes place during the "OMAC Project" comic storyline, where Maxwell Lord has used his powers to make Superman fight Batman and Wonder Woman. She uses her Lasso of Truth on Maxwell, who says that the only way he can be stopped is to kill him, which Wonder Woman does. In the film, Wonder Woman uses her Lasso of Truth to show Maxwell that he must stop or else his son (and the world) would be destroyed.