WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Wonder Woman 1984, now in theaters and on HBO Max.
The cast of Wonder Woman 1984 is the brightest spot in the whole affair, with Chris Pine's charm and Kristen Wiig's fury giving the story the heart it needs, but Pedro Pascal steals the show with his nuanced take on classic DC villain Max Lord. While equal parts seedy and genuine, the emotional fullness of Pascal's Lord means that the chilling Lord from the comics will probably never be seen in the DC Extended Universe, continuing the DCEU's greater villain problem.
While the upcoming Snyder Cut promises to set the scene for Darkseid, Steppenwolf remains an underwhelming presence. Furthermore, General Zod's transformation into Doomsday was a nonsensical use of both classic characters. These are only a few examples of how the franchise has lacked villains that audiences both understand and revile, which is what the comic Lord could've been, acting as a foil to the metahumans.
Originally, Lord was a man who worked in the background until finally revealing his true intentions to tear down the Justice League, driven by his distrust of metahumans, as well as a need to control them. The Lord introduced in 1984 is a smaller figure who's focused more on financial gain and has little interest in the larger issues surrounding metahumans like Wonder Woman. While he's a marvel to watch, this Lord is a far cry from the comic version, who would've fit in well with the issues addressed in other DCEU films.
Lord's comic introduction during 1987's Justice League, written by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis with art by Kevin Maguire, gives him silent control of the League. The heroes are rudderless after the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths, and Lord seizes the opportunity to privately finance the new League, using his position to undermine their image.
Originally under the Kilg%re program's influence, Lord's body becomes cybernetic. Later during the Invasion! crossover event, which also introduced the concept of metahuman genetics, Lord's latent genetics would lead to his famous mind control ability. While these powers are a staple for the character, he would be stripped off his cybernetics during Infinite Crisis, which also featured his controversial death. However, he would be resurrected in 2009's Blackest Night, where he develops his vendetta against Wonder Woman, but he's still committed to controlling and undermining metahumans, as seen in Blackest Night's follow up, Brightest Day.
2011's Justice League: Generation Lost further explores Lord's motivations, with his father's suicide and his mother's influence nurturing a grudge against anyone with too much power. Recently, DC Rebirth saw Lord's powers rebalanced, and his ability is countered by his victim's will. Nonetheless, Lord remains a vicious, determined foil who inserts himself behind the scenes, once controlling the covert agency Checkmate before working under the thumb of Wonder Woman.
This Lord is stolidly amoral, a man willing and eager to use terrorism and domination to achieve his goals. Comic Lord plans to destroy superhuman coalitions from within, and he would not stop for the love of his child, nor would he be swayed by a forced moment of bitter truth, like Pascal's capitalistic Lord is.
Meanwhile, the door is open for Pascal's Lord to return, since he survived the temptations of the Dreamstone and reunited with his son; however, it's rare for con artists to reform without serious intervention. Since this Lord is a 1980s capitalist, his goals are likely to stay rooted in personal gain, unlike comic Lord. Pascal delivers a great performance and a timely take on the villainy of insensate greed, but it's another step backward for the DCEU, which could've directly challenged metahumans with a covert villain breaking the system apart from within.
The saving grace is Pascal's performance. He's not the Lord fans know, and Pascal grants Lord a humanity his comic counterpart rarely earns. If Pascal returns, it'll likely be another nuanced performance with plenty of implications to chew over, but it will never have that cold spark of remorseless villainy that brought Lord to life originally.
Directed and co-written by Patty Jenkins, Wonder Woman 1984 stars Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig, Pedro Pascal and Natasha Rothwell. The film is out now in theaters and on HBO Max.