Is Maxwell Lord Diana’s #3 nemesis?

[Agent Z]

Maybe we should wait until the movie comes out and see what people think of Lord before declaring him one of the most popular Wonder Woman villains.

I do find it strange people think Lord has become a top tier WW enemy when he isn't even used in the same capacity he was in the lead up to Infinite Crisis and that story probably isn't even in continuity anymore thanks to DC's nonsense.

[Ascended]

I think DC is maybe trying to position Lord as a WW rogue, but I don't think he can be counted in the gallery yet.

To a point, I can see it. There's Sacrifice of course, and all the fallout that carried with it, and there's also Max's history with the League, which at least on paper gives him a lot of interesting conflict and history to pull from, relative to Diana. Lord is likely more well known among fans than many of Diana's villains too, so there's a bit of added infamy involved too. And Max's position as a businessman and spy offer interesting ways to play those institutions against Diana's political and military themes; Max could easily represent the worst elements of these systems, set against Diana's representation of the positive elements. And Max is less "obviously" offensive than Psycho and his sexism and "this is the guy who represents little people? Really?" visuals.

But Max has had damn few stories with Diana. At this point, he's a "guest villain" but if DC keeps using him, well, eventually he'll have appeared enough to be a legitimate part of her rogues gallery, and the fallout from Sacrifice carries a weight most other foes don't have, sort of like how Bane and Doomsday only have one good story but those stories were so big the villains got shot into the upper reaches of their respective rogues galleries. But a couple appearances aren't enough for Lord to be counted as a Diana villain, given the rest of his history in the DCU.

All that said, I'd rather Lord be a Beetle villain and I think Psycho is infinitely better suited to Diana's rogues. I don't really want to see Lord become a Wonder Woman villain...but I can see how, at least in theory, it could work.

[Sacred Knight]

I'm still kinda hoping they're trying to form a redemption arc for him. I mean, just as long as they don't also try and position him as a love interest too.

[TheCape]

I think DC is maybe trying to position Lord as a WW rogue, but I don't think he can be counted in the gallery yet.

To a point, I can see it. There's Sacrifice of course, and all the fallout that carried with it, and there's also Max's history with the League, which at least on paper gives him a lot of interesting conflict and history to pull from, relative to Diana. Lord is likely more well known among fans than many of Diana's villains too, so there's a bit of added infamy involved too. And Max's position as a businessman and spy offer interesting ways to play those institutions against Diana's political and military themes; Max could easily represent the worst elements of these systems, set against Diana's representation of the positive elements. And Max is less "obviously" offensive than Psycho and his sexism and "this is the guy who represents little people? Really?" visuals.

But Max has had damn few stories with Diana. At this point, he's a "guest villain" but if DC keeps using him, well, eventually he'll have appeared enough to be a legitimate part of her rogues gallery, and the fallout from Sacrifice carries a weight most other foes don't have, sort of like how Bane and Doomsday only have one good story but those stories were so big the villains got shot into the upper reaches of their respective rogues galleries. But a couple appearances aren't enough for Lord to be counted as a Diana villain, given the rest of his history in the DCU.

All that said, I'd rather Lord be a Beetle villain and I think Psycho is infinitely better suited to Diana's rogues. I don't really want to see Lord become a Wonder Woman villain...but I can see how, at least in theory, it could work.

He also tried to kill Diana again in Generation Lost when he came back to life right before the reboot, but yeah, i don't think that he can be count as part of her rogues.

[Pinsir]

Wonder Woman killing Maxwell Lord is the single most iconic thing Wonder Woman has ever done. He's actually #1!

[Triniking1234]

Eh. Maxwell is supposed to be a general JL nemesis but he barely shows up.

[Ascended]

He also tried to kill Diana again in Generation Lost when he came back to life right before the reboot, but yeah, i don't think that he can be count as part of her rogues.

And there was the storyline in, I guess it was Manhunter maybe, where Diana is put on trial for Lord's death and....I think....Everyman was pretending to be Max or Ted or something.

I didn't read the JLA/Suicide Squad crossover, but I know Max was the guy pulling strings in that; did he and Diana have a run in there?

So yeah, there's been a few stories where Diana and Lord come into conflict, mostly revolving around the events of Sacrifice. There's a small foundation to build on if the goal is to include him in Diana's rogues gallery. Not the direction I'd like to see Max Lord go in, but it does seem like DC is slowly building that up.

I'm pretty sure Steve Trevor being alive in WW84 is just Max screwing with Diana's mind too, though that's just a guess; I've avoided spoilers for the film so I dunno if that theory lines up with what is known about the movie.