DC Comics has created many iconic villains over the years. One of the less known ones among general audiences is Maxwell Lord, who crossed the path of multiple superheroes, most notably Wonder Woman. Just like many other characters, Maxwell Lord also had more than one version in the comics. As a result, film and TV creators had a lot of freedom in deciding how to adapt the character both for the DCEU and for the Arrowverse.
In Arrowverse's Supergirl, Peter Facinelli's Maxwell Lord fought against the titular superheroine but he also helped the heroes on more than one occasion. Most recently, Pedro Pascal played Maxwell Lord in Wonder Woman 1984 (2020), and he underwent a similar transformation from villain to a somewhat heroic person. Both actors provided amazing performances, but what differs are the ways their portrayals of Maxwell Lord remained more or less true to the comic books.
Pedro Pascal Is Comic Accurate: He's A Businessman Obsessed With Control
When the audience first meets Maxwell Lord in Wonder Woman 1984, he's portrayed as an unsuccessful businessman who's desperately trying to get what he wants. So much so he pushes everything else and everyone else aside, including his own son.
His business activities are derived from the comics in which Maxwell Lord is also a businessman obsessed with control. More specifically, in this case, he wants to get control over the Justice League since he doesn't believe superheroes should move around freely, with no supervision.
Peter Facinelli Is Better: Businessman With A Mission
As mentioned above, in the comic books Maxwell Lord is a businessman - and he's quite good at what he does. In this way, Peter Facinelli's Maxwell Lord is even more similar to the comics than Pedro Pascal's. On Supergirl, by the time Lord shows up, he's already an established and influential businessman with a successful company.
What also remains is the obsessive part of his character as he puts a lot of effort into finding out who Supergirl is, and that includes, for example, spying on Kara's and Alex's apartment.
Pedro Pascal Is Comic Accurate: He Had A Difficult Childhood
A rough childhood can influence comic book heroes to a great degree though it is never the only reason why someone does what they do, be it hero or villain. Maxwell Lord is no exception to this rule. In the film, he reveals had an awful childhood since his father was abusive.
Lord also struggled during childhood in the comics, but this time, it was because of his mother who was hard on him and even wanted Lord to keep his powers a secret. So in both cases, Lord's childhood was far from perfect.
Peter Facinelli Is Better: He Hates Metahumans
Maxwell Lord's distaste for metahumans and superheroes might not be as known as Lex Luthor's hate for them, but that doesn't mean Lord's any fonder of them. In fact, in the comics, Lord starts hating metahumans after his mother dies during an invasion of the Mongul.
He then comes to the realization that superheroes do more harm than good. On Supergirl, Lord's motivation is different but he's also suspicious of superheroes and he thinks that Supergirl's presence in his city will do more harm than good.
Pedro Pascal Is Comic Accurate: He Fights Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is one of the kinder superheroes, and as such, she doesn't like to kill her enemies, unless she sees there's no other choice. So when she fights Maxwell Lord, even though she has multiple chances to kill him, she doesn't take it.
In the comics, Lord and Wonder Woman also stand against each other and fight more than once. What makes their comic book encounters different is that this version of Diana actually kills Lord after he crosses the line and manipulates Superman into beating Wonder Woman and Batman.
Peter Facinelli Is Better: He's A Capable Inventor
Maxwell Lord uses his formidable intellect for evil in the comics but that doesn't change the fact he's highly intelligent. As the boss of his company, he creates many new things. This aspect of his personality also made it into the Arrowverse.
Lord comes up with multiple designs and inventions aimed at stopping evil Kryptonians. One example is the Red Kryptonite which lowers the inhibitions of Kryptonians and eventually drives them crazy.
Pedro Pascal Is Comic Accurate: He Later Gains Powers
Maxwell Lord's character changed in the comics over time. He originally had no special powers but he later gained them. Even though the circumstances under which it happened were different from the comics, Lord still underwent a similar transformation in Wonder Woman 1984.
In the comics, he had dormant meta-human genes while in the film, he uses the Dreamstone to get special powers.
Peter Facinelli Is Better: He Relies On Intelligence
As stated above, the original comic book version of Maxwell Lord had no special powers. As such, he had to rely on his intelligence and ability to invent new things.
In many ways, he was similar to Lex Luthor in this area, and Supergirl also shows Lord having a relationship with Supergirl that mirrors the one Lex Luthor has with Superman. Facinelli's Lord then manages to trick even super-powered people, which makes his intellectual prowess all that more impressive.
Pedro Pascal Is Comic Accurate: He Bleeds When He Uses His Powers
Even though Maxwell Lord has a different set of powers in the DCEU and in the comics, in both cases, they take a negative toll on his health. When Lord overdoes it and uses his powers too much, he starts bleeding, usually out of his nose.
The film then used this aspect of his powers to explain why he's so obsessed with fulfilling as many wishes as possible and getting the health of the people whose wishes he fulfills for himself.
Peter Facinelli Is Better: He's A Loner
In Wonder Woman 1984, no matter how hard Maxwell Lord tries, he still has strong ties to other people, most notably his son Alistair.
But in the comic books, Max is more of a loner who doesn't really let people in. Peter Facinelli's Max Lord is just like that since he tends to manipulate people to his advantage and as such has very few real relationships in his life.