Popular Villain May Not Be Evil in James Gunn’s DCU

James Gunn is challenging the idea that a popular DC villain must follow his traditional comic book path. Judging from his comments, the DCU versions could be very different from the comic books.

Sean Gunn plays Maxwell Lord in Superman, where he funds the Justice Gang. After fans questioned why Guy Gardner would work with a supposedly evil Lord, Gunn explained his view of the character.

Gunn wrote, “Who said he was evil? The DCU is not a Xerox of DC Comics. It’s an alternate universe. But as a hint, I’m a huge fan of the deeply flawed but hardly malevolent Max as originally created by [Keith] DeMatteis, [J.M.] Giffen, and [Kevin] Maguire, not the less nuanced evil dude he was retconned into. The original Max as presented in JLI was one of my favorite characters.”

When @maxhowell12 asked if Gunn could hint at Lord following that version, Gunn replied, “All the early JLI stuff.” @hack_spit argued that Lord had still done terrible things in the comics. Gunn responded, “But doing terrible s–t isn’t the same as being evil, especially when your creator thinks of you as well-intentioned.”

Later, @hack_spit asked whether Lord would be considered evil under a D&D alignment system. Gunn answered, “I don’t think he’d be evil in DnD alignments either. But I didn’t exactly say that. The DCU is a complex place. Nothing is that simple.” He also told @gh0stbumbles, “No, he hasn’t. As his creator once said, he believes Max is in his heart well-intentioned.”

How Maxwell Lord fits into James Gunn’s DCU

The early Justice League International stories give James Gunn a clear template for his version of Lord. Created by Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, and Kevin Maguire, Lord originally appeared as a businessman who helped bring the Justice League International together. He later became an enemy of the heroes, creating the darker version many fans now associate with him.

In Superman, Gunn instead presents Lord as the wealthy backer of the Justice Gang. That setup fits the earlier JLI version and allows the character to operate around heroes without making him their direct enemy.

Gunn’s comments do not confirm where Lord will ultimately stand, but they make one thing clear: the DCU’s version of the character is not bound to follow his later comic book history.

Originally reported on SuperHeroHype.