He may now be primarily known as an enemy of Wonder Woman, as seen in WW84, but once upon a time, Maxwell Lord was the Justice League’s greatest ally. The sleazy magnate may be slicker than spit, but before his villainous turn, Max was actually on the side of the angels – just so long as he could present as their official liaison to the adoring public. Selfishness isn’t a surprising motivation for someone like Lord, but the fact that he actually did the job better than anyone expected is another story entirely.
After the Justice League re-formed in the pages of 1987’s Justice League International by Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, and Kevin Maguire, the World’s Greatest Superheroes found themselves under the public eye’s microscope. With the whole world watching their every move, they had no choice but to turn to Max for help navigating the dangerous waters of public relations. And while Lord would eventually betray the team’s trust many years later, he proved himself invaluable to the Justice League’s global peacekeeping efforts.
Even before he’s involved with the League, Lord is already a ruthless and manipulative businessman. But when he finds himself under the control of a rogue New God computer program, what Lord wants no longer matters. Under the program’s control, Max is tasked with organizing a new group of superhumans into a global peacekeeping force to prepare the world for the program’s domination. Naturally, Lord chooses to meddle with the newly re-formed Justice League. Not wasting any time, Lord claims to represent the League and invites the new Dr. Light to join before organizing a terrorist attack on the U.N. for the new Justice League’s debut. After the League returns from another mission, they arrive to find Max Lord already waiting in their headquarters alongside the man he introduces as the League’s newest member: Booster Gold. Upon learning that Max has nothing to do with the League, Dr. Light and Booster Gold leave in disgust, only for Gold to end up thwarting an attack on League headquarters from the Royal Flush Gang – secretly hired by Max to make Booster look good. In the ensuing media attention following the battle, Lord forces the League into a tough spot by presenting himself as their official press liaison. Using his newfound pull with the League, Max gets them officially sanctioned by the United Nations with Captain Atom and Rocket Red as additional members. Eventually, Max nearly dies turning on his machine master, but not before he successfully ingratiates himself to the League.
Lord may have joined the League for selfish reasons, but it’s hard to deny just how much he helped the new Justice League in their early days. Without Max’s intervention, fans would never have fallen in love with the beloved Booster Gold/Blue Beetle duo. Not only that, but the Justice League International would’ve been without some of its most powerful members in the form of Captain Atom and Rocket Red. It wouldn’t have even become the Justice League International. Sanctioned by the U.N., the Justice League International took the League’s status to a new level of credibility. And even with the series’ comedic bent, Justice League International forever changed the way both fans and the DC Universe itself saw the Justice League. None of that would’ve happened without Max Lord’s machinations, whether the World’s Greatest Heroes would like to recognize that or not.
Maxwell Lord isn’t the first person to betray his team and he won’t be the last. But his time with the League helped set the team apart and led to some of DC Comics’ most beloved stories. With Infinite Frontier bringing certain aspects of the DC Universe back into continuity, it remains to be seen whether or not Lord’s time as League liaison will return to the canon. But even if the Justice League itself forgets Maxwell Lord‘s contribution, the fans never will.
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