James Gunn, Maxwell Lord & Comics Fans Who Don't Know The Comics

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James Gunn, Maxwell Lord & Comics Fans Who Don't Know The Comics

James Gunn is still having to explain how the DCU's Maxwell Lord aligns with Keith Giffen, J. M. DeMatteis, and Kevin Maguire's vision.

Published Tue, 15 Sep 2026 20:08:10 -0500
by Ray Flook
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Article Summary

• James Gunn’s Maxwell Lord stance goes back to 2023, when Sean Gunn was cast and comics fans debated the character’s legacy.
• J.M. DeMatteis stressed Maxwell Lord was never meant as a pure villain, but a flawed, manipulative figure with heart.
• Gunn agreed, saying his Maxwell Lord follows the Justice League International version, not a one-note evil mastermind.
• Lanterns reignited the Maxwell Lord debate, pushing Gunn to again defend a nuanced take rooted in the original comics.

Okay, it's time to buckle up for a history lesson – this one kicks off in 2023. That was when the news first hit that DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran had tapped Sean Gunn (Marvel Studios' "Guardians of the Galaxy" films) to portray the DCU's Maxwell Lord. Created by Keith Giffen, J. M. DeMatteis & Kevin Maguire, the character first debuted in 1987's Justice League #1 and would go on to become one of the more complex characters in the comics universe, with opinions ranging from Lord being a misunderstood dude with good intentions who made some bad choices, to a "big bad" with some ugly plans for the future of mankind – and Superman.

Co-creator DeMatteis would take to social media to make it clear that their Maxwell Lord wasn't a villain and that he hoped Gunn would go with Giffen, DeMatteis & Maguire's version. Gunn tagged DeMatteis in his response, seemingly siding with DeMatteis when it came to pushing back on the idea of Lord being solely a "big bad," adding that the character was a difficult one to pin as being any one thing. That led to a great exchange between the two, with DeMatteis diving deeper into how he sees Maxwell Lord, while Gunn makes an excellent comparison between Lord and Amanda Waller from John Ostrander's run as writer on DC Comics' Suicide Squad.

"He's flawed (and in the early stories manipulated by a sentient AI), a bit of a con man, but, in the end, Max has a heart of gold and loves his team. But I'm sure you know that!" DeMatteis wrote in response to Gunn. Following up on what turned into a nice mini-analysis of the complex character, Gunn added, "I like the nuanced Max for sure. The 'evil Max' is in some good stories by some good writers & artists, but I always loved the character in JLI for being multidimensional – same way I loved Waller in Ostrander's 'Squad.' Two characters able to step out of the all-good or all-evil paradigm that was de rigueur in those days (and, still is, actually.)"

Everyone up to speed? Great! That brings us to 2026, with HBO and DC Studios' Lanterns burning up social media (in a good way) with each weekly release. It's also gotten folks to look at Nathan Fillion's Guy Gardner in a different light, now that we're learning more about Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler), John Stewart (Aaron Pierre), the Green Lantern Corps, the Guardians, and more. With the Green Lanterns serving as the universe's police force, someone on Threads posted that they were surprised that Guardians would be okay with Guy working for someone "evil" like Lord. That's when Gunn reaffirmed his take on the character wasn't a mustache-twirling "big bad" and was more in line with how the character's creators envisioned him:

That was when things got weird. Because even though DeMatteis is on record describing the original vision for Lord, and that the comics actually exist, that proves it, Gunn still had to shut down accusations that he was somehow going rogue with his Maxwell Lord take. Here's a sample:

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