5) Maxwell Lord
If Doctor Psycho doesn’t rock your boat, what about Maxwell Lord, another mind controlling telepath? Lord originally started out on the side of the good guys, financially supporting a new Justice League team after the original disbanded. However, these good intentions all turned out to be a ruse, as Lord was secretly using his hypnotic powers to pull strings behind the scenes.
In an attempt to turn humanity against its heroes, Lord took control of Superman, using him to brutally beat Batman and ruin the Justice League’s reputation. As Wonder Woman is immune to hypnotic suggestion, Lord was forced to pit his new Kryptonian lapdog against her. The Warrior Princess eventually bested Superman in combat because, well, she kicks ass, but when she used her lasso of truth on Lord, Wonder Woman discovered that the only way to stop Lord’s influence was to end his life. Cue a neck snap live on TV, broadcast to millions across the world.
Lord wasn’t specifically known as a nemesis of Wonder Woman, but his final clash with the Amazonian Princess instantly earns him a respectable place in the top five here. We already know that the destruction previously caused by Superman has severe repercussions for the rest of the DCU, so Lord’s demise could serve as a continuation of that overarching storyline, fuelling further public distrust of the heroes.
Maxwell Lord is scheduled to appear on the Supergirl TV show this fall, but the way that DC has handled its Multiverse suggests that this shouldn’t be an issue. If there can be two Flashes, there can certainly be two versions of Lord. The biggest problem here would be that the DCU has already had one controversial neck break at the end of Man of Steel. Do we really need another? Also, including Superman so prominently in Wonder Woman’s first solo movie would do her a disservice, as the Warrior Princess needs to make her mark independently of Krypton’s Last Son.
