Why was Maxwell Lord more deserving of death than Circe, Cheetah, or Joker?

[Phil Jimenez]

I'm sure that has been debated ad nauseum, but I was too lazy to go through all the threads and I was wondering why Maxwell Lord's execution at WW's hands was more justifiable in the heads of readers than that of other villains, including some pretty terrible mass murderers (like Darkseid, Two-Face, Circe, etc.).

Is part of it that, since you know DC can't and won't kill off important brand names like Joker or Cheetah, Maxwell Lord becomes a "stand-in" for all those villains that, by rights, should have been executed years ago for their crimes?

Since some of you think villains should be killed for their heinous crimes, but also know DC can't really kill of its lead villains for brand purposes, do you think DC should have a stable of ready-made characters available for such events (most lesser known characters are, ultimately)?

It's been asked before, but would you like to see more Maxwell Lord-style executions in Wonder Woman, or in other comics? Should Diana be snapping the necks of Cheetah, Doctor Psycho, etc? If not, what makes them less heinous than Maxwell Lord? Was Max truly the most villainous villain of all, even worse than Psycho or, say, Brainiac?

What makes a villain so evil that their necks are worthy of snapping by an Amazon princess?

[Free-Man]

It's more or less that the others are too profitable. Look at how insanely popular the Joker has become since the Dark Knight, and even before that he was well known.

Outside of comics, Max was a complete non-entity, so that more or less made his death okay.

[trypr]

I don't think he was deserving of death at all; I think Diana had to kill him to prevent the deaths of others and she was willing to pay that personal cost.

[Ziggy Stardust]

I think the death was necessary due to the threat Max had made Superman become.

[Xeres]

Well first, no I would not like to see other Max style executions. That makes Diana operate above the law. No TY.

No villain is so evil that they deserve their necks snapped by Diana. That is not her decision to make. Secondly that's not the Diana I want to read. I don't like that character and I didn't like Diana one iota in Sacrifice.

[Nyssane]

I think the death was necessary due to the threat Max had made Superman become.

Definitely. Cheetah or Dr. Psycho have never been that extreme in their plans to kill Wonder Woman. I'm not sure why she hasn't killed Circe yet, though, considering everything the sorceress put her through, not to mention that she killed Ares.

[titanfan]

What makes a villain so evil that their necks are worthy of snapping by an Amazon princess?

From a writer/storyline standpoint, killing a beloved character. In this case, Max killed Ted and had to pay, thus neck snappage. Writer kills off those characters to give the reader a sense of satisfaction/justice. Dr. Light turn had done so many heinous things--he too gets killed unceremoniously. Zoom killed Barry Allen's fiance and remained dead for decades. They tried to make Jean Loring work for awhile it seems, but she too had to pay for killing Sue.

Cheshire gets to nuke Qurac and live, mainly beause she didn't kill anyone the reader identified with. If Lex Luthor killed Lois Lane or Jimmy Olsen, the storyline would likely end with his death and he'd stay dead for awhile.

[Arvandor]

I was wondering why Maxwell Lord's execution at WW's hands was more justifiable in the heads of readers than that of other villains, including some pretty terrible mass murderers (like Darkseid, Two-Face, Circe, etc.).

Where'd you get this idea? Didio tell you this? If so, slap him.

Most readers either believe Lord's death was completely unjustified and unnecessary - or they believe Wonder Woman should go around killing mass murderers.

This "separation" between Maxwell Lord's death and other villains only exists at DC Editorial.

[4PointOh]

I'm sure that has been debated ad nauseum, but I was too lazy to go through all the threads and I was wondering why Maxwell Lord's execution at WW's hands was more justifiable in the heads of readers than that of other villains, including some pretty terrible mass murderers (like Darkseid, Two-Face, Circe, etc.).

Is part of it that, since you know DC can't and won't kill off important brand names like Joker or Cheetah, Maxwell Lord becomes a "stand-in" for all those villains that, by rights, should have been executed years ago for their crimes?

Since some of you think villains should be killed for their heinous crimes, but also know DC can't really kill of its lead villains for brand purposes, do you think DC should have a stable of ready-made characters available for such events (most lesser known characters are, ultimately)?

It's been asked before, but would you like to see more Maxwell Lord-style executions in Wonder Woman, or in other comics? Should Diana be snapping the necks of Cheetah, Doctor Psycho, etc? If not, what makes them less heinous than Maxwell Lord? Was Max truly the most villainous villain of all, even worse than Psycho or, say, Brainiac?

What makes a villain so evil that their necks are worthy of snapping by an Amazon princess?

If you believe the story at all, the reason Maxwell Lord had to be killed was not because he was a "bad person" or more evil than Dr. Psycho or Darkseid or the Cheetah. It was that all other options were taken off the table. Literally, Diana had to choose between:

A. Killing Maxwell Lord
B. Killing Superman
C. Dying in that instant and allowing millions of other innocents to die shortly thereafter.

We can Monday morning quarterback from now until the cows come home about what Diana could've/should've/would've done, but that was the expressed purpose of that story; those three options and nothing more. No phantom zone, no perpetual coma, no magic, no telepathic maniuplation, nada.

I guess what I'm saying is that creative forces contrived that story and forced her to fit into it. It's nothing that was borne out of the character's roots.

So to answer your question, what made Max worthy of death and not other villains? In story: The monster could not be caged, declawed or tamed and there was no time and no other viable options. Behind the story: DC Editorial.

[supergirls_pal]

Considering that no one in DC Comics stays dead for long, anybody is fair game.

[Xeres]

Which is why I don't believe the story Bobby.

[Venom Melendez]

Where'd you get this idea? Didio tell you this? If so, slap him.

Most readers either believe Lord's death was completely unjustified and unnecessary - or they believe Wonder Woman should go around killing mass murderers.

This "separation" between Maxwell Lord's death and other villains only exists at DC Editorial.

Not really, there are plenty who think she was completely justified in killing Lord.

[WorstThingUS]

This "separation" between Maxwell Lord's death and other villains only exists at DC Editorial.

Exactly, as a talent, Phil, you know better than anyone it was most likely an editorial dictate as we've seen more powerful telepaths than Maxwell Lord (Hector Hammond, Despero) incapacitated without having to kill them.

Not to mention, The Joker has just killed so many people it's no longer "fun" for me to see him any longer. Same with Deathstroke. Slaughter you know will go unpunished just isn't fun to read.

[Constantine Drakon]

Well first, no I would not like to see other Max style executions. That makes Diana operate above the law. No TY.

Um... no. First off, it wasn't an execution. She was killing an "armed" criminal when there were no other safe options available. Second off, she DID go on trial. so she's not above the law in any way shape or form.

No villain is so evil that they deserve their necks snapped by Diana. That is not her decision to make. Secondly that's not the Diana I want to read. I don't like that character and I didn't like Diana one iota in Sacrifice.

How evil he was is irrelevant to the story. The fact that he was wielding a weapon way more dangerous than a nuclear bomb is what's important.

[nightforce]

It's more or less that the others are too profitable. Look at how insanely popular the Joker has become since the Dark Knight, and even before that he was well known.

Outside of comics, Max was a complete non-entity, so that more or less made his death okay.

Honestly you can't credit The Dark Knight for The Joker's Insanely popularity. He was always insanely popular.

What made The Dark Knight the Universal Hit that it was was Heath Ledger's untimely death. Not unlike how Insanely popular now it is to talk about Michael Jackson


And Max Lord killed someone at point blank and had Batman almost killed and then was working on Wonder Woman, Yeah he deserved to die