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'Wonder Woman 1984': What are Maxwell Lord's 'powers'? Fans wonder how it's linked to Steve Trevor's return

Fans are eagerly waiting to see Pedro Pascal's Maxwell Lord in 'Wonder Woman 1984'

'Wonder Woman 1984' is almost here and the excitement in the air it's palpable. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the film has been stalled several times, but at last, it's seeing the light of day.  There are enough and more things to be excited about, starting with Steve Trevor's (Chris Pine) mysterious return, Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal) and Cheetah (Kristen Wiig) turning the tables around, and of course, Diana (Gal Gadot) swinging through lightening bolts as we saw in the trailer. Of course, the numerous theories regarding Maxwell Lord and Steve Trevor are endless.

Pascal's character Maxwell Lord has a long and labored relationship with the DC universe. He was introduced in the comics in the 80s, as a person who helped set up the Justice League and then later formed the Justice League International. However, things took a turn for the worse when he decided to hire a supervillain and orchestrate an attack, in the hope that his League would look heroic. This storyline had a nasty end, as the villain died as he had a bomb strapped to him, though Lord had taken off the firing pin. 

Lord has numerous powers and abilities in the comics, so there has been much speculation on what treatment his character would be receiving. Well, it comes from a special stone that Lord finds...and it gives him special powers. This is the Dreamstone, which grants wishes, but at a terrible price. Max acquires the Dreamstone, and this obviously becomes the premise of the film, as Diana makes a wish to be reunited with her lover, Steve, who died in the previous film.

Fans had been ruminating over numerous possibilities, despite the scant information on the film for the past few months. "#WW84 - seems pretty clear how Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) comes back from the dead. Maxwell Lord has some sort of ability to give you whatever you “most desire” (a satire on consumer capitalism) & he gives Wiig the ability to turn into a big cat & Wonder Woman gets her dead bf back," a fan had written. 

Another theory had been regarding the Lord's ability to use mind control in the comics. Fans had believed that he could have been 'warping' people's perception to make Diana see Steve Trevor, even though he is not real. "#WW84 Theory Time! Steve Trevor isn't in this movie. Maxwell Lord's power is mind control & one of the ways it's manifested in the comics is basically him warping peoples' perception so they see things in such a way that they do what he wants," one had earlier tweeted.

So, how is Maxwell's powers linked to Cheetah and Steve Trevor's appearance? For that, we need to watch the film.