Superman Set Photos Provoke Justice League International Speculation

A logo that is appearing all over the Superman set suggests Maxwell Lord is funding some of the world's superheroes.

By Russ Burlingame - July 3, 2024 03:27 pm EDT

A logo spotted in at least three different places on the set of Superman has fans on social media convinced that Maxwell Lord is putting together the Justice League International. A logo for LordTech, a company owned by Maxwell Lord, is featured on the costumes for both Mr. Terrific and Guy Gardner, as well as on a piece of signage on one of the sets. It's the signage that ultimately confirms the logo is definitely LordTech's, although there has been speculation for days now. Both Guy Gardner and Mr. Terrific wear the logo on their chests, where it's raised in relief against a solid color background.

The logo, which is a diamond-shaped logo that creates the impression of letters -- which letters depend on who you ask! -- using negative space, seems to be a riff on the logo introduced on Supergirl in the Arrowverse. In the comics, Lord's company is called Maxwell Lord Enterprises, and in the Arrowverse, it's Lord Technologies.

(Photo:
Lord Technologies headquarters, from an episode of *Supergirl*.
- Warner Bros. TV/The CW)

The logo itself has been spotted on the set -- namely, on a sign hanging in a store window that advertised the LordTech brand alongside tech giant Samsung (and another Easter egg -- a company called Quitely and Sons, named for All-Star Superman artist Frank Quitely).

The same logo has been spotted on Guy Gardner and Mr. Terrific's costumes. Depending on how you look at it and who you ask, it either has "ML" built into it, more than one "L" pointed at odd angles (like the Supergirl version), or "JLI." Of course, the JLI interpretation is the most exciting but also the one that would be weirdest for Lord to be using on Lord-branded products.

After Mr. Terrific's costume appeared to be sporting a Lord logo, fans on social media suggested that Lord could be building the Justice League International in the movies. Longtime JLI artist Kevin Maguire, who visited the Superman set back in May, posted "Golly, that would be a shame" to Threads after seeing such speculation. Today's first looks at Guy Gardner seemingly cemented it, with Gardner wearing the same logo on his shirt. Like Mr. Terrific and Guy Gardner, Hawkgirl's costume is leather or pleather and features a jacket, so it seems likely she will be sporting a LordTech shirt underneath as well, although no straight-on shots of her front have surfaced online.

(We don't have anyone on-site taking photos, so we can link out to these images, but can't host them here.)

Since all three heroes were added to the movie at the same time (as far as the casting announcement is concerned, anyway), it could stand to reason that there's a narrative thread connecting the three of them.

(Photo:
Sean Gunn in *Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3* and Maxwell Lord
)

Lord appeared as the primary antagonist in Wonder Woman 1984 (played by Pedro Pascal) and one of the main antagonists in the first season of Supergirl (played by Peter Facinelli). He will appear in the DC Universe that kicks off with Creature Commandos and Superman. In the new universe, he will be played by Sean Gunn, who played Kraglin in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies directed by his brother James Gunn.

While more recent comics (and TV/film) stories have transformed Max into a villain, things were not always that simple. In his earliest appearances, Maxwell Lord was a wealthy industrialist who wanted to create a team of superheroes for a murky blend of public good and clout chasing. Using the name "Justice League" because it had goodwill attached to it but had been abandoned, Lord put together a team composed mostly of second-string heroes. Soon after, he would rechristen the team "Justice League International," bringing on heroes from around the globe like the Soviet Union's Rocket Red and Brazilian supermodel/superhero Fire.

During his time with the Justice League, Lord was possessed by supervillain Kilg%re briefly, which turned him bad, but spent most of his time with the group as a morally gray opportunist. Along the way, he recruited Booster Gold and Blue Beetle, the team's most famous comedy duo, one of whom (Booster) was almost as mercenary as Max. It wasn't until more than 15 years after his first appearance that he would be turned into a Machiavellian supervillain.

Those aforementioned costume jackets could play into Booster's character in particular; during the DC crossover event 52, he altered his costume to add a jacket, covering it in sponsor patches like a NASCAR driver. That idea was later carried over into his live-action debut on Smallville.

In Countdown to Infinite Crisis, Max murdered Blue Beetle (Ted Kord), revealing that he hated superheroes and had secretly weakened the Justice League with also-rans in the hopes of making it a joke. He was revealed to be a secret leader of the intelligence organization Checkmate, where he ran a spy satellite tracking the activities of Earth's heroes.

It appears -- at least on the surface -- that the earlier, less-evil version of Max will be the one seen in Superman, opening the door to the JLI. Guy Gardner was a part of that League from the moment it was founded, and Booster Gold -- who joined at the start of the "International" era -- has a TV show coming from Max in the near future. Metamorpho -- appearing in Superman and played by Anthony Carrigan -- was a member of the Justice League Europe, which happened when the JLI ballooned in size and then split up between teams for the eastern and western hemispheres.

Other members of the JLI -- Shazam, Batman, Martian Manhunter, and the Ted Kord Blue Beetle -- appeared or were discussed openly in movies that came out under the previous DC management team. Aside from Batman, it is not immediately clear which of these characters will return in the new DC Universe. An ad for Chocos -- a cookie brand beloved by Martian Manhunter in the Justice League International comics -- can be spotted in some set photos from Superman.

Obviously, it's impossible to know at this stage whether there is any weight to the Justice League speculation. Gunn has openly admired Keith Giffen, J.M. Dematteis, Kevin Maguire, and the JLI in the past -- but so has pretty much any creative person who grew up during the Justice League International era, considering what a seismic change it was for the team and for mainstream superhero comics as a whole. Him being a fan doesn't necessarily mean he's planning on making it (even if we did write, years ago, that he should).

During its heyday, JLI felt like it was stealing the thunder of oddball superhero books like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Flaming Carrot Comics and incorporating their anarchic energy into the DC Universe. That's not too far off from what Gunn did with the Guardians of the Galaxy movies and The Suicide Squad.

Superman stars David Corenswet as the title character, with Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane. Other DC heroes set to appear in the movie include Metamorpho (Gotham's Anthony Carrigan) and Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi). There has been some speculation that Milly Alcock's Supergirl and Nathan Fillion's Guy Gardner could appear as well.

Little is known about the story of Superman, other than that it will involve a version of Superman who is settled into his role as the world's protector, but who also has a network of allies to fall back on. The Wire and Jack Ryan star Wendell Pierce will play Perry White, with Pruitt Taylor Vince (Constantine) and Neva Howell (Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul) on board as Jonathan and Martha Kent.

Gunn is lining up some familiar talent on the project, with cinematographer Henry Braham (The Suicide Squad, Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3); production designer Beth Mickle (The Suicide Squad, Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3); costume designer Judianna Makovsky (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Avengers: Endgame); and art director David Scott (Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Spider-Man: No Way Home). Casting is by Yellowstone and Oppenheimer's John Papsidera.

Superman flies in to theaters on July 11, 2025.

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