SUPERGIRL Casts Maxwell Lord, Livewire & Reactron Announced

Here's hoping Blue Beetle isn't going to make an appearance.

One of the more notable panels at San Diego Comic-Con 2015 was Warner Bros. and DC Comics' three-hour "A Night of DC Entertainment" panel in Hall H that provided some exciting news for the upcoming CBS series Supergirl.

Peter Facinelli has been cast as DC Comics character Maxwell Lord, described by Warner Brothers Television as "Sometimes a villain, sometimes a hero, Maxwell Lord has a storied past with the DC Comics Universe as a powerful business man involved with the Justice League.  On Supergirl, Maxwell is a green tech billionaire who enjoys a friendly rivalry with Cat Grant and a fascination with National City’s newest arrival — Supergirl."

Facinelli, 41, is best known as Dr. Carlisle Cullen in the Twilight films and as Dr. Fitch "Coop" Cooper on Nurse Jackie.  His other television appearances include American Odyssey, Glee, Damages, Six Feet Under, and Fastlane. 

"Greg [Berlanti], Ali [Adler] and I have been fans of Peter for years," said executive producer Andrew Kreisberg.  "We’re beyond thrilled to have him join us on Supergirl’s first adventures bringing the iconic Maxwell Lord to life."

Created in 1987 by Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis and Kevin Maguire, Maxwell Lord IV first appeared in Justice League (vol.1) #1 as a successful businessman who worked behind the scenes to establish a new incarnation of the Justice League while under the control of a sinister computer created by Metron of the New Gods.

Freed from the computer's influence, Lord was one of many people on Earth gifted with superpowers during the Invasion event when a gene bomb was detonated by alien invaders.  Lord gained the ability to control the minds of others, albeit with great difficulty.  He was later revealed as a criminal mastermind who spent years gather sensitive information about the world's superheroes, whom he considered to be a threat to Earth.

Lord shot and killed the second Blue Beetle, Ted Kord, after he discovered Lord's secret and refused to join him.  He later controlled Superman's mind and sent her to attack Wonder Woman, making the Man of Steel believe she was his enemy Doomsday.  In order to free Superman from Lord's control, Wonder Woman snapped Lord's neck.  However, he was later resurrected by the power of White Lantern light during the events of Blackest Night.

Facinelli will the second actor to portray Maxwell Lord in live action, after Gil Bellows on the CW series Smallville.

In other Supergirl news, two new villains were announced for the show's first season -- Livewire and Reactron.  

Livewire was Leslie Willis, a former radio shock jock until she was transformed by a thunderstorm into a being of electrical energy and later faced Superman.

Reactron, meanwhile, was Benjamin Martin Krull, a sergeant in the United States Army until he was transformed into a being capable of generating radioactive energy and later faced Supergirl.

Supergirl debuts on CBS on October 26, 2015.