He is based on swashbuckling actors Errol Flynn and Tyrone Power, and back-matter in the comics showed the three being contemporaries and friends.

Lord's most famous film was the fictional 1940 adventure/horror The Silver Blade, where he played a dashing nobleman that was cursed to become a gargoyle at night.

The movie ends with Stanyon's character crying over the body of the gargoyle, her tears being the "magic potion" that frees Silver Blade from the curse and revives him.

Lord can now transform into any of his movie roles and possess their powers, with the added benefit of effectively regaining his youth by portraying Silver Blade.

Vermillion had been an excellent dancer and planned to become the next Fred Astaire in film, but instead is confined to crutches and blames the two for his ruined dream.

Later, a séance is held in a haunted home led by a mysterious Native-American, Blackfeather, who had also been searching for the magical Maltese Falcon.

The ghost haunting the residence is the spirit of actor Brian Vane, who played a television super hero in the 1950s called the Winged Avenger.

Vane suffered through career and personal problems before dying under mysterious circumstances, making the character a thinly-veiled stand-in for the story of Superman actor George Reeves.

Blackfeather, who possesses powers similar to Lord by changing into animals, reveals that the falcon is not telling the entire truth.

Meanwhile, Sandra Stanyon comes to terms with knowing her ex-husband is young again, Milestone reads books on the supernatural and metaphysics in order to understand everything that is happening, and the ghost of Brian Vane joins the group to assist.

Artificial life-forms that guard Atlantis mortally wound Lord while using the gargoyle persona, while the Executioner and falcon spirit clash and disappear.

This doomed Atlantis, however, and resulted in the falcon spirit and Executioner warring with one another, not realizing they were yin and yang, two halves to the same soul.

Silverblade is referenced in the Young Justice episode "Image", with Jonathan Lord and his former co-star and lover, Sandra Stanyon appearing in the sitcom Hello, Megan!

Johnathan Lord is mentioned in DC Showcase: The Phantom Stranger as the former owner of a mansion before he allegedly gave it to Seth.