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Why Is It Impossible To Get Another Good Lex Luthor?
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Mar 31, 2025
Throughout all the different Superman related media, Lex Luthor has had many different interpretations. Though only Superman the Animated Series has gotten the closest to his comic book origin. Other portrayals of Lex Luthor in things like Smallville, Superman Returns, and Batman vs Superman, have seemingly fallen flat. Will we ever get a new Superman story with a decent Lex Luthor?
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We know better now, don't we
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The devils don't come from hell beneath us, no. No, they come from the sky
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There have been few characters who have both been locked so steadfastly in our minds
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yet remain as malleable as Lex Luthor. With a resume that reads everything from mad scientist to president to mech pilot
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Luthor has transcended origin after origin to become one of the greatest villains of all time
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But why then is it so hard to make that leap from the pullprint page of our hearts to the screen
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He's hungry. He's found us. And he's coming! Over 80 years ago, Lex Luthor, then just going by Luthor, made his debut in Action Comics No. 23
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Like most villains of the Golden Age comics, he was interested more in robberies and theft
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Simple one-and-done thwarted capers that lent itself to the monthly format. In the Silver Age, it was revealed his initial origin stories as a madcap scientist took place
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on Earth 2. After several differing origins, the more modern accepted origin is a teen who moved
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to Smallville and grew up with Clark Kent. But through it all, he remained Luther, a non-superpowered
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villain whose greatest asset was not money, gadgets, or weaponry. It was simply his mind
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Luther showed us a mortal could stand toe-to-toe against a god like Superman
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The reasoning behind why a character would want to do that is inarguably the most interesting and enduring part of Luther
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Driven by jealousy, human perfectionism, and insecurity, his decades-long battle against Superman is really a battle against himself
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To Luther, the idea that he can work so hard, accomplish so much, and still pale in comparison to Superman mentally breaks him
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Luther first battled Superman on screen in the serial Adam Man vs. Superman in 1950
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Played by future Ozzie and Harriet neighbor Lyle Talbot, the appearance is more in name alone with Luther also kind of, sort of being Adam Man
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The appearance that brought Luther to the forefront of the pop culture lexicon was really Richard Donner's Superman, released in 1978
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Starring opposite of Christopher Reeves' Superman, Gene Hackman took the iconic villain after several actors ranging from Dustin Hoffman to Paul Newman passed
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It open come in My attorney will be in touch with you about the damage to the door Otis take the gentleman cape And it clear Hackman is having an absolute blast Playing Luther as more comedic ham with an air of menace
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he was described by comic book critic Peter Sanderson as a used car salesman wielding nuclear missiles
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Hackman here is almost the blueprint for what Jack Nicholson would do years later as the Joker
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He's vibrant, full of danger, and wrapped up in some sort of evil plan involving real estate
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Here, his iconic bald look is used as an actual reveal at the end of the movie
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where he removes his wig to the prison guards. It's a wonderful bit of fan service and a clever workaround when Hackman refused to shave his head
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Hackman would play Luther again in Superman 2 and Superman 4 to varying degrees of success
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The thing Hackman understood about the character was his charisma. No matter the profession in Luther's storied career
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he has always managed to remain not just charming, but able to win people over
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Which just so happens to be owned by Alex Luthor Incorporated. Charisma isn't simply like ability
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It's being able to rally folks around you, to show them something strange and foreign
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and convince them that this is the right thing to do. There is definitely a charm to what Hackman is doing
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It just feels sort of off. Not necessarily out of place, but lacking in what we want from Luther
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It's a portrayal more in line with the Earth-2 idea of the madcap scientist
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only instead of wild gadgets, he's working in land deals. And while it worked in the original 78, its appeal lessened with each sequel
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That charisma was sorely lacking in Luther's next big screen appearance, this time played by Kevin Spacey and Bryan Singer's Superman Returns
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And while we agree the less said the better about Singer and Spacey
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it would be a disservice to Brandon Ruth, Superman, and the hundreds of crew to completely disregard the film entirely
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But having said all that, the movie is fairly forgettable. Spacey, an actor capable of charm and wit, is pretty wooden here
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Singer has a steadfast idea of who Superman is and anchors the movie around Christ-like symbolism
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but never veers too hard into who Luther is or how their relationship works in tandem
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In a slight homage to Donner, Luther is again working to exploit real estate
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Only this time, he's trying to create a gigantic landmass that will, in addition to making him rich
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create living space It vile and exploitative but it not necessarily Lex Luthor We had seen the actor be manipulative charming arrogant and vicious but in Superman Returns the seam camp is gone
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and we're left with just a dry smugness. Part of what has always made Luthor a villain worth
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decades of written words and meticulously illustrated comic panels is his relationship
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to his greatest enemy, Superman. In Superman Returns, that relationship is never concrete
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Instead of an inner jealousy of Superman, there's really just a plan that is contingent on our Boy Scout bringing Kryptonian crystals to Earth
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That sort of symbiotic relationship works well with other heroes and villains like Professor X and Magneto
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But the core of Luther is centered around jealousy and envy. And if you really want to ring those bells, you're gonna need some teen soap operas
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Michael Rosenbaum played our Luther in Smallville, first premiering in 2001. One thing both Smallville and Rosenbaum get right is Luther's envy
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and highlighting that characteristic makes perfect sense in a series centered around teenagers
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The melodrama and questioning is perfect for that time of a person's life
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Unfortunately, though, it is still a show bound to its own structure that demands to be fed
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and within those confines, there simply isn't enough space to let Luther really be the villain we know
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Every man has a weakness, Clark, no matter how superhuman he may be
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The closest we've gotten to the version we know is in the DC animated universe
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Voiced by Clancy Brown, his deep bass was a tone we already associated with evil
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thanks to roles in Highlander and The Shawshank Redemption. There's an undercut of malice and restrained anger with every delivery
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As much as I'd enjoy seeing that, first you've got some business with me
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And the show writers knew it, giving Brown ample opportunities to veer from over-the-top supervillain to cunning businessman
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The animated Luthor understood the audience's expectations and, more importantly, had the time with its longer format storytelling to build the villain's arc
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We understood him. For the first time since the comics, we knew this Lex Luthor
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That familiarity we have is one of the strongest strikes against Jesse Eisenberg in Zack Snyder's Batman vs. Superman
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While a socially awkward, long-haired Luther had appeared in Mark Waid, Lionel Francis Yu, and Jerry Alangle in Superman Birthright
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the Luther here is more broad strokes than character study But if you forge one well then we don have to depend upon the kindness of monsters Here Luther is a tech savant with ideas to use his power to take over the world
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Part of our disconnect may be Eisenberg's arguably most famous role in the social network
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as a tech savant with ideas to use his power to take over the world
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That's probably not an idea lost on Batman v Superman's director, Zack Snyder
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As with Clancy Brown and the ingrained feelings we have around an actor portraying Luther
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our John Cryer-Comb Lex Luthor is already saddled with baggage across the Arrowverse
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For us, Luther is the definition of human perfection coming up short
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For that idea to really work, we have to believe in the perfection. While Cryer and Arrowverse do a fine job of the villain's schemes and manipulation
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the presence just isn't there. One of Luther's greatest abilities as a character
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is to become the boogeyman for whatever generation he's being written. From a generation being bombarded by new scientific breakthroughs in the 40s
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to ruthless businessmen of the 80s to tech moguls and politicians. There's an adage about replacing an axe blade and then later the handle
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You begin to wonder if it's the same axe at all. In Luther's case, it absolutely is
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Despite his many iterations and over 80 years of continuity, his true power has always been his mind, no matter the window dressing that is thrust upon him
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And as long as Luther's mind is free, his stories and the possibility of getting him right are never too far away
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Part of that is the basic dichotomy of Luther and Superman. Superman is an ideal
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Morality and responsibility ingrain superpowers not given by mutation or accident, but birth
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He is what the creators want us to aspire to be, noble and kind
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While Luther represents an obtainable existence, a tempting one at that. Regardless of what origin you go by, he is a character who has built himself up through charisma, curiosity, and determination
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And that is something we see missing in every on-screen interpretation of Luther
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He is a cautionary tale. The story of our hubris, single-sidedness, and lack of empathy run amok
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There is a fine line between enviable determination and the disregard for humanity that Luther crossed a long time ago and never looked back
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He is a warning, even if he's closer to us than Superman
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