Originally Posted by
Revolutionary_Jack
Luthor is an example of a character who has this outsize reputation as this great supervillain but on the whole I just don't get him as a character. I don't think he's a good villain. He's excellent in some stories, and the Clancy Brown version from the Justice League cartoons was awesome, but Superman has many better villains than Luthor like Brainiac, Bizarro, Toyman, and above all Mr. Mxyzsptlk. Norman Osborn is a more compelling and effective villain than Luthor. There I said it. The DC Universe didn't have a lot of edge when Luthor was POTUS compared to Norman being Head of HAMMER. And the story where Luthor got impeached was a pretty bad and shallow one, like it happened in some B-title and not even in a proper event.
Other people argue that Luthor's real Marvel counterpart is Dr. Doom but Doom is infinitely better as a character and a person than Luthor. Dr. Doom really is a multifaceted character, the guy who believes that since he should rule the world it's also his duty to chip in and save the world now and again. The whole humanist angle that people try and pit Lex in never made sense to me. I usually disagree a lot with Mark Waid but I do agree with him that the Mad Scientist, cake-stealing Luthor is a more entertaining villain than the businessman guy. Doom you can do stories where he kicks back and runs Latveria or the world as in Emperor Doom, but Luthor running Lexcorp is a bore.