Got to say I am surprised that Lex Luthor has such a passionate fanbase, who take me questioning his character depth and feasibility, and thematic potential, as a matter of personal offense.

Quote Originally Posted by Agent Z View Post
As opposed to the guy from the fictional country called Victor Von Doom?
In that context, I was comparing Luthor to Norman Osborn, and their respective feasibiliy as a Trump analogue. Dr. Doom is a Romani revolutionary who took over an oppressive aristocratic dictatorship that persecuted minorities and became a dictator that while oppressive isn't bigoted or repressive to minorities, and indeed Doom often makes gestures to open borders and welcoming refugees and so on. There's nothing Trump-like about him and there's nothing to compare him to Luthor or anyone.

Indeed, as Jim Shooter demonstrated in the second Inter-company crossover (Superman and Spider-Man, which is mostly Superman versus Dr. Doom and Spidey's there for the ride), Dr. Doom is a more interesting foil to Superman than Luthor because he presents a bigger moral challenge, since he's also a minority kid who created a homeland and is all about using his power for upliftment, and so on. And as Doom points out when Superman compares him to Hitler, "You misjudge me, Superman! I am no raging Fuehrer, wringing hatred from misfit followers! My Kingdom is a place of peace and contentment!" And that's true, Dr. Doom's ideology has not a whiff of race hatred anywhere, which isn't true of Luthor, who is genuinely a bigot towards aliens seeing them as livestock whose organs and parts can be harvested for human (i.e. Luthor) development. Now of course the latter part varies as per writers and so on, but it's certainly realistic and believable that there are people within Latveria who genuinely agree with and support Doom and who consider Doom an improvement over the trashcanistan that ran Latveria before him.


So anyway...I am not convinced by the argument that Osborn is somehow inferior than Luthor simply because Luthor came first and him being a regular Superman villain means he's hot s--t. I think Norman Osborn and Green Goblin makes more sense as a villain, has better stories, and is more interesting for the stories and challenges he presents in the stories he's been in.