Controversial Luthor opinions!

[llozymandias]

1.) Lex Luthor (when he is a villain) is one of the most evil individuals ever. He is not a mis-guided good guy.



2.) His motive for hating Superman is simple. Superman keeps getting in his way. That was how it was golden age & silver age. It was in the bronze age that hair loss became the motive. More recently writers decided to write him as a deluded bigot.



3.) He is a super-genius super-scientist. Not just a guy with lots of money.

[Tzigone]

1.) Lex Luthor (when he is a villain) is one of the most evil individuals ever. He is not a mis-guided good guy.

This one is very important to me.

2.) His motive for hating Superman is simple. Superman keeps getting in his way. That was how it was golden age & silver age. It was in the bronze age that hair loss became the motive. More recently writers decided to write him as a deluded bigot.

I don't care for hair loss or bigotry as his motive. I don't mind if envy (Superman being liked more than him) is a motive, but I'm also perfectly okay with him not caring about being liked (maybe even loving to be hated) and Superman drawing his hatred for stopping him from succeeding. But I do think he should hate Superman (while I don't care if the Joker has personal feelings about Batman at all). I do think he should want attention.

3.) He is a super-genius super-scientist. Not just a guy with lots of money.

I'm okay with him being both. I've before made the "evil Elon Musk" comment. Tech company, but a lot work from engineers. A lot of fanboys. But I'm cool with flatout scientist, too.

I do think he should be petty, the kind of guy who keeps a enemies list. Think of Nixon's, and definitely include those who slighted him personally. Or of during Death/Reign (can't recall which) where he murdered his martial arts instructor because she dismissed him, saying he didn't have his head in the game. He should not be smooth and debonair - he may be able to fake it to those who don't know him well, but those with a longer history should know how nasty and erratic he can be. His emotions absolutely should get in his way sometimes.

[llozymandias]

This one is very important to me.

I don't care for hair loss or bigotry as his motive. I don't mind if envy (Superman being liked more than him) is a motive, but I'm also perfectly okay with him not caring about being liked (maybe even loving to be hated) and Superman drawing his hatred for stopping him from succeeding. But I do think he should hate Superman (while I don't care if the Joker has personal feelings about Batman at all). I do think he should want attention.

I'm okay with him being both. I've before made the "evil Elon Musk" comment. Tech company, but a lot work from engineers. A lot of fanboys. But I'm cool with flatout scientist, too.

I do think he should be petty, the kind of guy who keeps a enemies list. Think of Nixon's, and definitely include those who slighted him personally. Or of during Death/Reign (can't recall which) where he murdered his martial arts instructor because she dismissed him, saying he didn't have his head in the game. He should not be smooth and debonair - he may be able to fake it to those who don't know him well, but those with a longer history should know how nasty and erratic he can be. His emotions absolutely should get in his way sometimes.

Hair loss does not work as the motive. if Lex were that upset about being bad, He would cure it super-easy. A few days research & experiments. Properly test the result, to make sure it's safe. Then he uses it. Within a few days/weeks he has hair again. Bigotry does not work. Because bigotry is a sign of a small mind.



The only way someone like Lex might be actually poor, would be if they didn't want to be rich. If Lex were real & applied any of his genius to aquisition of wealth, very shortly he would make Mansa Musa look like he was dirt poor.

[OpaqueGiraffe17]

Generally I don’t think he should have any history with the town of Smallville or having ever been friends with Clark Kent. I don’t think it adds anything to their relationship. Not saying there haven't been good stories or versions that have used that backstory. But I think Lex and Superman dynamic is supposed to be less personal than some other notable comic book rivalries. It’s a hatred born of inherent jealousy and envy not a a tragic friendship turned sour.

[Gaius]

Generally I don’t think he should have any history with the town of Smallville or having ever been friends with Clark Kent. I don’t think it adds anything to their relationship. Not saying there having been good stories or versions that have used that backstory. But I think Lex and Superman dynamic is supposed to be less personal than some other notable comic book rivalries. It’s a hatred born of inherent jealousy and envy not a a tragic friendship turned sour.

I agree, I know the concept probably long pre-dates stuff like it but Lex and Superman being ex-friends from childhood is too much like fanfic material for me.

[witchboy]

It always did seem silly that Lex didn't cure his baldness if it bothered him, and that that was the source of his lifelong hatred of Superman.
I have heard it suggested that the chemicals that made him lose his hair made him unbalanced and/or evil. It does make sense given the context of the story even though I don't like Lex losing the agency of his choices there.
I think Lex losing Adora, Lex Jr and Lexor was a great way to revive the character. That their deaths were all his own fault but he has to blame Superman because he can't deal with it if it's his own fault is a very human thing to do. It does give him some tragedy that makes him sympathetic, but also puts some real fire to his hate.
Michael Rosenberg was the best Lex, giving the character so much range, passion. He had eight seasons to develop the character, where we see his character have a close bond with Clark and his paranoia and fear twists him. I didn't like how the series finale kind of rebooted him with memory loss. I haven't read the season 11 comics yet, though i want to get around to it sometime.
I do like the tall hunky clone Lex, I wouldn't be opposed to seeing that return if it made sense for the story.

[llozymandias]

I agree, I know the concept probably long pre-dates stuff like it but Lex and Superman being ex-friends from childhood is too much like fanfic material for me.

The thing about them being ex-friends was from the Luthor origin Jerry Siegel wrote in 1960.

[Blue22]

Generally I don’t think he should have any history with the town of Smallville or having ever been friends with Clark Kent. I don’t think it adds anything to their relationship. Not saying there having been good stories or versions that have used that backstory. But I think Lex and Superman dynamic is supposed to be less personal than some other notable comic book rivalries. It’s a hatred born of inherent jealousy and envy not a a tragic friendship turned sour.

Honestly, this is pretty much all I agree with. I always hated when certain interpretations tried to give him and Clark a past, as if they needed more reasons to be enemies. It's just as terrible as when it's done between Batman and the Joker (most notably the movie where he's the one who killed Bruce's parents)

For the most part I think Luthor is fine as he is in most modern interpretations. The shadowy, conniving CEO who's bent on proving why the world doesn't need Superman or any of his associates. Even if that means being the one who puts them all down.

I always kinda liked that angle for Luthor. He's the guy who's the villain because he's so desperate for the glory of being the hero. He genuinely cares about the world and his city. But he's also a narcissistic sociopath who thinks he's better than everyone and always knows what's best.

So even though I do prefer him as a villain, I guess my unpopular opinion is that I actually really liked his stint as an actual hero during Rebirth. If that had been the new status quo for him, I wouldn't have really been upset.

[Agent Z]

Bigotry does not work. Because bigotry is a sign of a small mind.

You can be smart in multiple areas and still be a bigot. Bigotry can be found anywhere.

The only way someone like Lex might be actually poor, would be if they didn't want to be rich. If Lex were real & applied any of his genius to aquisition of wealth, very shortly he would make Mansa Musa look like he was dirt poor.

There are people who are great inventors that die no richer than when they were born.

[Riv86672]

Lex Luthor (when he is a villain) is one of the most evil individuals ever. He is not a mis-guided good guy.

^^^Agreed. And he’s always a villain.

His motive for hating Superman is simple. Superman keeps getting in his way.

^^^I can work w. that. Luthor was King **** in Metropolis before Superman showed up and he resents him. The anti alien thing is just a tool.

He is a super-genius super-scientist. Not just a guy with lots of money.

^^^I like him as both. Money is the one super power Luthor has over Supes, and it’s a good one to have, as he can use it to attack Supes in pretty much any manner a writer cares to imagine.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

1) Luthor is not a very good villain in general. And certainly not a good one for Superman. Brainiac, Bizarro, Mr. Mxyzsptlk, Darkseid are all better Superman villains than him.

2) To the extent Luthor is convincing as a villain, it's as the Silver Age Mad Scientist guy and not corporate owner Lex.

3) He should be given a "death" and benched for two-three years (at minimum) or five years (ideally) so that writers can develop other rogues.

4) Luthor should not appear in any Superman movie for at least three more films.

5) Gene Hackman is a great actor, but his Luthor sucks. Clancy Brown's VO as Lex is the one true Luthor.

6) Humanist Luthor is a garbage interpretation, and an insult to humanism.

[Sacred Knight]

He should not be the human half of Conner's DNA.

He has never been portrayed great in any film. Been portrayed by great actors but never was a great character.

The Lex Luthor II storyline is underrated. In fact, I wouldn't mind a long term change that again retired the baldness for a good chunk of time and went with that long red hair and beard.

He should be nearly 100% a sociopath, with the lone exception of the city itself. Not the people that make up the city, but the construct of it, as he considers it his and an extension of him.