Lex Luthor: Man of Steel

© DC Comics | Cover Art: Lee Bermejo | Writer: Brian Azzarello

Lex Luthor: Man of Steel (later collected as simply Luthor) is a five-issue monthly American comic book limited series written by Brian Azzarello and illustrated by Lee Bermejo, which features Superman’s nemesis Lex Luthor as the protagonist.

The story explores Luthor’s motivations behind being a constant foe to the Man of Steel inside a city that has largely embraced him. Luthor views Superman as a demigod who looks down on humanity and believes that in order to “save” the human race from extraterrestrial threats, Superman must be stopped.

At the onset of the series, the story seems to be narrated from Luthor’s point of view, one depicting himself as someone much different than the ruthless, corrupt killer that readers are accustomed to. He displays a charitable nature by giving a loyal employee an invitation to the grand opening of Luthor’s own “Science Spire”, a new Metropolis attraction under construction. By contrast, many of the “heroes” Luthor encounters during his story (Superman, Batman) are depicted as duplicitous and unworthy of trust. Luthor watches footage of Superman engaging criminals with heat vision and wonders to himself why the public invests so much trust in an alien simply because he looks human. Meanwhile, in Chechnya, Mr. Elias Orr, one of Lex’s operatives, leads a group of mercenaries in a raid to free a Russian scientist named Sasha who is to assist Lex Luthor in a new project.

While holding a meeting, it is brought to Luthor’s attention that the union workers building the Science Spire want a higher wage. Luthor tosses his business plan and decides to build and unveil the attraction as a non-profit project, which undercuts the union’s demands. Upon leaving the boardroom full of stunned executives, Luthor arrives at his lab where he observes Hope, a woman floating inside a gigantic vat apparently asleep. Luthor ask Sasha if he can speak with Hope and Sasha opens the communication relay systems barrier which causes Hope’s eyes to open. Luthor then engages in a conversation with Hope to see how in turn she responds in kind. Hope asks some questions about how Luthor thinks and feels about her. Luthor tells Hope how important she is to him and that how he promised that Sasha would make her better. After this conversation has taken place Sasha informs Luthor that although it is good that Hope responds with questions, what is truly missing are synapses and what is inside. Luthor wishes for a past for Hope but that there is nothing for her outside her development chamber and that what he wants requires more. Luthor then tells Sasha he will get it for him. Sometime later, Orr beats and threatens the union leader into complying with his demands while Lex flies to Gotham City to try to arrange a deal with Bruce Wayne (Batman). Luthor lets Bruce know that he heard of the breakthrough made at Thomas Labs, one of Bruce’s research facilities at Wayne Enterprises, on the Alzheimer’s front and that he thinks that it could be beneficial on another. Lex also tells Bruce of the potential threat that Superman poses due to his vast array of powers and overall strength. As a gift, Lex presents Bruce with kryptonite and asks him to consider how the public only has Superman’s word that he will not turn on them.

That night, Batman is looking at the kryptonite when Superman arrives in Gotham and uses his breath to blow the kryptonite from Batman’s hand before confronting Batman in a brief but intense fight. Superman eventually bests Batman. Superman goes to finish the confrontation with a knockout punch to Batman’s face before stopping, x-ray visioning Batman’s utility belt, picking out Batman’s own lead-lined piece of Kryptonite and crushing in his fist. Later that evening Bruce calls Lex and tells him he will give the research to Luthor.

At the opening for the Science Spire, Lex announces the arrival of a new superhero by introducing Hope to the public, the result of the Sasha’s work and Wayne’s medicinal breakthroughs. Hope displays abilities of super-strength and flight, essentially replacing Superman and becoming a corporate-sponsored hero who soon takes on duties normally reserved for Superman. One month later and Hope has gained a loyal following. At Lexcorp, Lex tells Hope how proud he is of her and that she is more than that he had ever dreamed she would be, much to the chagrin of his secretary Mona.

The next day at Lexcorp, Hope’s Q-rating has gone up through the roof. Luthor watches Hope on TV as she is being given an interview. She tells the reporter named Reggie that her favorite place to eat is at an eatery called The Pineapple King as her father took her there once when she was five and she was hooked for life. It is now realized that Luthor has used Bruce’s research on his Alzheimer’s aiding technology so as to give Hope these fake memories as her past like Sasha asked for earlier. Reggie then makes a joke about hoping that she will not be taking the Justice League there when they come recruiting her or there will be lines wrapped right down around the block. Hope informs Reggie that she has no intention of joining The Justice League as she is a born-and-raised Metropolitan girl. She states that there are many heroes in the country and that they are all blessed to have Justice League as those heroes, but her heart belongs to the city of Metropolis as it is her home and it is their home.

Orr approaches Winslow Schott (Toyman) with an offer on behalf of Lex. Hope and Lex are in bed together when a news bulletin breaks that Schott is wanted for a bombing at the Metropolis Daycare Center (in which over seventy adults and children, including, coincidentally, Sasha and his family are killed). Orr realizes that he has been double-crossed when Schott mentions a different kind of explosive being delivered to him from someone other than Orr’s men. Lex urges Hope to bring the criminal to justice.

Inside his warehouse, Toyman is confronted by Superman, who is immediately met by Toyman’s soldiers as Hope grabs Schott and soars into the sky with him. From a separate location, Lex activates a control and causes her to drop Toyman, a development that pleases many of those watching on television. At the last moment, Superman flies up and catches Toyman.

Hope wonders why she involuntarily let Toyman go just as Superman confronts her for attempted murder. Hope attacks Superman and flies away towards the Science Spire. During a battle with Superman, Hope is blasted by his eye lasers, revealing to both of them that Hope is actually an android. Lex then remotely detonates Hope, causing the Science Spire to explode. This destroys all evidence that she was an android and makes it appear as though Superman killed her.

Superman flies to Lex’s office, where he is waiting with his back turned. Lex says that not one person in Metropolis wanted to see Schott live after the destruction he caused and that, even with his many visions, Superman can’t see Luthor’s soul. Lex is infuriated by Superman’s silent judgment and demands he say something. Superman simply says, “You’re wrong…I can see your soul”. Taken aback, Lex pounds the window in defiance then tries to regain composure, saying that, if Superman could, he would see a man who sacrificed everything, including hope, for “A world without a Superman” and that if just one person out there saw Superman saving a condemned man and “realizes what you are” then his actions were worthwhile. Luthor turns away from the window, asking him to “Please, just fly away”. Superman complies, soaring off with a sad expression, leaving Lex with the thought “I am a man. I hope”.


DC Comics Page

Art by: Lee Bermejo | Jason Martin | Karl Story | Mick Gray

Colorist: Lee Bermejo

Written by: Brian Azzarello

Must-Watch Movies & TV

A list of must-watch movies and television series, all according to me of course! There are so many more movies that should be on this list, but all of these have some special meaning for me. All cover photographs and descriptions are borrowed from IMDB.com.

The Fountain (2006)

As a modern-day scientist, Tommy is struggling with mortality, desperately searching for the medical breakthrough that will save the life of his cancer-stricken wife, Izzi.

Why I like it: The Fountain is like an epic love poem about impermanence and death.

Inherit the Wind (1960)

Based on a real-life case in 1925, two great lawyers argue the case for and against a science teacher accused of the crime of teaching evolution.

Why I like it: Inherit the Wind highlights some important aspects of the debate about evolution and creation.

Fight Club (1999)

An insomniac office worker, looking for a way to change his life, crosses paths with a devil-may-care soap maker, forming an underground fight club that evolves into something much, much more.

Why I like it: Fight Club touches on a lot of concepts that deal with the downsides of capitalism and society.

The Matrix (1999)

A computer hacker learns from mysterious rebels about the true nature of his reality and his role in the war against its controllers.

Why I like it: The Matrix is a nice introduction to some of the basic ideas that comprise a study of metaphysics.

Luther (2003)

During the early 16th Century idealistic German monk Martin Luther, disgusted by the materialism in the church, begins the dialogue that will lead to the Protestant Reformation.

Why I like it: Luther highlights an incredibly important period of Western history.

Dead Poet’s Society (1989)

English teacher John Keating inspires his students to look at poetry with a different perspective of authentic knowledge and feelings.

Why I like it: Dead Poets Society is a celebration of life and is a testament to the importance of the Humanities.

Requiem for a Dream (2000)

The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island people are shattered when their addictions run deep.

Why I like it: Requiem for a Dream exposes the dark side of drug use and abuse, both illicit and pharmaceutical.

V for Vendetta (2005)

In a future British tyranny, a shadowy freedom fighter, known only by the alias of “V”, plots to overthrow it with the help of a young woman.

Why I like it: V for Vendetta presents in a fictional model the possibilities and dangers of authoritarian government.

I Heart Huckabees (2004)

A husband-and-wife team play detective, but not in the traditional sense. Instead, the happy duo helps others solve their existential issues, the kind that keep you up at night, wondering what it all means.

Why I like it: I Heart Huckabees is a hilarious examination of existentialism and existential psychology.

Back to the Future (1985)

Marty McFly, a 17-year-old high school student, is accidentally sent 30 years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his close friend, the maverick scientist Doc Brown.

Why I like it: Back to the Future opens up the imagination to the possibilities of scientific discovery and the paradoxes of time travel.

The NeverEnding Story (1984)

neverending-story

A troubled boy dives into a wondrous fantasy world through the pages of a mysterious book.

Why I like it: The NeverEnding Story was a movie that I watched many times as a child and it holds a deeper meaning about nothingness and human creativity that I probably did not comprehend as a child.

The Boondock Saints (1999)

 

Fraternal twins set out to rid Boston of the evil men operating there while being tracked down by an FBI agent.

Why I like it: The Boondock Saints explores the morality behind simply destroying (what we consider) evil men.

Waking Life (2001)

A man shuffles through a dream meeting various people and discussing the meanings and purposes of the universe.

Why I like it: Waking Life takes a bunch of philosophical concepts and mashes them into one artistic compendium.

American History X (1998)

american-history-x

A former neo-nazi skinhead tries to prevent his younger brother from going down the same wrong path that he did.

Why I like it: American History X explores the ideas and dangers of blind racism.

A Beautiful Mind (2001)

After John Nash, a brilliant but asocial mathematician, accepts secret work in cryptography, his life takes a turn for the nightmarish.

Why I like it: A Beautiful Mind examines the life of an intellectually gifted man that suffered from paranoid schizophrenia.

Into the Wild (2007)

After graduating from Emory University, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions, gives his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhikes to Alaska to live in the wilderness. Along the way, Christopher encounters a series of characters that shape his life.

Why I like it: Into the Wild is all about simplifying life and finding oneself in nature.

Office Space (1999)

Three company workers who hate their jobs decide to rebel against their greedy boss.

Why I like it: Office Space offers an intensely fun perspective on meaningless labor.

Silence (2016)

In the 17th century, two Portuguese Jesuit priests travel to Japan in an attempt to locate their mentor, who is rumored to have committed apostasy, and to propagate Catholicism.

Why I like it: Silence explores the clashing of worldviews and offers a unique and insightful perspective on religion and the faithful.

The Discovery (2017)

A love story set one year after the existence of the afterlife is scientifically verified.

Why I like it: The Discovery has a very interesting premise that serves to present some even more interesting ideas.


Lost (2004-2010)

The survivors of a plane crash are forced to work together in order to survive on a seemingly deserted tropical island.

Why I like it: Lost contains so much food for thought throughout the development of its various characters and events.

Mad Men (2007-2015)

A drama about one of New York’s most prestigious ad agencies at the beginning of the 1960s, focusing on one of the firm’s most mysterious but extremely talented ad executives, Donald Draper.

Why I like it: Mad Men provides an interesting look into the business world and private lives of people in the 1960’s.

Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (2014)

A documentary series that explores how we discovered the laws of nature and found our coordinates in space and time.

Why I like it: Cosmos is a great introduction to the science behind contemporary cosmology.

Breaking Bad (2008-2013)

A high school chemistry teacher diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer turns to manufacturing and selling methamphetamine in order to secure his family’s future.

Why I like it: Breaking Bad explores in highly dramatic form the thoughts and actions of a semi-nihilistic/narcissistic man and the violent consequences of his actions.

House of Cards (2013- )

A Congressman works with his equally conniving wife to exact revenge on the people who betrayed him.

Why I like it: House of Cards offers a fictionalized look into the cutthroat world of politics.

Game of Thrones (2011- )

Nine noble families fight for control over the mythical lands of Westeros; A forgotten race returns after being dormant for thousands of years.

Why I like it: Game of Thrones is an epic tale that explores morality and politics in many forms.

The Walking Dead (2010- )

Sheriff Deputy Rick Grimes wakes up from a coma, to learn the world is in ruins, and must lead a group of survivors to stay alive.

Why I like it: The Walking Dead offers some insight into the human condition and explores what lies at the heart of humanity.

Westworld (2016 – )

Set at the intersection of the near future and the reimagined past, explore a world in which every human appetite can be indulged without consequence.

Why I like it: Alongside raising questions of human nature, Westworld explores the complications involved in the development of artificial intelligence ranging from ethical to existential concerns.

Black Mirror (2011- )

A television anthology series that shows the dark side of life and technology.

Why I like it: Black Mirror takes some really interesting ideas and presents them as possible technological disasters in the near future.


I could keep going and have probably missed some real gems, but that’s all for now! Maybe I’ll do books next time… or video games?