10 Times Lex Luthor Outsmarted Everyone

10. When He Made His Own Kryptonite Warsuit

Lex Luthor is a man like any other, so how did this perfectly normal genius become the arch-nemesis to the most powerful superhero in the DC Universe? It doesn't make a ton of sense that he would challenge what amounts to a god in a fight, but Lex had a way around his comparable human frailty.

In a one-on-one fight between Superman and Lex Luthor, there's no question; Superman could kill the guy if he farted in his general direction. To combat this little problem, Lex found a way to create a special battlesuit, and unlike Marvel's Iron Man, this suit was designed for a very specific purpose.

Lex's first suit of armor was designed to take down the Man of Steel, but it had the side-effect of driving the person inside it insane, so Supes had to hold back in the fight. His second suit of armor was created on Apokolips, and it was designed to be an even match against Superman.

Eventually, Lex acquired a Motherbox and used it to create a brand new Warsuit based on fighting Superman. That Warsuit was far deadlier than the ones that came before it, but after the post-Flashpoint Superman died, Lex didn't use the suit for evil. He opted to don the suit, taking on the mantle of Superman and the protector of Metropolis.