8 Ways Lex Luthor Can Be More Practical Before Man Of Steel 2

By Ian Boucher /

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Lex Luthor is not just one of the most memorable characters in the history of popular culture, but he backs that up with an excellent track record. He is an incredibly brilliant supervillain and is often legitimately written so€”which is more than we can say for many supposedly-intelligent characters€”and has tremendously interesting motivations for what he does. Despite this however, the live action Superman movies have only touched on his demonstrated range. Gene Hackman€™s version is very fun, and Kevin Spacey€™s role touches on the furious energy boiling within Luthor, but neither part has definitively represented the mind-over-muscle promise of the character. It stands to reason that Mr. Luthor will appear in some capacity in Man of Steel 2. And whether or not you liked Man of Steel, I think we can all agree that the filmmakers behind the movie understand Superman and his world€”while adapting it, they really dug into the mythology of the comics, giving us not just what we knew, but pushed us further, using elements that hadn€™t been previously seen on the big screen and developed them very creatively to give us an insightful and meaningful introduction to Superman. Therefore, the filmmakers behind the sequel have both the opportunity and ability to not only show Lex Luthor in all his despicably innovative glory, but to make him even more compelling, to bring him into perceptive, uncharted territory like the rest of Man of Steel€™s universe, to show us his underlying motivations and explore them in more comprehensive and telling ways. Lex Luthor can afford to be both truer to himself and, dare I say it, more efficient. So we all know you€™re out there, Luthor. The clock€™s ticking. You have only a few years (or less€”hopefully not) to come up with a better way of disposing of that self-important alien who you€™d call Bane if the name wasn€™t already taken and win the world over to your side, to simultaneously make the world a better place for the little people and yourself. Before we see you in Man of Steel 2, you need to look ahead, to learn from your own history across media formats. Or at least use whatever issues of Blaze Comics are available where you are. Heck, track down Booster Gold and ask him about what€™s going to happen. You need to leave behind obviously destructive means to get that so-called €œSuperman€ out of the way. I know, who cares if average people die? The fact is, you have to play ball. It€™s a general rule that the press likes people better who don€™t cause physical destruction, so you€™re not going to get anywhere without a good public image, and moreover, Superman is a pretty strong entity. You need to attack him from behind-the-scenes and psychologically, taking the best strategies from the comics to realize greater new ones. Secondly, your plan of attack needs to be actually viable, not one that is essentially meant for you to lose. If any supervillain is capable of such a plan, it€™s you. And I know this is an oxymoron for a megalomaniac like yourself, but the most successful leaders always know to quit while they€™re ahead. For instance, if you were to set all the cells in Superman€™s body on a path to destruction like you did at the beginning of All-Star Superman, there would be no need to challenge him in hand-to-hand combat or attack Metropolis€”you would have already won! Get the picture so far? Take a moment, and whenever you€™re ready, click €œnext€ to start taking notes on 8 easy but crucial points to remember as you construct your new courses of action which will reintroduce the world to the greatness that is Lex Luthor!