10 Times Batman Was FORCED To Work With Villains

5. Lex Luthor - Justice League #30 (2014)

Batman Penguin
DC Comics

Time and time again, Lex Luthor wanted to prove that humanity's future lied in his hands - not in superheroes. And when the Crime Syndicate took over the world and imprisoned the Justice League, Luthor finally got the chance to take centre-stage.

When he single-handedly defeated the Crime Syndicate's leader, Luthor was hailed as the saviour of mankind.

With his perfect public image, Luthor picked this opportunity to weasel his way into the Justice League, knowing it would tarnish the team's reputation to reject him. Since Luthor had discovered Batman's secret identity at the same time, he was able to force a collaboration with his company, much to Bruce Wayne's fury.

Because the team knew Luthor would do more harm than good if he was dismissed, Batman reluctantly welcomed him into the Justice League. To Luthor's credit, his tenure as a Leaguer had some benefits. Immediately after he joined, he tracked down an interdimensional Power Ring, which directly led to Jessica Cruz becoming the new Green Lantern of Earth. I mean, he also infected thousands of people with a virus and became Darkseid shortly after, but it does prove Luthor occasionally has his good moments.

Contributor

James Egan has been with Whatculture for five years and prominently works on Horror, Film, and Video Games. He's written over 80 books including 1000 Facts about Horror Movies Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about The Greatest Films Ever Made Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Video Games Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts About James Bond 1000 Facts About TV Shows