10 Worst Things Lex Luthor Has Done To Superman
6. Ruined Someone's Faith In Him
The thing that keeps Superman going is the faith that people have in him to save them. Abusing that is something that gave Lex Luthor one of his few victories.
In Adventures of Superman #15, Lex realises that Superman has a weakness other than kryptonite (and magic, psychic attacks, being cut off from the Sun and getting curbstomped by Doomsday for those of you about to leave a comment), he can't be in two places at once.
Luthor started his plan by driving a tank through Metropolis. When Superman came to stop him, he set off bombs at a nearby dam. Superman was able to save everyone at the dam and stop the flood by freezing it with his breath. But, as he's doing this, he's unable to save a man named Mike who was screaming for Superman's help from being hit by a train.
Later, we see Mike's disillusioned brother burn all his Superman memorabilia. Why did Luthor do all of this? Because he would consider it a win if he managed to make even one person hate Superman.
It really shows the true depth of Luthor's hate for Superman. He would go through so much effort and risk so many lives, just to win an incredibly petty victory.