10 Worst Things Lex Luthor Has Done To Superman
2. Killed Him Twice
Well it's just statistics really. After so many attempts to kill Superman, some of Lex Luthor's plans have got to work. Still, two out of several hundred isn't a great average and, to make matters worse, neither of them were in continuity.
The first time Lex killed Superman was in the imaginatively titled 'The Death of Superman'. It's a completely bonkers story in which Lex Luthor invents a cure for cancer just so that Superman will trust him. With Clark's guard down, Luthor straps him to a table and hits him with a kryptonite ray which kills him. Lex gets his just deserts though, when Supergirl chucks him into the Phantom Zone.
Don't worry though. The cover helpfully informs you that it's all an imaginary tale so there's no chance of getting it confused with all those comics that really happened, like the time Billy Ray Cyrus slapped a knight.
Lex also managed to kill Superman in Grant Morrison's seminal All-Star Superman. Luthor sabotaged an expedition to the Sun which caused Superman to be overloaded with solar radiation, giving him a year to live. Superman got his revenge though when he showed Lex how he sees the world, causing the villain to break down crying at the realisation of what he had done.