8 Comic Book Villains Whose Own Desires Are Their Downfall
6. Lex Luthor
Like so many of the rogues featured in this article, Lex Luthor is one of the greatest bad guys that comics have ever dished up. The megalomaniacal Lex is arguably the most intelligent human within the confines of DC Comics, yet how does he spend most of his time? Using his high IQ to think up ways to embarrass and defeat Superman.
What makes Luthor such a great villain is that he’s a complex and multi-layered character. Away from the strong, powerful and smart image Lex likes to portray, he’s a character who is immensely insecure and needs to constantly challenge himself to give him a sense of worth.
Make no mistake, Lex Luthor is far from being one of those rogues who are just after the money, power and infamy – Luthor is more often that not about proving himself worthy.
Of course, the ultimate challenge for Lex is to prove himself as a better saviour of the planet than Superman is. The public façade is usually built around Luthor not wanting mankind to place its faith in an alien being, yet really Lex wants to show to himself that he is better than the Man of Steel.
Should Lex manage to properly eradicate the world of Kal-El, how else could he possibly top that monumental challenge? And without no challenge to rise up to, how can Lex Luthor give himself a sense of worth and reason for being.
When it comes down to it, Lex is one complicated fella.