10 Leading Film Characters That Didn’t Really Go Anywhere

7. Lenny Luthor - Superman IV: The Quest For Peace (1987)

Suicide Squad
Cannon Films / Warner Bros

In the glory days of the Superman franchise, charismatic bad guy, Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) was aided by a team of flawed evildoers: bumbling but loveable heavy, Otis (Ned Beatty) and conscientious gangster’s mole, Miss Teschmacher (Valerie Perrine).

It is an awful comedown in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace when Lex is forced to rely upon his wannabe-punk nephew, Lenny Luthor (Jon Cryer), who breaks his Uncle Lex out of a prison farm and then just follows him around for the rest of the film.

Lenny fills in for Otis (no doubt as the film’s notoriously small budget prevented Ned Beatty from being hired), but is far less effective and has little to do in the role other than handling some nifty gadgets that Luthor himself could easily have wielded.

It does not even seem a fair comeuppance that Superman (Christopher Reeve) punishes Lenny by entrusting him to the care of a boys’ home at the film's conclusion.

Nevertheless, Christopher Reeve appeared to confide greatly in Jon Cryer, informing him behind the scenes that Superman IV would not be a success; the onscreen Man of Steel’s instincts were soon proven to be quite correct.

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I started writing for WhatCulture in July 2020. I have always enjoyed reading and writing. I have contributed to several short story competitions and I have occasionally been fortunate enough to have my work published. During the COVID-19 lockdown, I also started reviewing films on my Facebook page. Numerous friends and contacts suggested that I should start my own website for reviewing films, but I wanted something a bit more diverse - and so here I am! My interests focus on film and television mainly, but I also occasionally produce articles that venture into other areas as well. In particular, I am a fan of the under appreciated sequel (of which there are many), but I also like the classics and the mainstream too.