#lexor

[momachan]

"Lex freaking Luthor... Inter-planetary villain and cake thief? That Lex Luthor?"

Future State (2021): Superman. "Superman Vs Imperious Lex"

That's canon. 😄

[story-weavr]

What if: Lexor

One day, Superman and his allies were battling Lex and co.

A blast happened, and they were all teleported to another planet. It was under a red Sun and was quite different from that of Earth.

The heroes became separated.

Overtime, Lex and his ilk became conquerors over the less technologically advanced people. Lex was regarded as a hero by many in the cities he ruled over.

Lex, after expanding his territory a great deal and solidifying his power, began focusing on finding the heroes, particularly Superman. He sent minions looking for him throughout his territory, in the cities and tribes. He even made deals with rival warlords for them to look for Kal-El in their own territories.

They looked everywhere for the brave warrior.

Unbeknownst to any, a small tribe eked a living within the inhospitable deserts. They often picked up refugees who had fled from the fighting. Among them was a long-haired, pale, thin, & sickly man who was called the Storyteller.

As his title suggests, he told stories that brought such wonder to his audience. He would be frequently surrounded by children pestering him for great tales. Even the adults would listen. Some, such as the more cynical, consider him a weak cripple barely worth having in the tribe.

The wiser ones noticed how his stories contained great wisdom. Many would go to him for advice. And when he spoke, many listened.

The Storyteller was a kind man who happily looked after the children and offered assistance wherever he could help. Unfortunately, he had a mysterious illness that caused him to be weak and frequently was bed-ridden.

One day, soldiers came, looking for any able-bodied men that fit the description given to them by their superiors.

What happens next?

I was inspired by tribal stories + the Clex fic “Apokalips Now” and based this idea off my “What if: Under the Yellow Sun” post + Lexor from the comics + Conan + depictions of desert planets in the media

I envision that Clark, due to his Kryptonian education, would be rather savvy when it came to survival on almost any type of planet.

His tactile field (something every Kryptonian has) would also come in handy as far as sensing danger. (Think anime sensing killing intent or incoming danger).

His drawback: yellow Sun withdrawal that severely impacts his own health.

No one would suspect it, though, as his cousin Kara would continue to be in peak physical condition.

The reason?

She was born in Kandor (when it was still under Brainiac control) and sent to Earth after her early development. Her body didn’t develop a dependence for yellow sunlight like Kal’s did.

So imagine a weak yet wily Clark, on a journey to reunite with his friends, battling his condition while avoiding detection or outright fleeing from his most deadly enemies, in a hostile environment, with few or no allies to rely on?

Quite frankly I find it thrilling.

Meanwhile, in the country of Lexor, within its shining capital, New Metropolis, Emperor Lex Luthor is excitedly waiting for when he’ll throw the now mortal Superman into his Grand Coliseum and defeat him in single combat.

How the hell is he supposed to show his superiority over the alien with a weak, pathetic version of him?!

And, despite his obvious upper hand, the alien continues to remain defiant, speaking stories that mock him.

The alien defies him, either outright or behind the scenes, constantly undermining his authority!

Threats and violence are only met with inhuman blue eyes shining with unyielding determination!

[orange-s-mario]

another idea i have is that the Lexor gets destroyed a bit later, so that Adora and the people of Lexor can teach Lex Jr about Lex Luthor being a hero of the planet. the Lexor destruction happens as usual except this time, Lex Jr survives (though Lex doesn't know this). Lex Luthor Jr would don a suit similar to Lex's defender suit and Lex II's gold and white suit with the LL symbol. I think Lex Jr having an inferiority complex AND learning that his dad was not all good would make a very interesting character also since lexor blew up there is lexorite

[comicgeekscomicgeek]

Honestly, Lex could just stay in Lexor and be the hero. Sadly, two things prevent it.

One, his own hatred of Superman. Gotta kill him first.

Two, the inflexible moral code of the time would never allow him to go free like that. Superman wouldn’t be allowed to make a “stay on this planet doing good and I won’t drag you back to Earth to do jail for Earth crimes” deal.

You know Lex, if you like being a hero so bad. Being loved and admired. The feeling that comes from doing good works and being recognized as a role model ...you can just CHOOSE to do that. Anywhere. Everywhere. At any time. Clark would really prefer if you did. Action Comics 318

[pocketramblr]

[the-voice-of-genevra]

Excerpt from 'Twisted Fate' by Bria Lexor

[electronictheoristactivist]

[pinofdnp]

"thank you phil that's so sweet" <3333

(posted by @/lexoriced on twitter)

[the-antiapocalyptic-man]

More DC Roleswap AU stuff:

Carter Hall, Green Arrow, a reincarnated Xeenian Warrior guided by an ancient emerald arrowhead.

Oliver Queen, Hawkman, Thanagarian Archer defected to Earth after crash-landing and falling in love with a human woman

Capt. J. Arthur Curry of the SHAZAM, Lost Prince of the Magiclands' Kingdom of Eternity

Willie Batson, Aquaman, The Seven Seas' Mightiest Mortal

Agent Orange (Rohtul Xel of Lexor)

Joker and Harlequin (Veronica Cale and her robot bodyguard)

Bizarro (Thal Sinclair, former US Superman Corpsman)

Ares (Patrick Pennyworth, Fallen Knight of Paradise)

OMAC (Arleen Quinzela, Cyber-Metahuman)

Phantom Lantern (Major Ibrahim Zodesta)

[thehubby]

Okay, so live action superhero movies haven't been my jam for a few years now. My dwindling embers were practically exinguished, One-For-All-style, with Infinity War and the DCEU has been basically a trash heap (Birds of Prey was pretty good, Suicide Squad was okay to put on while doing chores, but the mainstream stuff, ugh). But I have to say, with the Superman trailer that dropped today, there is hope. Obviously, this is early, we know nothing concrete, and trailers can lie. But this looks like the first great Superman movie in decades. There is a distinct patterning -- and yet modernizing -- of the immortal Superman from 1978, and I am here for it.

Superman 1978 font, John Williams' iconic musical theme: check. (Also, drops on my birthday, nice.)

"No fucks to give" reporter Lois Lane: check. I have no idea who Rachel Brosnahan is, but she absolutely appears to capture what I would expect Margot Kidder's Lois Lane to be in 2025.

"Slightly goofy, mild-mannered reporter" Clark Kent: check. The posture, the non-cool hair, the expression, the just-slightly-off suit. They actually manage to nail it in a way that even Henry Cavill (whom I greatly respect for being a fan and wanting an authentic Superman) couldn't. Look at this guy. There's no way he could be Superman. (Unlike many movies, his hair does seem to change when he becomes Superman.)

Close ties to the adoptive family that give him the humanity and ideals he strives for instead of the philosophy of Jor-El? Check. A 64-year-old Pruitt Taylor Vince is an interesting choice for Johnathan Kent. In the 1978 film, Glenn Ford was a strong, masculine figure (despite his age) who nevertheless raised Clark on the concepts of being helpful, gentle, not showing off his powers, not crushing everyone else. But here, Johnathan is visibly aged, overweight, balding, frail and all the more imperfect. He is weak and inferior to Clark in seemingly every way except presumably his humanity.

Okay, so their Lex Luthor is not going to be Gene Hackman. That's okay, Hackman was a great Luthor for the Superfriends era, but in today's age, hokey aloofness is not what we expect. Much like the Joker, Luthor also evolves with the times. This one is driven by wealth sure, but also he just hates Superman with a passion. Nicholas Hoult (Nux from Fury Road and Beast in the modern X-Men movies) might just be able to pull it off.

Note that while this Lex appears much more serious, according to Wikipedia they're bringing back Miss Tessmacher and Otis, two of Lex's associates from the 1978 and 1980 films.

I expect a significant story moment will be Luthor using his wealth and influence to turn the public against Superman, possibly through ploys like Lexor City where Superman was tricked into destroying an energy-producing device and damaging the city in the process.

Oh, and this Luthor-Superman rivalry? Ties into something else really exciting about this movie: All Star Superman, one of the all-time great Superman stories. There are clearly elements of that story contained within this, from what looks like the threat of a Sun-Eater to Superman's robots falling in battle. And while I'd rather they did a full-on All-Star story instead of just putting little bits and pieces in here, we should take what we can get.

All-in-all, this seems like a great modern retelling of a movie that I still enjoy to this day despite its obvious cheesiness and near-camp at times. I've actually a tiny bit excited.

BONUS POINTS: they're obviously willing to have fun with the franchise despite the obvious seriousness of a murderous Luthor and border conflicts in impoverished countries. Because they're including Kypyto the Superdog:

DOUBLE BONUS POINTS: Nathan Fillion as totally authentic, clown-ass-arrogant-jerk-surprising-decent-dude Guy Gardner:

[cryingalexanders]

Earth-One Lex Luthor Traits

Sick and tired of people spreading nonsense about one of my favourite characters and denigrating the pre-crisis version of him, so I'm starting an education campaign about his character traits, particularly the ones going back to the silver age!

Questionable heroics

Source: Adventure Comics #271, Superman #164

Source: Superman #416

Silver age Lex did actually try to be a hero in Smallville, but it went wrong and he gave up. It wasn't about losing his hair (though later stories did make that conflation). But Lex occasionally doing heroic things was a theme throughout this era.

Lying and manipulation

Source: Adventure Comics #271

Source: Action Comics #544

Lex does this when he’s trying to control and manoeuvre things and get his way.

Hero-worship

Source: Adventure Comics #271

Source: Superman #416

Lashing out

Source: Superman #161, Superman #292

Source: Superman #416

While he’s known for his wider-scale cruelties, Lex also has this tendency to fall back on petty cruelty when he feels off-balance. This ranges from name-calling to visceral threats.

Jealousy and projection

Source: Adventure Comics #271

Source: Superman #386

It's never clear how aware Lex is that he's doing this, but in the post-Lexor storyline it did explicitly cross over into genuine delusion.

Emotional insecurity/abandonment issues

Source: Superman #292

Source: Action Comics #512

Lex has this tendency to undervalue or disbelieve how much he means to somebody. One issue heavily implied that this sense of abandonment was the root of why he wouldn’t believe Superboy’s entreaties to him.

Protectiveness

Source: Superman’s Girl Friend, Lois Lane #23, Action Comics #295

Source: Adventure Comics #387

Lex would be protective of specific people to the point of self-sacrifice, in particular Lena and her son Val.

Inadvertently hurting/endangering the people he wants to protect

Source: Adventure Comics #388

Source: Superman Family #214

Lex’s protectiveness was interesting because he would continue to do so even when they hated him or he made them hate him.

Spying on people

Source: Action Comics #317

Rushing into marriages

Source: Action Comics #318

Doting on children

Source: Action Comics #295, Action Comics #544

Callousness towards children

Source: Action Comics #407

The thing is not that Lex categorically protects or refuses to hurt children. He has no compunctions about threatening and traumatising them the same as he would an adult.

Preoccupation with his legacy

Source: Superman #286

Lex had a sense of pride over his villainous legacy.

Fighting with (and usually losing to) other villains

Source: Superman #286

His attempts to control, corral or dominate other villains would inevitably fail. They would often target or double-cross him as well.

Ennui

Source: The Joker #7

Source: Heroes Against Hunger

This was more subtle, but Lex being ambiguously depressed is an idea we have seen since.

Obsession as his downfall

Source: DC Special Series #5

Source: Action Comics #544

[momachan]

"It's like Plato's Cave, X-99... Earth guy. A philosopher. Actually, he was a professional wrestler. But when his philosophy teacher died, he took all his teachings and published them under his own name. Huge hit. Brilliant man. Plato said that we live in a cave, where all we're shown is illusions. Shadows that are but vague imitations of reality. And that as we challenge our assumptions and grow, we come out of the cave, seeing the world for the first time as it really is. But Plato had it backward. We don't emerge from a cave into the truth of the world. We start in reality. And then, with each passing day, we move a little deeper into the dark warmth of the cave. Until we grow so confortable with the shadows on the wall that we forget there ever was an outside world."

Future State (2021): Superman. "Superman Vs Imperious Lex. Part #3."

[orange-s-mario]

I made a design for Lex Luthor Jr. as a superhero

[comicgeekscomicgeek]

Sooo… does Lexor not have divorce?

Lex. You met and married her under false pretenses. Used her as a prop in your revenge scheme. And then lied about it! Clark did not do that! YOU did that! Action Comics 332

[izunias-meme-hole]

One Villainous Scene - The Destructive Nature of Hate

So as of recently, I've kinda began to hyperfixate on Lex Luthor, specifically how he's evolved as a concept. Starting off in the golden age as a one-off cult leader before turning into a cartoonishly evil criminal genius in the silver age, a venom-filled genius in the early Bronze Age, and when DC's entire continuity was rebooted John Byrne completely revamped his character into the hateful and egotistical billionaire genius that we know today. Though despite the many goddamn revamps, one things remains consistent... he's a talented man that ruins everything he touches due to his selfish nature and his ungodly hatred for Superman. This fact was presented in its fullest during One Villainous Scene from the Bronze Age.

In Action Comics #544, after one to many defeats Lex decides to leave Earth and retire on the planet "Lexor" with the wife that he left on there and his newborn son. He had a good public image on this world since he helped rediscover their lost technology the last time he came, not to mention he now had plans to develop a rod to help stabilize the planets core. Basically he had some good footing to restart life on. Yet despite all of this, he couldn't let go of the hatred he had for Superman, nor could he simply hide forever on this planet that worships him. So as you can imagine, when Superman finally came to Lexor to bring Luthor back to earth, Lex decides that he isn't going without a fight.

Lex at this point isn't caring that the people are scared, he's simply too concerned with putting Superman in a casket. That is until...

When the blast that he sent towards Superman has been redirected into the planetary stabilizer he built, it begins to overload. Lex fcked up horribly here, and he at least knows how bad the situation is. So he tries to at least save his wife and child... only for it to be futile.

The planet is destroyed, and there's absolutely nothing that either Lex or Superman could've done. So tell me, how do you Lex reacts to this? Is there going to be some type of self reflection? Nope. Not in the slightest. Instead of taking any type of accountability, he simply thinks this...

Lex couldn't live with this being his fault, he couldn't live with the fact that his hate ultimately led to this. While he mainly escaped to Lexor to evade his crimes on Earth, he got the worldwide respect and worship that he always wanted, so there's no way that he could live with destroying all of that just because he wanted to settle a grudge. So he simply pins this on Superman because if he didn't hate him before, this certainly would make that hatred undying.

Even though this story has never been adapted in any form, nor did it continue to exist in the Post-Crisis continuity, this in my opinion is THE Lex Luthor story. You can write Lex as a politician, a billionaire, or a straight up egotistical supervillain, but this destructive hatred of the Man of Steel is as quintessential as his genius and selfishness.