#struggling deeply with feeling like i deserve to even eat vs not feeling very hungry is a horrific combo

[niaotix]

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[tgunn64]

Favorite Villains - Lex Luthor (Superman/DC)

The quintessential, very first consistent superhero, Superman was taking the world by storm in the 1940s. Created as a symbol of equality and the fight against fascism, we knew his antithesis would need to be equally effective. Superman had a roladex of foes, but the one who shot out among them was the brilliant super criminal, Lex Luthor. For such a prevalent supervillain and archenemy to such a notable hero, Lex Luthor is somewhat shrouded in mystery. There are multiple takes on his backstory and motives, like most comic book characters there are several takes and reimaginings to his background and character, but unlike a lot of cases, we’ve never been handed a clear cut answer to which one is true. All we know is he came into his fortune with blood, sweat, and tears, giving him a deeply ingrained mentality of dog eat dog, and if you work hard and grow to be strong, you will be respected. Lex worked hard as he did from such a young age with the idea that everyone will look up to him; only to find that the reality was very different. The second he saw people cheering for Superman, he burned with anger and envy.

I feel as though there is a little Lex Luthor in all of us. A man that worked really hard to get where he is and build himself a status only for the big, blue boyscout to fly in and take it all away from him. Luthor hates anyone that he feels doesn’t deserve what they have. After all his years of struggle and work, he gets shown up by superheroes that have superpowers and gadgets just handed to them on a silver platter? This drives Luthor crazy. There are moments when Luthor comes off just as spiteful, but he's actually very motivated. Lex, like many superheroes, had a rough past with abusive parents, dead ends, and heartbreak. But where were his superpowers when he needed to prove himself? Where was the chance for him to be a hero. Lex had to create these opportunities for himself, studying and working toward his title, and this is why he so deeply resents the superheroes of the world.

From Luthor’s perspective, Superman was born and blessed with everything he needed to be a success. As a result he devotes his life to not just proving himself better than Kent, but to proving himself bigger. He thoroughly believes anything a superhero can do, a normal human can do and even exceed with enough work. This is actually fairly noble a mentality in its own right, if his attempts to exceed superheroes didn't involve destroying them and dragging them through the dirt. This leads to Luthor taking on bigger and badder ventures every day. From just killing Superman, to allying with Superman’s extraterrestrial enemies, he’s so damn hungry for adoration he runs for president. That's one thing that makes Lex to great--he's so willing to try anything that you see him in a multitude of roles and personas. You see him as an inventor, as a supervillain, a politician, a good guy, a bad guy, you really get a good chance to look at him from every angle and face he has to offer.

Luthor is also a believer in human ingenuity. It doesn’t help that Superman is a mental inferior, but an alien? He sees Superman not only as an enemy, but as a monkey wrench thrown into the turning cogs of human development. Luthor sees himself as the next step and as the one everyone should follow. If Superman is ‘the example’, everything falls apart. And in a way, he's right. How will we grow as a people and progress as a race if we rely on the Krytonians to solve all of our problems? He's sort of a darwinist that way, and he sees himself as the pinnacle of the human race, ergo, it's his role to take down Superman and allow mankind to progress. You can always count on Lex to pull out an incredible plot, and often, leading a party of DC's greatest villains in the Legion of Doom. He's a leader at heart. When CADMUS abandons every supervillain on a foreign planet as a permanant prison, it is Lex who leads a crusade to return back to Earth. By utilizing everyone's talents, he manages to build a portal back home. Lex allows himself to be the last to walk inside, turning around and cursing the planet and its inhabitants before making his exit, and detonating a bomb that destroyed the planet. LUTHOR ALWAYS WINS.

There's also the time in JLU where he went though psychological warping to attain the Anti-Life equation, warping himself and Darkseid to lord knows what, saving the world. Luthor achieved, finally, what Superman couldn't by overcoming Darkseid, at the cost of, seemingly, his own existence, and really, Luthor didn't even seem to care. Despite how hateful and angry he is, when Superman seemingly dies, he'll pay his respects. While he hates Superman, it's ultimately his greatness he is trying to achieve. In many ways, he's trying to imitate him, and without Superman, a big part of him is gone. Lex has worked alongside the Justice League for a greater good--hell, one of his most interesting roles was his heroic self in Injustice, he's got a lot of capacity for nobility if it weren't for his ego.

Superman and Luthor are perfect contrasts, you don’t even have to look all that closely to see the ‘Brain Vs Brawn’ parallel. And just like Superman, he could easily go the opposite path. The world would be much, much better off if he used his amazing intellect and resources for good. But, he chooses a petty, sinister route. If the roles of Superman and Luthor were reversed, nothing would change, both are titans in their own right and I think that’s what makes them work so well as a rivalry. Luthor is the antithesis of the mack daddy of all superheroes--an active leader, a chieftain among a great ensemble of villains, someone related and motivated, but equally one you want to see taken down. All of this and so much more is why he's my favorite villain.