Superman Returns Kevin Spacey's Lex Luthor

[javi1024]

I dont read Superman comic books so Ive had little exposure to Lex Luthor's character besides recently with Superman/Batman and Infinite Crisis. The only Lex Luthor im familiar with is from the animated series (which I love). so when i saw Kevin Spacey's Lex Luthor in the trailer with Lois (which was funny) i was very surpised and a bit disappointed. it reminded me too much of Gene Hackman's Luthor. of course i have to wait for the film to make my final decision but i was just curious what people thought when they saw the trailer.

so is that what Lex is like in the comics? was the animated series off even though its so far still my favorite depiction.

 

[The Question]

Well, the thing about Lex in the comics is, he thinks he;s doing good. He honsetly believes that his actions are making a better world for all. He does terrible things, mind you. He cheats people out of their homes to build new reaserch facilities, he has buisness relationships with crime lords and terrorists, and he's even participated in conducting very illegal and dangerous scientific experiments. But he subscribes to the philosophy of "you have to breaka few omllettes to make an egg." Now, that doesn't mean he's completely selfless. He's got a huge ego, and loves to be above others. He also loves to be in control of things. He's a control freak, really. But, for the most part, he feels that he is helping others. He hates Superman for a few reasons. First of all, Superman is above him. He's someone that he can't control and he's someone that doesn't do what Lex says. And, he's someone that Lex, even from his tower in Metropolis, has to look up at. And he hates that. But more importantly, he sees Superman as the end. The end of our progression. The end of our acheivements. A god who's level we cannot reach, and who makes us think that we are less than we are, and that he is more than he is. And Lex hates that more than anything.

 

[javi1024]

well i understand that, and thats why i love the animated version so much because i think he portrays that hate perfectly. but like i mentioned the scene where he is with Lois and her son, he's smiling and bouncing around saying "come on let me hear you say it", Lois says "you're insane". Lex laughs and says "no the other one" and she replies "Superman will nev-" and then he screams out "WRONG!!!". is that something that Lex Luthor would do? would he normally take a situation like that so lightly? because i could see Gene Hackman doing that, but not the Luthor from the series which is the one im used to.

 

[The Question]

Well, Lex is rather crazy. He's been known to have a rather twisted sense of humor in the past.

 

[Kal-EL 189]

Well, the thing about Lex in the comics is, he thinks he;s doing good. He honsetly believes that his actions are making a better world for all. He does terrible things, mind you. He cheats people out of their homes to build new reaserch facilities, he has buisness relationships with crime lords and terrorists, and he's even participated in conducting very illegal and dangerous scientific experiments. But he subscribes to the philosophy of "you have to breaka few omllettes to make an egg." Now, that doesn't mean he's completely selfless. He's got a huge ego, and loves to be above others. He also loves to be in control of things. He's a control freak, really. But, for the most part, he feels that he is helping others. He hates Superman for a few reasons. First of all, Superman is above him. He's someone that he can't control and he's someone that doesn't do what Lex says. And, he's someone that Lex, even from his tower in Metropolis, has to look up at. And he hates that. But more importantly, he sees Superman as the end. The end of our progression. The end of our acheivements. A god who's level we cannot reach, and who makes us think that we are less than we are, and that he is more than he is. And Lex hates that more than anything.

I think the answer you are looking for is that when the first movie was made Lex Luthor was not a rich billionare. He was more of a mad scientist type criminal. When DC had the CRISIS in 1986 they revamped all of there comics turning Luthor into the Luthor you see in comics now and in the Animated Series and TV shows. I think the reason the Luthor in this movie is more of the Gene Hackman pre-CRISIS Luthor is because Singer wants this to be more of a sequal to the first two movies then a new story...so he has the defined underworld style Luthor to work with rather than the New billionare Luthor. Even though Im really excited aboutthis new movie and think it will totally kick ass, I would have liked to have see a Redo. Not a remake of Richard Donner's Classic but a start over with a new plot and the updated characters mainly Luthor. I think this would have worked better in terms a sequals to come and given them more options to follow. But i trust that Singer and Spacy as Luthor pulled it off well anyway.

 

[batmaluco]

Well, the thing about Lex in the comics is, he thinks he;s doing good. He honsetly believes that his actions are making a better world for all. He does terrible things, mind you. He cheats people out of their homes to build new reaserch facilities, he has buisness relationships with crime lords and terrorists, and he's even participated in conducting very illegal and dangerous scientific experiments. But he subscribes to the philosophy of "you have to breaka few omllettes to make an egg." Now, that doesn't mean he's completely selfless. He's got a huge ego, and loves to be above others. He also loves to be in control of things. He's a control freak, really. But, for the most part, he feels that he is helping others.

OMG, George W. Bush!

 

[Vile]

Kevin Spacey's Lex Luthor...

is boring, if you ask me.

Yawn.

 

[\S/JcDc\S/]

Kevin Spacey's Lex Luthor...

is boring, if you ask me.

Yawn.

You saw the entire film?

 

[Vile]

Really didnt need too - nothing from the trailer sparked my interest in his character in the least, not to mention all the little spoilers that are popping up are not helping at ALL.

Le sigh.

 

[DorkyFresh]

so when i saw Kevin Spacey's Lex Luthor in the trailer with Lois (which was funny) i was very surpised and a bit disappointed. it reminded me too much of Gene Hackman's Luthor.

why? just because of that one scene were he's teasing Lois? that's what diabolical villains do...they tease the good guys to get under their skin...


...besides....where ELSE in the trailer did you see Lex act like that? in EVERY OTHER shot, he was calm and scary. it was only that scene that he acted goofy and like i said, that's just to get under Lois's skin.

 

[kenellard]

I'm not one of those people who usually bangs on about films like "ooh I get chills every time I see that scene, oooh ooooh ooooh!" but I have to say watching Spacey flip from goofy to scary in a split second when he's talking to lois, interspersed with shots (finally!) of supes flying, made hairs stand up on the back of my neck, it was insane, easily the best comic book trailer for a long time

 

[javi1024]

why? just because of that one scene were he's teasing Lois? that's what diabolical villains do...they tease the good guys to get under their skin...





...besides....where ELSE in the trailer did you see Lex act like that? in EVERY OTHER shot, he was calm and scary. it was only that scene that he acted goofy and like i said, that's just to get under Lois's skin.

i said i still have to see the movie before i make my final call on it, but movie trailers are designed to give you a hint of what the movie/characters are goin to be like. maybe he acted like just for that one scene in homage to gene hackman (since Singer is making a sequel to the original two). i dunno.

if u read the initial question, i was asking if this is what luthor's personality is like in the comics. so that if that scene is indeed an indication of how hes going to act throughout the movie, i would know if its faithful to the character.

and the reason i was surprised/disappointed was because the only interpretation of Lex Luthor im really familiar with is from the animated series. and if that luthor was in that situation he certainly wouldnt act that way. which is why i started this thread in the first place.

 

[t-800]

well i understand that, and thats why i love the animated version so much because i think he portrays that hate perfectly. but like i mentioned the scene where he is with Lois and her son, he's smiling and bouncing around saying "come on let me hear you say it", Lois says "you're insane". Lex laughs and says "no the other one" and she replies "Superman will nev-" and then he screams out "WRONG!!!". is that something that Lex Luthor would do? would he normally take a situation like that so lightly? because i could see Gene Hackman doing that, but not the Luthor from the series which is the one im used to.

Umm, I hope he's not much like the one in the cartoon. The one in the cartoon was a boring stiff and wasn't that likeable. The new Luther I think in Returns, should be like a mix between the comics/cartoon version and Hackman's version. I think he should appear as sophisticated billionare and also a somewhat comical mad genius at times.

 

[javi1024]

is luthor supposed to be likeable? i never thought so. maybe Spacey is combining the two. at least that what the trailer looked like.

 

[t-800]

Many of the great villians are likeable. Hannible Lector, the Joker, Dracula, Darth Sidious, John Travolta, Chris Walken, and some Al Pacino bad gu roles were ruthless characters, cold-hearted characters that had likeable charm or humor that made them watchable. Even real villians like Fidel Castro, Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Ladin, Ted Bundy, and Al Capone are known to have personal charm that draws people in.

 

[Keyser Soze]

is luthor supposed to be likeable? i never thought so. maybe Spacey is combining the two. at least that what the trailer looked like.

Well, for me (many would probably disagree) the definitive depiction of Lex Luthor came in the form of last year's mini-series, "Lex Luthor: Man of Steel". That perfectly highlighted the motivations that The Question eloquently summarized in his post.

And in that story, yes, Luthor is a charismatic, charming figure. But underneath the likeable facade, he is rotten to the core, no matter how justified he feels he is.

 

[sethcohen]

why? just because of that one scene were he's teasing Lois? that's what diabolical villains do...they tease the good guys to get under their skin...


...besides....where ELSE in the trailer did you see Lex act like that? in EVERY OTHER shot, he was calm and scary. it was only that scene that he acted goofy and like i said, that's just to get under Lois's skin.

how about when he was dancing around with glee singing "krrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrpytonite!"
ugh... stupid... and lex wouldnt be caught dead with a moronic sidekick like parker poseys character... if he had a girl hanging around she be cream of the crop, dumb as a stump and be there to do what he says... hed drug parker posey and lock her in the basement of lex corp with the contessa, not hang out with her...

 

[Hafssól]

"you have to breaka few omllettes to make an egg."

excuse me? that makes no sense.

 

[The Question]

.........yeeeaaahhhhh.......




'Bout that.




I dunno.

 

[Jim Colyer]

Kevin Spacey will be a great Lex Luthor.

 

['N']

it appears from the trailers that hes gonna be a fun,goofy kind of a lex, with some dark parts(the stabbing scene), whitch i really dont mind, cause they are including some dark stuff! unfortunatly hes not goofy in the comics, hes pretty damn serious, so i think its pretty obvious that well never get 'comic' lex in the movies, seeing as how this might be his last one, sorry that was long...

 

[sethcohen]

in 10 or 15 years someone will come along and redo this again... then we get another shot at LL

 

[The Question]

it appears from the trailers that hes gonna be a fun,goofy kind of a lex, with some dark parts(the stabbing scene), whitch i really dont mind, cause they are including some dark stuff! unfortunatly hes not goofy in the comics, hes pretty damn serious, so i think its pretty obvious that well never get 'comic' lex in the movies, seeing as how this might be his last one, sorry that was long...

Noth from the trailers suggested that he'd be fun or goofy. There was that scene with Lois, but all that suggested is that he'll have a sense of humor, which, believe it or not, alot of people have.

 

['N']

**** u question, noones allowed to be funny in movies!!noone!!!!!!!

 

[The Question]

......wha.....