Superman Returns Lex Luthor Hype!

[Octoberist]

I agree with you SON OF BLADE.

Although, I would RATHER not have a continuation of a vague connection to Hackman's Lex (hated his take, but I love Gene), I'm looking foward to it.

But I have to admit that we're due for another villain besides Luthor and Zod. If Singer doesn't go with Brainaic or whomever, that's when I'll be hard on him.

If Singer goes with Zod in the next movie, I will cry. I'll be like "For God's sakes, pick up a comic book. There's more out there!" Zod is cool...but we've been there and done that. I want Brainaic.

Long live Spacey!

 

[Steelsheen]

Hello everyone! I don't know whether or not I'm in the majority, but Lex Luthor is what is making me most excited about seeing "Superman Returns" next year.

same here. this is pretty much the only thing that's keeping me afloat througout these months: seeing Spacey's take as Lex Luthor. as impressive as his work may have been as other characters if there is one role that this man was born to play its Lex Luthor. i waited for years for this momment, all the way back since seeing his work in The Usual Suspects and Se7en that i wished this guy can play Lex Luthor. so you can imagine how damn ecstatic i was when it was confirmed that he signed up for the role .

i'll admit i've been more of a follower of Pre-Crisis Supes (well... to be honest i'm not much of a follower of Post-Crisis anything ) so i was kinda hoping to see a more science-oriented Lex rather than megalomaniac millionare, but what i'm really looking forward to is to see a story/ characterization that justifies his arrogance. of all the portrayal of Lex i've seen over the years SV's Rosenbaum comes closest to what i think Lex is (John Shea's L&C comes somewhat close)-- and in truth Rosenbaum's portrayal is merely scratching the surface of who Lex Luthor really is as Superman's chief adversary. i'm trying not to set any expectations for Lex in SR, but its hard, considering how i view Lex -- how he has grown as a uniquely formidable character and knowing how capable Spacey is in turning that into a reality.

 

[The Guard]

I'm looking forward to Spacey's Lex Luthor a lot more than I am Brandon Routh's Superman or any of the other characters (I'm sure they'll all be at least solid, though). I can't wait. He's been my dream choice for the role for a long time (Braniac? You idiots!). First Liam Neeson as Ra's Al Ghul now Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor...like I said, I can't wait.

 

[Eros]

The sad thing about the Lex Luthor character is that Superman could kill him with a mere thought...Lex is more scared of superman IMO. MY personal fav lex luthor is Jhon Shea from Lois and Clark. But like a i said if superman decided killing Lex luthor would save lives..all he need do is breathe reall hard on baldy lol.
I admit Lex is not as deep as Darth vader..or as unpredictable as Joker..but hes a top 20 villian. I think real draw to Lex is that he is way way more interesting then Superman. I mean what problems can an indistructible man have? Superman is brave cause he can't be hurt, but people like Batman can be shot or killed yet they battle evil anyway. If superman didn't have his powers he would not help people, where as batman does. cops can be shot and killed, but they go into burning buildings anyway. I think the real reason Luthor is a great villian is because he does so without powers..hes like the Batman of the villian community.

 

[Pickle-El]

The sad thing about the Lex Luthor character is that Superman could kill him with a mere thought...Lex is more scared of superman IMO. MY personal fav lex luthor is Jhon Shea from Lois and Clark. But like a i said if superman decided killing Lex luthor would save lives..all he need do is breathe reall hard on baldy lol.
I admit Lex is not as deep as Darth vader..or as unpredictable as Joker..but hes a top 20 villian. I think real draw to Lex is that he is way way more interesting then Superman. I mean what problems can an indistructible man have? Superman is brave cause he can't be hurt, but people like Batman can be shot or killed yet they battle evil anyway. If superman didn't have his powers he would not help people, where as batman does. cops can be shot and killed, but they go into burning buildings anyway. I think the real reason Luthor is a great villian is because he does so without powers..hes like the Batman of the villian community.

Men with absolute power can also be cruel and abusive. Need I list any examples.....

 

[CConn]

Men with absolute power can also be cruel and abusive. Need I list any examples.....

Janet Reno.

 

[Pickle-El]

Janet Reno.

(uncalled for, but)


Thank you.

 

[Keyser Soze]

The sad thing about the Lex Luthor character is that Superman could kill him with a mere thought...Lex is more scared of superman IMO. MY personal fav lex luthor is Jhon Shea from Lois and Clark. But like a i said if superman decided killing Lex luthor would save lives..all he need do is breathe reall hard on baldy lol.
I admit Lex is not as deep as Darth vader..or as unpredictable as Joker..but hes a top 20 villian. I think real draw to Lex is that he is way way more interesting then Superman. I mean what problems can an indistructible man have? Superman is brave cause he can't be hurt, but people like Batman can be shot or killed yet they battle evil anyway. If superman didn't have his powers he would not help people, where as batman does. cops can be shot and killed, but they go into burning buildings anyway. I think the real reason Luthor is a great villian is because he does so without powers..hes like the Batman of the villian community.

Yes, you have a point. Technically, Superman COULD just kill Lex Luthor. But how could he justify flying up to Lexcorp Towers and killing one of the richest, most powerful, most respected men in the world? The key to their Post-Crisis power dynamic was that Superman could suspect all he wanted, but he had no proof to link Lex Luthor to any crimes. And that was where Luthor's power truly lay. Of course, now that dynamic seems to have changed, with Luthor shifting back to something resembling his Pre-Crisis identity. It will be interesting to see how that develops.

Actually, I think it's a shame that a lot of people immediately crap all over Lex Luthor returning to his Pre-Crisis status quo. Yes, since his reinvention as an evil businessman in The Man Of Steel, Luthor has been pretty much the top villain in DC. But I think his progression back to being a fugitive, a notorious criminal, has been excellently done. And others seem to agree - hence the various "Villain Of The Year" awards he's picking up.

Yestreday, I finally read "All-Star Superman". I only just got back into regularly buying comics last year, and in the past I was always a Marvel guy. So this was the first Superman comic I've picked up, though I know aquite a lot about the character through other media. Anyway, Lex Luthor is pretty much Pre-Crisis Luthor here, and he's excellently written. I think that it should really matter if Luthor is a businessman or a terrorist. If they nail his personality right, he will still be a great villain.

Oh, and I picked up "Lex Luthor: Man Of Steel" yesterday as well. Only read the first part so far, but it's set to be really good. Thanks for recommending it!

 

[Zooks]

while i think Luthor as a businessman is the best way to go, I did enjoy Luthor's gradual fall from grace. A lot of people were satisfied that we got both Luthors this year in the comics. Business Luthor, who was an imposter, and fugitive power suit Luthor.

Singer's choice to have Lex fresh out of jail squashes my hopes of a President Luthor ever appearing in the movies. Although Luthor has seemingly done the same in the comics and cartoons.

 

[Keyser Soze]

I'm assuming by being fresh out of jail, he has managed to "clear his name" so to speak. He's out of prison, and in Superman's absense has established himself as a legitimate businessman, a saviour of Metropolis. Depending on where Luthor ends up by the climax of "Superman Returns", I think the sequel will see him either on the run, fully reverted to a Pre-Crisis style persona, or running for President. All depends on whether Superman can bring him to justice in this film.

 

[theleech]

i think le should have been played by Arnold Vosloo

 

[theleech]

i think le should have been played by Arnold Vosloo

 

[Keyser Soze]

Arnold Vosloo is a good actor, but he's not Kevin Spacey. Spacey is one of the best actors in the world today. I'd rather have him playing Luthor than someone who happens to be bald.

 

[Spike_x1]

I'm liking what I'm hearing about Spacey's Lex, but I can definitely do without the connection to Hackman's portrayal (in fact, the connection to the previous movies is my main gripe about SR). IMHO, the best versions of Lex have been when he's the businessman, but certain elements of Pre-Crisis Luthor are shown, like at the beginning of the 5th issue of Byrne's Man of Steel where Lex hired one of his men to fight Superman in the old power armor, but the flip side is that the man became a vegetable and Superman couldn't prove that Lex was behind it. Things like that, where the story combines some of the best elements of both versions of Lex are my personal favorites and what I'd like to see in SR.

In Superman Returns, I'm fine with the idea of Lex being the only villain. But in a sequel, Luthor should still be the main villain (akin to Magneto in the X-Franchise), but he should manipulate an ordinary person in order to create and introduce one (or more) of the supervillains from the comics to destroy Superman physically while Luthor comes up with a plot to destroy him spiritually.

 

[Keyser Soze]

I definitely agree with your ideas about Luthor. I would like to see him somehow be behind the creation of a future supervillain in the sequels. And you make good points about him being a Machiavellian manipulator, ruining Superman's life without directly confronting him.

But I disagree about the connection to the previous movies being a flaw. Yes, at first, I thought it was a bad idea. But then I thought - what is the alternative?

Yes, you could retell the origin story. But we've had a highly-successful TV series do that in much more depth than a 2 hour movie could hope to accomplish. And you could make the story a sequel to "Smallville" rather than the previous movies, but TV spin-offs rarely do well at the box office. The only other option would be to create a completely new continuity, with Superman already established. But then you may confuse and alienate some of the audience democgraphic.

So, yes, following on from the Donner films is a flawed idea, but it is, in my opinion, the lesser of many evils.

 

[Spike_x1]

I definitely agree with your ideas about Luthor. I would like to see him somehow be behind the creation of a future supervillain in the sequels. And you make good points about him being a Machiavellian manipulator, ruining Superman's life without directly confronting him.

But I disagree about the connection to the previous movies being a flaw. Yes, at first, I thought it was a bad idea. But then I thought - what is the alternative?

Yes, you could retell the origin story. But we've had a highly-successful TV series do that in much more depth than a 2 hour movie could hope to accomplish. And you could make the story a sequel to "Smallville" rather than the previous movies, but TV spin-offs rarely do well at the box office. The only other option would be to create a completely new continuity, with Superman already established. But then you may confuse and alienate some of the audience democgraphic.

So, yes, following on from the Donner films is a flawed idea, but it is, in my opinion, the lesser of many evils.

IMO, people don't really need that connection to Donner's movies. I like to think that most people who go to see SR are smart enough when it comes to two characters that have been immortalized in pop culture that they don't need to rely on a connection to Donner's movies. Most audiences know who Superman is and what he's capable of and they know that Lex is a businessman and Superman's main nemesis just from catching glimpses of the two characters in Smallville and memories of S:TAS. And even if they don't know about them, it wouldn't take more than twenty minutes of a movie's running time to establish them and their rivalry.

 

[Zooks]

i think it would've been best to just start the franchise years into Superman's career. Everyone is aware of the vague history. This is pretty much what they are doing but linking the first two movies, which I would've avoided if only to establish Lex in a different light.

 

[Iceman]

Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor has got to be one of the best castings in all superhero movies

 

[Keyser Soze]

Hey, need some feedback on this latest RPG post I made. I had worked on developing Luthor's motivations as a character, but realised that one thing I'd missed out was that he is such a bastard. But I wasn't sure if this was too OTT.

To give some context, Lex Luthor offered Reed Richards a job at Lexcorp, which Richards declined. Angry at the rejection, Luthor had sent a robot to kidnap Richards. After a long battle, in which Luthor took control of the robot via some remote equipment, Superman, Spider-Man and the Fanstastic Four were finally able to destroy the robot. And while they could not link the attack to him, Lex Luthor is still not a happy camper...

Everything seemed to happen within a few seconds. Ben Grimm pushing Superman out of the way, Reed Richards re-appearing, that weapon being fired at his robot. Then - nothing! The camera-feed in Luthor's helmet was replaced with static, and high-pitched white noise blasted through his ears, forcing him to throw the helmet to the ground.

As Luthor took off the arm-gauntlets, he tried to figure out what went wrong. His robot was indestructible. Surely no weapon could destroy it, unless...that was it! Richards had used an electro-magnetic pulse to shut the robot down! Luthor had to admit, Reed Richards was a genius. That was why Luthor had wanted him to work for Lexcorp. Now, that plan was in ruins, thanks to the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man. And Superman. Oh, he couldn't forget the part he'd played in this travesty.

With a roar of anger, Luthor kicked the helmet across the room. Then he picked up the gauntlets and smashed them across the wall. Those interfering parasites had already flushed millions of dollars worth of research and development down the toilet by taking his robot out of commission, so what harm would a little more property damage do? It certainly made him feel better. Luthor stalked across his office to the phone at his desk, stamping on the helmet as he passed it. He clicked on the intercom.

"Diane, could you come in here for a minute?" he seethed, trying to restrain the anger in his voice.

"Yes, Mr. Luthor," Diane replied.

Luthor paced back and forth in his office, the anger and humiliation washing over him in waves. How dare they spoil his plans, make him look like a fool? Luthor stopped pacing when his assistant, Diane, entered the room.

"You wanted to see me Mr..." she started.

Before she could finish, Luthor gave her a backhand slap across the face. Before the shock could even fully register, he slapped her again.

"That will be all, Diane," Luthor said, walking back to his desk and pouring himself a drink, "Oh, before you go, tell me - do I have any new messages?"

"Umm, I...yes, Mr. Luthor," Diane said, wiping a tear away from her eye, "Dr. Feinstein from your Arctic research team is actually on the line, says he has some important information you'll want to hear."

"Oh, good," said Luthor, smilling warmly, "Patch him straight through to my office."

Diane nodded, and began to exit the office.

"Oh, and Diane," added Luthor, stopping her, "Don't wear that blouse again. It looks like you bought it out a charity store."

"Yes, Mr. Luthor," murmured Diane, walking out of the office and closing the door behind her.

Luthor sat back down at his desk. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He felt better now. The incident with the robot was a setback, nothing more. Now he had to move on. There was Oliver Queen's party to think about. Luthor let the phone ring twice before picking up.

"Dr. Feinstein! Great to hear from you," said Luthor, with a well-rehearsed tone of false familiarity, "What did you want to speak with me about?"

"Mr. Luthor, we found something out here in the Arctic," Feinstein replied, "Or rather, we found someone, frozen in ice. It's...I don't know how to say this, but it's Captain America."

Lex Luthor didn't reply for a few seconds. But in those seconds, a plan was already beginning to form.

"The Captain America?" he finally asked.

"Yes, Mr. Luthor," Dr. Feinstein answered, "I don't know how, but somehow, he's been preserved in the ice. He appears to be in some kind of suspended animation."

"I see. Great work, Dr. Feinstein. I want you to head back to America straight away. Our first priority is going to be bringing the legendary Captain America back to life..."

 

[Keyser Soze]

I've just finished reading "Lex Luthor - Man of Steel". Man, what an excellent read. Quite possibly the best comic of 2005.

The characterisation of Lex Luthor is just so fascinating. For most of the TPB, you are actually convinced by many of Luthor's arguments. And just when he is becoming a sympathetic protagonist, we are given a sucker-punch when Luthor revelas himself to be as evil and scheming as ever. But at least now, we have a better idea of why he does what he does.

 

[The Batman]

I truly laugh at the people who actually complain that lex is the only villain in this flick.

When hes done right, hes tied with Dr. doom as greatest comic villain

 

[Keyser Soze]

Don't forget The Joker...

 

[GoldGoblin]

Is Lex Luthor the only villain in this movie?

 

[BareKnucklez]

I agree with you SON OF BLADE.

Although, I would RATHER not have a continuation of a vague connection to Hackman's Lex (hated his take, but I love Gene), I'm looking foward to it.

But I have to admit that we're due for another villain besides Luthor and Zod. If Singer doesn't go with Brainaic or whomever, that's when I'll be hard on him.

If Singer goes with Zod in the next movie, I will cry. I'll be like "For God's sakes, pick up a comic book. There's more out there!" Zod is cool...but we've been there and done that. I want Brainaic.

Long live Spacey!

Honestly the ZOD character shouldn't even be in any of the new movies I mean we already had the perfect actor for the role now let it go, and I agree they should bring in someone like Brainiac into the new movie... Maybe Doomsday... Lex alone would be kind of corny imo...

 

[BareKnucklez]

I truly laugh at the people who actually complain that lex is the only villain in this flick.

When hes done right, hes tied with Dr. doom as greatest comic villain

Yea I would say Joker is a much better Villian then Lex but Lex is a very good character to.
I for one wasn't a fan of Hackman's Lex, and im not a big Spacey fan... Can't stand him really but I am willing to give him a chance... He does kind of look like Gene lol...