The Daily Planet - Superman News and Speculation Thread (🚨TAG SPOILERS🚨)

[SwordOfMorning]

I love the idea of Lex losing his hair over the course of the movie. Each strand of hair lost, is symbolic of his loosening grip on sanity.

Lex could start the movie as a composed, calm, "alpha" per zay, and slowly devolve as his obsession with Superman consumes him.

Every screen adaptation of Lex Luthor overthinks the hair. At this point just let the guy be Bald. There doesn't have to be some special meaning to it.

 

[Silvermoth]

That was literally an in-camera special effect that the prop masters and production design peeps had to work on to create the illusion. There was nothing "easy" about that. If you're using those resources on Superman's height, you've done something wrong.

no, my point is that height is not that important. It’s better to get someone who can play the role rather than specifically someone six foot six or whatever

 

[flickchick85]

no, my point is that height is not that important. It’s better to get someone who can play the role rather than specifically someone six foot six or whatever

Yes I got that, just not the greatest example considering that actually DID cost the production time and money lol.

 

[Marvel united]

Every screen adaptation of Lex Luthor overthinks the hair. At this point just let the guy be Bald. There doesn't have to be some special meaning to it.

Lex didn't canonically start off bald in the comics. It was the result of exposure to Kryptonite

Becuz it's the most iconic element of the character's design, attributing it to his downfall gives it more meaning, which makes for a more compelling character

That's what movies are all about -- giving things meaning.

 

[AndrewGilkison]

My favorite way of dealing with Lex's baldness is that he had a receding hairline and just decided to shave it because it looked better. It works for Businessman Lex especially.

 

[Scarlet Spider]

Lex didn't canonically start off bald in the comics. It was the result of exposure to Kryptonite

Becuz it's the most iconic element of the character's design, attributing it to his downfall gives it more meaning, which makes for a more compelling character

That's what movies are all about -- giving things meaning.

In the original canon, Lex lost his hair due to a botched experiment, which he blamed Superboy for.

Those old Pre-Crisis stories were pretty wacky.

I liked what Smallville did. His hair loss was the result of exposure to the meteor shower.

 

[Marvel united]

In the original canon, Lex lost his hair due to a botched experiment, which he blamed Superboy for.

Those old Pre-Crisis stories were pretty wacky.

I liked what Smallville did. His hair loss was the result of exposure to the meteor shower.

Same here. It's also from Birthright, where his hair loss is attributed to a Kryptonite experiment.

I just find it visually ironic. To have his hair, which could be a prized possession to him (as an ego maniac), to be sacrificed to his obsession with Superman.

I'd argue that we've never seen a TRULY well-written, layered dichotomy between Clark and Lex outside of Smallville.

My favorite way of dealing with Lex's baldness is that he had a receding hairline and just decided to shave it because it looked better. It works for Businessman Lex especially.

I've always found the middle-aged business tycoon take to be pretty boring. And I'd argue, it's outdated by today's standards when you look at billionaires of today

 

[Gamma Goliath]

I think it'd be a neat detail if we got "scientists Lex" that was still the very much public face of Lexcorp ala STAS. In my mind he shows up to rallies against Superman and often makes public statements, but behind closed doors he's toiling away in his lab. Building, tweaking and obsessing.

Edit: Wrong thread but it still applies lol

 

[AndrewGilkison]

Same here. It's also from Birthright, where his hair loss is attributed to a Kryptonite experiment.

I just find it visually ironic. To have his hair, which could be a prized possession to him (as an ego maniac), to be sacrificed to his obsession with Superman.

I'd argue that we've never seen a TRULY well-written, layered dichotomy between Clark and Lex outside of Smallville.


I've always found the middle-aged business tycoon take to be pretty boring. And I'd argue, it's outdated by today's standards when you look at billionaires of today

Its more outdated then the silver age "ohhhhhh nooooooo you made me lose my hair" plot beat?

A bald headed middle-aged business tycoon is the guy who owns Amazon. Middle age business people are running (ruining) the world today.

Why do we need some cheesy origin story for why Lex Luthor is bald? Just make him bald.

 

[Marvel united]

Its more outdated then the silver age "ohhhhhh nooooooo you made me lose my hair" plot beat?

A bald headed middle-aged business tycoon is the guy who owns Amazon. Middle age business people are running (ruining) the world today.

I'm more so talking more about Rupert Murdoch types, billionaires of yesteryear. The face of modern wealth is not a 60 year old real estate mongol-- it's a crypto bro, a tech genius (LIKE Bezos), men who have mainstreamed lavish life styles, technology, and philanthropy, and made themselves the FACE of the future.

A charismatic, tech billionaire Lex Luthor, is infinitely more relatable to modern audiences than an old man in a business suit.

Why do we need some cheesy origin story for why Lex Luthor is bald? Just make him bald.

Because there's always been an origin for it. It's simple part of Luthor's development as a character.

 

[AndrewGilkison]

I'm more so talking more about Rupert Murdoch types, billionaires of yesteryear. The face of modern wealth is not a 60 year old real estate mongol-- it's a crypto bro, a tech genius (LIKE Bezos), men who have mainstreamed lavish life styles, technology, and philanthropy, and made themselves the FACE of the future.

A charismatic, tech billionaire Lex Luthor, is infinitely more relatable to modern audiences than an old man in a business suit.

Because there's always been an origin for it. It's simple part of Luthor's development as a character.

And most of them are cringe.

 

[Silvermoth]

I’m not sure I like the idea of a guy going bald as a metaphor for him going bad.

 

[flickchick85]

I don't know why a man's baldness needs an explanation.

 

[Dr.]

Back in the day, total baldness was unusual — and lent itself to visually stereotyping a “villainous” predisposition. Other tried-and-true stereotypes: a conspicuous facial scar, some other physical deformity or albinism. (Has an albino ever played a good guy?) Now, of course, we’re more sensitive about “follicle shaming.” And most agree that a shaved pate is not a reliable indicator of morality.

As a matter of tradition, a modern Lex can still be bald. But a clichéd backstory (no hair = a path to evil) is probably not necessary.

 

[Marvel united]

I don't know why a man's baldness needs an explanation.

Same reason Dr. Doom's mask needs an explanation, or Magneto's helmet, or the Joker's skin etc

Filmmakers are always going to "justify" the iconic element of a character's design, because it makes for a more fulfilling arc-- seeing how someone becomes* the best (or worst) version of themself.

Luthor wasn't bald in his first appearance

Back in the day, total baldness was unusual — and lent itself to visually stereotyping a “villainous” predisposition. Other tried-and-true stereotypes: a conspicuous facial scar, some other physical deformity or albinism. (Has an albino ever played a good guy?) Now, of course, we’re more sensitive about “follicle shaming.” And most agree that a shaved pate is not a reliable indicator of morality.

As a matter of tradition, a modern Lex can still be bald. But a clichéd backstory (no hair = a path to evil) is probably not necessary.

It's less so a symbol of Luthor's morality, and more so a consequence of his gradual decline. The fact of the matter is, A LOT of men value their hair (anti-hair loss is a HUGE industry), and Lex Luthor, being the ultimate narcissist, would absolutely be obsessed with his own self-image.

It's actually quite similar to Dr. Doom. In the earliest iterations, Doom's face wasn't actually deformed under the mask



Rather, he was slightly scarred. But because Doom is such a narcissist, he sees the scar as "tainting" his perfection, and he hides it out of shame.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

Okay, but that Doom idea is a lot more dramatic and interesting than any attempt at mythologizing male pattern baldness. Trying to make it a moment like Eisenberg's Lex getting his head shaved in jail as a big GASP fan service moment in BvS is actively hilarious.

They also do it every single time. The Donner movies and Returns? Running gag about the toupee! Smallville? Meteor radiation! BvS? The slammer! The only big adaptation I have seen that didn't do it was S:TAS and at no point did I feel the slightest pang of curiosity as to why this bald man was bald. I understand there is tradition but it is about as interesting to me as it would be if every new Batman movie had a sub-plot about Bruce deciding to dye his previously red hair black.

 

[Marvel united]

Okay, but that Doom idea is a lot more dramatic and interesting than any attempt at mythologizing male pattern baldness. Trying to make it a moment like Eisenberg's Lex getting his head shaved in jail as a big GASP fan service moment in BvS is actively hilarious.

They also do it every single time. The Donner movies and Returns? Running gag about the toupee! Smallville? Meteor radiation! BvS? The slammer! The only big adaptation I have seen that didn't do it was S:TAS and at no point did I feel the slightest pang of curiosity as to why this bald man was bald. I understand there is tradition but it is about as interesting to me as it would be if every new Batman movie had a sub-plot about Bruce deciding to dye his previously red hair black.

It could be just as dramatic, and just as impactful. It's all about presentation.

Imagine a scene where Lex, after working on, let's say Metallo, and handling Kryptonite, is watching clips of Superman on a monitor. He feels his head, and pulls out some hair. It's a devasting moment to Luthor, because we've established that he's an obsessive narcissist, and this is a blow to his ego, to his image.

If it means something to him, it means something us

 

[AndrewGilkison]

If Lex Luthor is rich, losing his hair is not going to be a "devastating" moment. That might have seemed like a dramatic origin story in the 1950s or whatever, but now... he'd just shave what's left of his head off. He'd probably joke about losing his hair in public to make himself seem like he has a good sense of humor about himself as a PR move. He would have a carefully crafted image.

In the post-crisis comics, Lex lost his hand because of the Kryptonite he wore as a ring and got cancer from the radiation. Now THAT would be a cool way to show how his hated of Superman has cost him. Even Smallville hinted at that with future visions of Lex in the White House with a black glove on, indicating that its a robot hand. This would work especially for a tech genius Lex. But lets just leave the dramatic hair losing **** in the 1950s where it belongs.

 

[dhandler01]

It could be just as dramatic, and just as impactful. It's all about presentation.

Imagine a scene where Lex, after working on, let's say Metallo, and handling Kryptonite, is watching clips of Superman on a monitor. He feels his head, and pulls out some hair. It's a devasting moment to Luthor, because we've established that he's an obsessive narcissist, and this is a blow to his ego, to his image.

If it means something to him, it means something us

Nah it will seem hamfisted and lame. Just let him be bald. I'm bald no one wonders why...

 

[Sawyer]

Okay, we’re really in dire need of some news here, because I couldn’t give a **** if they explain Lex’s baldness or not.

 

[Marvel united]

If Lex Luthor is rich, losing his hair is not going to be a "devastating" moment. That might have seemed like a dramatic origin story in the 1950s or whatever, but now... he'd just shave what's left of his head off. He'd probably joke about losing his hair in public to make himself seem like he has a good sense of humor about himself as a PR move. He would have a carefully crafted image.

In the post-crisis comics, Lex lost his hand because of the Kryptonite he wore as a ring and got cancer from the radiation. Now THAT would be a cool way to show how his hated of Superman has cost him. Even Smallville hinted at that with future visions of Lex in the White House with a black glove on, indicating that its a robot hand. This would work especially for a tech genius Lex. But lets just leave the dramatic hair losing **** in the 1950s where it belongs.

Speaking of Kryptonite, who are we imagining for the villain?

I'm thinking for Legacy, it might be a good idea to keep things simple, but still exciting


I've always felt like John Corben had potential for a powerful reimagining. There's some really body horror stuff you could do with him.

Parasite is a good choice too

 

[WatchProtect]

I recently started thinking about the villain and honestly it’s so exciting as someone who was Hyped for the Batman and loved its villains, it was still kinda expected because we’d seen so many in live action.

But with Superman we’ve only seen literally 2 of his villains and there’s such a wide net with what they could bring into the fray. We could get Mxyzptlk from Metallo and it would be two completely different films.

 

[Silvermoth]

I still think granny goodness as a b plot villain would be so fun. I think I like Mongol the best but the name can be a bit ackward

 

[Sawyer]

Inside ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ and its Soundtrack – Rolling Stone

Gunn, meanwhile, will take the lessons of Guardians into his new universe, though perhaps not specifically to his Superman movie. “I learned so much from making these movies,” he says. “But it’s not like Superman is going to have exactly the same vibe as a Guardians movie. It’s actually quite different.” That said, does his success with Rocket make him more interested in possibly taking a chance on the first live-action cinematic version of Superman’s pet, Krypto the Superdog? He laughs. “I think I would have an interest in a live-action Krypto whether or not I had anything to do with Rocket,” he says.

 

[Scarlet Spider]

I'd love to see Krypto!