Batman V. Superman Set Teases Classic Lex Luthor Story

A new photo from the set of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice has revealed a new location being visited during the course of the film.

The location in question, as revealed in a photo from The Detroit Free Press, is Ralli’s Diner. The inclusion of this diner may also hint at a scene recreating a classic Lex Luthor Story.

Potential SPOILERS to follow.

The story is “Metropolis 900 Mi.,” written and drawn by John Byrne in 1987’s Superman #9. The story takes place in Ralli’s Diner, located the titular 900 miles outside of Metropolis. There, he meets a waitress named Jenny Hubbard and offers her $1 million to “stay with him” in Metropolis for one month. He then goes back to his car, saying he’ll wait in his car for ten minutes for her to make her decision.

The readers, and Jenny, never find out what her final decision would have been because, after agonizing over the thought, Jenny finds that Lex has left early.

The kicker is when Lex tells his driver, Cynthia, that was the whole point. He only wanted to play a mind game and leave Jenny – and the many others he has played this game with in the past – with torturous, lingering doubt about the choice they might have made.

This is a brilliant scene that digs deep into Lex Luthor’s cruelty, and would be a great scene for the film to use to get at some of that complex psychology actor Jesse Eisenberg has promised will be present in his version of character.

On the other hand, maybe it’s just an Easter egg. We’ll have to wait and see.

Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice opens March 25, 2016.