The Justice League Has Ruined the Relationship Between Superman and Luthor (and Now the World May Pay)

DC K.O. has been driving excitement in DC Comics for the last two months. The story has been built up over the past year, in the wake of Absolute Power. From Justice League Unlimited to Superman to the various Justice League miniseries and one-shots to even the Absolute books, the publisher has gone all-in on this event (pun intended). It’s pretty obvious, from the way that the book has been built that this is a Superman event; Mark Waid and Josh Williamson both write Superman and both of them are architects of this story. The Man of Steel’s status quo has become extremely important to the story, and the interesting thing is that it’s thrown a monkey wrench in the works of Superman’s most interesting relationship in recent years: his friendship with Lex Luthor.

Lex Luthor is an integral Superman character, and in the last few years, and he and the Man of Steel have been working together. At first, it was grudging and part of a scheme, but after Lex was mindwiped, they actually became friends again. Of course, it wasn’t to last; Lex got his memory back and ran off, while leaving Superman the power of LexCorp. They weren’t friends, but there was no enmity. Until DC K.O. that is. The Justice League’s plan to make sure villains didn’t enter into the King Omega Tournament has destroyed that relationship and DC K.O. #2 shows the end of it. It’s a tragedy, because it was one of the best parts of Superman for the last few years.

Superman and Lex Luthor Make for an Amazing Team

Superman and Lex Luthor are a rivalry that reaches back decades, and has become a part of pop culture. Everyone knows that Lex Luthor hates Superman, even kids that never read comics. We’re used to seeing them as enemies; even when they’re in the same room with each other, there’s a tension. It’s made their appearances together so much more fun to read, and it’s why their recent relationship has been so interesting. At the beginning of the 2023 Superman series, Lex was in prison for murder and gave everything he had to Superman. It was certainly a scheme of some kind, but it made for great stories.

The villain helped against new villains Dr. Pharm and Graft; there was the normal grudge, but it was the two foes at their best together. It was fun to read, and it got even better as Superman started to trust his greatest foe. Lex Luthor has done some insane things, so the Man of Steel was always going to be wary with him, but he also wanted Luthor to finally use his skill and intelligence for the world. After the mindwipe, we got Superman as a friend to Luthor and it was amazing. The entire arc has been great; it’s been almost three years since it started, and it did exactly what it needed to: it made us love Superman and Lex together in a new way.

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While it’s not shocking that the two of them are enemies again — it was inevitable that the two greatest enemies in comics were going to stop being friends and respecting each other and go back to their grudge — what’s shocking is how it happened. Like many readers, I expected Lex to be the one who ruined the respect they had gained for each other, but the fact of the matter is that it’s actually Superman and the Justice League’s fault. Lex had got his memory back and took himself out of the picture. The Man of Steel left him to his own devices; he knew that his old enemy wasn’t a danger and gave him the benefit of the doubt.

However, the King Omega tournament was too important to allow a villain to win it, so Superman and the League used T-spheres to hunt down the villains and imprison them in the Phantom Zone. Lex realizing what’s happening was a big moment in DC K.O. #1; he was being betrayed by someone he respected. He truly didn’t expect Superman to sign off on this and it hurt him. Thanks to Grodd’s telepathic link, he was ready for it, and he decided to make Superman pay. That desire led to the best parts of DC K.O. #2.

Superman Betrayed Lex Luthor and Luthor Isn’t Happy

One of the most interesting things about DC K.O. is that Superman never wanted to get involved. He didn’t want to enter a tournament where the only way to win was to be as ruthless as Darkseid. He knew what that would cost the heroes, and he wanted to find another way to win. There was even a reticence when Mister Terrific sent out the T-spheres to kidnap the villains. He knew what it would cost the heroes to do this, and he believed that price was too high. The first — and perhaps most important — thing it’s cost him is Lex Luthor’s respect.

The two of them went from bitter enemies to, well, if not friends then colleagues. The years of bad blood are still there, but it was built over by the them saving the world together. It made for a new dynamic between them, but now that’s gone. The Justice League has forced Superman to betray Luthor. He’s out for blood in the tournament, and he’s already almost cost the Man of Steel the contest. DC K.O. is a Superman-focused event, and it’s already had consequences for him.

DC K.O. #2 is on sale now.

What do you think about Superman and Lex’s future? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!