10 Best Modern Superman & Lex Luthor Comics

Superman and Lex Luthor have forged a legendary rivalry over the decades. Lex wasn’t the Man of Steel’s first arch-enemy but that would change as the years went on. He started out as Alexei Luthor, a red-haired villain who was smart but not the super genius mad scientist he would become, trying to conquer the world. At some point, he was basically mixed with original Superman arch-foe Ultra-Humanite and he became the villain we all know and love. Their hatred heated up in the Silver Age, with some amazing stories that would further develop their war against each other. However, their relationship would go in new directions in the modern era.

Instead of the mad scientist supervillain, we got corporate Lex starting with Man of Steel (Vol. 1) and the perfect version of the villain was born. Since then, readers have watched him and the Man of Tomorrow clash numerous times, with some stories definitely rising to the top. These are the ten best modern Superman and Lex Luthor stories, perfect modernizations of their feud.

10) Action Comics Annual #11

“Last Son” is an amazing Superman story and Lex appears in several parts of it, but the issue that best exemplifies Superman and Lex’s relationship is the finale, Action Comics #11, by Geoff Johns, Richard Donner, and Adam Kubert. This issue saw Superman team up with Luthor and his Superman Revenge Squad, working together to end the battle against General Zod and the Phantom Zone Kryptonians. It’s rare to get to see the two work together and, of course, the villain tried to double-cross the Man of Steel at the end. It’s a fun ride of an issue, with Kubert’s amazing art bringing it all to life beautifully.

9) Action Comics #1047-1050

“Warworld Saga” reignited interest in Superman, with the story taking him off the Earth for over a year of real time. His return to Earth in Action Comics #1047-1050, by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Tom Taylor, Joshua Williamson, Riccardo Federici, Mike Perkins, Clayton Henry, and Nick Dragotta, pit him against Lex. The villain had been preparing for this moment since before the Man of Steel left, enacting a fiendish plot to destroy everyone that loves the hero. This four-issue story showed how far Luthor will go to destroy his foe and ends with one of the best fights between the two characters ever.

8) “Paths of Doom”

DC Rebirth made fans notice the publisher again, bringing classic ideas and characters back to the DC Multiverse. The biggest was the pre-Flashpoint Kent family, propelling Superman (Vol. 4) and Action Comics back to the top. “Paths of Doom”, by Dan Jurgens, Patrick Zircher, Tyler Kirkham, and Stephen Segovia, saw his first major adventure in Metropolis, as Doomsday attacked the city and Supes get help from an unlikely source – Lex Luthor. This was still basically the New 52 universe and Lex was a hero at the time, having joined the Justice League and making peace with the N52 version, taking up Superman armor to help protect the city. Seeing Clark and Lex work together was a blast and set up a new era of their relationship, one that would take it to some interesting places.

7) Superman: Red Son

Superman: Red Son, by Mark Millar, Dave Johnson, and Killian Plunkett, is usually just thought of as the communist Superman story, but at its core it’s an interesting subversion of the Superman/Lex dynamic. In this book, Supes is the villain, but he’s also the better person. Meanwhile, Lex is the hero, working to defeat the evil communist alien, but he’s the same monster we all know and hate. Their relationship, one that plays out over thousands of miles as they move pieces on the board of the world, is the most important part of the comic and helps make this one a classic.

6) Superman (Vol. 2) #2

John Byrne’s post-Crisis Superman reboot is sort of pushing the word “modern”, but 40 years ago, he birthed what we would call the modern Superman. He also made the biggest – and honestly best change – to Lex Luthor, making him into a Donald Trump-alike billionaire (back when we still believed he was competent). Superman (Vol. 2) #2 saw the villain set out to figure out the identity of Metropolis’s newest hero and learns the truth: Clark Kent is Superman. However, in more of a Donald Trump 2026 move than a Donald Trump 1986 one, he disregarded this evidence because he couldn’t conceive of someone powerful pretending to be someone like Clark. It’s a story that says it all about the character and it’s a classic.

5) Superman (Vol. 6) #1-25

Superman (Vol. 6) kicked off with an amazing Superman/Lex story, and spent its first 25 issues building this story. Lex was imprisoned because of the events of Action Comics #1047-1050 and he does something no one ever would have expected – he signs his fortune over to Superman to use to make the world a better place. However, there’s more to it than that, as a threat from Luthor’s past returns. Written by Joshua Williamson with artists like Jamal Campbell, Bruno Redondo, Dan Mora, and more, this long story arc was quite a ride for readers, as two arch-foes do their best to work together (you can also read DC K.O. after it, which plays out of these issues, and Justice League Unlimited, with Lex having joined the League again).

4) All-Star Superman #5

All-Star Superman is a travelogue through the best parts of the Superman mythos, with Luthor playing an integral role in the book’s events. He’s the focus of three issues of the book (four if you count the first issue, but he’s not the focus of that issue so I don’t) and All-Star Superman #5, by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, is one of the most unique Superman/Lex stories ever. Clark Kent interviews Luthor in prison, but when the Parasite starts to absorb his power and a riot begins, Clark and Lex have to work together to survive. Their interactions in this issue are amazing and it changed the way I looked at Lex and Clark’s (not Supes, but Clark) relationship.

3) Lex Luthor: Man of Steel

In the ’00s, we were used to Lex as a villain but we hadn’t gotten all that many stories from his point of view. Lex Luthor: Man of Steel, by Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo, took us into the mind of Metropolis’s richest man and it was outstanding. We get to see how he sees Supes, the way he interacts with his fellow titan of industry Bruce Wayne, get to see him fall in love… with his latest creation, and what he’ll sacrifice to win. It’s an outstanding story with breathtaking art, yet another reason why ’00s DC is one of the best decades in the publisher’s history.

2) Superman: The Last Days of Lex Luthor

Mark Waid is one of the greatest modern Superman writers (it’s basically just Grant Morrison above him) and since his return to DC in 2022, he’s written some amazing Superman stories. However, for me, the one that stands out the most is Superman: The Last Days of Lex Luthor. Lex finds out that he’s dying and he goes to Supes for help, the two of them traveling across time and space to find a cure. This book hinges a lot on the relationship between the two, one that reaches back to their past in Smallville, and has one of the most shocking twist endings ever. Bryan Hitch’s art, inked by Kevin Nowlan, is gorgeous, making this story into an all-timer.

1) All-Star Superman #12

All-Star Superman is the greatest Superman story ever and it ends with a two issue banger between Kal-El and Lex, the culmination of the book’s plots. Lex Luthor is able to copy Supes’ powers and break out prison, working with Solaris the Tyrant Sun (and his awesome niece Nasthalthia) to finally end the Man of Steel. Morrison and Quitely are on fire here, giving readers an thrill ride that will keep them glued to the page. By the time you get to Lex realizing how Superman sees the world, you’ve seen an amazing battle between the two, one made all the better by that final moment. It’s the best of the best, an all-time classic that you should go and read right now.

What’s your favorite Superman/Lex story? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!

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