Lex Luthor Is DC’s Best Character (& That’s Not Terrible)

DC Comics has created some amazing characters over the years, transforming the superhero into a form that would make them popular for decades. Many of comics’ greatest characters come from DC Comics, and there are so many options for who is the best character. Some fans say Superman, some say Batman, some say Captain Comet (there has to be someone.) However, I think there’s one character that doesn’t get the credit for his amazingness and that he’s the best DC character — Lex Luthor. Lex Luthor has been around for decades, an amazing chameleon of a character who has been able to change with the times. Lex Luthor is a complicated character, and the years of work put into him have paid off. Lex Luthor has earned his place at the top of the DC Multiverse, and that’s really all there is to it.

Now, obviously, having your biggest hero’s greatest villain be the best character of your multiverse might seem like a bad thing, but it isn’t. Villains are a crucial part of the superhero formula, and Lex Luthor stories are often the best Superman stories of them all. He’s an interesting character, and can make any story better. Lex Luthor is the GOAT, and that’s a great thing for DC.

Lex Luthor Is the Perfect Villain

The great thing about Lex Luthor is that he was never meant to get this far. While we know how everything with Lex Luthor played out, he was never meant to be Superman’s greatest villain. That was the Ultra-Humanite. However, Lex Luthor had something right from the beginning, and the utility of the character has allowed him to grow into what we have today. Ultra-Humanite is a cool villain that has definitely gotten better over the years, but he can’t stand with Lex Luthor. What really made Lex Luthor work as a character is that creators found the key to make Lex Luthor work in every era — his hatred of Superman. This is the core of the character, and it’s allowed creators to bolt anything they want onto the character, as long as it serves that idea. It’s honestly kind of simple, when it comes down to it, but sometimes simplicity is the best way. Lex Luthor is a genius, and he uses that in different ways to try to destroy Superman. Look at the different forms of Lex Luthor over the decades. He’s been a crime lord, a homicidal mad scientist who sometimes built armor that could stand up to pre-Crisis Superman’s near infinite power, the ultimate capitalist, the evil president, the supervillain, the superhero, and sometimes the somewhat altruistic villain who does want to help people, but only because it’s part of his self-aggrandizing attitude. Lex is a villain who can work in any kind of story, but more than that he’s just a character who can work in any kind of story.

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Right now, we’re getting a Lex Luthor who has been choosing to help Superman for the last three years. It’s been such a great run with him, because he’s such a great character. There are so many layers to Lex Luthor, and one of them has only been that he wants to protect the world. Now, yes, part of this is because he wants to survive and have power, but it’s cool seeing him actually use his intelligence for good. His relationship with Superman and the other main characters is one of the highlights of the book. Superman: The Last Days of Lex Luthor was a straight up Lex Luthor redemption story, using the basis of his hatred for Superman — their childhood together — to allow him to grow past his hate. This is why Lex is the greatest DC character ever. He’s deceptively simple and has near infinite utility in DC Comics, but there are so many layers beyond that to be explored. There are multitudes of great DC characters — I would argue that DC characters are better than Marvel ones per capita — but few of them can match Lex Luthor in any way. Having a character like Lex Luthor, whether they be hero, villain, supporting cast member, or any other, is always a good thing.

Lex Luthor Is the Real Deal

Lex Luthor and Doctor Doom have been on similar trajectories for a long time now. They’re both villains that people love as characters, which has allowed Marvel and DC Comics to use them in ways they were never meant to be used. They’re both near perfect chameleons, changing with the times, and becoming crucial to their universes. However, Lex is a better character because he can be anything. Doom can only be Doom. There are few other characters out there who can get close to Lex Luthor when it comes to utility.

In the latest volume of Superman, we learned that Lex came to Metropolis to use his intellect to become a superhero, tackling villains Graft and Doctor Pharm. This is such an amazing little thing that makes perfect sense and it shows why Lex is the greatest. This is a retcon to Luthor that wouldn’t work for any other villain, not even Doom, but brings a new layer to explore into Lex Luthor’s life. This is a major change to the character. There are few characters out there who can take a retcon of that caliber, but with Lex, it’s just a great new part of who he is. Personally, I would love to see a young Lex Luthor series that explores this time in his life. That’s why Lex is the greatest.

Why do you love Lex Luthor? Sound off in the comments below.