Superman’s Lex Luthor Gives Me Hope For The DCU’s Other Iconic Supervillains

James Gunn’s Superman not only debuted a new version of the Man of Steel, but his archenemy from DC Comics also made his DC Universe debut, with Nicholas Hoult bringing a terrifying iteration of Lex Luthor to life. After spending eight years as Marvel’s Beast in 20th Century Fox’s X-Men franchise, English actor Hoult moved to the DCU to portray Lex Luthor. Luthor was first seen in DC Comics back in 1940’s Action Comics #23 as Superman’s greatest enemy, using money, intellect, and entitlement to battle the Man of Steel, which translated perfectly into 2025’s Superman.

Despite being a simply human regularly depicted with no superpowers whatsoever, Lex Luthor has endured as one of the most iconic, notable and terrifying supervillains in comic book history. Over the years, Lex Luthor has been played in live-action by the likes of Michael Rosenbaum, Gene Hackman, Jesse Eisenberg, and Michael Cudlitz, among others, but Hoult has brought something to the role that many previous incarnations missed. Lex Luthor is the perfect freshman supervillain for James Gunn and Peter Safran’s rebooted DCU, and he provides hope for the franchise’s villains to come.

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Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor Gave Us Everything We Wanted From the Supervillain

2025’s Superman completely revitalized every aspect of the Man of Steel, veering away form the dark and gritty tones of Henry Cavill’s era as Superman and bringing in color, vibrancy, and a comic book feel that benefitted everyone. Not only was David Corenswet’s Superman more energetic and likeable, but Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor also captured elements of the villain that Eisenberg’s manic and awkward version failed to demonstrate. Luthor was truly terrifying in Superman, and pulled off some extremely dark and harrowing feats that make him one of the most evil iterations of the character yet.

Lex Luthor’s mission in Superman is grounded and believable – to get rid of Superman, an alien being living among mankind. By his own admission, his hatred of Superman comes from his envy and jealousy at the Man of Steel’s power, which is significantly more than any Earth-born Metahumans. This mission removes Luthor’s concept of right and wrong, as he doesn’t believe Superman shares the same rights as humans, which leads to him carrying out some heinous acts in the name of bringing the superhero down.

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This includes illegally cloning Superman, breaking into the Fortress of Solitude, destroying Superman’s helpful robot assistants, stealing the footage of Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van, and dispersing its troubling message to the world. After Superman turns himself in, Lex Luthor transports him to his pocket universe prison, weakens him with Kryptonite, and interrogates him while playing Russian roulette with individuals that Superman has saved. Luthor is pure evil in Superman, with no redeeming qualities, which is exactly how he should be depicted on-screen – giving us hope other DCU villains will get the same treatment.

Lex Luthor in Superman Gives Me Hope Other DCU Villains Will Be Handled Right

Lex Luthor is just the first major villain to make his way into the live-action DCU, but with many upcoming movies and TV shows already in development, more will soon be on the way. The fact that Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor is so comic-accurate, pure evil, and seriously harrowing gives us hope that other supervillains will also be depicted as such. In the DCU’s confirmed projects, Sinestro (Ulrich Thomsen), Krem of the Yellow Hills (Matthias Schoenaerts), Bane, and Deathstroke have been announced as villains, and they all deserve the same justice as Lex Luthor.

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As well as these confirmed villains, who could get given a comic-accurate and impactful makeover, it would be great to see many more DC Comics adversaries get the same treatment. Iconic supervillains including the Reverse-Flash, Ra’s al Ghul, Darkseid, and, of course, the Joker, would all benefit from finally showing off their most evil and unhinged layers. The DC Extended Universe seriously dulled-down the likes of the Reverse-Flash, Darkseid and Steppenwolf, and the Joker, and some of DC’s most notable villains never even saw the light of day, so it’s time these characters get their dark redemption.

Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor has quickly come to be regarded as one of, if not the strongest interpretation of the supervillain in his live-action history. This gives us hope that the upcoming projects of the DC Universe will also debut the strongest incarnations of their own villains. Superman might have set up an incredibly bright future for DC Studios’ live-action adventures – though we need some time to recover from Lex Luthor’s memorable and haunting debut first.

What did you make of Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor in Superman? Let us know in the comments!