Join The Community
Move over Zod, it's all going to be about Lex Luthor in Batman V Superman.
But there are changes ahead with director Zack Snyder rumoured to be planning on giving baldie Lex (Jesse Eisenberg) a little makeover. Yes, that's right - hair.
Article continues belowWith or without any luscious locks, Lex has always done his best to bring Superman to his knees.
Scroll down to find out his greatest ever moments.
TRICKING SUPERMAN
One of crafty Lex's biggest coups was tricking Superman into exposing himself to Kryptonite in Superman .
"Don't touch that!" he barks as Superman (Christopher Reeves) opens a lead box before breaking out into a devilish grin as he starts to back away in horror.
Now that his nemesis is weak and helpess, Lex has the chance to lord it over him: "You were great in your day, Superman. But it just stands to reason, when it came time to cash in your chips, this old diseased maniac would be your banker."
After placing a makeshift Kryptonite necklace around Superman, he casually pushes him into a pool.
Lex: 1, Superman: 0.
PRISON REVEAL
Vain Lex may have lost at the end of Superman but he was by no means defeated.
Even as Superman delivers him and dumb sidekick Otis to jail, he's more worried about his suit getting messed up on the flight in rather than being banged up.
When the warden has no idea who he is, Lex declares himself "the greatest criminal mind of our time" and then rips off his wig to reveal his bald head. Nice touch.
Seriously, no prison could be big enough for this man's ego.
UPSETTING GENERAL ZOD
One of the film franchise's most iconic scenes is the one in Superman II where General Zod (Terence Stamp) commands the superhero to kneel before him.
While it was Stamp's moment to shine as the main villain, Lex (relegated to second fiddle on the baddie list) made his mark with a little humorous interlude of his own.
As Superman flies in to save the day, he cries out: "Superman! Thank God!"
But he soon changes his tune after Zod gives him a dirty look.
"I mean, get him!"
Oops.
BECOMING PRESIDENT
Power-hungry despot Lex landed his dream job when he was elected President of the United States in Lex 2000 #1 by conveniently airbrushing his criminal past.
President Luthor was actually extremely popular with the masses and even helped to unite various superheroes and US troops in a bid to defeat baddie Imperiex.
He ruins it all, though, by revealing his true colours after the super-steroid Venom makes him go a bit crazy.
TAKING ON THE JOKER
Being tortured by The Joker? Pffft. No sweat for Lex Luthor.
He manages to throw out some mean barbs even as he's crying out in agony in Outsiders (Vol 3) # 3 .
"Does it bother you ... bother you at all, really," he snipes, "that Batman likes Catwoman better?"
Before really ramming it home: "He'll never love you, sweetheart! You can keep screwing with his city, but he's never gonna take you to the prom!"
You tell him!
STABBING SUPERMAN
Taking over from the mighty Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor, Kevin Spacey's menacing portrayal for Superman Returns was scary stuff.
In the film's most shocking scene, he gives Superman (Brandon Routh), weakened from being on a Kryptonite island, the beating of his life.
"Didn't your dad ever teach you to walk before you leap?" he yells as he kicks Superman over and over again.
Plunging a shard of Kryptonite into this chest, he then hisses: "Now fly."
Now that's cold.
FAKING HIS OWN DEATH
Lex reacted to the news that he had terminal cancer by faking his own death in a plane crash in Action Comics (Vol 1) #660 so that he could have his brain taken out and transplanted into a younger clone of his body.
Passing himself off as his illegitimate 21-year-old son and heir, Lex Luthor II, he now has a full head of glorious red hair and even seduces Supergirl.
But it's not long before his new body begins to deteriorate - rapid ageing being a side-effect of cloning - so Lex makes a pact with demon Neron.
No big deal. He just had to give him his soul.
DOGGY DINNER?
No one is safe from Lex. Not even cute little dogs.
At the end of Superman Returns , he's stranded on a deserted island with wealthy heiress and wife Kitty Kowalski (Parker Posey).
The only things around to eat are a couple of coconuts, which he starts lobbing angrily into the sea.
"I would trade three hundred thousand coconuts and every ounce of your blood for a quart of gasoline!" he screams at Kitty.
But she has other things on her mind. When she asks him what they're going to eat, he looks over at Kitty's pooch with an evil glint in his eye.
Run, doggy, run!
KILLING A KRYPTONIAN
Luthor finally gets to kill a Kryptonian in Last Son. Sadly for him, it's not Superman.
As General Zod leads an attack on Metropolis, Lex murders a soldier yelling: "I am the greatest scientist on this planet and would be on yours. I am the one destiny has chosen to save humanity. I am Lex Luthor."
Basking in the warm glow post-kill, he muses: "So this is what it feels like to kill a Kryptonian. Feels good."
Yeah, it does.
HATING ON SUPERMAN
It's pretty obvious that Lex doesn't like Superman.
But in Up, Up and Away , he finally gets the chance to tell him to his face and vent all that pent-up rage.
The pair are grappling mid-air after Superman has just flown through a ton of Kryptonite to get his hands on him, which means that soon they are plummeting back to Earth as his powers start to fade.
Lex keeps it short and simple, telling Superman: "I hate you."
That's gotta hurt.
