Comics / Comic Reviews / DC Comics

Lex Luthor: Man of Steel #1

By Koppy McFad
March 14, 2005 - 16:51

Superman's arch-foe is the hero of this miniseries which gives a look into Lex, his thoughts, feelings and his motivation for opposing Superman. There is little mention of their earlier meetings, be it in the pages of BIRTHRIGHT or Byrne's MAN OF STEEL post-Crisis tale. Instead, we see that Luthor's motives for opposing Superman may be based on a twisted sense of humanism. We also see that Lex can be quite a charming, good-natured fellow-- at least on the surface. Superman barely appears in the story except as a distant object of Luthor's hatred. The story is intriguing but it is also pretty slow-moving since it basically consists of Luthor pondering the role of Superman and throwing his weight around in an office. Bermejo's art, while finely-detailed, is also excessively murky as he clearly overdoes the menacing shadows shtick. He also seems to have a strange fascination with the stitching in Superman's costume, even putting buckles on his boots.This is rather distracting and even makes the reader wonder if this is the same Superman we are used to reading about. Still, he does a good job of making Superman's face look alien despite his humanoid features. There may be a limited audience for this title. After all, are we really suppose to care that much about Luthor's reasons for hating Superman? They re-jig continuity every few years anyway. It remains to be seen if Azzarello can craft a tale that will stand on its own, regardless of what happens between the bald bad-guy and the big red S in the future.

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12