>most powerful man on the planet (supposedly anyhow, there's people like Fate around)>his enemy is a bald ex-ginger in a business suit Why is Lex Luthor such an underwhelming antagonist? He's got a cool name, sure, but beyond that he's got nothing going. His motives are generic, he's got 0 aesthetical value, he's incredibly cliche, there's literally nothing there. You'd think he'd at least have a thing going, but no, he's just a psychotic bald guy in a business suit. Even wacky mad scientist Luthor is generic. He predates Reed, but comes off as a tasteless Reed rip-off (both are based on the Doc Savage archetype anyhow, same goes for Superman). Compare him to Doom or Sinister or other super-genius villains, and he just lags behind. >inb4 him being a baseline humie against SuperChad is the pointIt's a stupid point. And it's why Superman has a villain problem in general. Luthor and Zod are the most well-known villains and everyone wants to use just them, but both are generic. Hell, most of Superman's villains are generic. But Luthor stands out the most because he's his big nemesis and is essentially a non-entity while committing the biggest sin of pop culture; being uncool. I just never got the appeal of Luthor.
>>151959579His plots rarely go beyond>Build a large robot and sent it after Superman>Make a superpowered guy and send him after SupermanIn the silver age he did a lot of wacky crazy super science shit that pointed him to be one of the most ridiculous super scientists out there who could transform the entire population of Earth into caterpillars if it made for a good scheme. But since Post Crisis he is more like the Bankroller or supervisor of other villains. He's the Legion of Doom's corporate sponsor and immediate manager.
>>151959579Isn't Lex Luthor basically Batman?
>>151959579Having no major aesthetic whatsoever does hurt a whole lot. Most old Golden and Silver age villains have had visual updates that gave them a pretty great look. Lex downgraded from bland purple costume to just a normal suit and tie. But a big part of what separates him form guys like Doom, Sinister, Apocalypse, or other A-List smart guys is that when their plans fail and their mega inventions are broken, they are still a monster in a fight when the hero finally breaks into their evil lair. There is a big climactic battle then their scheme is foiled and the hero finds them. Sinister has every power under the sun, Doom is magic Iron Man with a belt full of insane gadgets for any occasion. Most heroes cannot take them in a direct confrontation. Even Dr Octopus is a hard fight for Spider-Man when Pete eventually stops the earthquake machine.Lex is typically considered defeated the minute Superman breaks into his hideout and smashes his doom ray or nightmare machine. He never has a backup plan and Superman historically dropped him off at a police station.
>>151959579>>151960425>>151960354If he really was just like Batman and had super special contingencies for all situations, and stockpiled weapons, then he would constantly have things like a knockoff power ring on his hand at all times. Recite the Speed Force Formula and zip off any time one of his evil plans fell apart, or have a Nth metal belt on him, a Miraclo pill in case he needs to get into a fight, or a mirror gun to jump off into the mirror dimension. He would work with and keep tabs on most supervillains just to get a piece of whatever amazing wonder technology they stumble upon. Like Weather Wizard's or Matter Master's wands. Morrow's robot technology, or Mad Hatter's mind control technology.
>>151959579He kind of sucks at his whole shtick of being the smartest guy ever with the best gadgets. >T. O. Morrow makes much better robots>General Lane figured out how to perfectly imitate Kryptonian powers>Russian government figured out how to imitate Green Lantern powers>Batman has better power armors in his garage>Completely overshadowed as the smart guy Superman villain by Brainiac>Even Zoom and Black Manta do the obsess over their heroes thing better. His main useful attribute is that he is really really super easy for movie and tv adaptations. Just a normal bald guy in normal clothes and you have the easiest comic villain to stick into a film ever. No need for an origin, no need for expensive budget-eating special effects superpowers, no need for designing an expensive costume. Everyone wants to use him for their movie because he is a well known iconic name and ridiculously cheap to use.
>>151959579Read more comics
>>151960331>He's the Legion of Doom's corporate sponsor and immediate managerHoly shit give me a Lex Luthor supervillain management game. Dispatch x Something Unlimited all about tard wrangling the Legion of Doom>Need Black Manta for a mission but Manta refuses to go because he's on a "fuck with Aquaman" kick so you have to dedicate resources to fucking up Atlantis>Joker is currently crashing on your office couch because Batman is in space or some shit and you need to get Joker's groove back so he finally fucks off
>>151960682> Russian government figured out how to imitate Green Lantern powersWhich character does this refer to? I know a good chunk of DC Comics but it’s hyperspecific to a few characters and GL is not one.
>>151961678Red Lantern, a recent villain.
