You know what's stupid? If Lex Luthor did things like cure cancer, solve homelessness, lower the cost of living, improve education, etc. He could defeat Superman by simply out "gooding" him. He does good so the world doesn't need Superman anymore, and thus, he defeats superman.
And if the Joker killed himself, he would defeat Batman by out killing himself.
>>154170088That's the point. Lex doesn't care about bettering the world. He's just a petty dick.
If all villains decided to be help the world instead of harm it, then Superman could dedicate all his help to such things as well instead of battles.
>>154170088I would like a comic where he tries to out good superman and then either he succeeds and turns evil immediately just to prove being good is easy or he fails and turns evil again out of bitter spite at always being 2nd to Clark.
>>154170088When Superman was missing and presumed dead for an entire year, Lex still spent the entire time seething about Superman.Lex always says he could do wonders for the world if Superman wasn't in the way, but he can't. He can't do any of that because he's evil. He's psychologically incapable of doing good deeds, even as a form of PR.
Superman would say "nice job, Lex" and smile and Lex would seethe go back to his usual bullshit. Even when Supes dies he obsesses overhim, he's an extremely depdendent man who's afraid to form a personaliy and relies entirely on the praise or submission of others to validate him. I recall a recent-ish storyline where he and Superman became friends but he started to feel untrusted, but I never finished it. I think the main issue with a lot of characters is that they don't really have personality, which is why they never really progress, the closest they get to it is hamfisted "BIG CHANGES TO CHARACTER" storylines in ways that are either external or arbitrary.
>>154170088>He could defeat Superman by simply out "gooding" him. He does good so the world doesn't need Superman anymore, and thus, he defeats superman.That doesn’t count as defeat because it would make Superman happy. He doesn’t want the world to suck.
>>154170099joker doesn't want to defeat batman he wants to fuck him
Too bad there isn't a story where lex cures cancer but refuses to release it because of the economic consequences. He'll put tons of people out of work, destroy their livelihood and superman cannot understand it.
>>154170189You could draw parallels in a conversation where Lex could ask him why he's not toppling tyrannical or illegitimate governments
>>154170175I don’t know why but you reminded me of Zdarsky’s attempt to retcon all the big Joker stories as an effort to awaken Zur En Arr, the ‘true’ Batman. What a load of crap his run was.
>>154170189That's a deeply fucking immoral and objectively retarded defense of the evil of capitalism and subtle pushing of malthusian cult ideals. I've always hated rich people and psueds who hopefully will die pathetic and alone from overly stuffed shit holes pushing this garbage.
>>154170088Lex doesn’t actually want to improve the world, he’s a petty asshole businessman. That’s the point. He will rather spend billions trying to kill Superman than prove he’s a better do gooder. He even tried to turn himself into a Superman’s replacement for fucks sake.
Superman literally says this in all star
>>154170088Because he is unironically an evil business man who wants more power and controlTo be the pinnacle of humankind and rule it from behind closed doors. He's the living embodiment of the epstein island and oligarch class. A pg13 version that can still be the ebul guy that losers like him can root for on some level. That's why. He doesn't give a fuck about helping people because he has nothing resembling basic human empathy. He not only doesn't understand it he doesn't fucking care. He's a monster. The greatest monster superman will ever face. The living embodiment of evil that modern society creates and allows to foster. The worst part about Luthor? The very people who control this character are the kind of people who will never show how truly evil and twisted he is. A true mirror of the powerful and untouchable. Because that would plant seeds in the minds of the people who consume their media. He'll always be an anomaly a bad seed a smart asshole, the living embodiment of greed, heedless industry, and the miltary industrial complex dressed up as a cartoon character the working class good guy can punch so the audience can get good fee fees and not think about what's actually going on around them.
>>154170088Yes. That's been the tragedy of the character for a very long time. His pettiness and flaws blind him to the potential he could give to the world. This has been addressed many times.
>>154170383Blinds him? Bullshit. He's not a dindu nuffin who's just blind to his own inhernt goodness and potential. He knows exactly what he is and what he is doing.
>>154170088>Sauron explains free will to Spider-Man.jpg
>>154170088I remember Invincible had a subplot like this where Mark calls out how retarded one of his villains is for using his genius-level intellect to just rob banks before convincing him to reform and become a good guy. Kirkman's writing can be pretty ass at times, but I actually think this moment is neat.
>>154170088That doesn’t prove how much better of a Superman he could have been though, which is all he cares about.
>>154170088because he's a raging bald cunt
>>154170152Honestly that sounds like an amazing storyline though.
>>154170088the cost of living goes to people like lex luthor
>>154170298Why is it immoral? Capitalism would have him release it because lex would make trillions. It's an argument against capitalism. You don't even understand capitalism.
>>154170189>He'll put tons of people out of work, destroy their livelihoodHow the fuck does curing cancer put tons of people out of works.
>>154172347Radiologists, researchers, cancer hospitals, all need to be staffed. Just look at AI and the layoffs. Same idea
>>154170088I’d love a one-off where Supes goads Luthor into doing good>You just choose to be evil because you know you could never be as good as me!Or something that would trigger Lex’s petty ego. Then you just get a montage of Luthor building schools, curing diseases, working with underprivileged kids, yadda yadda yadda until the penny drops and he loses his shit and storms off to go out on his mech suit and trash city hall.
>>154172378That might be the stupidest thing I've ever heard.
>>154170088Yes anon, Superman points this out in All-Star Superman. Lex Luthor doesn't WANT to do those things. He could've done that at any time, but he focuses on supervillainy and blames Superman for it.
>>154172378
>>154172399Sort of happened during the Super Lex arc, he decides to show the JL that his brains and tech really make him as good a Superman as the Kryptonian.Actually runs with it for a bit, but eventually we go into the deflating Apex Lex detour instead of any clever conclusion.
>>154172399I think it'd be funny if Clark spent the entire story being like "this is just a trick, it's a plot, he's gonna reveal some evil scheme." and the other shoe just never drops and eventually Clark just has to admit he's wrong and he goes up to Lex as Superman and genuinely thanks him and says he's proud of him and all he accomplished. Then, either,>Lex is so insulted by Superman's genuine, heartfelt praise, he immediately ruins it and attacks him, going back to his old ways. >Lex reveals it was all an evil scheme and his advanced children's hospital transforms into a giant robot that tries to kill Superman.
There was that JLU episode where Luthor builds a whole city powered off a kryptonite reactor and Superman trashes it because he suspects the reactor is a bomb.
>>154172475>it was all an evil scheme and his advanced children's hospital transforms into a giant robot that tries to kill Superman.Perfect
>>154172441>>154172410You say stupid but it's reality. We see it with AI right now
He actually tried being good for a small stint and stopped because Superman was being oddly dickish about a relatively minor mistake he made.Meanwhile in other instances, Superman has given Lex a chance to be good even when he has already done terrible things. Felt like characters just being pricks for the sake is status quo.
>>154172503We've eliminated diseases in the past. We've done it. The field of radiology would not go away if we got rid of cancer. Hell, the field of oncology itself would probably not go away because you would still need people to diagnose the disease and administer the cure. The medical system is overtaxed as it is. If we got rid of cancer, most of those people would just be free to work on other stuff. At worst, some incredibly specialized professionals would have to train at something else for a few years. >We see it with AI right nowMost of the people being fired because of AI are just being fired to juice quarterly reports and will have to be rehired within a couple years.
>>154172503I can't believe I have to explain this but AI's impacts are far more net negative than curing cancer. I guarantee if you ask medical professionals if they were willing to have their job made obselete if it meant cancer would be eradicated, a shocking amount of them would be fine with it. On the other hand, hardly ANYONE wants to be made obselete so a bunch of slop bots can do what they already do except much worse and far cheaper.Seriously, I want you to visit cancer patients right now and tell them that them dying of cancer is a necessary evil so they can pay people to treat them. You WILL get punched.
Lex literally builds problems for Superman just so he can’t save someone else and wastes his time on Lex shenanigans. He’s the dick of all dicks and that’s why he’s the greatest.
>>154172573Not true. Cars replaced the horse, fridges replaced the milkman, you have the same mentality of the "learn to code" bros that cannot see consequences beyond your own narrow world view. Even the polio shot for rid of workers making iron lungs. Those workers didn't magically start making cars.
>>154172593Lol you're so naive. Hospitals and doctors could treat all sorts of diseases right now, but they would rather charge an arm and a leg instead. Even if a cure to cancer was found, the cost for it would be out of reach or destroy a households finances. Food, water, power, all the same idea.
Lex along with Pete ,Lana and the first Legion members are one of his first friends Clark had, they are as important to Clark like they are Lois , Kara,Bruce and Jimmy.If Lex started to do that, he would have support him, like we saw in some Elseworld like the one Lex became good and married Lois
>>154172654Milkmen are just deliverymen that happen to deliver milk. They can just deliver something else. We literally have that today, it's Amazon and Shipt workers. >Those workers didn't magically start making cars.Why the hell not?
>>154172526This was a good look, but I feel like it should have been black and white, either prominent, and the S should have just been something like Lex figuring out the Kryptonian symbol for Will. Basically a design symbolizing his intentions being clear yet morally grey at the same time.
>>154172726Because learn to code bro. There are tons of jobs that get displaced whenever some new tech comes out. Granted new jobs do appear as well, but that takes time, sometimes decades. It's like coal miners, why not make them lithium miners? Different skills. It's hard to turn a surgeon into a dentist and vise versa.
>>154172789>learn to code bro>he hasn’t heard
>>154172687>Hospitals and doctors could treat all sorts of diseases right now, but they would rather charge an arm and a leg instead.Then maybe they SHOULD lose their jobs if it means a cure for cancer is found and made available/affordable.
>>154172410It sounds far-fetched, but things like this already happen IRL. The US government effectively bans foreign car companies like BYD from selling their vehicles in the country purely because major American automakers know they stand to lose enormous profits if a competitor enters the market offering comparable goods at a lower price. So these companies joined forces and lobbied to the point where importing foreign cars has become literally impossible unless you're rich.
>>154172789You said radiologists would lose their jobs. We use radiology for more than cancer.
>>154172962Sure, but hospitals won't need as many. From 10 radiologists to 4. Where do the other 6 go?
>>154172867Epipens
I liked when Lex was campaigning to be the next president, it was kinda shit once he won but his running was fun to me, books had that red banner with Lex for 2000.
>>154173196It would have been better if Lex was a good president, but Superman/Kent could only spin things negatively.Bruce should have also supported Lex. It would have been way funnier
>>154172767>but I feel like it should have been black and white,Superman was already wearing that at the time
>>154172378>RadiologistsRadiologist and Radiographer work on other thing too, from the kid who fall and the doctor want to see if his arm is broken to see if has an hormonal problem or even in Radiographer case can work with surgeons.
>>154170189>>154170201Pure hylic whataboutism
>>154170088They've made these points in the comics.
>>154175589Who?
Lex starts trying to "outgood" Superman thinking it'll lead to all these bad externality consequences people post in this thread, but it actually just makes the world a better place. The first thing he does is cure baldness so this will be an iconic Haired Lex storyline. It starts as Lex doing it just to "beat" Superman, but once he starts seeing all the good he does in the world, he starts seeing things more like Superman and becomes more and more genuinely good. A step closer to fusion energy, a cure for a couple rare diseases, etc. Superman is optimistic but skeptical of everything the whole time of course. All is going good until one of his inventions goes wrong and causes a huge crisis. Something like his cure for baldness doesn't work right and turns people into crazy hairball beasts after a few weeks. A few superheroes turned into superpowered hairball beasts. Lex doesn't turn because he used a prototype baldness cure. Superman's first instinct is he thinks he did it on purpose. Lex is completely discouraged and starts reverting back to his old mentality and refuses to help. Things spiral out of control as the hairball beasts become transmissible like zombies and starts spreading to the wider population. Maybe some really fucked up one like the hairbeast fused with Plastic Man the heroes have to fight on top of trying to save the populace.Desperate, the heroes track down Lex who was hiding out during the crisis. Superman confronts him one on one. Lex tries to tell him it was all a mistake, prepared to hear the worst from Supes. But instead Supes hears him out because of course he would he's Superman. Something like: "We all make mistakes Lex, lord knows I've made countless of them. But you can't let that stop you from trying to do good in the future." The conversation leads to a better understanding between the two, etc. etc. 1/2
>>154178269"Lex what is important now is that we need you to help save the world". Lex grins: "You, Superman, need ME to save the world? Of course I'll do it".Batman calls Superman right after Supers and Lex's conversation to reveal he had been investigating Lex's company behind the scenes."No doubt about it, Clark. Lex is telling the truth and really was trying to improve the world.""Never a doubt in my mind, Bruce." So Lex and the smartest superheroes work together to reverse engineer the hair formula to make a cure to transform everyone back to normal and do it in record time. There's a catch: it has to be injected directly into everyone who was transformed. "That's no problem. I'll use my super speed and strength to track everyone down one by one and inject them with the cure.""That's too dangerous, Superman: if you get infected and turned into a hairbeast, no one will be able to stop you!"Lex steps in: "There is one way...". He holds up another syringe. "This will make you immune to the Hairbeast Virus, but be warned it'll make you completely BALD."Superman takes the injection without hesitating. A now bald Superman, with more than a passing resemblance to Lex, races around the world at superspeed to spread the cure to everyone, a glorious sight to see. The day is saved.In the aftermath, Lex's reputation is completely ruined once again and the world refuses to accept anymore of his "help". Superman's Kryptonian DNA soon overrides the baldness injection and he grows his full head of hair back. Meanwhile, since Lex only took the prototype baldness cure, it's revealed it wasn't a lasting cure and he goes back to being bald. To most of the world, things have gone mostly back to the status quo. But Batman does some investigating to find a small research company called "xeL Corp" was created...2/2
>>154178279>>154178269this idea is making me feel somewhat piglike in appearance
>>154178358circe...
(Some versions of) Lex hates sups because he believes that we don't need a saviour, that we should seek to improve ourselves instead of being dependent of a god who can do everything for us.If he did all that he would just take his place. But really depends on the root cause of Lex hateboner for clark, changes from writer to writer because it never been that well established.
>>154177011Such as?
>>154170088But he doesn't want to do good things. He wants to do bad things. That is why he is the villain.
>>154170088He doesnt want to cure cancer. He wants to HUMILIATE AND DESTROY SUPERMAN.
>>154172378That's like saying we shouldn't prevent fires or dog attacks because it will put facial reconstruction surgeons out of work.
>>154178279>>154178279
>>154180636ASS
>>154170088Why don't real billionaires do this? Are they stupid?
>>154172687Ok but this is a Superman thread so Superman should steal the cure for cancer and use his lasers to blast anti cancer into everyone.
>>154172347Anon is an idiot. >>154172378A cure would bring those people MORE work you pillock.
>>154170088Pic related. I don't have the following page (or I forgot what I saved it as), but, spoiler alert: Lex throws away omnipotence because he literally cannot bring himself to not fuck over Superman.>>154170123Either Lex or LexCorp found a cure for cancer during that time, too, but Lex said something to the effect of "fuck giving people a cure, we need repeat customers. Turn that shit into a lifelong treatment plan."
>>154172378All of those people could treat other health issues, research in related fields. It's not like the healthcare systems across the world wouldn't find other uses for all of these people.
>>154172789>It's hard to turn a surgeon into a dentist and vise versa.My family doctor was a dentist in his home country before he came here. And some dentists do surgeries. They're tooth related, but still surgeries. And even if a theoretical cure utterly made the specialty of oncology useless, they would still be doctors. It would be a money hit for them, but they could be put to use practicing rural or family medicine, or even just in ER. >>154173004They could relocate to places that need four radiologists but have one or none.
>>154170088If Lex had a full set of hair instead of being bald, Lex would had been a good guy.
>>154170189He cured his sister's cancer and then gave it back to her purely to prove that he could.
>>154170088He did all of that and more on Superman: Red Son.
>>154170123https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQICcKNsHzk
>>154170088But he fucked Rouge the Bat to own Superman
>>154173004They will need more. Because the people who were previously dying of cancer will now, and stay with me here, coming back to check if their Cells are getting back on their bullshit after being cured.
