Complex Feelings: Reflections on a Man of Steel by Lex Luthor

Superman.  Why him?  How have I gotten involved with him so much that the two of us are practically synonymous?  I am a very rational man who makes very rational, calculated decisions.  Why do I waste so much of my time, money and livelihood on the alien?  I am smart enough, clever enough and resourceful enough to stay off of his radar.  I have enough money that I do not even need to partake in activities that some would consider criminal.  So why even bother the Big Blue Boy Scout?

There is no one answer to this subject.  I am a very complex man with very complex motivations.  But when it all comes down to it I am a spoiled rich kid who wants a toy.

I am Lex Luthor.  My achievements are unparalleled in the fields of science, business and politics.  Everything I have I have worked for.  I have reached a level above all else on Earth.  I am no longer a man.  I am the only one of my kind.  My intellect had become a burden, because there was no use for it on Earth.  I was a man with a lot of power and no way to use it.  I was bored.  Until he came along.

Superman surprised me and I am never surprised.  Suddenly I had my edge back, a reason to be.  I now had a muse, an adversary, someone to test my superiority against.

And I have not won yet.  Which is fine.  The Man of Tomorrow is a plaything that never gets old.  People like to use simplistic labels of “hero” and “villain.”  But that is all subjective.  Many would consider me to be a loser.  Superman has many short-term victories and I have never succeeded in killing him, although I could really if I really wanted to.  But from my point of view, which is a perspective no other human could possibly understand, I always win.  Because I always get Superman to pay attention to me.

It is not just that I am fascinated with the Man of Steel, I have made him fascinated with me as well.  He is constantly fighting powerful adversaries.  Alien warlords, sentient robots, evil incarnate.  But he always comes back to me.  One of the most powerful beings in the universe, a perfect physical specimen and his arch nemesis is an aging bald man without any powers.  Superman’s entire existence on Earth is to prove my eminence.  He serves me without even knowing it and he will continue to serve me for as long I am able to extend our lives.

Making me one of the most powerful beings in the universe.  Which is a status that I revel in.