There are certain villains that are in a class all their own. They don’t just embody all the traits we associate with evil and malice. They do it with a skill and refinement akin to a world class artist. In that sense, Lex Luthor is the Leonardo Da Vinci of supervillains. In fact, Lex Luthor would probably say that compared to him, Da Vinci was a hack. And the disturbing thing is he’s probably right.
If all the villains in comics were put into an arena and ranked as a whole, then Lex Luthor would be in the uppermost tier, most likely mocking all those who think he’s on his level. He’s a special kind of villain. There’s no doubt about it. He doesn’t just think he’s superior. He knows he’s superior. And for the most part, he’s absolutely right. According to his own Wikipedia entry, he is the most intelligent human being in the DC universe and one of the most intelligent beings overall. He doesn’t have superpowers, but with genius like his he doesn’t need it.
He’s not just smart. He’s got an ego that’s second to none. He never sees himself more than a man, but he believes his genius to be equal among gods. It’s that unique ego that has put him in a unique position in Strangers In Paradise. The Amazons and the Gods of Olympus are all powerful and daunting in their own respect. However, they’ve never dealt with a man like Lex Luthor. Ares and Apollo thought they could manipulate him, as the gods have manipulated mortals for centuries. They were wrong.
It was never a matter of if Lex would outsmart Ares and Apollo. It was only ever a matter of when. And in the previous chapter, just as Ares had unlocked the Tomb of Erebus, that time came. Lex made his move. He dared to defy the will of the gods. And he succeeded where every mythological hero before him failed.
Lex’s involvement in this conflict is very much a culmination of Superman and Wonder Woman’s greatest challenge in building a relationship. They went to such great lengths just to get together. But at some point, they were going to get caught up in each others conflicts. Superman was going to get caught up with the Amazons again. And Wonder Woman was going to get in the crossfire of Superman’s enemies. Between Lex Luthor and renegade gods, this is a conflict that they can’t hope to overcome on their own. In the greatest test of their relationship to date, they must stop Lex Luthor together. And that test begins now.
There aren’t a lot of forces that can match the collective power of Superman and Wonder Woman. Together, they’re two of the most powerful beings in the DC Universe. However, Lex Luthor is still the smartest. And now he’s got the power of gods with which to fight. It’s the kind of clash that will either make them stronger or break them completely. This is still my first ever Superman/Wonder Woman story and I wanted to make the final battle be sufficiently epic. Thanks to Lex Luthor, I think I’ve achieved just that. Nuff said!
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