Ricky Church reviews Superman: President Luthor…
Lex Luthor is not only Superman’s most dangerous nemesis, but one of comics most dangerous and evil characters in general. For a man who doesn’t have superpowers, Luthor’s intellect and selfishness makes him a great threat to Superman and the DC universe. One of Luthor’s greatest accomplishments though wasn’t the creation of a new battlesuit or the takeover of a mega-corporation, but actually getting elected to the highest office in America as President Lex Luthor.
In DC’s newly collected Superman: President Luthor, Lex decides on a whim, partly out of a desire to spite Superman, to run for office. The book follows his rise to President, from the campaign trail to his inauguration and some of the dirty deeds he did to get to the top spot. Its more a collection of short stories from issues that had a glimpse into the campaign rather than a full story arc with a clear beginning, middle and end, though there are some occasional callbacks to earlier moments thanks to either Greg Rucka or Jeph Loeb writing most of the stories.
Where President Luthor succeeds is in the examination of Luthor’s psyche and ego. The opening story where we see Luthor perform some petty acts of vengeance on an employee having a Superman toy or his general displeasure at having to see the ‘S’ sigil everywhere he goes gives a lot of insight into how he feels about Superman and his own position in Metropolis. Other moments that showcase Luthor’s devious methods in the campaign are manipulating Aquaman and Atlantis into attacking him or picking Pete Ross, one of Clark’s childhood friends, as his pick for VP.
However, the more the story goes on, the less focus it gives to Luthor and more on Superman. The prospect of his archnemesis gaining the White House is enough to worry Superman, though we also don’t get quite enough of Superman’s perspective either. He sidelines himself as both reporter Clark Kent and hero Superman, choosing to believe in the will of the American people to make the right choice for the country. While we do get to see his reaction to Lex’s win, as well as the advice given to him by other members of the Justice League, it seems too little too late at that point. We don’t really get to see enough from either Lex or Superman throughout the book, creating a bit of an unbalanced look at these two enemies during this major status quo change.
Its also a shame the story stops on Luthor’s inauguration day. It would have been nice to see some of Luthor’s actions during his presidency, such as his role in the Our Worlds at War event, leading right up to his ouster in Batman/Superman: Public Enemies. Instead, the book feels somewhat incomplete in telling the President Luthor saga.
The book also includes Lex Luthor: The Unauthorized Biography, a story from writer James D. Hudnall and Eduardo Barreto that helped shape Lex Luthor in the modern age of comics. Clark Kent gets dragged in as a murder suspect of Peter Sands, a once-promising reporter. It then follows Sands in the weeks before his death as he decides to investigate Luthor’s life in a bid for cash, but ends up discovering way more than he bargained for regarding the secrets Luthor’s gone to great lengths to protect. Its an interesting story that plays as a mystery, delving into Luthor’s ego while uncovering several of is nefarious misdeeds. Unlike many of Luthor stories, The Unauthorized Biography paints Luthor as an irredeemable and evil figure who does bad things just because he can, yet it still jealous at the power Superman seemingly holds over the world.
Superman: President Luthor is an interesting look at Luthor’s big for President, but the story feels incomplete and doesn’t wholly focus on either Lex or Superman. There’s not much balance between who the story is focusing on which just reaffirms how much of a collection of shorts this is rather than one cohesive tale. It also could have benefited from seeing the aftermath of Luthor’s election, but the book stops just short of that. The addition of The Unauthorized Biography is a nice inclusion and gives some great insight into Luthor’s mindset. Despite that, some readers may feel a bit disappointed that this book doesn’t have a bit more.
Rating: 7/10
Ricky Church
Originally published March 14, 2018. Updated April 15, 2018.
