Spoiler alerts. You have been warned.
Genius. Rich. Inventor. Billionaire. Eccentric. Obsessed. Insane. Psychopath.
All of these are words used to describe Alexander “Lex” Luthor, Jr. But what is the line that is being crossed from genius to insane? How do you define obsession? Is it obsession to prepare for what you deem an inevitability?
Batman was called a hero by some for trying to stop Superman, an individual with invulnerability, godlike strength, the ability to fly—a man who can shoot lasers from his eyes and destroy mountains with little effort other than building momentum. Trying to stop him with a powered suit and with little regard for loss of civilian life was deemed to be fine by a majority.
But when a visionary man goes beyond what is decided to be reasonable, it’s called madness. Lex Luthor is a genius, there is no doubt of his intelligence or drive to succeed. Where many could not even hope to contest the idea of a Superman, Luthor openly took away his power, by making the illusion of his perfection disappear.
It is often a cliché that you must “fight fire with fire,” but even firefighters have a method called a “burn out,” where a second fire is lit to consume the oxygen outside of the original, dangerous fire. While risky and potentially hard to control, it is effective at putting out large fires that show no other signs of stopping. When a fire consumes all in its path and keeps going, drastic measures must be taken.
Superman consumed the faith and will of the people. His very existence not only put our own universal importance into question, it removed our faith in government and police. When a single man is capable of saving people without the authority or tools of society, he devalues the need and efforts of true service men.
What is a god without his power? That’s what Luthor asked the world, he asked the world to believe in their own imperfection and that nobody could be perfect. By attacking Superman, he reminded the world that nobody lives forever, even gods.
Batman wasn’t a hero, he was just a tool for Luthor’s genius. The public need to give him his credit. Not only was Luthor the most interesting character in "Batman v Superman," he was the one with the clearest mission and the only character unwilling to compromise his beliefs.
In history it is often found that visionaries are relegated to monsters and madmen. Don’t allow Luthor to be forgotten by history as a psychopath. Don’t let Luthor’s point be ignored out of “respect” for a fallen god. Gods are meant to fall out of worship—this is decided by the mortals who worship them.
For humans, gods must remain indirect or society will crumble under the weight of its own powerlessness. For the sake of our world, Supermen must never be allowed to remain.
