Lex Luthor: Man of Steel (Superman) [Paperback]

Brian Azzarello (Author), Lee Bermejo (Illustrator), Dave Stewart (Illustrator), Mick Gray (Illustrator), Karl Story (Illustrator), Jason Martin (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2006

Superman has been called many things, from the defender of truth, justice and the American way to the Big Blue Boy Scout. In LEX LUTHOR: MAN OF STEEL, he is called something he has never been called before: a threat to all humanity. Brian Azzarello and artist Lee Bermejo--the acclaimed team who brought you the best-selling JOKER--deliver a bold story in which readers get a glimpse into the mind of Superman's longtime foe. MAN OF STEEL reveals why Luthor chooses to be the proverbial thorn in the Man of Steel's side: to save humanity from an untrustworthy alien being.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 10 Up–This fresh treatment of an old relationship is squarely in the tradition of sophisticated alternate treatments of classic heroes. Lex Luthor finds Superman's alien preternatural calm and taciturn manner so irritating that he creates his own superhero. Hope, his glamorous new superprotégée, has the personality and media savvy that Superman never will. Lex hires a local pedophile supervillain, the Toyman, to carry out a day-care bombing and intends for Hope to achieve a public triumph by catching and murdering him. But as all comics readers know, the rule of law must always win out over vigilante justice. Here Bruce Wayne, Batman, is nothing but a wealthy industrialist, part of the corporate Gotham world, while Superman stays away from the bright lights. Bermejo's sleek coloring and line design maintain DC's high standards. Superman appears angrier and without the ludicrous muscles he often sports; Bruce Wayne is roguish instead of his usual polished self. Clearly for older readers for its moral questioning, this title deserves a home in libraries looking for brainy and subtle superhero reads.–John Leighton, Brooklyn Public Library, NY
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From Booklist

Capitalizing on the success of the same team’s 2008 Joker graphic novel, DC has collected and added new pages to a 2005 miniseries that similarly explores Superman’s megalomaniacal nemesis. Azzarello (100 Bullets) paints a complex portrait of the villain as a committed humanist with a fiend lurking beneath, born of his pride in human achievement. This pride, naturally enough, is mortally offended by the godlike alien flying around Metropolis, so Luthor hatches a plan to shake the city’s faith in the hero, which ultimately requires a heartbreaking sacrifice from the villain himself. Creating a character who uses his influence to offer great opportunities to even his most menial employee and at the same time is prepared to bomb a day-care center full of children is not an easy task. It is masterfully abetted, however, by the harsh realism of Bermejo’s art, which, with the subtle shifting of shadow or a slight tilt of angle, can turn a supervillain into a human being and a superhuman savior into an alien monster. --Jesse Karp --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (January 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401204546
• ISBN-13: 978-1401204549
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 0.2 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #532,428 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Brian Azzarello has achieved both huge sales and acclaim with his comic 100 Bullets, and has also recently completed a run on Hellblazer, and Marvel's Cage. Lee Bermejo is the illustrator of Superman/Gen 13, and has contributed pin-ups to 100 Bullets and WildC.A.T.S.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An intriguing and great look at Lex Luthor, August 13, 2006

By 

A. Sandoc "sussarakhen" (San Pablo, California United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lex Luthor: Man of Steel (Superman) (Paperback)

Lex Luthor - Man of Steel is a great look inside the mind of Superman's greatest foe and one of the DC Universe's most intriguing and interesting villains. In fact, Brian Azzarello writes this story of Lex Luthor with the goal of showing the complexity of what makes Lex Luthor tick. Azzarello posits the idea of Lex Luthor not being the sociopathic villain whose quest to destroy Superman has become almost Ahab-like in its intensity. No, Luthor in this book is made out to be less a villain but a champion of humanity against what he sees as the stagnating and tyrannical effect of Superman on the human race.

He sees Superman as a super-powerful being of alien origin whose seeming similarity to looking like a human is just a disguise to hide what he suspects as something whose very presence will lead to humanity's downfall. Even the way Superman is drawn by Lee Bermejo as seen by Luthor looks like some sort of demonic being whose glowing red eyes make him more villain than superhero. Azzarello's book doesn't make Luthor into a hero for he still makes decisions which seem to be that of a sociopath than a hero for the people. His hiring of the pedophilic Toyman is one example of the true nature of Luthor showing through just enough beneath the image the man himself has deluded his own self into believing.

One could make the point that Lex Luthor - Man of Steel is a story of one man's delusions of heroic grandeur and a messianic complex. He sees everyone around him as less than his equal thus putting the onus of saving the world from the likes of Superman on his own shoulders. He even sees Bruce Wayne as less the philantrophic businessman but more as a rogue who only does things for his own selfish needs. No, in this book Lex Luthor sees himself as the only person who has the will and the mind to do what is best for humanity even if they don't appreciate him for it.

Azzarello really hits every note in making Lex Luthor both heroic and villainous in this story. He has written a tale of a man's obsession with the downfall of a superhero get to the point that reality has almost become warped in this man's mind. Lee Bermejo's beautiful near photorealistic artwork works very well with Azzarello's story. I also like the small details of how Luthor truly sees Superman. From the glowing red eyes and the use of bleached out colors of Superman's costume. Gone is the red, white and blue colors of the costume and in its place are colors closer to black and red.

Lex Luthor - Man of Steel is a great and intriguing graphic novel by Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo delving into the complex and, ultimately, fracturing mind of Lex Luthor. I didn't think it was possible, but these two artists have made Luthor both sympathetic and reviled in the same book in equal amounts. I highly recommend this book to fans of the DC Universe and its characters.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fascinating and Thought Provoking Story, January 18, 2009

By 

K.Cruz - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lex Luthor: Man of Steel (Superman) (Paperback)

There have been many versions of Lex Luthor throughout the years; scientist, businessman, over the top, genius. He has been adapted and changed throughout the ages, with various successes and failures peppered in between.

I think though, that the Lex Luthor of Lex Luthor: Man of Steel gives you one of the greatest, if not the best, ways to look at the character.

The Lex Luthor of this story is a beautifully complex man. He sees Superman, not a possible savior, but as a dangerous alien who might turn on humanity any day. However, the way this is presented is truly unique and striking.

Every Lex Luthor I have seen has hated Superman yes, loathed him, or was jealous of the world's adoration of him. The reason for his hate has been from his own ego, his own quest for power, or hatred based on past actions between the two. This is the first time I found the enmity based on feelings for the world, not himself. This Lex despises Superman because he shows man's limitations, stops the world from advancing and becoming greater. And what's chilling is, in a way, the reader feels he's right. I won't go completely into detail about how and why because I'm sure new readers don't want an adventure spoiled for them.

Something I've heard complaints about for this book is the lack of explanation. Certain things occur and happen without a full backstory or step by step analysis. To me, that is a strength here. The first time I read the story, I loved it, but I had questions. I read it again. Things popped out at me that I had never noticed the first time, words suddenly had double meanings and hit harder than before, enough to shock me. The parts of the book that I had been unsure of were no more, because I was able to understand and draw my own conclusions. It's a blessing when a book let's you think instead of hammering the answer into your skull on its own.

The unexplained scenarios of this tale do not hamper the story. Full explanations would have taken away from it.

Another thing that must be touched on is the art. It is, truly, stunning. The style is one of which I have never seen before this artist, and I found it many different things at once. Beautiful, somehow realistic, horrifying. It's a privilege to look at honestly. Superman is drawn in such a way that I found myself afraid to imagine such a creature, as Lex, with his mindset, must be when he sees him flying through Metropolis. It added so much to what would have been an already fabulous plot.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone, any place, comic readers or not. It shows us a version of Lex that we can come to fear for his paranoia, respect for his sacrifice, pity for his unseen ego, and ache for his passion. We see Superman through different eyes, a very different Man of Steel. The text strikes a chord, proposing lessons and ideas that apply to much more than only Superman.

I have read many comics, from those proclaimed to be the greatest, to those that are pushed to the back of the shelf. I can truthfully say this is the best comic I have ever read, one of the best books I have ever read in my life. I hope everyone who has the chance to pick it up will, because it would be a shame not to.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How Bad is the Bad Guy, January 29, 2006

By 

Bobcatred (TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lex Luthor: Man of Steel (Superman) (Paperback)

This is certainly not your typical Superhero comic. It takes a look at Superman's arch-nemesis and why he hates Superman so much. Lex Luthor comes across as being very intelligent man who is scared (or jealous, mayhaps?) of Superman and what he represents, and as a result takes actions that have a high cost. But do the ends truly justify the means?

If you're looking for a good old action-packed Superhero comic, this isn't it, but if you dig complex villains, this is a good choice