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

~ (Author), Lee Bermejo (Illustrator)

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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Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (January 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401204546
• ISBN-13: 978-1401204549
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 6.4 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #178,774 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 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 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

7 of 7 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 (REAL NAME)

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.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lex Luthor - good or bad?, April 11, 2006

By	Gotham Night - See all my reviews

I found this very confusing, disturbing, and unsatisfying - and yet brilliant. Confusing because events were taking place that had no explanation whatever. They were almost like dream sequences, as in the case of the duel between Batman and Superman. And yet it must have been real because at the end of the sequence when Bruce makes the call to Lex, Bruce is sitting in his cave, his face beaten and bloody. I didn't want to think it was real because, unless I missed something somewhere, Batman and Superman do not hate each other as much as they did here. It was unwarranted and unexplained. The same with the origin of Hope. Where did she come from? Was she an A.I., spawned from some stolen DNA from Superman? Again, no explanation. A few things disturbed me - Azzarello's depiction of Superman as just an "alien". Granted this is Lex's story, and we're seeing Superman through his eyes, and what a disturbing image he is. Teeth baring and eyes always glowing red. I have to highly praise the artwork though. Lee Bermejo is an awesome, awesome artist. You are so drawn into this book just by the artwork alone and the coloring is beautiful and sets the mood perfectly. Azzarello's prose is intriguing, intelligent, and witty. Too bad the story itself didn't make more sense. You do really get into the brain of Lex Luthor though and according to Azzarello, Lex is a very lonely, isolated, twisted man. And yet, the writing and the artwork combined make us almost feel sorry for him and admire him when he really does try to be a nice guy and, in his eyes, do good. There's good and bad in Lex Luthor just like there is in all of us. I would recommend this book and can guarantee that you will read it several times. It's impressive.