History Comicbook / LexLuthorManOfSteel

* GreenEyedMonster: Lex's lovely assistant gets jealous of the attention he gives Hope. Luthor himself has green eyes.

* DoubleMeaning: Throughout the book, Luthor repeatedly talks about having hope. In the last issue, Luthor's internal monologue talks about hope in the face of the unstoppable, and says that "hope is what makes us human". The final line of the comic is "I am a man. I hope." which could be taken both as Luthor saying that he continues to have hope because that's what it is to be human, or that his actions have driven him to question his own humanity.

* KickTheDog: If read attentively, it's seen that Lex does this constantly, undoing his good deeds. An good example of this is when [[spoiler: Lex, through Orr and subtly himself threatens the family of one of his leading partners, who disagrees with Lex's suggestions. While Orr, the man hired by Luthor, intimidates this partner under the roof, ready to kill...]]

* KickTheDog: If read attentively, it's seen that Lex does this constantly, undoing his good deeds. An good example of this is when [[spoiler: Lex subtly threatens the family of one member of board of directors, who disagrees with Lex's suggestions. While Orr, the man hired by Luthor, meets this person under the roof, ready to kill...]]

* KickTheDog: If read attentively, it's seen that Lex does this constantly, undoing his good deeds. An good example of this is when [[spoiler: Lex subtly threatens the family of one member of board of directors, who disagrees with Lex's suggestions. While Orr, the man hired bu Luthor, meets this person under the roof ready to kill...]]

* PetTheDog: One long petting session for Lex, as the point is to show him outside of his conflict with Superman and show the benevolent things he does. Although it's played with, since despite the positive viewpoint we get of Lex and the benevolent things he does, he ends up [[KickTheDog Kicking The Dog]] several times anyway almost despite himself.

* PetTheDog: One long petting session for Lex, as the point is to show him outside of his conflict with Superman and show the benevolent things he does.

** VillainousBreakdown / BreakThemByTalking: Superman's response is ''very'' effective.

** Both are rather dark and deconstructive takes on the Batman and Superman universes with their respective arch-nemeses acting as Villain Protagonists.

** Both also explore the mindsets of each villain, and the worlds they inhabit. This consequently introduces an element of Unreliable Narrator, as neither villain is a wholly trustworthy source (Luthor's narrative, which initially seems quite utopian, is ultimately warped by his humanist pretensions and paranoid delusions, while the Joker's narrative is naturally drenched in an atmosphere of horrific nihilism and casual sadism from the outset).
** Both initially appear to be deconstructing the superhero, only to turn it around and end up revealing exactly how monstrous the villain is and why we shouldn't trust them at all. As an example, both works climax in a confrontation between villain and hero in which the villain launches into a lengthy and deconstructive "The Reason You Suck" Speech about how inadequate the hero is, only for the hero to respond with a brief Shut Up, Hannibal! statement (two sentences for Superman, three words for Batman) that not only refutes everything the villain has tried to claim about the hero, but turns it back on the villain in such a way that drives them to a Villainous Breakdown.

->''"Those [[RedEyesTakeWarning red eyes]], I'm sure they look right through me, like I am nothing more than a nuisance. But when I see [[{{Superman}} you]]? I see something no man can ever be. I see the end.''
->''"The end of our potential.''
->''"The end of our achievements.''
->''"The end of our dreams.''
->''"You are my nightmare."''

The [[{{Superman}} Alien]] says that he is humanity's savior. That he fights for "Truth, Justice and the American Way". He makes the entire world love him and look up to him.

An AlternateCharacterInterpretation of Comicbook/{{Superman}}'s arch-nemesis, ''Lex Luthor: Man of Steel'' was first published in 2005 by DCComics. It's a bit of a departure from other stories about Luthor, which up until then (and indeed for [[CrisisOnInfiniteEarths twenty years previous]]) had shown him as little more than an unrepentant jerk who just wanted to kill Superman. It [[{{Deconstruction}} deconstructs]] Superman's ArchEnemy in subtle ways, or at least speaks to humanist traits the character had taken on since about 2000. First is this: when other comics on the stands in 2005 were about Luthor heading up a [[InfiniteCrisis large]] LegionOfDoom and manipulating [[ComicBook/TeenTitans Superboy]] ForTheEvulz, an empathic view into the mind of Lex was seen as an odd thing, though not totally unwelcomed. As it turns out, the story was ''very'' well-received.

Recently re-released and given the more laconic yet intimidating title ''[[http://dccomics.com/dcu/graphic_novels/?gn=15388 Luthor]]''. Works nicely as a companion piece to Azzarello's later work, ''ComicBook/{{Joker}}'': even the trade dress, [[UsefulNotes/{{Fonts}} typefaces]], and titles (in both incarnations; ''Lex Luthor: Man of Steel''/''Joker: The Dark Knight'' and ''Luthor''/''Joker'') play up the differences between these two characters. FrankMiller might be proud.

* AcceptableTargets: An in-universe example. Luthor selects Winslow Schott a.k.a. Toyman to be [[spoiler: nearly killed by Hope and then saved by Superman. Because Schott had just bombed a daycare center and is an alleged child molester, Lex knew the public would be calling for his blood and might turn against Superman for saving his life.]]

* MythologyGag: Lex reffers to the kryptonite he gives Bruce as "a gift ComicBook/ForTheManWhoHasEverything".

* MythologyGag: Lex reffers to the kryptonite he gives Bruce as "a gift ForTheManWhoHasEverything".

* DoubleMeaning: Throughout the book, Luthor repeatedly talks about having hope. In the last issue, Luthor's internal monologue talks about hope in the face of the unstoppable, and says that "hope is what makes us human". The final line of the comic is "I am a man. I hope." which could be taken both as Luthor saying that he continues to have hope in the face of the unstoppable because that's what it is to be human, or that his actions have driven him to question his own humanity.

** Maybe Luthor is a FearlessFool, but it takes some guts for a normal man to stand up to an angry Superman, (especially in the same comic that gives us the page image for MookHorrorShow) and not only stand his ground, but try to go into BreakThemByTalking mode. Sure, Luthor is wrong and ''insane'' but he's got guts.

* ArcWords: "Hope."

->''"Those [[RedEyesTakeWarning red eyes]], I'm sure they look right through me, like I am nothing more than a nuisance. But when I see you? I see something no man can ever be. I see the end.''

->''"Those red eyes, I'm sure they look right through me, like I am nothing more than a nuisance. But when I see you? I see something no man can ever be. I see the end.''

* ComicBookFantasyCasting: Hope is very clearly modeled on HalleBerry. Out of his suit, Bruce Wayne (at least in one scene) looks a lot like Creator/ChristianBale. Fitting, this, as it came out the same summer as ''Film/BatmanBegins''.

* MythlogyGag: Lex reffers to the kryptonite he gives Bruce as "a gift ForTheManWhoHasEverything".

* UnreliableNarrator: Although this is Luthor's PerspectiveFlip, we probably should not trust everything he says. After all, he's still ''Lex Luthor''.

* LetsYouAndHimFight: At one point, Superman and Batman come to blows over a chunk of green kryptonite that Luthor has given to Bruce Wayne. Although there's little context and we don't hear any dialogue between the two, it's suggested that Superman is either under some kind of MindControl, is a little bit miffed about Batman going behind his back and accepting the only thing that can kill him for whatever reason (and accepted it from ''Superman's arch-nemesis'', of all people), or a bit of both.