I could see Superman asking Batman or Iron Man to be Lex's Heel–Face Turn parole officer. If that fails... maybe we could have another villain be Lex's evil-rehab-buddy. Like another villain who was trying to become good, and they sort of check and balance each other. But who? Definitely not Joker. (Do we have a Norman Osborn in this universe, or a Kingpin? I guess we could have GG and Kingpin in NYC and Lex mainly a Metropolis mogul, but I digress.) I guess Magneto could work with Lex, he's a reformed villain, but they don't have a whole ton in common; Lex is pretty selfish, Mags thinks he's working for the good of his species. Who else is a reformed villain? Hawkeye, Black Widow, Kaine, Wolverine sorta... I just think maybe Lex would be reformed more believably if his rehab buddy / parole officer wan't one of the heroes Lex has fought who he hates.
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Hawkeye. Hawkeye already has experience reforming criminals via the Thunderbolts; he'd be the one willing to go past all the things Lex has done, so long as Lex shows that he truly wishes to reform.
I still think that the Suicide Squad would be a good fit for Lex though. Maybe he starts with that, and then eventually moves on to being watched over by Hawkeye.
Might I point out that most of the people you guys have suggested are not quite on Lex's intellectual level? I think that Lex needs someone he can respect intellectually to help him work toward goodness, or at least neutrality.
Some incarnations of Hank Pym actually have "villain rehab" as part of their mission statement. So that's one possibility. I guess Reed Richards or Mr. Terrific would be others.
I can actually see Mr Terrific doing a really good job of actively trying to reform supervillains. My I suggest that we actually set Mr Terrific up as a street-level hero? Rehabilitating street-level villains before Superman asks him to try rehabiliatating a major supervillain like Lex. Of course being a street-level superhero, Lex would of course try to take advantage of him until he learns just how intelligent Terrific is.
Theres sex and death and human grime in monochrome for one thin dime and at least the trains all run on time but they dont go anywhere.Why would Lex Luthor - a non-powered genius businessman - be on the Suicide Squad? Maybe he could be tasked with providing and maintaining equipment. But as an actual member of the team? Why? On the average mission, having someone with minimal combat training would be a major liability.
As far as Marvel villains who could be part of the Suicide Squad: Mr. Hyde seems like a good choice. The Shocker, perhaps. I think I like the idea of Unus the Untouchable being one of the original members, acting cockily on missions, confident in his invulnerability, until getting killed on maybe their third mission. Maybe Sabretooth, at some point, who sticks around for a little while, enjoying killing people and fucking with the heads of his handlers, until he eventually gets board and breaks loose, sparing Waller because he appreciates her ruthlessness.
X-Men X-Pert, my blog where I talk about X-Men comics.But if we're going with businessman Luthor - a man who works behind the scenes - then he's not likely to have much experience using power armour. And his brains would actually make him a liability to an organization like Suicide Squad. If anyone could figure out how to deactivate an explosive collar, it would be Luthor. He would be too smart to be trusted. He's not going to be happy about being sent on dangerous missions that have no real benefit for him. Who knows the damage he could wind up doing?
Having someone on the squad who's intelligent is a calculated risk. Having one of the smartest men alive on the squad is a disaster waiting to happen. Waller needs to be in control, but Luthor would never let her control him.
I honestly don't see Luthor being put as an actual member of the Suicide Squad.
X-Men X-Pert, my blog where I talk about X-Men comics.Yeah, I kinda see him him as the Point Man of the Suicide Squad. The guy in the ear piece telling the other guys in the squad what to do and unfortunately having to answer to Waller.
Theres sex and death and human grime in monochrome for one thin dime and at least the trains all run on time but they dont go anywhere.![]()
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...You have a point. Still, that doesn't mean he can't be somewhat redeemed; thinking about it, Hank Pym is probably a good choice for Luthor. Like Lex, he's both supersmart, and has made some regrettable choices in his past. If anyone can go toe-to-toe with Luthor, while also trying to rehabilitate him, it would be Hank.
EDIT:
Though that could also work. A step towards his greater redemption.
edited 1st Dec '13 5:46:37 PM by kkhohoho
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He would wait only as long as it benefited him, and that's unlikely to be very long. And Waller would be aware that he would turn it around to his own benefit, and more important, she would be smart enough to know that he could do it. She would know that Luthor could walk away any time he wanted, and there would be nothing she, or anyone else, could do to stop it.
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But he wouldn't answer to her. Not if he didn't feel like it. That's the thing: Waller would never be able to control Luthor. And for something like Suicide Squad to work, she needs to be in control. She can't afford to have someone like Luthor on the team. He's too smart. She would always be wondering when he was going to betray her, and how completely and utterly fucked she would be when he did.
Sure, he could be redeemed. But Suicide Squad wouldn't be the way to do that.
Edit: So, here's what I would suggest. Luthor would hate Tony Stark. Just absolutely hate him. Luthor would be a Self-Made Man, starting with nothing and becoming one of the wealthiest men in the world based on his hard work, genius and ruthlessness. Stark, on the other hand, would've inherited Stark Industries. Luthor would hate that Stark was handed everything on a silver platter. That would be why Luthor sets out to destroy Stark.
And he does it. He crushes Stark. He renders Stark a broken shell of a man. And Stark remains broken for months.
And then, he starts to climb out of the pit that Luthor cast him into. He starts over, and starts building his company back up again. He starts to prove that he could've done what Luthor did. And he actually starts to earn Luthor's respect. So when the two have a final, climactic confrontation, Stark makes Luthor realize how empty his life is.
This leads to the beginning of Luthor's redemption. Which should have nothing to do with Suicide Squad, because sending him off to kill people is not the way to redeem him.
edited 1st Dec '13 5:56:49 PM by Tiamatty
X-Men X-Pert, my blog where I talk about X-Men comics.![]()
I like it. It does have potential... and would help tie Superman to a major Crossover Crisis threat.
Again, the idea needs fleshing out.
Edit: Would that destroy the Kryptonite though? Galactus eats the entire planet...right? Or does the Kryptonite give him indigestion? (A funny thought.)
I think so.
edited 1st Dec '13 6:11:40 PM by Durzan
Peace out scrubs.- Clark Kent was inspired by Captain Steve Rogers' exploits during WWII to use his powers responsibly as Superman
- Steve Rogers had a romantic relationship during WWII with Hippolyte, Queen of Themyscira. Hippolyte was this universes' first Wonder Woman. Unbeknownst to Steve, Hippolyte bore his child, Diana, who became the second Wonder Woman and Themyscira's Ambassador to Man's World.
- Checkmate was created during WWII by the Allied forces. During the Cold War, Checkmate was repurposed into S.H.I.E.L.D, a metahuman watchdog, which is currently directed by Nick Fury.
- Similarly, the Strategic Scientific Reserve was absorbed into S.H.I.E.L.D and rechristened Cadmus. Today Cadmus acts as a S.H.I.E.L.D operated thinktank where the brightest minds can use their combined intelligence for the betterment of mankind.
- Superman is on friendly terms and deeply respects Professor Charles Xavier and his X-Men organisation.
- Mutant culture is torn into two factions: the relatively normal looking mutants and the obviously deformed and freakish.
- Atlantis is currently in the middle of a Civil War. Two factions have emerged from the conflict; those who follow Namor, the Submariner and those who follow Arthur, the Aquaman.
- The planet Krypton was destroyed by the world-eater, Galactus.
- The Earth is protected from Magical threats through the efforts of the Supreme Sorcerer and Protector of Earth. In this day the positions are filled by Dr Stephen Strange and Billy Batson, both of whom answer to Shazam, the great wizard and the original Supreme Protector and Sorcerer of Earth.
- The former Sorcerer Supreme was Dr Fate. The original Protector Supreme was Teth-Adam, who after abusing his power was banished and renamed Black Adam.
- Lex Luthor was responsible for Tony Stark's downfall. It wasn't till Tony was able to climb his way back up did Lex come to respect Tony and subsequently attempted to reform himself.
edited 1st Dec '13 6:40:13 PM by AtomJames
Theres sex and death and human grime in monochrome for one thin dime and at least the trains all run on time but they dont go anywhere.
fixed
I actually have another question regarding Captain Marvel (the magic one). Was Black Adam the only Supreme Protector before Billy? Were there others or did Shazam simply not trust anyone else? If he did trust others, who would be worthy to wield his powers?
edited 1st Dec '13 6:40:32 PM by AtomJames
Theres sex and death and human grime in monochrome for one thin dime and at least the trains all run on time but they dont go anywhere.

Let's see: Luthor, at some point, gets exposed as a criminal note and sent to jail. Then he's approached by Waller (or whomever runs the Squad in this world) to join it. And while not on missions, Tony (maybe because Superman convinces him?) tries to talk with him, or something, both things gradually turn him into a slightly better person.
Who would make the rest of the squad, I mean, Deadshot is kinda obvious, since he's been there on all versions of the team except the silver age, and I think we should have a more or less even split between DC and marvel characters. (maybe Venom?)
edited 1st Dec '13 3:48:07 PM by IFwanderer
1 2 We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. -KV