trekie140
Since: Mar, 2013
08/18/2015 00:00:00
I actually prefer Luthor when his ultimate motivation is hatred of Superman. Luthor could choose to work with Superman to do good, but doesn't because, "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. The end of our potential. The end of our achievements. The end of our dreams. You are my nightmare." His paranoia about Superman going rogue is just a rationalization for the fact that Superman contradicts everything Luthor believes finds him offensive to his view of human nature.
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An Amazing Fic - except for the end
If you are reading this page and expect there to be no spoilers, then you've made an irresponsible choice, my friend. There are spoilers in this review.
We will begin with praise. This is the single best interpretation of Lex Luthor I've ever come in contact with. Every future representation of Lex should take inspiration from this one. Megalomaniac Lex, the one whose sole motivation is jealousy of Superman or who does it For the Evulz is not anywhere near as interesting as the rational yet still slightly deranged Lex we find in The Metropolitan Man. I loved the slow, methodical plans and the careful exploitation of Superman's weaknesses. I loved the believable motive. As all great villain stories should, I found myself agreeing with and sympathizing with Lex on several points. Unlike the Joker, Lex is a massively intelligent, charismatic and resourceful person capable of manipulating other intelligent characters (less intelligent than him, but still intelligent) and should be portrayed as such. He needs to be a villain capable of going toe-to-toe with the Man of Steel, which requires all of the traits given to him here. An astonishing and exciting take on a classic villain.
Hated the ending. I felt that the fic's Superman revealed himself as being smart enough to go toe-to-toe with Luthor, but then made a stupid mistake by not taking into account unknown variables. To say that he contemplated his earlier murder over three relative days in the span of less than a second and then say that he wouldn't be able to solve Luthor's final gambit is, to me, contradictory. I don't think that Clark's portrayal is accurate here - neither his startling intelligence nor the wisdom of his goodness. Idealism is not just kid's stuff.
To that point, and to be more honest, I just hated seeing the villain win. Luthor revealed himself as a villain when he turned down Superman's offer, which was entirely reasonable from Lex's rational point of view. Lois pointed this out to him and Lex realized it himself, but it was terrible for him not to get his comeuppance. As the fic stands, it looks like the author approves of Lex. Which I find distasteful.
How to fix it? Not sure. A bad ending certainly makes you think, which I guess is the point of a Rational Fic, but I believe that a good ending might have been just as instructive.