This week marked Superman’s birthday, and various Lex Luthor actors have united to troll the Man of Steel on his special day. In all of American fiction, few characters are as legendary, mythic, and downright iconic as Superman, the “Man of Tomorrow.” Created in 1938 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Superman has stood as the ultimate figure of Americana for nearly 80 years. This “strange visitor from another planet who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men” has fought for “Truth, justice, and the American way” for generations, and is arguably one of the most recognizable figures in pop culture.
These days, Superman is best known for his television and cinematic appearances, from George Reeves’ storied 1950s portrayal of the character on television to the grandiose big screen adventures of Christopher Reeeve, Brandon Routh, and Henry Cavill. Most recently, Tyler Hoechlin played the Man of Steel in Supergirl and the various Arrowverse crossover events, as well as the upcoming series, Superman and Lois.
Superman debuted in the pages of Action Comics #1, a comic book that debuted on April 18, 1938. It’s a day that changed comic book history, and the course of Americana, forever. Most versions of Superman have gone up against Lex Luthor, a sociopathic businessman whose hatred of aliens like Superman drove him towards heinous acts of evil, and on Superman’s “birthday,” various actors who have played the dastardly villain have united to disparage the hero of Metropolis. Twitter user Tim Price collected multiple posts and shared them:
First, Jon Cryer retweeted a post celebrating the anniversary of Action Comics #1 with the tongue-in-cheek comment, “He’s not so great.” Cryer recently played Lex Luthor in Season 4 of Supergirl, as well as the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event. Cryer’s tweet was seen by Smallville actor Michael Rosenbaum, who played Luthor for seven seasons on the hit series. The Inside of You Podcast host replied with the sassy comment, “Agreed. In fact… Quite a d*ck.” Finally, Clancy Brown, who has voiced the character in multiple animated television shows, retweeted Cryer’s message with his own snarky comment, “Seconded.”
Of course, this whole exchange is nothing more than a bit of fun between various actors known for playing Lex Luthor across various forms of media. Gene Hackman isn’t on Twitter, but it would be fun to imagine him embracing his Lex Luthor character one more time just to have a little fun at Superman’s expense. Then again, perhaps it’s a blessing that Kevin Spacey, who played Luthor in Superman Returns, hasn’t made one of his weird little viral videos like those in which he apparently reprises his House of Cards character, Frank Underwood. That would tarnish this friendly “gathering of the Luthors.”
Michael Rosenbaum famously declined to appear in Crisis on Infinite Earths, but in the Arrowverse, there’s always the possibility they could find a way to incorporate a Lex Luthor alliance, bringing in all the different actors to reprise their roles in an effort to take down Superman and his allies. It’s hard to imagine such an event being enough to bring Gene Hackman out of retirement, but it’s fun to dream about the possibilities.
