One of Lex Luthor’s evilest schemes involved turning teens into super-soldiers—all in a bid to stop Superman. Ever since Superman made his public debut in Metropolis, Luthor has sought ways to bring him down and in 1987’s Adventures of Superman #433 he unleashed his most ghastly one to date: turning troubled teens, without their consent, into super-soldiers; furthermore, one of them was Perry White’s son, Jerry!
When DC reorganized their continuity in the wake of the Crisis on Infinite Earths, it tapped writer/artist John Byrne to bring Superman into the modern era. Along with collaborators Marv Wolfman and Jerry Ordway, Byrne gave readers a new vision of the Man of Steel, as well as his allies and villains. Lex Luthor, Superman’s greatest nemesis, was likewise remade for the 1980s: he was turned from a mere crook into a billionaire tycoon, who controlled Metropolis–until Superman arrived in the city. Luthor attempted to buy Superman’s services, but when Superman refused, Luthor swore revenge. Unable to handle Superman stealing his thunder, Luthor sought ways to kill him, using the (at the time) only chunk of Kryptonite on Earth, but all these schemes fell through. Undeterred, Luthor unveiled his most disturbing plan yet to kill the Man of Steel: Project Synapse.
The story, by Marv Wolfman and illustrated by Jerry Ordway, titled “A Tragedy in Five Acts,” opens with Jimmy Olsen caught in the middle of a hold-up at a convenience store. Jimmy chases the criminals, who are wearing masks, on his motorcycle. Catching up with them, he manages to unmask one of them–only to find that it’s his best friend Jerry White, the son of Daily Planet editor Perry White. Jimmy reluctantly lets his friend get away. Meanwhile, Lois Lane, working on a story about the rise of teen gangs in Metropolis, traces a source to the apartment of Jose Delgado, the Gangbuster. Delgado was trying to help Jerry, but Jerry ran away. Eventually, Jerry finds himself in prison, where he is savagely beaten by his fellow inmates. At issue’s end, readers learn that Jerry and the other teen gang members were victims of Project Synapse, Luthor’s latest plan to kill Superman. Luthor took 100 teens (38 of which were taken by force) and subjected them to adrenaline stimulation. 58 of the participants indeed exhibited enhanced abilities, but died within minutes. Only two survive the process, and Luthor watches them engage in a bloody fist fight on camera. Luthor concludes Project Synapse was a success.
Lex Luthor Will Do Whatever It Takes to Kill Superman.
Over the years, Lex Luthor has concocted many schemes to kill Superman, but Project Synapse ranks as the most vile. Under the guise of charity, Luthor took 100 teenagers, and subjected them to horrifying medical experiments–and killed over half of them in the process. Those who did survive are now, for all intent and purposes, slaves of Luthor, super soldiers he can use against the Man of Steel. This alone is bad enough, but what truly makes this plan insidious is none of the participants had a say in it; some of them were coerced into taking the injections. Such a move shows the blatant disregard for human life Luthor has, and it also shows the horrifying lengths he would go to crush Superman.
Lex Luthor has had it in for Superman for years. He views the Man of Steel as a threat to his control of Metropolis–rightfully so. Luthor knows in a test of power, Superman would crush him; at the same time, Lex Luthor also knows that Superman works within the law–meaning he will not kill Luthor. This gives Lex Luthor carte blanche to create schemes to kill Superman and his most disturbing one involved turning teens into super-soldiers.
