Warning! Spoilers ahead for Future State: Superman vs Imperious Lex #3!
As a beacon of hope, Superman has always endeavored to ensure that mankind will achieve greatness by becoming the best version of themselves, but Lex Luthor just proved he was to hold out this naive hope. Superman comes to this horrid realization when an oppressed people who have been suffering under Lex’s dictatorship see Luthor’s true, evil nature. But instead of striving for better lives, they choose to remain subjugated instead.
In this bleak future seen in Future State: Superman vs Imperious Lex #3, written by Mark Russell with art by Steve Pugh, Lex has finally achieved his life-long dream of attaining ultimate power, becoming the ruler of an entire planet. His people perpetually shower him with praise and believe every word he says, all while hailing him as “the great benefactor.” Regardless of how bad things truly are under his dominion, Lex has successfully manipulated his people to convince them otherwise by replacing the cold-hard facts with positive falsehoods that they accept wholeheartedly. According to Lex, there will always be a time when they were all worse off than they are now. Convincing his subjugates of this lie is all it takes for him to maintain control over them.
When visiting his planet of Lexor, both Superman and Lois Lane try desperately to convince Lex’s people of their plight by telling them they can live a better life, but all of their attempts fall on deaf ears. It is only by an ironic twist of fate that they come to accept the truth when Lex’s massive plundering robots are mistakenly reprogrammed to loot and attack his own planet. When Superman comes to the rescue, Lex’s people soon realize that the robots belong to their benefactor and that Superman is there to save them, resulting in them turning on their oppressive ruler.
Leading up to this, Lex had momentarily joined the Federation of Planets for financial support and then quickly left when he learned his planet was rich with expensive minerals. But when Superman makes Lex’s newfound resource obsolete, his world falls to ruin, devastating his economy further. As a result, Superman expects refugees to come swarming in for protection. But they never come. Despite knowing they can live better lives, Lex convinces his people to stay with him even as the average income plummets and they live off canned slime.
What’s worse than Lex Luthor’s people needing to be convinced to embrace an obvious reality is that Superman learns that he was wrong and Lex was right. Of course, Superman doesn’t admit this outright, but the strategy he concocts to overthrow Lex after his people don’t leave on their own volition proves he understands. Mankind will not always endeavor to become better versions of themselves as Superman hopes, but, instead, can be manipulated enough to live in a world of fiction under the thumb of Lex Luthor. With as dark as Future State is, it’s almost chilling that DC chose to make this the final story in the months-long series, considering it proves that the Man of Steel was mistaken in believing humankind would naturally strive for greatness.
