Why Lex Luthor Was Never The Villain In Superman Returns

When more closely examining the film’s context, Lex Luthor was never the true villain of Superman Returns. Bryan Singer’s 2006 film Superman Returns cast Brandon Routh as the Man of Steel, marking the character’s first live-action cinematic outing since Christopher Reeve’s Superman IV: The Quest for Peace in 1987. Narratively, Superman Returns picked up where Superman II left off, ignoring the events of Superman III and The Quest for Peace.

The film’s story sees the hero return to Earth after an absence of five years. Upon his return, he uncovers Lex Luthor’s plan to grow a new landmass using stolen Kryptonian crystals. While Superman Returns‘ place in the Man of Steel’s movie canon isn’t made entirely clear by the film, it does feature a version of his arch-enemy Lex Luthor that’s at once evil and not entirely wrong.

Luthor’s plan to grow a new landmass might risk millions of lives, but it ultimately stems from a (relatively) good intention. However, his plan only comes about due to Superman’s initial appearance on Earth, as well as his subsequent disappearance. The combination of those factors actually makes Luthor less of a villain in Superman Returns than the film depicts him to be.

While Luthor’s plan seemingly stems from his desire to be rich and powerful, he intends to do so by exploiting a global need for more land. Kevin Spacey’s Lex Luthor might be endangering a great many lives by executing his plan, but the basis of it is essentially sound, and could potentially solve major global issues. However, his desire to use the Kryptonian crystals to do so indicates that he’s not the film’s true villain.

It’s well-established in Superman canon that Krypton’s technology was ultimately too advanced for its own good, and sending so many crystals to Earth with Kal-El was ill-advised. However, Luthor’s plan to exploit that technology stems from Superman’s own lack of foresight—he would have known of the crystals’ power, but he still left Earth for years without warning, making it possible for Luthor to maneuver his way into stealing them. This effectively makes Superman and his fellow Kryptonians responsible for Luthor’s ability to exploit the crystals to his own ends—something that he was only doing to solve a global need (and get rich).

Ultimately, Lex Luthor’s status as a villain is intrinsically linked to his rivalry and jealousy of Superman’s power. However, all too often, Luthor has a point. Superman is, after all, an alien presence that mankind has come to rely on, and seeking to use some Kryptonian power to further his own ends isn’t entirely unreasonable. It’s in the execution that Luthor really acts like a villain, which is actually a relatively small distinction – in Superman Returns, at least, Superman was as much to blame for Luthor’s plan as anyone.