DCnU Action Comics #1

[BBally81]

Tilting at windmills for 15 years is exactly what happens when you have a superhero go up against a well-connected tycoon. Byrne and Wolfman wrote themselves into a corner when they revamped Luthor into a carbon copy of the Kingpin. Evidence doesn't stick, witnesses disappear, and they control their image through the media. There is no easy way to take a villain like that out unless you want Superman to either kill him or lock him away in the Phantom Zone. Otherwise, you're in for the long haul. Just look at how long it took for the FBI to take down John Gotti and for Elliot Ness to take down Al Capone.

To be honest, I prefer "business man" Luthor over evil scientist Luthor but I love it when they do combine both worlds like in the Bruce Timm DC Animated shows, he's a business tycon who happens to be a scientific genius. Of course they did that in the comics as well but I think the one that truly captured that feel for me was of course Superman Adventures, the comic tie in to the animated series and Paul Cornell's run on Action Comics, which is being collected in Superman: The Black Ring paperback.

Of course I'm not saying I have no love for evil scientist Luthor, I'm a big fan of the Eiliot S! Maggin stories from the Bronze Age that gave Lex a bit more dimension to his character, also Jerry Siegel used to write a very menacing Luthor who felt like a real threat to the world. It's just that when I read Geoff Johns attempt at bringing back that type of the character, it just felt bland (add to the fact, Johns had the tendency to push the whole "tolerance" angle by having Lex become a alien-hater) and the Silver Age, while not as bad, doesn't feel that threatening infact, young Lex from the Pre-Crisis Superboy stories felt more like a threatening villain to me than Silver Age adult Lex.

[superboy]

I'm a bit in the middle for this.  Buisness man lex luthor is a creative idea, but just sounds like Al Capone going around saying " I'm a legimate buisness man!. Evil genius luthor is a bit unrealistic, but they can actually do things unlike superman telling Lex off bevause " he can't prove anything". I think the fact that he's a villian means he need's to be a outlaw.

[BBally81]

Which is why I like it when they combine both elements of the character like in the animated series.

[India Ink]

For me it's more about Luthor's personality and less about his career path.

I like a Luthor who has some heroic aspects and a potential for good, but who is flawed. He may do bad things, but he's not a totally evil character.

What I didn't like like about business Luthor was his potential for evil. He just seemed so cruel and unfeeling that I couldn't have any sympathy for him. But sometimes the scientist Luthor is the same way.

Really, it comes down to the philosophy of the writers. Some writers believe in the humanity of all characters and try to show that and some writers try to create these villains who are horrible, horrible people.

And readers are also divided. Some readers want all villains to be sadistic, evil, terrible people--and they think that's good.

Myself, I can only take so much of that. Maybe Darkseid can be like that, but I prefer villains that have humanity in them. But it's funny, John Byrne seemed to give more humanity to Darkseid (in Jack Kirby's Fourth World) than what he allowed to Luthor.

[Kal Kent 853]

Yes, that's true. I remember reading a comic where superboy goes back in time to prevent the assasination of abraham lincon but meets adult luthor who is hiding in the past to escape from superman and stops superboy. With learning superboy was not there to stop him, but to save abraham lincon, luthor get's upset claiming abraham lincon was a great man, and he had nothing against him.I think luthor then was a more human kind of guy. John Byrne accidentally made Lex Luthor more like mad scientist golden age luthor.

[carmine]

ya strangely enough pre-crisis  Lex was a more well rounded character then he was post-crisis despite all the claims of making the comics more "mature"

Post-Crisis Lex was more of an evil banker from a 3 stooges short.