TITLE: Lex Luthor: Man of Steel
AUTHOR: Brian Azzarello
ARTIST: Lee Bermejo
COLLECTS: Lex Luthor: Man of Steel #1-5
FORMAT: Hardcover
PUBLISHER: DC Comics
PRICE: $19.99
WILL BE RE-RELEASED AS: Luthor on October 20

“Hey Bob!”
“Yeah Tom?”
“Remember when we put out that Joker graphic novel last year?”
“Why yes, yes I do.”
“We should do something like that again!”
“You’re right! Hey, let’s do one about Lex Luthor! We could call it Luthor. Keep the whole two-syllable thing going.”
“But Bob, Azzarello and Bermejo did do a Lex Luthor book!”
“You’re kidding me…”
“It was called Lex Luthor: Man of Steel. We put it out in 2005!”
“Well by George, there it is! We’ll re-distribute that book, up the price, throw in some needless special features like they did on the Watchmen DVD, and people will think its an entirely different book!”
“But Bob, don’t you think the fans will notice?”
“Pffft. Are you kidding me? They’ll never know…”

Cheeky monkeys.

Obviously, we here at Primary Ignition don’t often review content as old as Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo’s Lex Luthor story. But if DC can slap a few extra bells and whistles on it, and redistribute it so it can ride the momentum from the Azzarello/Bermejo Joker book, then what the hell, why not?

Though I’m poking fun at the re-release, the book is actually very good. I actually prefer it to Joker, if for no other reason than I hated the latter’s ending. But the tone of Lex Luthor: Man of Steel is very different. In Joker, there was no questioning the fact that our main character was a bad guy. It was very black and white. Luthor has some gray in it. It starts to disappear as the story goes on. But still, it’s there.

Page 18. Image from thmazing.blogspot.com

Azzarello’s Lex Luthor sees Superman as a false God-figure to the people of Earth, with an unearned arrogance and bravado. Using his vast resources he creates a replacement for Superman, aptly named Hope. He sets up Toyman (who in Azzarello’s world is a pedophile), to be murdered by Hope in a grand fashion so the public will accept her. This of course, is something Superman cannot allow to happen.

Fans of Joker will likely enjoy the appearance by the Azzarello/Bermejo Batman in this book. The interesting thing is that to an extent, Luthor and Batman feel the same way toward Superman. Azzarello does a great job portraying Luthor’s bitterness and frustration toward Superman, and Batman shares a bit of that. There’s a scene where Batman has some Kryptonite that Luthor gave to Bruce Wayne, and he and Superman come to blows over it. I normally frown upon other  big-name superheroes playing so prominently into Superman stories, but in this case it goes a long way in establishing that Luthor isn’t entirely wrong to think the way he does.

Fans who liked Bermejo’s art in Joker can expect more of the same, and that’s a good thing. His work with color is amazing. The Superman/Batman confrontation is intercut with a dialogue between Luthor and Bruce Wayne. The fight is tinted a reddish-orange to convey the intensity of the moment, while the Luthor/Bruce scene is tinted a cool blue to portray the relaxed atmosphere. He’s great with facial close-ups too. It’s beautiful work.

Lex doesn’t completely come up roses, though. He’s a man with a vision, an ideal. And they’re both completely worthwhile. But as always, his means don’t justify his end. And it’s those means that make him a villain. He either doesn’t understand that, or doesn’t believe it to be true. In that sense, the book is actually very tragic.

The great thing about Lex Luthor: Man of Steel compared to Joker, is they’re two very different stories, about two very different characters. They didn’t recycle the same formula. Shortly after Joker‘s release, Wizard Magazine encouraged Azzarello and Bermejo to more of these villain-based books. Personally, I wouldn’t be opposed to that at all.

RATING: 8/10

Front page image from dccomics.com