DC Comics
Published Oct 12, 2026, 10:30 PM EDT
Adam has been writing in the entertainment news space for over a decade. Beginning his career of covering film and TV at CinemaBlend, he has also appeared on The Flash Podcast and done several radio spots.
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Lex Luthor has hated Superman for the majority of his existence. While there have been periods where the two have teamed up, for the most part, the bald antagonist protests the Kryptonian superhero’s presence on Earth. Relying on his exceptional intellect and massive wealth rather than any powers, Luthor has spared no effort or expense in his attempts to eliminate Superman, from acquiring Kryptonite and building his own warsuit, to hiring other villains to carry out the dirty work on his behalf.
Luthor’s hatred of Superman is multi-faceted, from him believing that relying on the benevolent extraterrestrial for help will cause humanity to become complacent and not achieve its full potential, to simply being outright jealous of how society appreciates the Last Son of Krypton more than him. Yet, despite Luthor being so fearful of Superman, it’s been confirmed there is one thing that scares the popular DC supervillain even more. This self-centered worry isn’t even tied to his longtime nemesis, but rather just a consequence of living in a world filled with “superheroes, magic, alien visitations, and interdimensional invasions.”
Lex Luthor Is Terrified Of Permanent Memory Loss
Action Comics #1103, Written By Mark Waid, Art By Patricio Delpeche, Cover Art By Chris Brunner
With the conclusion of the "Kingdom of Zod" event, Action Comics is now winding the clock back to deliver a new take on Lex Luthor’s origin story. The preview for Action Comics #1103, a.k.a. Part 1 of the "Lex Luthor: Year One" arc, opens with him in present-day Metropolis reflecting on all he’s accomplished as a “science, tycoon, billionaire,” and even President of the United States. The one role of his he’s not fond of is “amnesiac,” with the character noting that he’s had his memories stolen from him multiple times.
Luthor considers memory manipulation to be “as much a personal violation as the presence of a certain caped alien taking up residence” in Metropolis. Even though Luthor has returned to his old self eventually in these instances, he’s of the egotistical opinion that “the consequence of the world permanently losing any part of Lex Luthor’s mind” would be “ruinous.” As such, he’s decided to fully record his history for both preservation and so that “future generations” can study his life story. That’s more important to him than even ridding the world of Superman.
Lex Luthor: Year One Is Going Back To The Superboy Days
DC ComicsWhile some versions of Superman’s origin story don’t have him meeting Luthor until he moves to Metropolis as an adult, the current main DC canon has reverted to the two of them being friends when they were teenagers in Smallville. "Lex Luthor: Year One" will comprise six issues of Action Comics. The solicitation for #1104 states that Luthor starts becoming close with Clark Kent, though that may not be enough to put him on “the straight and narrow.” Then in #1105, a suspicious Jonathan Kent, i.e. Clark's father, "takes an unexpected action" to shut Luthor down.
Meanwhile, in the present day, Luthor remains more aligned with Superman rather than against him, though this is a more begrudging alliance compared to the last several years. That period also included one of his memory losses, which happened at the end of the “House of Brainiac” story arc. Lex Luthor is one of the former supervillains who was recruited into the Justice League Unlimited following the events of the DC K.O. event. He previously served on the superhero team during the latter half of Geoff Johns’ Justice League run during the New 52 era.
Action Comics #1103 will be released Wednesday, October 14 by DC Comics.
Comic Superman (2023)
English (US) ·