Superman: They Saved Luthor's Brain!

Superman Post-Crisis #19

by Roger Stern, John Byrne, Bob McLeod (Illustrator)

The story of the twisted scientific resurrection of Superman's most formidable enemy.

After a cancer-ridden Lex Luthor dies in a fiery plane crash, a charismatic and young heir suddenly appears to take over the bald megalomaniac's empire. Sporting a full head of vibrant red hair and a thick, authentic Australian accent, Lex Luthor II uses his charm and personality to win the trust of Superman and the affections of Supergirl. But as the city of Metropolis embraces its new son, little do they know that their celebrated savior is in reality a recently cloned body possessing the brain and will of the original Lex Luthor.

Collecting stories from Man of Steel #4, Superman #2, 19, and 21 , and Action Comics #600, 660, 668, 670-73, and 676-678 .

Written by John Byrne and Roger Stern, and illustrated by Byrne, Jackson Guice, Dick Giordano, Kieron Dwyer, and Bob McLeod.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Superman, Superheroes, Fiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1992

About the author

Roger Stern is an American comic book author and novelist.

Reviews

[John Yelverton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite being saddled with bad writing for years, this book was quite enjoyable to read.

[Printable Tire]

What a let down. I read this to get some closure from the one thing left hanging at the end of "Death and Life of Superman," namely Lex Luthor II still being around. Little did I know this graphic compilation precedes the "Death and Life" storyline and deals with Luthor transplanting his brain into his "son" - which itself remains a "secret" until the last part, even though it's obvious from the title.

Instead of giving us actual comic books, this collection cuts-and-pastes only the pages from 1988-1993 dealing with Luthor's brain transformation- meaning a great many stories/plots are cut completely out, and it all gets very confusing and anticlimactic. The whole thing feels more like a dream sequence or a recap from the last season of a tv show than any coherent narrative.

It was nice reading John Byrne's character study of Luthor. Here, Luthor appears as an evil Daddy Warbucks, womanizing and completely megalomaniacal, who refuses to believe (even when a computer gives him irrefutable proof) that Clark Kent is Superman simply because no man with that power would ever pretend to me a mere human, because such power is to be constantly exploited and used.

There were way too many parts of Clark and Lois being romantic and gross.

This story ends with no closure, and I feel like I just wasted my time on a forgotten plot device from the forgotten years of comics.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

I assume DC will eventually publish an omnibus of the pre-death 1992 Supes comics under this title. Gems include Supes + Aqua, Purge & post-Crisis Hellgrammite debuts, Supergirl & Brainy return, Supes v. Brainy’s ship, Brainy v. Metron, Dubbilex in the Mobius Chair, Supergirl v. Barda, Supergirl ties Flash w/ Elongated Man, Maxima avenges Brainy’s insult, Orion turns down Maxima, Supes v. Supergirl, Supes v. Deathstroke, Turpin v. Metall0, the big reveal about Luthor II, Supes v. Agent Liberty, Tim Drake v. Vampire Hunter Jimmy, Supes & Robin v. Ruthven, Ditko-ish ‘Blaze/Satanus War!’, Supes between Lords of Order & Chaos, & Supes joins the Forever People

[Zachary King · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a sucker for the Triangle Era of Superman titles, and this volume fills in a gap in my collection by exploring how it came to be that Lex Luthor was replaced by his "son" Lex II. The cut-and-paste nature of this collection can be a little jarring, but the storytelling is crisp and classical.

[Dallas Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of really clever additions added to the Post-Crisis Superman continuity here!

If you find Lex remotely interesting, this book is very much for you!
Brilliant set up of everything that follows after!

[M Zhou · Rating 5 out of 5]

this one was a lot of fun! (though i will never not feel immense discomfort at matrix and lex luthor’s relationship.)

[Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to ask you, is it humanly possible to have a cooler name than that? When I saw this baby on Ebay I just had to have it. It's as cool (in my usual dorky sense) in person as it is in this picture.

For some reason I love Superman. I was never into superheroes and comics until my late twenties, which is a bit unusual, but there you go. To me the man of steel is likely the best of them all, but I have to say I'm definitely biased since my guilty pleasure is the drama-laden Smallville. For another insane reason I love comic book covers and cartoonish book jackets. Of course posters work here as well. To have a blown up print of this one would be orgasmic, if only to see people look at me even more strangely than they already do when they walk into my apartment.

Anyway, my favorite theme of Superman is his rivalry with Lex Luthor, the greatest 'criminal mind of our generation.' Here Lex is as determined as ever to destroy the Kryptonian savior, intent of once again becoming Metropolis' favorite son. His latest scheme of wearing a Kryptonite ring backfires, however, as it turns out the green meteor rock is not harmless to either. After losing his hand and learning he has a mere year to live, Luthor appears to commit suicide by diving his plane into a mountain.

It's interesting to witness Superman's reaction to everyone's adoration of Luthor and their reaction to his 'death,' a bit similar to his reaction to Luthor becoming President in 'Lex for President.' He can never figure out why the public is constantly fooled and follows the head honcho of crime so much, just as his contender never understands how the public can embrace an alien, no matter whether he saves their lives or not. The age-old conflict between the two is a classic example of good vs. evil, sometimes in black and white as in the earlier days, but when they show true emotion on both sides (no longer just one-dimensional) things can get even more appealing for fans of the red-caped patriot.

One of the best stories (by John Byrne ) is when Lex is using a supercomputer and witty scientist to unlock the mystery of who Superman actually is. When it spits out an image of Clark Kent and a seemingly logical explanation, Luthor almost immediately balks and dismisses the machine altogether. How could someone like Clark Kent have that much power and then choose to be a reporter of all things? Unthinkable in his mind. The other three continue the trail of Luthor's hatred and envy of Kent, bringing forth "Lex Luthor II" and paving the way toward a continued rivalry.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

I pencilled Superman for DC for about two years, and this is a collection of some of my work there. I wasn't happy with the inker or colorist on the stories, so I don't think the art is anything to get excited about, but the stories are good if you like Superman comics.

[Ryan Haupt · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a collection of comics from the 90's. Theoretically this could be interesting back-matter is someone is confused why Luthor has hair in the Death of Superman story, beyond that, it's a bit silly and hasn't much affected modern continuity.

[Hillingdon Libraries]

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[Callandor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not too bad, it details the story of how Luthor engineered a clone of himself to start..."afresh" supposedly.

[Lynda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lex Luthor has always been my favorite villain. An immortal Luthor is a great idea. Poor Lex, it's too bad that he never wins in the long run.

[Nicolas · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was just a weird, kooky time in Superman's history. Matrix Supergirl, Lex Luthor II, the engagement... it made for an uneven and dull story.