Top 100 Batman VILLAINS

8 - Lex Luthor

#8 - Lex Luthor
First Appearance: Action Comics #23 (Apr 1940)

"I'm never going to fit in here, am I?" ~Lex Luthor

Batman has a number of possible archenemies. Bruce Wayne? He really only has one.

Lex Luthor.

When you think about it, and even ignoring their countless run-ins in World's Finest, Superman/Batman and the Justice League, it was inevitable that these two would eventually butt heads in a big, spectacular way. After all, LexCorp and Wayne Industries are the two largest commercial conglomerates in the world; if you don't think that there's going to be a little corporate espionage going on, you're more naive than Jason Todd in dark warehouse. In the last thirty years or so, Luthor and Wayne have had a really great rivalry revolving around dominance in both the financial sector and over control of Gotham's commercial enterprises, and for me that has provided so many more unique and fresh stories than the vast majority of the characters on this list.

The aspect of capitalism that drives Luthor in Batman stories makes him honestly one of the lightest of Batman's villains, which is a welcome relief. Luthor's machinations always revolve around a barely legal/barely illegal gray area where documents are burned, buildings are demolished and industrial secrets are exposed; but it's never on the level of murderous mayhem that most Bat villains operate, which makes the type of cases Batman deals have a new variety. In fact, the biggest storylines these days seem to bring Batman and Lex together. No Man's Land's climax is all about Luthor attempting to wrest dominance from Wayne in the decimated Gotham by rebuilding it; only Lex can take a noble endeavor of unimaginable charity and turn it into a despicable act of selfishness. Then there's the entire Bruce Wayne: Murderer/Fugitive arc that... well, let's just say Lex plays a key role there and leave it at that.

Of course, Lex isn't only a Bat villain, but it seems that recently Lex's tangles with Bat or Bat-related teams has ultimately resulted in some major tangles between the two icons, some of which I have to say really make me happy to be a diehard DC fan; people often dismiss Lex as overused, but when it comes to the Batman mythos, Lex is still one of the guys that brings a great momentum and excitement to the series. He really stirs up that pot and makes himself invaluable to the franchise of the Dark Knight.

Greatest Lex Luthor Stories Ever Told in Batman Titles:
1. No Man's Land - You just can't top Lex's role in that final act. Never before have we seen something quite like Lex's attempt at domination in Gotham, and I bet we'll never see it again. It was truly a unique story that found a way to highlight Lex's personality and ambition in a way that we shockingly had never seen before. Brilliant work from all the Bat-writers on that one.

2. Batman: Fugitive/Batman: Murderer - A brilliant way to follow up the clash of the titans in No Man's Land, Luthor rains vengeance down on Bruce Wayne (not knowing he's Batman) after Wayne cancels all government contracts with Luthor's administration. A perfect, shining example of how Luthor can pull strings in a way even the Joker dreams of.

3. Lord of the Ring - A final follow-up in the Lex-Bats saga while Lex is still president. Lex's kryptonite ring has always been a major piece of Superman lore... can Bruce Wayne wrestle it from Luthor's grip? Can Batman? Great story that also brings in both the Man of Steel's and the Dark Knight's love interests at the time and shows just how awesome Luthor can be.