Superman and Lex Luthor Enter a Fight to the Death in DC’s Future

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Future State: Superman vs. Imperious Lex #1.

In the latest edition of DC’s Future State, Lex Luthor confronts Superman upon the Man of Steel’s arrival to Lex’s new home, planet Lexor. Lex has been living as far away from Earth as possible, traveling to the edge of the galaxy to start anew. Lex rules Lexor far out of the reach of Superman, or so it would seem. Superman had been searching the systems in the outer rim, looking for solutions to Earth’s energy problems. In his search, he stumbles upon a group of looter robots called the Reticulants. Using his investigative skills, Clark realizes that it was Lex Luthor who sent them.

As the Man of Steel arrives on Lexor, he realizes that the planet revolves around a red sun. Superman’s powers are derived from yellow sunlight. Exposure to red sunlight, like that of Krypton’s sun, will leave him powerless in no time. With his powers dwindling, Clark acts fast and tries to get through to the citizens of Lexor. But not before an angry Lex Luthor races towards the weakened superhero, beginning a fight that is way too much of a close call for Superman. The furious words screamed at Superman’s face as they meet again is not at all unfamiliar, as Lex has always wanted to rid the world of Superman. In Future State, he desperately wants to keep his home Superman-free.

Lex chose Lexor as his home for a specific reason. The planet orbits around a red sun, which theoretically means if Superman were to come, Lex would have the upper hand. This is what happens in Future State: Superman vs. Imperious Lex #1, written by Mark Russell with art by Steve Pugh. Superman becomes instantly weak, noting in his narration “the red sun was having more of an effect than I anticipated.” The blows the Man of Steel takes from Lex’s warsuit are immense, he barely makes it out alive. As he flees the planet, Lex exclaims that their fight “is a fight to the death” and promises that if he ever gets his hands on Superman or his family he will kill them.

During their fight, Superman realizes that Lex is what his father called a “clutching” man, someone who has never held onto anything and that such a man is worth nothing. Such thoughts come after Clark begins to feel the pain inflicted on him, noting that his life could slip away at any moment. This moment of rare weakness shows that Superman is stronger than Lex, even with the physical playing field balanced. It is Superman’s will that pushes him through and, ultimately, saves his life. Utilizing the last fragments of his super strength, the Man of Steel cripples Lex’s warsuit and flies away.

It appears that all the rage Lex has for Superman made him finally snap in this potential future. Even with Lex hiding out in far depths of the outer rim, on a planet that orbits a red sun, it seems clear that Superman will always have the upper hand on his archnemesis. It seems pretty clear that Lex’s efforts to escape Superman’s justice are futile. The two will always continue to fight as Superman’s sense of justice will never let Lex be. But the big question for the next issue is when they meet again, will Lex Luthor end up killing Superman?

About The Author

Ben Rolph
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Ben Rolph is a Comics features writer for Screen Rant. Based out of London, United Kingdom, Ben owns and runs an Arrowverse YouTube channel called ‘TheDCTVshow’, as well as being a film critic at DiscussingFilm. He is also a Tomatometer-approved critic and studies film at the University of Westminster.

Ben has a passion for the Arrowverse shows, especially The Flash and Supergirl, which he has watched and analysed for years.

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