Action Comics #544 (1983)
“Luthor Unleashed!”
by Cary Bates & Curt Swan
cover by Gil Kane
This issue was the 45th anniversary of Superman, and the turning point of his two biggest enemies.
Also, if you want to feel old: this year is the 43rd anniversary of this issue.
We begin with Superman having already defeated Luthor in a fight we didn’t get to see. This is such a routine that he gets distracted by a different crisis.
Although maybe, just maybe, Superman is looking for plausible deniability if Luthor ends up dying while he’s elsewhere.
But Luthor had pre-programmed a robot to bring him to a hidden spaceship.
And the ship takes him to Lexor! At this point it’s been 15 years since we last saw the place, and Luthor’s wife Ardora.
While Luthor recuperates, Superman destroys his base…
…and Luthor’s robot activates a backup plan. That will come up later.
If you wonder what Ardora has been up to in the last 15 years: she gave birth to Luthor’s son!!!
If I did a serious Superman retrospective instead of focusing on specific stories, I wonder how high the count of “Lex goes straight” would reach. Probably triple digits by now.
Despite planet Lexor discovering Luthor was a scumbag in its last appearance, now they are back to venerating Lex as their savior.
If Lex Luthor was allowed a happy ending, this would easily be the closest he could possibly achieve.
What I like about this setup is that Luthor is perfectly aware of how futile and self-destructive his hatred of Superman really is, and he’s struggling between his fixation and his chance at redemption.
But he then stumbles into a hidden laboratory from the civilization that used to inhabit Lexor, which gives him an idea.
But also, remember that satellite that Luthor’s robot activated?
It triggered the creation of a force field to trap Metropolis, and it will blow it up if Superman interferes.
In the meantime, Lex Luthor has invented a device that will prevent the planet from exploding.
He should have asked Lois Lane to borrow one.
But also, a mysterious figure is attacking Lexorian transport ships.
Who could it possibly be? There’s no way to know unless you look at the cover and/or have a functioning brain!
Could it possibly be *gasp* Lex Luthor himself?
Naah, he wouldn’t lie about this to his wife. Not after exiling his previous wife into a parallel dimension.
Superman drops by to arrest Lex. Wait, shouldn’t he be powerless on Lexor?
Wait wait wait… Superman has a special sunscreen that allows him to keep his powers under a red sun!? That sounds like a HUGE detail to casually introduce and then forget about it!!!
Also, I was under the impression that Superman lost his powers when he wasn’t around a yellow star, not that the light of a red sun would de-power him. That’s a subtle difference that wouldn’t make this solution work!
Unfortunately for Superman, the Lexorians are fanatically loyal to Lex again.
Lex takes the opportunity to put on his iconic Warsuit, in its first appearance.
Which means that yes, Luthor actually WAS the criminal attacking the spaceships.
You can’t even trust a known murderer these days.
And if you’re wondering whether we’re getting the morally dubious but ultimately redeemable Ed Hamilton Lex or the complete monster that is the Cary Bates Lex… check out his opinion of Lexor.
Lex is too busy playing with his new toy against a weakened Superman…
…that he ends up damaging his own planet-saving technology.
Which is bad.
Really, really, REALLY bad.
How will Lex Luthor save his world, his wife and his son?
He doesn’t. Lexor dies.
I don’t know Lex, I feel this is ENTIRELY on you.
No wonder the Warsuit is so iconic: it was designed by George Perez, as shown in this awesome splash page.
“Rebirth!”
by Marv Wolfman & Gil Kane
While it’s not the main focus of the review, I should also talk about the second story.
It begins with Superman dealing with a star going supernova, which we learn is being used by Brainiac to escape a space prison.
But something in the process goes wrong, turning Brainiac into pure energy.
This spreads his consciousness, first through an unnamed planet populated by machines…
…and then he goes through an acid trip across the universe.
So by the time Brainiac reintegrates himself…
…he’s now in a new completely robotic look.
He also now has an equally cool new ship.
One of the planets he attacked contacts Superman for help…
…and he eventually meets the new Brainiac.
That was just a teaser: the big battle with Brainiac will last for the following two issues, in a team-up with the New Teen Titans and the Justice League.
I initially thought about reviewing it… but it’s extremely dense, I really don’t like how Gil Kane draws them (even though I typically like him), and honestly they’re not particularly consequential.
As for Lex Luthor, he continues fighting Superman for the rest of the pre-Crisis continuity on the belief that Superman is really the one responsible for the destruction of Lexor.
He’s so far gone at this point that he also tries to replicate Lexor’s disaster on Earth.
Historical significance
Lex: 8/10
Brainiac: 6/10
The Warsuit becomes Lex’s main gimmick for the rest of this continuity, and it managed to make its way through multiple other ones as well as many adaptations.
Brainiac’s new body doesn’t last as long as you might think: it was around for only 3 years before Crisis. While it contributed to several of his future looks, I would say that his new ship with tentacles has become more iconic.
Silver Age-ness
Lex: 4/10
Brainiac: 0/10
There is enough Silver Age science for Lex, but Brainiac’s story is way too trippy.
Does it stand the test of time?
Lex: 6/10
Lex sowing the seeds of his greatest tragedy and be unable to accept his failure are both great, as is the initial setup. The problem I have with the story is the COMPLETE lack of nuance: Lex fakes his redemption a little bit, but he goes full madman way too rapidly.
Because of that, feeling bad for Lex becomes impossible (even if you forget his former crimes).
And honestly I have a hard time feeling bad for Lexor as well, because… COME ON, how many do you need to be fooled before you learn anything!?
Brainiac: N/A
Even if I did a proper review, I still have no idea what the heck happened in this story. I should’ve taken some drugs before reading it.
As Superman’s 45th anniversary, the book also includes a lengthy recap by Jerry Siegel himself on the creation of the character. Including that Lois Lane was modelled after his wife Joanne.
And that was the last review of the retrospective to focus on Lex Luthor.
Next I will cover something introduced in this period that will have a profound impact on the post-Crisis era: Superman having to fight a powerful villain who originated in the Golden Age but has been re-imagined as a beloved billionaire genius entrepreneur hiding his crimes by exploiting public opinion.
No, not the one you’re thinking about, I told you we’re done with Lex.