Superman: Secret Origin 4

      In my opinion there are two categories of villain that when done right put all others to shame. Number one on my list is the villain that does what he does just because he can, he may have his reasons, he may have no reason, and he may just want to watch the world burn. Obviously by using that line from The Dark Knight you can probably guess that I place the Joker in this category as would many others. The other category is the villain who sees themselves as the victim of some imagined slight and based on that delusion sees himself not as an evil, egotistical, maniac but as a hero sticking up for the downtrodden of which he or she counts themselves not only as one of those oppressed but as the most victimized of that group.

     The main person who I believe fits the mold of this type of villain extremely well is Lex Luthor, and this issue of Superman: Secret Origin shines a light on that view because this one is very Lex-centric.

Part 4: Parasites

  We start the is with a crowd of people gathered at the gates of LexCorp, just as they gather there every day at the same time for the hope that Lex Luthor will choose one of them and change their lives forever. Whether that’s for good or for ill we’ll see later. After watching this gathering for a few moments Lex finally makes his grand appearance and gives a speech about having risen above his humble beginnings and is now looking for someone to take to those exact heights. He of course fails to mention that he was able to do so with the insurance money from his father’s fatal car accident which happened because Lex himself cut the break lines. 

    Lex chooses Rudy Jones, the janitor of the Daily Planet that Clark Kent had met last issue. When he’s chosen Rudy cries with joy like he’s been saved from a fate worse than death. He has no idea and I’d usually say “poor sap” but considering Rudy had conned Clark out of his lunch and $20 I have a hard time feeling sorry for the schmuck. As Lex smiles and waves to the crowd he instructs his underlings to retrieve Lois Lane and Clark Kent in hopes of drawing out Superman.

   We cut to the Daily Planet as we find Lois simultaneously writing up the story and fielding questions from the rest of her coworkers.  When she and Clark get escorted by Lex Corp Security to see Lex, their strong arm methods don’t go over very well but Lois is so gung ho at getting to finally talk to Lex that she goes willingly. We cut back to Lex giving a doughnut stuffing Rudy a tour of the facility where Lex’s crack staff is going to put Rudy through several exams to test his intellect and physical fitness to mold Rudy and change him for the better.

   It’s pretty apparent from this that the idea of what the citizens of Metropolis think is going to happen is very different from what Lex wants to do. The people at the gates believe that Lex is going to make their dreams come true by giving them what they want; last issue Clark had met a police officer that was doing crowd security who said that on his days off he would go over there hoping for the chance to open an Irish Pub. Lex however is not interested in giving people what they want but what he believes the people need, he’s so arrogant to believe that he knows people better than they know themselves. Sound familiar?

     Lois and Clark are brought to Lex’s office; Lois thinks she’s going to get a chance to confront Lex on all his shady dealings which include bribery, extortion, forced relocation, and even murder. But Lex hasn’t brought them here for anything of the sort, he’s brought them to him so he can pump them for information about Superman (I should mention he hasn’t been named yet) and charge him with trespassing. So….Superman saves dozens of people from a helicopter falling from his building and he wants to press charges? Lex obviously has some big brass ones, but I also have to wonder if they’re as shiny as his head.

   In another part of Lexcorp we see Rudy Jones still stuffing his face when one of his doughnuts falls on the floor and onto some purple ooze. Using the three second rule Rudy picks it right back up and eats it, not necessarily a man of discerning taste as it gives him a lot more than indigestion as the ooze starts to mutate Rudy and gives him an insatiable appetite that drives him to start attacking people around him. Clark can hear the screamrbance and they try to get Lex to safety leaving the reporters to fend for themselves.

Am I late for the calender shoot?

   It’s too late however as Rudy bursts on the scene completely mutated into a big, bloated purple leech with a mouth that would make a sarlaak jealous. He’s become The Parasite, a long time villain of Superman who has the ability the suck out the energy of anyone he gets his mouth on. Yick! But Clark was able to slip away and in comes Superman ready to save the day as he picks Rudy up and launches him into the street. After a short fight Superman uses his icy breath to freeze the Parasite in place, Lex comes out and sees the results with his own eyes and is in total disbelief but snaps out of it when he hears someone calling the scene a miracle.

    He then calls out Superman and asks him if Big Blue expects the people to worship him for what he’s done thus far. Oh the irony is thick on this one folks. Clark is so stunned by the question he can’t even respond and is further taken aback when Lex asks if he’s even human. Superman flies off listening to the voices of the people as they not only question his motives but most of them siding with Luthor as well. Ouch.

    Superman lands on the roof of the Daily Planet bemoaning his decision to come into the open, he sees someone else on the roof and finds that it’s Jimmy Olsen also bemoaning his lot in life and considering returning home feeling that he hasn’t accomplished much of anything except finding the quickest route to get coffee and donuts to the city room without spilling a drop. Superman sympathizes with Jimmy and the two bond over their insecurities about the paths they’ve chosen. Before Superman flies off Jimmy convinces him to pose for a picture.

   In Perry White’s office, Lois turns in her story on the flying man. Perry remarks about how the story doesn’t contain any of Lois’ patented cynicism and Lois replies that she’s never felt better and you can see on her face that for the first time in a long time she’s found something, someone she can believe in. Jimmy shows up and slaps the picture of Superman on Perry’s desk and announces with renewed confidence “The name’s Jimmy….Jimmy Olsen.” We close on Lex looking through the newspapers finding that they’re all swayed towards his opinion of the flying man. All except the Daily Planet, to which he says “This means war!”

   As this issue shows that for all his drive and intelligence, Luthor’s egotism can be deadly for anyone that gets involved with him. From Rudy Jones’ transformation into the Parasite to the victims of his rampage to even the people of Metropolis just walking on the streets, Lex’s blind narcissism can lead to him making mistakes on a cataclysmic scale that can negatively affect so many people. And is he repentant for any of this, Hell NO! In fact he doesn’t shoulder the blame; he blames everyone else for his mistakes and in this case placing the blame on Superman for his own mistakes. We’ll continue the story at a later time but next time I’ll be looking at Transformers: the Movie. Until then, Cheers!