Eisner Award-winning Batman writer Tom King comes up with a surprising but logical suggestion to give the famed Caped Crusader a new nemesis, revolutionizing one of comedy’s classic hero/villain rivalries: Lex Luthor.
Since King began his career in Batman, the iconic hero has faced off against a host of classic and terrifying villains, including Bane, The Riddler, Catwoman, Hugo Strange, and the Terrible ‘s nemesis the Joker. Debuting just a few years after the original Dark Knight comics, the Joker has been Batman’s nemesis for decades, and their relationship has transcended comic book work into movies, television, and video games. As the Joker has grown in popularity over the years, it’s no wonder that the Joker often overshadows other villains and becomes a regular fixture in Batman stories. This allowed writers like King to find creative new ways to expand and exploit Batman and his civilian alter ego Bruce Wayne’s gallery of wealthy rogues.
A new angle proposed by Tom King has Batman going head-to-head with enemies outside of his own rogues gallery, who could be the nemesis of Superman, another equally iconic DC Comics hero. king(Batman’s Bad Day: The Riddler) took the opportunity to discuss his personal choice of Batman’s nemesis for Screen Rant at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con.
SR: If you had complete creative control, which classic DC villain would you like to elevate to the level of Batman’s new nemesis?
Tom King: This has been done a thousand times, but with Lex Luthor and Bruce Wayne. I think for eighty years, Superman books have always been a battle of brains and brawn. So brain versus brain. Corporate executives vs. corporate executives. Corporate secret life versus corporate secret life, right? Like they’re almost like evil reflections of each other.
Despite existing in different realms, Batman and Lex Luthor’s rivalry is far from uncharted territory for DC Comics. While Lex is usually associated with the “Last Son of Krypton,” Luthor is a billionaire who has proven to be a major threat to Superman’s closest allies, primarily the Justice League of America. Like Batman himself, Luthor is a powerless man who relies on his intellect and business connections, upgrading his weaponized war suit only as a last resort. As head of the multinational conglomerate LexCorp, Luthor often clashed in the corporate arena with Gotham City billionaire Bruce Wayne and his enterprise Wayne Enterprises.
Batman and Lex Luthor’s ongoing confrontation has been decades in the making. While the Joker often tests the psychological stability of his enemies, the Clown Prince of Crime isn’t a villain who tests both Batman’s superhero and civilian personas. Batman and Lex Luthor have clashed in several crossover games, but Luthor has yet to truly leave a significant mark on the Dark Knight’s mythos, and that could all change in the coming months. With Lex dabbling in both supervillain and corporate enterprise, the threats he poses to Batman are endless.