••

The cornerstone.

Wolfman called, shortly before I started on MAN OF STEEL, and said he'd been offered the second seat. But before he accepted, he wanted to tell me what he had worked out for Luthor. If I liked it, and wanted to use it, he would come aboard. If I didn't like any part of it, however, he would decline the co-pilot job, and he wanted my promise I would not use any part of his idea. This I was happy to agree to.

He then said this: "Outside Metropolis there is a mountain. On top of that mountain, in his fabulous Xanadu-like estate, lives Lex Luthor, the world's richest man, and his mistress, Lois Lane."

Immediately, I said no. I had not thought too much about what I was going to be doing with Lois, but that was definitely NOT the way I wanted to go with her. In fact, I said, Wolfman's idea seemed more like a reinvention of Lois than a reinvention of Lex. So, politely, thanks but no thanks.

"Oh, you don't have to use that part!" Wolfman said. Which confused me a bit, since just moments before I had agreed to an "all or nothing" scenario.

In any case, I said I liked the World's Richest Man part -- if I could use just that we might have a starting point. Wolfman agreed. He came aboard and pretty much went off in his own direction, with Luthor AND Superman. (Early in the run, I gave a newspaper interview. The interviewer, having read my first few issues and Wolfman's, asked why there were TWO Supermen now.)

Later, as I went along, I discussed various plans with a lot of people, and Luthor pretty soon had many fathers, including Roger Stern and Mark Gruenwald, who contributed ideas. Luthor's Legion of Lovelies, of course, I borrowed from Heinlein's STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND.

Years later, long after I left Superman, I found out, almost by accident, that DC had paid Wolfman a big bonus for his "creation" of the new Luthor. Ah, well!

••

Not that I was aware of. Wolfman left his book over contract issues, but that was nothing to do with me.

I've always craved an encounter between Lex Luthor and The Flash. No idea if it's ever happened, but I'd like to see it.

QUOTE: i should note that i'm pretty darned tired of lex being in every single superman movie. he does have other villains... so please, give him a rest in QUthe theater, but find a way to make him great in the comics!

Agreed. Brainiac, Metallo, Darkseid or Parasite are way overdue for an appearance in a Superman film, if you ask me.

QUOTE: Not an encounter per se, but they did swap bodies in the JLU cartoon -- leading up to the single funniest moment of that series.

Haven't seen that episode, unfortunately.

QUOTE: Of course, they had the advantage of incorporating all versions of Luthor: ruthless businessman, mad scientist, criminal mastermind, super-villain.

There's a lesson there, I think. It did indeed work, incorporating all the versions of Luthor. Goes to show that it can be done with other supervillains, and should be done.