Summary
- Redeeming villains like Lex Luthor and Green Goblin is a popular storytelling device that can create compelling arcs.
- Lex Luthor’s attempt to be a hero failed after he becomes convinced the universe will always see him as a villain.
- Despite their best efforts, iconic villains like Lex Luthor and Green Goblin are doomed to relapse from heroism back to villainy.
There is nothing people love more than a good redemption story. While everyone loves stories about heroes saving the day and defeating the bad guys, a villain becoming a hero is the only thing better than that. It’s one of the easiest storytelling devices, to take someone evil and let them redeem themselves, but unfortunately, Lex Luthor will never be a hero, and Marvel’s Green Goblin proves it.
Lex Luthor’s tragic destiny as a villain was revealed to readers in 2018’s Justice League: No Justice #4 by Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV. In this story, the Justice League needs to use the four cosmic energies to repel the Omega Titans before they destroy Earth. This requires someone particularly powerful in each power to charge a crystal.
Brainiac charges the crystal with wisdom, Wonder Woman with wonder, Martian Manhunter with mystery, and Lex Luthor charges it with entropy. This comes after Deathstroke, a well-known villain, completely fails to do it. Deathstroke even points out that Lex shouldn’t be able to do it, as Lex Luthor is a hero at this point in his history, but it seems the universe disagrees.
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The Universe Recognizes Lex Luthor As A Villain
Justice League: No Justice #4 by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Joshua Williamson, Francis Manapul, Hi-Fi, and AndWorld Design
Lex Luthor has been Superman’s main villain for decades. The two characters fundamentally can not get along due to their opposing viewpoints on humanity. Lex believes that humanity must suffer and overcome it to grow. Superman believes that he must use it if he has the power to prevent suffering. This isn’t even to mention Lex’s gigantic ego problems. It’s what’s made him such a compelling villain, but writers have tried to explore other areas of his character over the years. A few times, Lex has been placed in the role of a hero.
This all fell apart after Lex was convinced that the universe would always see him as a villain.
After the death of the New 52 Superman, Lex was truly inspired. The Man of Steel’s sacrifice motivated Lex to take up Superman’s iconic symbol and become Metropolis’ new protector as a new version of Superman. It was Lex’s first real attempt at being a hero, and it went pretty well. There were still some rough edges, but Lex was earnestly trying to live up to Superman’s ideals. However, this all fell apart after Lex was convinced that the universe would always see him as a villain, which is a very similar path to another iconic villain.
Norman Osborn Couldn’t Escape His Villain Past Either
Despite His Best Attempts, Norman Couldn’t Find Redemption
Norman Osborn aka the Green Goblin is very similar to Lex Luthor in a lot of ways. He’s a genius inventor who uses a special suit to fight his arch-rival. While Norman’s reasons for trying to kill Spider-Man are very different from Lex’s reasons for trying to kill Superman, they still have a lot of similarities. One of the biggest differences is that they’ve both been former villains who tried to find redemption. While Lex was able to choose his redemption on his own, Norman had it forced on him. After Norman’s sins were eaten by the Sin Eater, Norman gave up the identity of the Green Goblin and became the Gold Goblin.
Fans even commented on how they were enjoying Norman’s adventures as a hero more than Spider-Man’s at the time.
The Gold Goblin was Norman’s attempt at redeeming himself for the crimes he had committed in the past. With Norman’s sins completely removed from his soul, he no longer felt the insanity of the Goblin pushing him to do the horrific things he had come to be known for. Norman spent a few years as the Gold Goblin and even began working closely with Spider-Man while also trying to act as a mentor to his grandson Normie Osborn. This change was well received, and many fans even commented on how they were enjoying Norman’s adventures as a hero more than Spider-Man’s at the time.
Unfortunately, good things can never last and while Norman Osborn had a great run as the heroic Gold Goblin, it seems to be coming to an end. Marvel has confirmed that Norman will be returning to his villainous ways as the Green Goblin soon. While it’s certainly unfortunate, it’s hardly surprising. While fans love a good redemption story, no company wants to lose one of their most iconic and popular villains.
Green Goblin is one of the most iconic Spider-Man villains ever made, and Marvel was never going to let that mantle die. It doesn’t matter how good Norman Osborn’s redemption arc was or how far his character got, at the end of the day, he will always be the Green Goblin, and Lex Luthor is likely to suffer a similar fate.
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Lex Luthor Already Tried To Be A Hero And Failed Once
Lex Luthor Is Too Good Of A Villain To Let Go
Lex Luthor already tried to be a hero back during the New 52, and it didn’t work out for him. Eventually, Lex was convinced that the world would always see him as a villain, and so he unleashed Perpetua on the Multiverse and entered his Apex Lex era. Now it seems that Lex is once again trying to claim to be a hero, as Lex is now allies with Superman. While it would be wonderful to think that Lex has finally managed to turn over a new leaf, the problem is that this can never last for too long.
Lex was convinced that the world would always see him as a villain.
Just like Norman Osborn, Lex Luthor is simply too good of a villain to let go. He challenges Superman too perfectly, just as the Green Goblin is a perfect counter to Spider-Man. While seeing a redemption story is always fun, it can never seem to actually last. Plenty of villains in the DC Universe have tried to reform, even major villains like Bane and Riddler, but it never lasts. Even DC’s biggest example of a villain-turning hero, Harley Quinn, is returning to villainy soon. It seems that there is, unfortunately, no hope of Lex Luthor managing to be a hero for long.
These Characters Are Simply Too Iconic As Villains
Lex And Norman Are Doomed To Relapse
Lex Luthor and Norman Osborn may play at being the hero occasionally, and they may even excel at it, but they’ll never be able to truly be redeemed. Lex Luthor is the most iconic villain Superman has ever had, and there’s simply no way he won’t be forced back into that role eventually. It’s an unfortunate reality of comics that the status quo is nearly unbreakable. While it would be amazing to see Lex Luthor actually continue and evolve as a character, the Green Goblin has already proven that this simply isn’t going to happen.
Justice League: No Justice
#4
is available now from DC Comics!