Lex Luthor is one of the greatest villains in the entire DC universe. Part of what makes him such a fascinating villain is that, despite his arch-enemy Superman being one of the most powerful beings in DC Comics, Luthor himself lacks superpowers. Even so, he remains a significant threat. Luthor can contend with the Man of Steel by utilizing his intellect and deadly arsenal. Many of Luthor’s weapons, including the war suit, have allowed him to fight Superman on a near-equal footing. Despite this fact, Luthor is still a bitter and jealous man who envies Superman’s natural gifts and wants them for himself. In numerous attempts to surpass Superman, Luthor has utilized his scientific mind to develop means to grant himself the superhuman abilities he craves.
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There have been several times when Lex Luthor has gained superpowers, however, whether by creating them himself or by stealing them from others. Whatever the method may be, Luthor will always use them in his never-ending quest to destroy Superman and the ideology he stands for.
1) Taking the Everyman Serum
Through Luthor’s Everyman Project, anyone had the chance to get superpowers and become a hero. Ironically, however, Lex’s genes were not compatible with the project. Such a setback didn’t stop Luthor from taking the serum anyway, giving him superhuman strength, speed, heat-vision, and more. Luthor used these newfound powers to try to kill Steel and his niece Natasha. To stop his rampage, Natasha was able to reverse the effects of the Everyman serum, leaving him as powerless as he was before. By taking his powers away, Natasha inadvertently saved Luthor’s life, as the serum’s incompatibility would have killed him within six months. By trying to make himself all-powerful, Luthor nearly got himself killed.
2) Becoming the God of Apokolips
During the Darkseid War, Luthor joined the Justice League and was teleported to the New God’s home world, Apokolips. After being stranded on the hellish planet, Luthor was found by a group called the Forgotten People, who mistook him for the prophesied savior of Apokolips, Superman. Luthor lies and says that he is the hero that they were looking for. After Darkseid’s death, the Forever People channeled the omega effect into Luthor, turning him into the new God of Apokolips. This form granted Luthor all the powers of Darkseid, including immense strength, Omega Beams, and control over all Parademons. At first, he used this newfound power to try to kill Superman, but he soon turned his focus to fighting Darkseid’s killer: the Anti-Monitor. In the end, Darkseid’s daughter used the power-stealing abilities of Earth 3’s Superwoman to drain Luthor of the omega effect.
3) Becoming a Martian/Human Hybrid
When Martian Manhunter was a child, the government abducted him, only for a young Lex to set him free. Hoping to end the conflict between the Justice League and the Legion of Doom, J’onn tried extending an olive branch of friendship to the man who once showed him kindness. Any compassion in Luthor had long since died, as he used the moment of vulnerability to spring a trap that let him absorb the Martian into his own body. With all Martian Manhunter’s powers, including super strength, shapeshifting, regeneration, heat-vision, and more, Luthor became the Apex Predator. Luthor would serve the ancient goddess Perpetua in her conquest of the Multiverse until she double-crossed him and stripped him of his power. In a fitting act of karma, the chronic backstabber was betrayed and left as a broken husk in a ruined world.
4) Taking Superman’s Powers for Himself
As part of one of the greatest Superman stories ever told, Luthor finally got the chance to see the world the way his nemesis sees it. In All-Star Superman, Luthor makes a formula that grants him the same power set as the Man of Steel for 24 hours. With this power, he defeats Superman and plans to take over the United States. Then, suddenly, using Superman’s microscopic and X-ray vision, Luthor sees the building blocks of existence, giving him a moment of clarity in understanding how we and the universe are all connected. Luthor’s revelation would be short-lived, however, as Superman uses a gravity gun to speed up the villain’s 24 hours, turning him back into a regular human. And while he claimed that he could have saved the world with this knowledge, Superman knew that if it really mattered to Luthor, he could have saved it years ago.
5) Acquiring Infinite Power
Even when Luthor becomes a god, his human flaws will always be his undoing. By fusing with an all-powerful being within the Phantom Zone known as the Zone Child, Luthor had finally obtained infinite power. With his newfound omnipotence, Luthor sought to finally destroy Superman once and for all. However, the Zone Child made there be one catch to Luthor’s power: he couldn’t use it to harm anyone. And since Luthor had tried to kill Superman, all the cosmic power within him was drained. Even as he felt the power leave his body, the villain still tried desperately to kill Superman, only to be knocked out with a single punch. By giving in to hate once again, Luthor lost the very godhood that he spent his whole life chasing.
