Superman and Lex Luthor have been archenemies for decades, both in the comics and other media, and that legacy is on pace to continue next year in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. While we’ve a glimpse of the two adversaries together and have a general sense of why Jesse Eisenberg’s Luthor hates the Man of Steel, however, so far the specifics of his plan haven't been revealed. Now a new report is claiming that the scheme the billionaire industrialist is plotting will involve targeting someone close to Superman.
Warning: potential spoilers for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice are ahead, so please click away to another one of our articles if you want to go in fresh.
Heroic Hollywood is claiming that in order to get under Superman’s skin in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Luthor will kidnap his adoptive mother Martha Kent, played by Diane Lane. Does this means that Luthor was able to deduce Superman’s true identity, despite the fact that Clark Kent wears glasses and parts his hair as a disguise? My God, he really is a genius! Kidding aside, the article points out that moment in Man of Steel when Clark was enraged at Zod for targeting his mother in Smallville. The Kryptonian general simply threatened Martha in that film, so needless to say Clark will be especially pissed when he finds out she’s been kidnapped. He’s already lost one Earth parent tragically, and he’ll do whatever it takes to keep the only family he has left safe.
It wasn’t disclosed how or why Martha is kidnapped, but knowing Lex Luthor, he likely wants something from Superman in exchange, and the hero will have no choice but to comply with his demands to make sure Martha isn’t harmed. This could also be the reason why Superman was angrily kneeling in front of Luthor in the latest Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice trailer. There’s no kryptonite in his hands, so he’s not physically weakening the Man of Steel. Instead, the villain smugly standing over Superman seems to serve as a metaphorical defeat.
Knowing what we do about Lex Luthor, he’s not content simply wanting to destroy Superman. He also want to embarrass Earth’s alien adoptee, and by forcing the man who can fly and shoot laser beams out of his eyes to his knees, he gets to feel powerful and boost his already massive ego. He’s no match physically to the Kryptonian, but intellectually is where he can exert his true dominance. Of course, taking into account that Batman and Wonder Woman will also be major players in this movie, maybe one of them will be able to rescue Martha while Superman plays along with Luthor’s twisted demand.
We’ll see Superman and Lex Luthor face off when Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice hits theaters on March 25, 2016.
