10 Times Lex Luthor Gained Powers

by

In James Gunn’s Superman (2025), Lex Luthor did everything possible to rival Superman’s strength, speed, and all the abilities granted by his Kryptonian heritage. This live-action version of Lex created a separate universe, constructed the Engineer, and even made a clone of the Man of Steel. Unlike Lex Luthors in other DC stories, this one gave himself superpowers.

Throughout comic books and television series, certain portrayals of Lex Luthor have shown him gaining abilities equal to Superman’s. It’s possible Lex will receive powers in the upcoming Superman movie, Man of Tomorrow. Some versions of Lex have been incredibly powerful – reaching godlike levels by harnessing the powers of Shazam or even ruling Darkseid’s world, Apokolips. Others have obtained power rings from the Lantern Corps or fused with immensely powerful entities. Fundamentally, Lex Luthor is one of the most intelligent people on Earth. He frequently overcomes his human limitations by acquiring or stealing powers from those more deserving.

Lex Luthor Joined The Orange Lanterns In Blackest Night

In Blackest Night, the deceased rose from their graves, initiating a conflict that engulfed the entire universe. Every Lantern Corps – including the Red Lanterns fueled by rage and the Blue Lanterns embodying hope – grew its ranks to fight against Black Hand, Nekron, and the Black Lantern Corps.

Lex Luthor obtained an orange power ring fueled by greed. It’s hard to imagine Lex becoming any more avaricious, but he did. However, only one person can wield an orange power ring at a time, and Larfleeze wasn’t pleased that Lex had become an Orange Lantern. Lex briefly possessed the abilities of an Orange Lantern, allowing him to create solid-light constructs and imprison his enemies as future hard-light forms.

Lex Luthor/The Joker Was The Green Man In Dark Knights Of Steel

Dark Knights of Steel presented a reimagined DC Universe, drawing inspiration from fantasy novels. This version of reality featured Batman as a genuine, armored black knight – a warrior who fought battles with swords and even rode dragons. The El family governed as royalty, and mysterious, magical powers worked from the shadows, attempting to dismantle the heroes’ accomplishments.

In this reality, , he descended into insanity, convinced he was communicating with the green power ring he wore. As the Green Man, Lex murdered the world’s leaders and ignited a massive war, drawing the anger of nearly all DC heroes.

Lex Luthor Becomes A Man Of Steel In All-Star Superman

Grant Morrison’s All-Star Superman was essentially a heartfelt tribute to Superman, presented as a collection of different stories and events. Within All-Star Superman, the story begins with Superman discovering that prolonged exposure to yellow sunlight would ultimately be fatal to him.

In his last moments, Superman shared his powers with Lois Lane, and they enjoyed a special day together. Following the same idea, Lex Luthor also gave himself Superman’s abilities, but the experience wasn’t what he expected. He finally understood what it was like to be Superman for a day, and afterward, he developed a newfound respect for the Man of Steel. It was a surprising lesson for him.

Lex Luthor Joins With The Zone Child In Action Comics “The Black Ring”

During the Blackest Night event, Lex Luthor briefly experienced having superpowers, and he wanted to feel that power again. Before DC Comics revamped its universe with the New 52, in a significant Superman storyline, Lex Luthor connected with a powerful, god-like entity living within the Phantom Zone.

Lex, as is typical for him, controlled the Zone Child and stole its abilities. This gave Lex nearly unlimited knowledge. He tried to use this power to find out Superman’s secret identity, but failed. Ultimately, he lost the power when he attempted to defeat Superman.

General Zod Took Over Lex Luthor’s Body In Smallville

A meteor shower containing kryptonite landed near Smallville, cleverly hiding the arrival of Kal-El’s spacecraft. This event unexpectedly gave many of the town’s people superpowers. Even Lex Luthor developed a stronger resistance to poisons and toxins, though this wasn’t the only instance of Smallville’s Lex gaining superhuman abilities.

Towards the close of Smallville‘s fifth season, Brainiac assisted in getting Lex ready for General Zod’s arrival… by transforming Lex into a host for the Kryptonian villain. Over time, General Zod’s consciousness completely took control of Lex’s body, which had since gained all the abilities of a Kryptonian, including flight – a power that even Clark Kent hadn’t yet mastered.

Apex Lex Fought The Justice League With His Bare Hands

Scott Snyder’s run on Justice League was fantastic, largely because the team he created felt similar to the one seen in Justice League and Justice League Unlimited – including characters like John Stewart as Green Lantern and Hawkgirl. It was also great because he brought back the Legion of Doom, led by Lex Luthor.

While working on Dark Nights: Death Metal, Lex Luthor sacrificed his own humanity to gain Martian abilities and become Apex Lex. As Apex Lex, he served Perpetua, a powerful, godlike being from across the multiverse, which allowed him to defeat heroes like Superman and Martian Manhunter using only his physical strength. However, this situation didn’t last, and Lex eventually sought revenge against both Perpetua and the Batman Who Laughs.

Lex Luthor Gained Superpowers Thanks To His Everyman Project

As a longtime fan, it was wild seeing the 52 event unfold! Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman actually stepped back, letting some of the lesser-known heroes really shine. And Lex Luthor? He was totally fed up with being outmatched. It reminded me a lot of his version in DC Universe Online – he started the Everyman Project, trying to give powers to everyone who *didn’t* already have them. It was a really interesting twist!

Lex developed incredible strength and speed, but even without Superman around, Steel managed to beat Lex and undo those changes. Lex really should have taken advice from Syndrome in The Incredibles. As Syndrome said, “When everyone’s super, no one will be!”

Mazahs Of The Crime Syndicate On Earth-3

So, in the original Crime Syndicate story, I was following Alexander Luthor – he was pretty much one of the last good guys standing, battling Ultraman, Owlman, and the whole messed-up, evil version of the Justice League. But things really went crazy when they revealed their secret weapon: Mazahs.

Unlike Shazam, Mazahs had the ability to take powers from others. The Crime Syndicate exploited this, using him to engineer a remarkably powerful infant. This version of Lex Luthor was essentially a powerless god, completely controlled by the Syndicate and functioning as nothing more than a disposable pawn, eventually falling to the Lex Luthor from the main DC Universe.

Lex Luthor Takes Darkseid’s Seat On Apokolips In “Darkseid War”

After the Anti-Monitor allied with Grail, Darkseid’s daughter, and appeared to destroy Darkseid, the Justice League underwent a transformation, becoming god-like, though twisted versions of themselves. Superman absorbed the energies of Apokolips, the Flash fused with the Black Racer, and Lex Luthor became empowered and took control of Darkseid’s throne on Apokolips.

The Justice League had fallen apart, and Wonder Woman took on the responsibility of reuniting its members. For a short time, Lex Luthor possessed the power of Darkseid, becoming powerful enough to overcome Superman and leading the armies of Apokolips against Grail.

Lex Luthor Fused With Brainiac In Justice League Unlimited

In the first season of Justice League Unlimited, Lex Luthor discovered he had cancer as a result of being exposed to kryptonite for a long time. Despite this, Lex quickly gained incredible strength and almost defeated the Question with it.

In the end, Brainiac showed himself, taking over Lex’s body. Brainiac healed Lex’s cancer and made him much stronger. They then combined with the technology from the Dark Heart, becoming a powerful, godlike being capable of changing reality. Someone needed to act quickly, running faster than light to stop them.

Read More

2025-10-03 01:41