Man of Steal: Every Live-Action Lex Luthor, Ranked

As one of the most iconic villains in superhero fiction, it's not a surprise that Lex Luthor almost as many live-action incarnations as Superman. The character has been tackled seriously, comically, and occasionally with real psychological care, each portrayal bringing some new approach to the Man of Steel's main bad guy.

With Jon Cyer taking on the character for an upcoming role in Supergirl, we're looking back at the previous live-action versions of Lex Luthor, running down out which ones stand out the most, and which are better left forgotten.

Lyle Talbot (Atom Man vs Superman)

The Lex Luthor of the film serial Atom Man vs Superman was portrayed by veteran of the silent era of cinema, Lyle Talbot. However, due to the lack of special effects available at the time, the serials are decidedly more dialogue based than most Superman stories should be. Sadly, Talbot doesn't get much of a chance to use his physicality, and the serial isn't interested in focusing on his character.

Really, the serial just uses Luthor as a faceless villain; he may be an evil genius, but he lacks any of the other iconic elements of the character. All that's left is a wooden bad guy that just doesn't impress beyond the small moments of campy proclamations he gets to give as the masked Atom Man. Talbot had the skill to give a genuinely good performance, but the serials never really give him the chance to do anything more than deliver dialogue in a stilted manner.

Scott James Wells (Superboy)

For the first season of Superboy, the show was a much more low-key endeavor than most takes on the Superman franchise. Due in part to the lower budget, the series was more focused on smaller conflicts at the college both Clark Kent and Lex Luthor attended. Scott James Wells plays a heartthrob version of Lex, who is already rich and villainous despite just being in school, a version of Lex who is both smarmy gambler and scientist.

Much like the show, this version of Lex just isn't all that memorable. He's a one-note villain driven by sheer jealousy and not much else. When Lex loses his hair and becomes a full-blown bad guy, Wells go as campy as he can, but he still doesn't leave much of an impression.

Jesse Eisenberg (Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice)

There's a good performance somewhere in whatever Jesse Eisenberg is doing with the role. Recasting Lex Luthor as a Silicon Valley weirdo does a good job of contrasting against the idealistic but mopey Henry Cavil version of Superman, but the actor fails to successfully meld the disparate elements of the character that appear in the film, making for a weird mishmash of a villain. He jumps from bizarre weirdo to a man trying to be threatening and back again in a performance that just makes him a more confusing than impressive.

The reasoning for his hatred for Superman is inconsistent and generally comes across as evil for evil's sake. Unlike other hammy takes on the character that embrace the silliness and find an edge of menace in it, Eisenberg just comes across as a mess of a character. It's disappointing, especially given the layers Eisenberg has successfully given other complicated geniuses. There's potential here for something interesting, but this version of Lex Luthor just doesn't ever feel complete.

Kevin Spacey (Superman Returns)

One of the things that makes talking about Kevin Spacey's take on Lex Luthor is the reality that comes with the actor following accusations against hime alleging sexual assault. It's difficult to say that you can really enjoy a Spacey performance anymore, but that's not the reason his version of Luthor from Superman Returns doesn't hold up. From the day the film was released, people had issues with the performance is that he played the part mostly as a riff on the performance Gene Hackman gave as the character, but with a little added malice and furious rage.

This is a Lex Luthor who seems to genuinely hate Superman, going as far to shank him with a chunk of kryptonite. But, as with most of the film, it's mostly just imitation for the sake of imitation. This version of Lex is very broad, not defined any further than just being Lex Luthor. His hatred for Superman should feel incredibly personal, but it never transcends the basics of their relationship, resulting in a performance that's basically a cover version of the character.

NEXT PAGE: Lex Luthor: From The Big Screen to Smallville

Sherman Howard (The Adventures of Superboy)

Plenty of versions of Lex Luthor have played the criminal genius with a certain level of campy fun, but perhaps the most over the top take comes from Sherman Howard in The Adventures of Superboy. Part of the new cast that was brought on for the second season of the show, Howard goes all out with the part, giving us a Lex that goes from cold to hot in the snap of a finger, gleefully villainous one minute, and desperately crying the next.

He's also one of the few live-action Lex Luthors to attack Superman with straight up supervillain gadgets instead of just trying to lure the hero into traps. Even against the rest of the earnest cast of this campy late-80s show, Howard stands out because of how over the top he is.

John Shea (Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman)

Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman was a pleasant but disposable take on the Superman mythos, feeling perfectly in tune with the other shows of the era. It's a campy but charming enough series, a description that fits its Lex Luthor as well. Portrayed by John Shea, this Lex is surprisingly different from other takes on the character, and not just because he has hair.

Matching the overall shift in focus from superheroics to the romantic relationship between Superman and Lois Lane, Lex is made less of an overt supervillain. Here, he's presented as a potential suitor for Lois, and even ends up almost marrying her at the conclusion of the first season. Despite the overt goofiness of the show (seriously, this Lex cloned the President to get a pardon, and died... twice), Shea imbues his version of Lex with personal jealousy and hatred for Superman that feels actually genuine. He commits 110% to the scenes between him and Dean Clark's Superman, making for some great little moments between the pair. A solid Lex in a serviceable show.

Gene Hackman (Superman, Superman 2, Superman: The Quest for Peace)

As Lex Luthor, Gene Hackman proved to be the perfect counterpoint to Christopher Reeves' idealistic Superman. He's conniving and cruel, but with a flair for the theatrics that makes him a supremely compelling villain to watch. While he lacks the complicated motivations of the best Lex Luthor, he's easily the most fun incarnation of the character.

This is a Lex who will stab Superman in the back as quickly as he can, and builds elaborate devices just to mess with the Man of Steel and pronounce his superiority. He's a step removed from someone like Caesar Romero in the 60's Batman television show, just with a bigger budget and greater range. He hates Superman less for any concrete reason, and mostly just because he's a pretty evil guy who can't stand such a goody two-shoes. It's simple, but it works. It feels like he'd be a supervillain, even without Superman getting in his way. Sometimes, you just want the villain to be fun, and Hackman had a blast.

Michael Rosenbaum (Smallville)

Smallville is a show that had its share of faults, but Lex Luthor serving as a main character of the series for the first seven seasons was not one of them. Throughout the series, Michael Rosenbaum was a highlight as the young man destined to be a major villain, a take on the character restored the Silver Age connection between Superman and his eventual arch-nemesis, making the pair close friends before their inevitable falling out. The show took its time to slowly turn Lex fully evil, making audiences care about the character before his fall from grace.

Once the show decided to have Lex embrace his evil impulses, the show went fully in on making him a supervillain. Rosenbaum proved adept at all elements of the character, consistently reminding us he was the best part of the series. Smallville's Lex Luthor is the most complicated live-action version of the character we've ever seen, and as a result, he's also the most memorable.