DC Comics’ latest live-action take onSupermanhas finally arrived in theaters, with the new Man of Steel and his arch-nemesis,Lex Luthor, going head-to-head in a brains-vs-brawn battle for the ages. And after seeing one of the film’s funniest scenes, theSupermansequel can follow it up with a wildly petty Luthor moment taken straight from the comics.
Grossing over $200 million worldwide during its opening weekend,Superman, written and directed by James Gunn, was met with critical acclaim and stars David Corenswet as the titular DC Comics hero and Nicholas Hoult as thealways conniving Lex Luthor, a pairing that officially kicks off DC’s post-Snyderverse movie universe.
Having never crossed paths before this film’s story, Superman and Lex meet after Superman explodes into Lex’s office and flips his desk with ease, resulting in a hilarious reaction from the cool-headed billionaire thatcouldlead Lex to replacing his desk with a literal sequoia tree trunk table— a comic-accurate pettiness seen inJLA: Earth 2that’s perfect for Luthor.
Lex Luthor Needs a New Desk and This Comic-Accurate Replacement Is the Answer
JLA: Earth 2 - 2013 (Grant Morisson and Frank Quitely)
Following Earth 2’s Alexander Luthor as he crosses dimensional barriers to ask the Justice League for help in dealing with the Crime Syndicate, anevil version of the Leagueled by the ruthless Ultraman,JLA: Earth 2starts off showing this “good” Lex take over the life of his more misguided counterpart, business dealings and all.
The only heroic man left in his twisted parallel world, Lex pays it forward now that he’s in DC’s “main” universe, giving out 300% raises to his employees and divesting from the “armaments division” to “Greenpeace” instead, all the while sitting behind a full-sized sequoia tree cut flat with a small space for a single chair to fit.
Devoid of any office clutter usually seen on a CEO’s desk, this oversized and overcompensating piece of furniture was technically installed by the bad version of Lex, with the new table still fitting the Luthor brand regardless of which universe he hails from, acting asthe perfect way to give the inevitableSupermansequel a fun callback to use.
Nicholas Hoult played another iconic comic character, Marvel’s Beast, inX-Men: First Class.
Losing his LuthorCorp-provided desk after Superman took out his frustration in his desperate search for Krypto, this movie moment, and Lex’s indifference to what he just witnessed, sets upJLA: Earth 2’s huge tree desk in a way that can furtherLex Luthor’s characterizationwhile giving fans another taste of what his comic counterpart is all about.
Luthor’s Pettiness Would Shine Through if Ever Used This Massive Tree Desk From the Comics
Superman Would Still Easily Flip It, However
A film that perfectly captures the duo’s iconic rivalry from the comics, it’d be fun to see James Gunntake this obscure detail fromJLA: Earth 2and incorporate it in a way that shows how petty Luthor can bewhen he wants to be — a characteristic he wasveryclear about having in the movie.
By swapping his splintered desk for a literal tree trunk-sized table in theSupermansequel, James Gunn could easily show how spiteful Lex can be, with the lengths that Lex would go to unnecessarily upgrade an inanimate object that Superman destroyed being the definition of petty, especially if he’s doing it to annoy Superman.
It’s hard to say what kind of pettiness will be in store forLex Luthor’s next live-action appearance, but with more than a few comic-accurate ideas and moments making it intoSuperman, fans can be sure that James Gunn will come up with something that does this billionaire character’s worst qualities justice.
