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DC Fans Are Debating The Best Live-Action Lex Luthor

Similar to the relationship between Batman and the Joker, wherever Superman tends to go, Lex Luthor is never too far behind. DC Comics' two most iconic superheroes have archenemies that are every bit as legendary, and all four of them have been played by a revolving door of actors in live-action dating back decades.

Lex Luthor

Similar to the relationship between Batman and the Joker, wherever Superman tends to go, Lex Luthor is never too far behind. DC Comics’ two most iconic superheroes have archenemies that are every bit as legendary, and all four of them have been played by a revolving door of actors in live-action dating back decades.

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The debate over who made the best Batman continues to rage on, and has only intensified following the release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, while the Joker has been the subject of two Academy Award winning performances. Christopher Reeve, meanwhile, is arguably still the definitive Superman, if only because Henry Cavill’s decade in the costume hasn’t seen him being given a fair shake of the stick, but the Lex Luthor conversation has been proving much more contentious.

DC fans have been taking to social media to weight in, with former Luthors Michael Rosenbaum and Jon Cryer even getting in on the action. Unsurprisingly, Kevin Spacey’s name is nowhere to be found following his exile from Hollywood, but there’s more support than you’d expect behind Jesse Eisenberg’s divisive take, as you can see from the reactions below.

https://twitter.com/RadicalRae1022/status/1373444859793661958?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1373444859793661958%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmovieweb.com%2Flex-luthor-debate-jon-cryer-gene-hackman-michael-rosenbaum%2F

https://twitter.com/norwoodeyesays/status/1374206809238560775?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1374206809238560775%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmovieweb.com%2Flex-luthor-debate-jon-cryer-gene-hackman-michael-rosenbaum%2F

https://twitter.com/mister_paragon/status/1374098193475117058?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1374098193475117058%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmovieweb.com%2Flex-luthor-debate-jon-cryer-gene-hackman-michael-rosenbaum%2F

As one of the greatest actors of all-time who was also the first to put his cinematic imprint on Lex Luthor, it’s understandable that a lot of people can’t see past Gene Hackman when it comes to the nefarious head of LexCorp. Rosenbaum, meanwhile, stuck around for longer than the rest given that Smallville ran for ten seasons, but Cryer has proven surprisingly effective in the Arrowverse despite his largely comedic background, and the post-credits scene of Zack Snyder’s Justice League gave a hint of how Eisenberg’s tenure as Lex could have played out had the SnyderVerse continued.