the Tragedy of Lex, part II
Jan. 23rd, 2007 01:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xparrotI've been getting some really thought-provoking comments on the last rant on this, enough to want to compose a follow-up to place the blame where it really belongs. It's not really Clark, asshat or not. It's poor writing.
I said before that "Asylum" was Lex's most tragic moment, for being his most noble. The first time I read the recap of "Asylum" I was furious at Clark. But watching the episode itself, I honestly don't blame him. It's an incredibly tough position he's in. He knows firsthand how dangerous Lionel is, so much so that he's not sure how to save Lex from him; he's grateful that Lex's brain didn't get totally fried, and terrified that next time it might be, or worse. Not to mention, he's only 16 or 17 years old, and mental illness is scary. Especially when it's your cool, reliable, older friend who has always only ever been in control of every situation. Even knowing Lex's psychosis was initially drug-induced, it's still beyond Clark's understanding, beyond the limits of even his strengths. I honestly believe Clark doesn't tell Lex about those lost seven weeks then because he's worried about Lex, and not his secrets at all.
"Memoria", though, is pretty unforgivable. Going to Lionel, fully knowing what Lionel did to Lex before, what Lionel's love for his son means in practice...it doesn't even make sense. Except that Clark Kent has apparently read the comic books like everyone else, and knows Lex is doomed to be his enemy.
Ultimately? The biggest tragedy of Lex is that the SV writers wrote themselves into a corner. In the very beginning, having rewatched the pilot, they wrote Lex quite ambiguous - maybe he was a sincere friend, or maybe he was just using people, seducing them for his own ends. But then they made it clear that Lex's feelings went far beyond slick sociopathic manipulation, and ultimately damned themselves.
There was a way out, and I don't know why they didn't take it. "Memoria" is a crux already. The shocking revelations about Julian's death pretty much cement Lex's place as victim as much as perpetrator of his future crimes: abuse victims become abusers themselves, it's not moral as much as psychological, and after enduring the childhood implied by Lillian's murder, it's frankly amazing that Lex turned out as well as he did.
Instead of that confession, what if the episode had gone completely differently? By the end of third season, it would have been reasonable for the good Lex of the earlier series to start slipping down into the darkness that is destined to claim him. So what if Lex had regained his memories of Clark and his powers - and had turned on him? Had pulled an Onyx!Lex and sought to get control over Clark, had threatened blackmail or exposure or worse? And then at the episode's end he could have lost the memories again, returned to the status quo none the wiser - but Clark would have been, and we viewers as well.
Then Clark's reluctance to ever tell Lex the truth would make sense. Then Clark rejecting Lex's friendship at the end of season 3, and tentatively accepting it back in season 4, would have been an act of great, if foolish, generosity, wanting to believe in Lex even knowing better. Not the smartest thing to do, but the right thing to do, as a friend.
And yes, it would have made Lex a far less sympathetic character - but he's the villain. You're not supposed to sympathize with him that much, certainly not at the hero's expense. And every time Clark lies to Lex afterward, it would have been justified. Maybe not totally right - it's still lying - but understandable.
But the writers didn't do this. I guess they couldn't do it. Because even as late as third season, it wouldn't have been in character for the Lex Luthor they had been writing, the Lex Luthor who risks or offers anything for his friends, the Lex Luthor who suffers guilt to the point of recklessness, who would instantly exchange himself for a roomful of hostages, who would test an experimental cure on himself rather than risk someone else under his care dying. The Lex Luthor who knows his self-proclaimed best friend is lying to him, and yet still is willing to throw all his questions away for the sake of that friendship. This Lex, you can't see betraying Clark, not at that point in the series, not for any reason. Having written this Lex, they had no choice but to write Clark as inexplicably petty and selfish with his secrets as he is, or else they never would have been able to fulfill the demands of comic-book destiny. They developed a Lex Luthor with such a strong or desperate heart that he would not walk away from Clark Kent - and left themselves no choice but to write a Superman who would walk away from Lex Luthor, even when he reaches out for help.
I said before that "Asylum" was Lex's most tragic moment, for being his most noble. The first time I read the recap of "Asylum" I was furious at Clark. But watching the episode itself, I honestly don't blame him. It's an incredibly tough position he's in. He knows firsthand how dangerous Lionel is, so much so that he's not sure how to save Lex from him; he's grateful that Lex's brain didn't get totally fried, and terrified that next time it might be, or worse. Not to mention, he's only 16 or 17 years old, and mental illness is scary. Especially when it's your cool, reliable, older friend who has always only ever been in control of every situation. Even knowing Lex's psychosis was initially drug-induced, it's still beyond Clark's understanding, beyond the limits of even his strengths. I honestly believe Clark doesn't tell Lex about those lost seven weeks then because he's worried about Lex, and not his secrets at all.
"Memoria", though, is pretty unforgivable. Going to Lionel, fully knowing what Lionel did to Lex before, what Lionel's love for his son means in practice...it doesn't even make sense. Except that Clark Kent has apparently read the comic books like everyone else, and knows Lex is doomed to be his enemy.
Ultimately? The biggest tragedy of Lex is that the SV writers wrote themselves into a corner. In the very beginning, having rewatched the pilot, they wrote Lex quite ambiguous - maybe he was a sincere friend, or maybe he was just using people, seducing them for his own ends. But then they made it clear that Lex's feelings went far beyond slick sociopathic manipulation, and ultimately damned themselves.
There was a way out, and I don't know why they didn't take it. "Memoria" is a crux already. The shocking revelations about Julian's death pretty much cement Lex's place as victim as much as perpetrator of his future crimes: abuse victims become abusers themselves, it's not moral as much as psychological, and after enduring the childhood implied by Lillian's murder, it's frankly amazing that Lex turned out as well as he did.
Instead of that confession, what if the episode had gone completely differently? By the end of third season, it would have been reasonable for the good Lex of the earlier series to start slipping down into the darkness that is destined to claim him. So what if Lex had regained his memories of Clark and his powers - and had turned on him? Had pulled an Onyx!Lex and sought to get control over Clark, had threatened blackmail or exposure or worse? And then at the episode's end he could have lost the memories again, returned to the status quo none the wiser - but Clark would have been, and we viewers as well.
Then Clark's reluctance to ever tell Lex the truth would make sense. Then Clark rejecting Lex's friendship at the end of season 3, and tentatively accepting it back in season 4, would have been an act of great, if foolish, generosity, wanting to believe in Lex even knowing better. Not the smartest thing to do, but the right thing to do, as a friend.
And yes, it would have made Lex a far less sympathetic character - but he's the villain. You're not supposed to sympathize with him that much, certainly not at the hero's expense. And every time Clark lies to Lex afterward, it would have been justified. Maybe not totally right - it's still lying - but understandable.
But the writers didn't do this. I guess they couldn't do it. Because even as late as third season, it wouldn't have been in character for the Lex Luthor they had been writing, the Lex Luthor who risks or offers anything for his friends, the Lex Luthor who suffers guilt to the point of recklessness, who would instantly exchange himself for a roomful of hostages, who would test an experimental cure on himself rather than risk someone else under his care dying. The Lex Luthor who knows his self-proclaimed best friend is lying to him, and yet still is willing to throw all his questions away for the sake of that friendship. This Lex, you can't see betraying Clark, not at that point in the series, not for any reason. Having written this Lex, they had no choice but to write Clark as inexplicably petty and selfish with his secrets as he is, or else they never would have been able to fulfill the demands of comic-book destiny. They developed a Lex Luthor with such a strong or desperate heart that he would not walk away from Clark Kent - and left themselves no choice but to write a Superman who would walk away from Lex Luthor, even when he reaches out for help.
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no subject
Date: 2007-03-10 06:51 am (UTC)You're totally right about the trouble with Luthor always having been that he's conflicted and thus more fascinating a char than his heroic nemesis. The trouble is, as far as I can tell, because Luthor always was a supergenius* - from the beginning Luthor vs Superman was the ultimate case of Brains vs Brawn. Intelligence is not, by nature, an evil quality, and it's Luthor's prime trait, even more than a thirst for power or vengeance or psychopathy or whatever drives most supervillains. So they give him the Superman obsession to explain his wickedness...and then SV flubs even that up, by rooting that obsession in
true lovefriendship, making it almost impossible not to sympathize with him...(* SV's version seems to have lost a few IQ points, I suspect they were stolen by the movie!verse's inexplicably dumb Lex.
I haven't read many of the early comics - now I wanna see more of that Lexor stuff. I'd heard a bit about it, sounds sad, really. I have seen some of Elliot S! Maggin's stories and novels, he's got an amazing Lex, the ultimate version of his mad scientist incarnation. His Lex is pretty tragic because he has the potential to be amazing - he's got the greatest mind in the world, he could solve world hunger and cure cancer and anything, he would be a hero himself, except, as always, for the Superman obsession which puts him by default on the side of evil. (one of Maggin's novels has a version of the 'Lex's baldness being Superboy's fault' story that makes it not silly/crazy but really more tragic, in that it's not about the hair at all but about the experiment which was destroyed; it was Lex's greatest work and he starts hating Superman because it's the only way for him to remain sane after losing it...) I like Maggin's version especially because Superman himself totally sees this and gets it and even tries to help Lex get over his issues, because he realizes the potential in Lex (and also wants to be friends again, as Lex is one of the only humans going who Supes can really see as an equal).
So Red Son is worth checking out? It looked pretty fascinating. I just read LL: Man of Steel and quite enjoyed it, with reservations (I'm a big manga fan but only passing familiar with American comics beyond Gaiman's Sandman, despite a longtime love of superhero cartoons...)
no subject
Date: 2007-03-10 07:21 am (UTC)One of my favorite things about Lex is his propensity for overly complex and highly circuitous plans. Red Son has the most complex and circuitous plan ever, taking a good 60 years to come to fruition. Lex's motivation? Bizzaro, Superman's imperfect double, beat him at chess. All sorts of world shattering stuff goes on in the story, but Lex doesn't care about that. He's just out to prove that he's Superman's intellectual superior. It's basically DC admitting that Lex gets kind of shortchanged in every other Superman story ever.
Also, the Silver Age stuff is totally worth looking into, as it is gut wrenchingly hilarious. There's one storyline where Lex fills the atmosphere with kryptonite dust and possibly also some satellite mounted lasers (pretty cool technology for the early 50's). He forces Superman to leave Earth. Superman, not to be so easily defeated, builds a lead suit to shield himself. He can't see through the lead to fight though, so he uses the astonishing new technology of 'Television.' He puts a screen inside the suit so he can see what the hell is going on (it takes a couple sad defeats before he thinks of this) and mounts a camera outside. Now the logical place to mount a camera would be at eye level right? That way what he saw on the screen at eye level would sinc with what was going on outside. Baring that, the massive chest logo would be a good spot.
Instead this thing is mounted directly over his crotch. And, it's a telescoping camera. It has this little upward bend to it too. It could not possibly look more like Superman had an erection. The best part is that you have to imagine what parts of Luthor the crotch cam films. It's not aimed at his face. That one panel alone made it worth the $30 I paid for the Best of Silver Age Superman Book. That and all the shots of Superman thrusting the very phallic giant golden key into the lock on the Fortress of Solitude.
Also, doesn't it kinda weird you out to watch the JLA cartoon (JLU?) and hear Michael Rosenbaum voice the Flash facing off against Lex Luthor? I always have to kind of shake my head to get over it.
no subject
Date: 2007-03-11 12:18 pm (UTC)A 60 year plan because he loses a chess game, though? Oh, Lex <3
Also, O.M.G. What is the chance of you posting a scan of this crotch-cam? Your description just about killed me. XDDD
Heh, I love MR's Flash! (I think he's got a crazy sexy voice, so... ^^) Did take some getting used to...did you ever see the ep Flash & Lex switch brains? So MR is voicing Lex (and Clancy Brown does a dynamite job with Flash) and Lex shows just how much more havok he could wreak when he has powers, too...