Apparently there is some controversy over the casting of Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor for the upcoming Superman movie. He seems like the appropriate nerd typecasting to me, but I thought it might be fun to mix it up by casting someone like Vin Diesel: he could be a badass Lex Luthor. But I guess that would be negating the whole point of Lex Luthor to begin with, and his entire purpose as Superman's arch nemesis: brain vs. brawn.
My guess is that people responded to Lex Luthor so well because many comic book fans were smart wimpy nerds in middle school and loved the idea of a brainy non-tough guy constantly being a thorn in the side of the popular jock hero guy, and so it was like living vicarious wish fulfillment through the comic books. I never really liked Lex Luthor much, though, because if Superman is so super, how come he's not super smart? What, don't our yellow sun rays work to amplify intelligence? (Watching the news every day confirms to me that they don't.) As he is, Superman is really more like Brawnyman with added physical superpowers of flight and heat ray and x-ray vision. And it always rubbed me the wrong way that some annoying egomaniac smartypants normal puny human could even be his arch nemesis. But I do get the brain vs. brawn thing, and I see why people like it.
But wouldn't it be more fun for Superman to have an arch nemesis who is super-powered too, but with his greatest weakness, like, say, Kryptonite Man? His origin would be that as Krypton exploded, radiation mixed with certain elements and molecules required for the creation of life, and a being made of Kryptonite was created. Then he could beat Superman, and so Superman would have to get Batman to fight Kryptonite Man for him. And then, naturally, Superman would beat up all of Batman's arch villains for him as Batman sat in a hammock or lounge chair, sipping cocktails as Superman pummeled the Bat bad guys.
Kryptonite Man would look kind of like The Thing from The Fantastic Four, but green rather than orange. Or have they already done this idea? I never read many Superman comics.
