As badly as he’d have me beaten, blacklisted, and balded for saying this, any guide to Lex Luthor comics doubles in many ways as a guide to Superman comics. Luthor and Supes are inextricable, forever destined to wage their war of perceived good and evil for the heart of mankind.
As a result, you can find many of Lex Luthor’s comic book appearances in the pages of Comic Book Herald’s Superman reading order.
In recent years, though, the likes of DC’s New 52 and DC Rebirth have broken new(ish) ground for Lex, operating fully as a member of the Justice League and as a Superman of Metropolis. His return to villainy has always been in the cards, and the Legion of Doom will always hold a seat at the table for Lex Luthor.
Below you’ll find many of the most essential Lex Luthor comics, from his team-ups with Braniac to ascension to the throne of Apokolips.
Related Reading Orders:
Lex Luthor Reading Order
Lex Luthor: A Celebration of 75 Years
Collects: Action Comics #23, 277, 544, 678, And 894; Adventure Comics #271; All-Star Superman #5; Jla #11; Justice League #31; Lex Luthor: Man Of Steel #3; President Luthor: Secret Files And Origins #1; Superman #4, 17, 164, 248, And 416; Superman (1987) #2 And 9; And World’s Finest Comics #59 And 88
Sexy Lexy gets his own greatest hits compilation as part of DC’s massive 75 years hardcover collections. This compilation extends into the 2000’s, but also includes some classic Lex Appearances such as Action Comics #23 and Superman #4. I’ve listed out the issues included in chronological order next to their publication date below:
- Action Comics #23 (April 1940)
- World’s Finest Comics #59 (July 1952)
- Superman #4 (January 1954)
- World’s Finest Comics #88 (May 1957)
- Adventure Comics #271 (April 1960)
- Superman #17 (July 1960)
- Superman #164 (October 1963)
- Superman #248 (February 1972)
- Action Comics #277 (March 1972)
- Action Comics #544 (June 1983)
- Superman #416 (February 1986)
- Superman (1987) #2 (February 1987)
- Superman (1987) #9 (September 1987)
- Action Comics #678 (June 1992)
- JLA #11 (October 1997)
- President Luthor: Secret Files and Origins #1 (February 2001)
- Lex Luthor: Man of Steel #3 (August 2005)
- All-Star Superman #5 (August 2007)
- Action Comics #894 (December 2010)
- Justice League #31 (September 2014)
DC Finest: Superman – The Invisible Luthor
Collects: Action Comics #26-40, World’s Finest Comics #2-3, Superman #6-11, World’s Best Comics #1, and New York World’s Fair #2
Starting in 2024, DC launched their DC Finest collections, which are intended to provide full chronologies of all their characters and comics. Given the tremendously long history of Superman and Lex Luthor, this may take a WHILE, but in the meantime, you can get to a lot of Supes and Lex’s earliest showdowns right here.
Collects: Action Comics #23, 544, Adventure Comics #271, Superboy #86, Superman (Vol. 1) #90, #164, #292, #416, Man Of Steel #4, Superman (Vol. 2) #9, #131 And Superman: Lex 2000
Since this selection wisely includes Superman #292, “The Luthor Nobody Knows,” by Elliot S. Maggin and Curt Swan, it also marks the right time to recommend Maggin’s novel, Last Son of Krypton. This was published alongside the 1978 Superman movie starring Gene Hackman as Lex, and it’s without question one of the best Lex Luthor stories I’ve read!
Lex Luthor In The 80’s!
Collects: Classic novel by Elliot S! Maggin!
Maggin’s Lex is simply not to be missed. I know novels aren’t comics, and I can’t endorse them as an artform, but these are books without pictures worth reading (if you can believe it!).
Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?
Collects: Superman #423 And Action Comics #583, As Well As “The Jungle Line” From Dc Comics Presents #85 And “For The Man Who Has Everything…” From Superman Annual #11
“Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow” is Alan Moore and Curt Swan’s “final” Superman story, writing a two issue look at the Man of Steel’s possible last days. Naturally, Lex Luthor is involved, although he meets a perhaps less glorious fate than he would have prescribed for himself.
Collects: Crisis On Infinite Earths #1 To #12
Marv Wolfman and George Perez’s work on Crisis is relevant for everyone in the DC Universe – Crisis comes for them all – but the Luthor name is particularly impacted through the priority inclusion of a heroic Alexander Luthor from an alternate Earth. This Luthor’s presence will continue to have ramifications for the DC Universe into the 2000’s.
Collects: Man Of Steel #1 To #22
The post Crisis Superman mythos was handed over to creator John Byrne, who reimagined Lex Luthor as the malevolent business mogul we know today. The entire Superman: Man of Steel series is worth reading for Luthor’s involvement, as are the Action Comics issues that run concurrently, including Action #600 which has major ramifications for Luthor.
Lex Luthor: The Unauthorized Biography
Graphic novella by James Hudnall and Eduardo Barreto. Leans into the malevolent 80s business persona of Luthor, and the lengths he’ll go to intimidate bad press.
Lex Luthor In The 90’s
Collects: Supergirl And Team Luthor #1
Following his apparent demise, Luthor reemerges as a benevolent team player with the clone of a protoplasmic Supergirl. You know, completely normal day to day routine stuff!
JLA: The Deluxe Edition, Vol. 2
Collects: JLA 10-17, Prometheus (Villains) #1, Jla/Wildc.A.T.S #1, And Jla Secret Files #2
Grant Morrison’s time writing JLA (primarily with artist Howard Porter) is widely heralded for a number of reasons, but some of my favorite moments occur when Lex Luthor shows up sporting his own Injustice Gang in the “Rock of Ages” storyline.
Superman’s Nemesis Lex Luthor #1 : Dark Victory
Collects: Superman’s Nemesis Lex Luthor #1 : Dark Victory
Superman Adventures: Lex Luthor, Man of Metropolis
Collects: Collects Superman Adventures #27, #54-55, and #65-66
The riff on the Superman animated cartoon featuring the excellent voicework of Clancy Brown (the Lex Luthor for anyone coming of age in the late 90s and early 2000s) is most notable for the classic “How much can one man hate?”.
President Luthor!
Collects: Lex Luthor: The Unauthorized Biography, The Adventures Of Superman #108-110, Secret Files & Origins: President Luthor #1, Superman #108-110, #162-165 And Superman: Lex 2000 #1
While the concept of a supervillain president has taken on new meaning, DC Comics was exploring the possibility with Luthor’s ascent in the early 2000’s.
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
Collects: Superman/Batman #1 To #13
The Luthor presidency begins its rapid descent into madness.
Collects: All-Star Superman
Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s all-time classic Superman story (seriously, it’s one of my favorite 20 comics of all time) features Lex in a compelling starring villain’s role.
Collects: Graphic Novel
Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo teamed up for a standalone look inside the min dof Superman’s archenemy, simultaneously crystallizing and psychoanalyzing the longtime villain.
Flashback story to Batman’s early days, and Bruce Wayne and Lex Luthor competing for a defense contract. By Andy Diggle and Whilce Portacio.
Collects: DC Infinite Crisis #1 to #6
Post-Infinite Crisis Luthor
Collects: 52 #1 To #52
Lex plays a major role in 52’s “world without a trinity,” forming his own seemingly well-intentioned (but obviously nefarious) young supergroup.
Lex Luthor and the Kryptonite Caverns
Collects: Graphic Novel
All ages read, intended for youngsters eager to learn about DC Villains like Luthor!
Collects: Superman #650-653, Action Comics #837-840
Lex tries to leverage the ending of Infinite Crisis to his benefit while Supes is still low.
Collects: Superman: New Krypton Special #1, Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen Special #1, Superman #681, Action Comics #871 And Adventure Comics Special Featuring The Guardian #1
Collects: Superman #682-683, Action Comics #872-873, And Supergirl #35-36
The “What if Superman landed in Soviet Russia” experiment obviously means a big role for the capitalist American pig Lex Luthor.
Geoff Johns and Gary Frank reimagine Lex’s origins in the mold of Maggin’s novels.
Collects: Blackest Night #1 To #8, Green Lantern #50 To #53
I recommend checking out Comic Book Herald’s full Blackest Night reading order to get a full sense of how Lex fits into this DC Universe plot. The short version is the widespread spectrum of lantern rings creates a new look and powerset for the archvillain.
Superman: The Black Ring Vol. 1
Collects: Action Comics #890-895
Superman: The Black Ring Vol. 2
Collects: Action Comics #896 To #900, Secret Six #29, Action Comics Annual #13
Lex Luthor In The New 52
Collects: Forever Evil #1-7
The events of the Geoffs Johns written Forever Evil establish Lex Luthor’s primary role in the New 52 DC Universe moving forward, and really last until 2018. When the Justice League seemingly disappear, Lex steps up to bring his own Injustice League to Earth’s rescue.
Collects: Justice League #30 To #52
Justice League: The Darkseid War Saga Omnibus
Collects: Darkseid War – Lex Luthor #1
Lex Luthor In DC Rebirth
Superman – Action Comics (2016-): The Rebirth – Deluxe Edition: Book 1
Collects: Action Comics #957-966 And Justice League #52.
Lex continues his New 52 status into DC Rebirth, operating alongside the return of classic Superman rather than in direct opposition.
Superman: Action Comics: The Rebirth Deluxe Edition Book 2
Collects: Action Comics #967-984
Collects: Superman #33-36 And #39-41
Lex Luthor / Porky Pig #1 (2018)
Collects: Justice League No Justice #1 To #4
The post DC Metal Justice League template provides the impetus for a return to classic villainy for Lex Luthor.
Justice League by Scott Snyder: The Deluxe Edition Book 1
Collects: Justice League #1-12 and Justice League/Aquaman: Drowned Earth #1
Justice League by Scott Snyder: The Deluxe Edition Book 2
Collects: Justice League #13-25 and Justice League Annual #1
Justice League by Scott Snyder: The Deluxe Edition Book 3
Collects: Justice League #26-39 and Justice League Annual #2
Did somebody say… Legion of DOOOOMM!!!!
Sexy Lexy’s story here converts him into… Apex Lex! See DC’s Year of the Villain for that whole sordid saga!
Collects: Superman #42 to #45, Superman Special #1, Action Comics #1000
Dawn of DC
Superman: The Last Days of Lex Luthor
Collects: #1 to #3
Black Label, out of continuity story from Mark Waid and Bryan Hitch. Good stuff for those of us who love Superman and Lex teaming up against all their wishes!
Collects: Superman (2023) #1 to #5
Lex is behind bars but scheming something involving Supercorp! Luthor remains a prominent force throughout the run.
Superman Vol. 2: The Chained (Superman (2023-))
Collects: Superman #6-12
Superman: House of Brainiac (Superman (2023-))
Collects: Action Comics #1064-1066, Superman #13-15, and Superman: House of Brainiac Special #1
Superman Vol. 3: The Dark Path (Superman (2023-))
Collects: Superman #16-21
Superman Vol. 4: Rise of the Superwoman (Superman (2023-))
Collects: Superman #19-24 and Superwoman Special #1
Batman/Superman: World’s Finest Vol. 5: Secret Origins
Collects: Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #18-19, #25 and Batman/Superman: World’s Finest 2024 Annual #1
World’s Finest is a flashback issue to Lex and Joker’s first meeting. Drawn by Dan Mora. Come on now!
Superman Vol. 5: Love and Mercy
Collects: Superman #24-27, Superman: Lex Luthor Special #1
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