Superman: The Last Days of Lex Luthor #2 (2025)

The Daily Planet has run a poll asking audiences on whether Superman would really save Lex's life and the majority has voted against his decision. Lois and Jimmy debate on the ethics behind Superman's choice to save Lex, with Jimmy saying that maybe the world would be better off without Lex, and Lois replies that it would be easy for Superman to let Lex die or even kill him, but if he did that, why stop there? Why not kill other bad people like the Joker, Deathstroke or Putin? Lois reminds Jimmy that Superman always tries to hold himself to the highest ethical standards and that will never change, even if someone like Lex is involved. At the Fortress of Solitude, Superman puts on his Legion flight ring, places Lex within a special chamber and takes him to the far future. They arrive at the 31st century, home of the Legion of Super-Heroes. The Legion, having accepted Superman as a member of their group long ago, welcomes him to their headquarters while Brainiac 5 scans and analyzes Lex's body to find the cause of his ailment. Saturn Woman establishes a mental link between Superman, Lex and Brainiac 5 so they can inspect Lex's body down to a microscopic level. In that moment, Superman inadvertently takes a look at Lex's memories. In their youth, Lex had secluded himself in a warehouse to work on his latest project, a machine that would let him open a wormhole and contact other forms of life across the universe. Clark, wanting to be honest with Lex about himself, came over to visit him and Lex invited him to see his project and the power source he would use to activate it: a piece of Kryptonite. The Kryptonite starts to affect Clark, and Lex, thinking Clark doesn't care about him or his project, gets angry and throws him out of the warehouse. He then activates the machine, but it grows unstable and explodes. Still weakened by the Kryptonite, Clark can only knock on the door as Lex is seemingly confused by the fire. As the vision ends, Lex starts to convulse and Brainiac 5 says that whatever caused Lex's sickness is drawing power from an external source. There are potential remedies, but Lex's body might not survive them. Lex asks why can't the Legion check their files on him to verify his fate, but Brainiac 5 replies that, over the last ten centuries, historical records have been lost or corrupted. Knowing that he will find no cure for Lex in the 31st century, Superman takes Lex to their relative present. Once they are gone, Saturn Woman says that everybody knows what happened to Lex and Brainiac 5 replies that he couldn't just tell Superman, fearing what the truth would do to him. Superman's next stop is Themyscira, home of the Amazons. He hopes that the purple ray, the Amazons' healing technology, will cure Lex, but Wonder Woman stands in his way. She refuses to let a foul person like Lex set foot in Themyscira, even when Superman promises that Lex will pay for his crimes. The situation even degenerates into a fight, but cooler heads prevail and Wonder Woman agrees to take Lex to her home, on the condition that Lex remains under her vigilance. Clark returns to the Daily Planet while Wonder Woman submits Lex to the purple ray. Lex, wrapped in the Lasso of Truth, admits to be afraid of dying. Wonder Woman believes that Lex expected to die as a king, with humanity under his heel, but Lex replies that he isn't limiting himself to Earth. He wants to travel the stars and can't stomach the thought of Superman, with his enormous alien power, looking down on humanity. Wonder Woman accuses Lex of projecting his feelings onto Superman and replies that Superman actually admires ordinary people and never saw them as inferior and to confirm her opinions, she grabs the Lasso of Truth, displeasing Lex. Superman returns to Themyscira hours later and Wonder Woman delivers Lex to him. She replies that whatever is affecting Lex is beyond the Amazons' ability to cure it, forcing Superman to take a different approach. He outfits Lex with a special suit that can withstand underwater pressure and takes him to Atlantis. Lex believes Superman is taking him to visit Aquaman, but Superman explains that Atlantis is not a city, but a continent, and the section ruled by Aquaman is called Poseidonis. Their destination is Tritonis, ruled by King Ronal and his bride, Lori Lemaris. As Superman and Lori share a telepathic reunion, Ronal explains that Superman and Lori used to be in love with each other, but their relationship ended tragically. Lori doesn't believe Lex should be saved, but Superman insists and she guides him to the magical garden of B'Eltre, which contains the fruit of Arion, a fruit that can cure even the gravest of diseases. Ronal warns Superman that the garden of B'Eltre is dangerous and Superman goes to the garden to retrieve the fruit all by himself, not wanting to risk Lori's life. He is attacked by a large underwater beast but Lex distracts it long enough for Superman to escape with the fruit. Back in Tritonis, Lex eats the fruit, but it doesn't cure his disease. Instead, it links his mind to the collective telepathic power of the Tritonians. He even catches a brief glimpse of Lori's memories with Clark. Superman is disappointed that their mission was a failure and takes Lex out of Tritonis. Still, he was happy to see Lori again. Superman and Lex continue their journey across the universe and visit a wide variety of exotic people, like Adam Strange, the Guardians of the Universe, the Spectre, the New Gods and even Mr. Mxyzptlk, but none of them have the cure Lex so desperately seeks. They return to the Fortress and Superman notices that Lex's inner temperature is rising. He must be entering some kind of final stage. At the same time, Lex notices that Superman is frustrated, a feeling unbecoming of someone of Superman's stature. Superman can't help but be disappointed that Lex wasted almost his whole life trying to destroy him, while Lex continues to blame his enemy for the state of his life instead of taking responsibility for his actions. Superman says that he tried every way to reach out to Lex and help him become a better person, except for one: revealing his secret identity. In just a few seconds, gone are the blue uniform and red cape of Superman, replaced by a business suit and pair of glasses. Lex can't believe that Clark and Superman are the same person, but Clark replies that his secret always stood in front of Lex. It's just that Lex was so arrogant that he didn't bother to see it. Lex had developed such a powerful hatred towards Smallville that he completely erased everything about to his mind and never thought about it again, including his old best friend. Clark even admits that if he was honest with him in those days, then perhaps he could have saved him, but instead he made an error in judgment and robbed humanity of an intelligence that only happens once every century. Clark apologizes for everything that has happened between them, but Lex doesn't want Clark's apology. He is still angry and even accuses Clark is making this whole experience about himself when Lex is the one suffering from a lethal disease. Frustrated, Clark punches a crystalline console, only to find out that he is not healing. His powers are gone. He believes Lex to have set up a trap for him but Lex denies this. Suddenly, a wall explodes and Brainiac emerges. It was indeed a trap for Superman, but Lex had nothing to do with this.