Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice – Who Is Lex Luthor, Jr.?

Recently, the first in-movie viral campaign launched by Warner Bros. for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice dropped a bombshell on fans — Jesse Eisenberg will not be playing Lex Luthor, but Lex Luthor, Jr.  The news lit up the Internet like wildfire.  Though this may seem like a disappointment to the layman, fans have received it quite well.  Here’s why.  The biggest complaint about the casting of Eisenberg was that he was much too young and lacked the gravitas needed to pull off being the Man of Steel’s arch-nemesis.

Now that we know he won’t be playing Lex Luthor-proper, the idea of Eisenberg embodying the role seems much more plausible.  This is in no way bad-mouthing Eisenberg as an actor.  It’s just that Luthor has always been portrayed as someone who’s much more older and had a larger, more threatening presence.  However, people may be thinking that Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice director Zack Snyder and writer Chris Terrio are just pulling things out of thin air.  Not so.

In the comics, the concept of Lex Luthor having a son is nothing new.  In fact, it has been revisited many times throughout history.  In this article, we look at the three different progeny of Lex Luthor — from DC’s vast multiverse — to see where Snyder and Terrio will draw inspiration.

Next: A forgotten son