Superman: All 11 Lex Luthor actors ranked from worst to best

5. Michael Cudlitz (Superman & Lois)

You might be surprised to see Michael Cudlitz so high on this list, and that’s more than fair. Thus far, we’ve only just begun to scratch the surface of Cudlitz’s Lex Luthor having only truly just met him in the final two episodes of Superman & Lois season 3. However, in just two short episodes, he’s already delivered one of the most compelling portrayals of the character we’ve seen.

In just two episodes of Superman & Lois, Cudlitz has already established his Lex to be one of the most physically imposing iterations of the character we’ve seen yet. Not only does Lex use his resources to get what he wants, but he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty and use brutal force to show his authority.

This Lex not only hates Superman, but he shares an equal disdain for Lois Lane who was responsible for putting him behind bars with the power of the pen. This makes him that much more chilling. It’s one thing when he’s targeting Superman, but to see him take aim at Lois has been truly chilling. It’s clear, he will stop at nothing to bring down those who dare cross his path.

There is no denying that we expect Cudlitz to rise in this ranking as we see him step into the spotlight with a larger role, and aren’t quite prepared for the terror his Lex is going to wreak.