Did You Know Superman Caused Lex Luthor’s Baldness and Earned a Lifelong Enemy

Superman has faced an insane number of villains since the day he came into being. However, there is one who has been the arch nemesis of our hero for as long as one can recall, and he is none other than Lex Luthor. Now, after watching Superman, it would only be natural to think that Lex’s hate for Superman comes from a point of envy, but what if I told you the real reason that caused the seeds of hatred to be sown was given to us back in 1960, and had something to do with Lex’s baldness? So, now that I think I have you curious enough, let’s dive right into it.

Did you know Lex Luthor was a Superman Fan?

Back in 1960, we were introduced to Adventure Comics #271, where we met a teenager, Clark Kent, who went by the name of Superboy, along with a young, brilliant, and aspiring scientist, Lex Luthor. In this comic, Lex was a massive fan of Superboy and met him on occasion. However, one day, he saved Superboy’s life from Kryptonite poisoning he got from a Kryptonite meteor. Following that, Lex and Superboy became fast friends, but the friendship was not meant to last very long.

This One Mistake Gave Superman a Lifelong Enemy in Lex

One of the defining factors of Lex Luthor has always been his bald head. However, according to Adventure Comics #271, this was not always the case. Lex Luthor had gorgeous brown hair, which he was greatly fond of. When he helped Superboy and they became friends, Suprboy helped Lex build a laboratory for himself to develop a more potent antidote for Kryptonite poisoning. To do so, Lex would work tirelessly with volatile chemicals, but one day, due to his own mistake, the lab caught fire, which spread dangerously.

Superboy arrived at the scene and used his super breath to put out the flames. However, the young Superman was still learning the extent of his powers, and in a sense of urgency, kind of overdid it. Viles of toxic chemicals spilled and mixed, giving out toxic fumes. These fumes reacted with Lex’s hair, making them fall out permanently, which in turn turned Lex Luthor bald.

In his mind, Lex Luthor turned the events around and convinced himself that Superboy made him bald purposefully because he was jealous of Lex’s intellect and swore revenge on the young hero who would later become Superman. This very incident became the root cause of everything Lex did as an adult, which ultimately led him to become the greatest enemy of The Man of Steel.

However, in Man of Tomorrow, we will see Lex Luthor and Superman team up to fight an undisclosed enemy.

Now, I can’t say for sure if we will get to see this storyline in any upcoming DCU project, but I really hope we do. What do you think? Let us know in the comments.