One Justice League Unlimited Episode Shows Why Superman Fears Lex Luthor — And Why Gunn and Snyder Missed the Mark
For decades, Lex Luthor and Superman kept their war within the lines—until Justice League Unlimited season 2 episode 7, Clash, blew up the rulebook. One engineered provocation, one shattered city, and a hero pushed past his limit: the fallout rattled the League and rewrote their rivalry.
Every now and then a superhero cartoon swings harder than you expect. Justice League Unlimited Season 2, Episode 7, 'Clash', is one of those. It takes the classic Superman vs. Lex Luthor rivalry and shows how a mortal with a plan can make a god bleed without throwing a single punch.
The setup: Lex plays hero, Billy vouches for him
Captain Marvel, aka Billy Batson, shows up on the Watchtower with the kind of optimism only a kid-turned-champion can carry. He publicly says Lex deserves a shot at redemption. Why? Luthor is unveiling shiny low-income housing projects and looks, to the world, like a philanthropist on a reform tour. That endorsement from a cape becomes a headline fast, and suddenly Lex is basking in good press.
The catch: Kryptonite in the walls
Behind the ribbon-cutting, those new homes are powered by a complex Kryptonite-based energy setup. Superman clocks it and immediately smells a trap. The guy who is allergic to green rocks assumes Lex is baiting him, and he is not wrong to be suspicious. But he lets that suspicion run hot.
The brawl nobody wanted
Billy tries to talk Clark down before anyone panics. It does not land. Superman decides to shut the whole thing down and ends up throwing hands with Captain Marvel. It gets ugly. Clark pounds him in a fight that is brutal to watch specifically because Billy idolizes him. By the time the dust settles, Superman realizes he read the moment all wrong, apologizes, and still loses. Billy quits the League on the spot. Damage done.
The reveal: exactly the game Lex wanted to play
Of course Luthor engineered the entire scenario. He gets a twofer out of it: public sainthood from the housing rollout and a fractured Justice League licking its wounds after a hero-on-hero beatdown. No doomsday device needed. Just optics and pressure points.
Why it hits hard
Captain Marvel models himself after Superman. Watching him get dismantled by his hero hurts, and that is the point. 'Clash' underlines the thing Clark actually fears about Lex: not fists, not armor, not some alien monster. Lex wins with planning, leverage, and a fixation on breaking Superman that borders on psychotic. His brain is the weapon.
About live-action Lex: where we were, where we might be headed
The DCEU gave us a Lex who mostly wanted to watch Superman burn. Loud, chaotic, very much a mad scientist vibe. James Gunn, on the other hand, has been positioning his take in 'Superman' as a more calculated foil, the guy who tries to outthink and outspend Clark to prove the world does not need the Man of Steel. The DCU could use more of that deceitful, charming schemer from the comics.
Gunn has also teed up an upcoming 'Man of Tomorrow' as a story about both Superman and Luthor. If that is the lane, expect a version of Lex who weaponizes perception as much as tech, and who is even more depraved in his obsession with beating Clark at every level.
- Episode: Justice League Unlimited Season 2, Episode 7, 'Clash'
- Director: Dan Riba
- Voice cast: George Newbern, Kevin Conroy, Phil LaMarr, Carl Lumbly, Susan Eisenberg
- Production: Warner Bros. Animation
- IMDb score: 8.4/10
- Where to watch in the US: HBO Max
How should the DCU shape Lex going forward: slick puppet master or full supervillain peacock? I am voting puppet master. Tell me yours.