Many fans complained about the lack of obvious motivation for Lex Luthor’s crusade to bring down the Man of Steel in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. If you paid attention to the dialogue, though, it’s clear that Jesse Eisenberg’s villain carries a lot of trauma from his loveless upbringing by his late father that seems to have caused him to develop a warped hatred of gods and heroes.
But is there more to the story than that? One DC fan took to Vero to discuss his theory that Lex had actually killed his dad prior to the events of BvS. The movie’s director, Zack Snyder, then chipped in to say that he agreed with that reading of the character.
Here’s a screenshot of the filmmaker’s reply:
Of course, the idea that Lex committed patricide is not unique to BvS. Michael Rosenbaum’s portrayal of Lex Luthor on TV’s Smallville also killed his father, Lionel Luthor (John Glover). Certain comic books have likewise explored this backstory for the villain. The notion was first mentioned in 1989’s Luthor: The Unauthorized Biography before Mark Waid resurrected it for 2001’s Superman: Birthright.
In BvS, however, it’s previously been confirmed that the intention is that Lex’s father was also called Alexander Luthor. This means that LexCorp derives its name from Luthor Sr. instead of its current CEO, as you would expect. The thinking is that Lex literally lives in the shadow of his abusive parent’s name everyday. This definitely has extra weight if you subscribe to the theory that he killed his dad. With a constant reminder of his crime hanging on his company building, it’s no wonder Luthor went off the deep end.
Snyder has been clearing up a lot of mysteries about Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice lately, including the thinking behind the opening sequence, the Knightmare scene, the hidden symbolism and even why there are so many horses. If you want to find out more behind the scenes secrets about the movie, we’d recommend checking out the director on Vero, his social media platform of choice.