Did I mention that this is the era of Superman in which Lex Luthor was President of the United States. Having a villain in that role is far less amusing or intriguing now than it might have been at the time. Though Lex is definitely a smarter president than the current Villain in Chief.
The question of what Superman will do when his drives and ideals mesh with Luthor's, as President, is a very interesting one. A part of the American, or perhaps the nationalist, psyche that I've never been able to wrap my head around is respect for an office that transfers to those who hold the office and may not be all that respectable. One of the questions raised by Luthor's ascendancy to the Presidency is whether or not one should be listening to someone who holds high office even if they don't agree with the holder. For those of us in the general populace, it's not really a pertinent question. I disagree with many things that our leaders do, but in my personal and public lives, I'm not beholden to these leaders, really. But someone like Superman, who's sworn to obey the laws of the land, and knows he has the ability to completely ignore them, has to make this choice. Does he listen to Luthor, and obey Luthor, given their history together?
The action of today's comic takes place alongside the conversation that Superman and Luthor have about this very topic. Superman does in the end do what Luthor asks him, but very much on his own terms. It's an interesting moment where we see two diametrically-opposed characters come to an agreement about a particular situation. As Squirrel Girl teaches us, there's always moments of commonality. We just have to be open to finding them.
(Of course, I write this as the UCP is set to take control of Albertan politics, and I don't think I've seen a campaign with quite so many racists and homophobes plainly on the ticket. *sigh*)
"I don't care which office you hold...I will never be your errand boy. Remember that."
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