Casting for "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" was racked with controversy.
Fans of DC comics and movies, generally vocal at the best of times, expressed outrage at the choice of Ben Affleck as Batman and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman.
But no actor was more disparaged than Jesse Eisenberg, who was cast as Lex Luthor.
In the months since the news broke, the Internet seems to have calmed down, though movie-related enthusiasm appears aimed toward the onscreen members of the Justice League.
Jesse Eisenberg is poised to change that.
Batman’s recently met his match in film. Heath Ledger, much-maligned by internet commentators immediately after news of his casting broke, won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his diabolical take on the iconic villain.
But in the years since, the antagonists in major superhero movies have felt … flat. Insipid.
The unbalanced hero-to-villain dynamic makes for uninspired conflicts and plot.
"Batman v Superman"’s Lex Luthor could tip the scale squarely back in favor of the bad guys.
Recent Marvel films have dropped the ball of late. Although its Netflix series have offered more nuanced, compelling antagonists to balance 13-episode heroic arcs, the studio’s big-screen offerings have been severely lacking.
Each of the "Iron Man" films has introduced a vaguely power-hungry scientist-type who uses his intellect to make machines he can hit people with.
"Ant-Man"’s bald, corporate baddie Darren Cross reads like a terrible alternate-universe version of Lex — an antagonist who should have posed a strategic threat, but ended up in another ridiculous weapon prototype suit, hashing it out with the hero once again.
The two "Avengers" films have both started with intelligent villains, then quickly devolved into throwing entire armies at their team of heroes so as not to detract from any of the six to 10 main characters’ onscreen development.
Since "The Dark Knight," DC’s villains have also been pretty mediocre.
Man of Steel’s Zod suffered from unclear motivation, "The Dark Knight Rises"’ Bane was eminently quotable but otherwise uninteresting, and "Green Lantern"’s Parallax, who wielded the terrifying power of yellow, is better left in the past.
"Batman v Superman"'s Lex Luthor only has to accomplish two things in order to be monumentally better than any of these villains.
He has to be smarter than Superman. And he has to survive the movie.
It's a combination that works, and one that DC could certainly adapt.
Trailers and marketing for "Batman v Superman" have not been shy with theological language. In this franchise, the extent of Superman’s basically render him a god.
Lex Luthor — particularly one played by Jesse Eisenberg — cannot compete with Superman in the biceps-and-buffness arena.
But with the presence of other superpowered individuals, like Wonder Woman, Darkseid and a whole universe of alien races to plumb, there’s no need for Luthor to suit up in a Krypton-infused rig and try to punch Superman into submission.
He can spend at least one movie orchestrating ruin from the most tactical position possible, far away from the flying destructo-man.
This Superman’s sense of self is incredibly screwed up, which should make manipulating him a piece of cake.
Super strength and heat vision? Check.
Lie detection and healthy self-esteem? Those need work.
Add in a public profile that includes mass destruction and probably a fair bit of manslaughter from that, as well as a world that’s barely adjusted to the continual threat of nuclear war.
Suddenly, turning the entire world against Superman doesn’t seem impossible, especially not for a super-genius. Enter the actor who’s built a career on playing the smartest guy in the room.
By introducing a secondary villain in Darkseid, DC has set the scene for a satisfyingly punch-heavy movie, while allowing Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor to orchestrate Superman’s eventual ruin.
All "Batman v Superman" needs is a Lex Luthor who can convince us he’s on top of this game.
Jesse Eisenberg is the villain Gotham and Metropolis deserve.
