I don't want to get to personal here (particularly since I'm a Byrne fan...at least Byrne circa 1975-1990) but the subject of Byrne's "mean-spirit" got me thinking about his work and my interactions with him over the years. I was at one time a member of the Byrne forum (actually, I was a member of the older forum that predated this) dating from its inception in 2004. For the most part I felt Byrne was usually on point with his opinions when it came to comics, but his increasingly bizarre and contrarian views on creators rights and politics gradually lead to me voicing my disagreement and getting banned. The final straw was his strange irritation at the fact that Kirby's family and Marvel had finally come to an amicable financial agreement.

By taking a hard-line "it was work for hire" stance, Byrne seemed to think that he deserved some sort of praise for being objective and pragmatic in the face of overwhelming sentiment, even taking into account the decades long injustice of the Kirby/Marvel situation. The fact that he benefited from a royalty deal that found its roots in the examples of the mistreatment of Siegel/Shuster and Kirby seemed either lost on him or beside the point. I made a comment that it was almost as if Byrne (and a few others on that forum) where suffering from a collective Stockholm Syndrome when it came to the business side of Marvel and DC. Sure, they despised the creative direction of the Quesada era (a sentiment I generally agree with) but that's where it began and ended for them.

I'll tell you exactly why I love it.

For starters, this isn't about Lex Luthor the 'master criminal' or even the 'mad scientist'. This is Lex Luthor the One-Percenter, the billionaire. He's got the Money, the Power, the Influence and the Ego. He apparently salves that ego by playing occasional mind games with regular people, in this case by offering Jenny the waitress an indecent proposal. He's testing the moral fortitude and fiber of these people through such offers. If they refuse, as he said at the end of the story, the doubt over what-may-have-been will linger and haunt these people for the rest of their lives. If they should accept, then he knows that he has someone with whom he can manipulate/corrupt further over that month till the point of would they even want to go back to their former homes and lives when all is said and done? Either way, it's a win-win for him and bolsters the image of his ego and his own importance.

As for Jenny, she's symbolic of rural small-town America. Growing up in the shadow of the big city, she had a good popular childhood but then real life sets in. Get married, get a job, get a house with a mortgage, have kids. There's nothing wrong with that life but it's the unrealized dreams and potential of youth that Luthor preys upon with these choices. You can do quite a bit with a million dollars, all you have to do to get it is make a moral sacrifice for one month.

Would she have done it? Bryne hints that yes, perhaps after listening to her co-workers about what they would do and then calling and hanging up on her husband at his work. But we don't know since finding out Luthor left takes away from any choice she would have made. Does she regret it? Or should we feel glad that she didn't fall prey to his tactic?

It's callous, manipulative and sad and speaks to some truths about the human condition and the compromises of life.   I also think it's a great sampling of Luthor's pride and egotism. 

Yeah...they should just let the sales tank and hear the shareholders howl instead of giving the fans what the sales prove they want.  

There actually is a concrete law saying exactly that.  It's law of supply and demand.  Fans vote with their dollars.  And they consistently vote for new number ones and repeats of the same stuff they've been reading for 20, 30, 40, 50 years. 

Great analysis. I agree that, on a symbolic level, it works, but where I struggle with the story is on a literal level -- that Luthor would actually take the time and energy to do this. Here's what I wrote about this story in my Superman in the Post-Crisis review thread:


The Post-Crisis Luthor, as written by pretty much anyone other than Byrne has tremendous shades of gray. After all, he was the best thing that ever happened to Metropolis until Superman came along and (hurting a few people who get in his way aside) arguably still is after. He's not a villain looking to destroy every life he touches and seeking out new ways to corrupt innocence; he's a man looking out for himself and seeking ways to expand his power base. A more convincing Luthor story would be one where the same waitress is being murdered outside his limo, and Lex keeps on driving. Her life should be of no concern to him, as it in no way affects his quest for more power and success.

I'm not saying you can't tell decent stories with Byrne's template, but with the core of the character gutted, it simply isn't Superman.  

Actually, it was a hobby.  I believe his chauffeur remarked something along the lines of "I'm surprised you bothered to wait the full ten minutes this time, boss" to which Luthor responded something like "This one required more finesse than the ones I've played this game with before."