Lex Luthor [looks at a picture of angels vs. demons]
That should be upside down. We know better now, don't we? Devils don't come from hell beneath us. No, they come from the sky.
Most-quoted character in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016): in 25 of its 60 quotes
A line from Lex LuthorSee, what we call God depends upon our tribe, Clark Joe, 'cause God is tribal; God takes sides! No man in the sky intervened when I was a boy to deliver me from daddy's fist and abominations. I figured out way back if God is all-powerful, He cannot be all-good. And if He is all-good, then He cannot be all-powerful. And neither can you be.
More lines from Lex Luthor
18 quotes Lex Luthor Lex Luthor And now you will fly to him, and you will battle him to the death. Black and Blue. Fight Night. The greatest gladiator match in the history of the world: God versus Man; Day versus Night; Son of Krypton versus Bat of Gotham!
Lex Luthor Now you don't have to use a silver bullet. But if you forge one, well then, we don't have to depend on the kindness of monsters.
Lex Luthor And now God bends to my will.
Lex Luthor The Red Capes are coming! The Red Capes are coming!
Lex Luthor If man won't kill God, the Devil will do it!
Lex Luthor Ancient Kryptonian deformity. Blood of my blood. Born to destroy you! Your Doomsday.
Lex Luthor [giving speech]
Books are knowledge and knowledge is power, and I am... no. Um, no. What am I? What was I saying? The bittersweet pain among men is having knowledge with no power because... because that is paradoxical and, um... thank you for coming.
Lex Luthor [to General Zod's corpse]
You flew too close to the sun. Now look at you.
Lex Luthor The night is here.
Lex Luthor [From the Ultimate Edition, after Superman appears in front of Luthor and tells him he's lost]
I don't know how to lose. [Superman tells him he'll learn] Ha! I'll learn. I don't hate the sinner. I hate the sin. And yours, my friend, is existing.
Lex Luthor The bell has rung. It cannot be unrung.
Lex Luthor [To June entering his quarters]
A little bourbon before lunch? [June subtlety declines] No bourbon?! Kentucky girl like yourself?! Hmm. My dad always said that Kentucky mash was the secret to health. Hmm. This was his room. I kept it just the same. Hmm. "Maybe one day Dad'll come back if I just keep everything the same". Hmm-mm. That is silly. The magical thinking of orphan boys.
Lex Luthor [To June over announcing blocking his license to mineral access]
The redcapes are coming. The redcapes are coming. Hmm. [Sits on table near her and starts drumming table underside] You and your hearings. Galloping through the streets to warn us. One if by land, two if by air. [June stops his drumming] Hmm. Do you know the oldest lie in America, June? Can I call you June?
Lex Luthor [To June]
You don't think Dad would mind, do you? If I just... changed one thing in this room? [Points to painting] Because that should be upside-down. We know better now, don't we? The devils don't come from hell beneath us. No. No, they come from the sky.
Lex Luthor [Nicky announces Lex's presence at benefit gala]
Me? Ah. Okay. [Gets on stage] Nicky. Uh... you're embarrassing me. Um... speech, speech. [Diana turns to look at Bruce] Blah, blah, blah. Uh... open bar. The end. Uh... [Bruce walks away] the word "philanthropist" comes from the Greek. Meaning a lover of humanity. It was coined about 2,500 years ago. [Alfred gives Bruce instructions of direction] Gods and men. Prometheus went with us. And he ruined Zeus' plan to destroy mankind, and for that, he was given a thunderbolt, boom! [Diane stares unimpressed] But on a serious note, the Library of Metropolis. But at one time, Dad could not buy them. No. My father could not afford books growing up. He had to root through the garbage for yesterday's newspaper. Books are knowledge and knowledge is power, and I am... [sheepishly chuckles] No. Uh, um... no. What am I? I... what was I saying? No. The bittersweet pain among men is having knowledge with no power, because... because that is paradoxical! And, um... [sheepishly chuckles] Thank you for coming. [Benefit gala guests start applauding] Please drink! Drink!
Lex Luthor [To June before testifying before a Congressional hearing]
You are going to be on the hot seat in there, Junebug!
Lex Luthor Do you know the oldest lie in America, Senator? It's that power can be innocent. [She turns and walks away] Good luck!
Scenes with Lex Luthor
6 scenes
Clark Kent
Mr. Wayne! Mr. Wayne! Clark Kent, Daily Planet.
Oh, my foundation has already issued a statement in support of– books.
Clark Kent
Sir?
Clark Kent
What's your position on the bat vigilante in Gotham?
"Daily Planet"– Wait, do I own this one? Or was that the other guy?
Clark Kent
Civil liberties are being trampled on in your city; good people living in fear.
Don't believe everything you hear, son.
Clark Kent
I've seen it, Mr. Wayne. He thinks he's above the law.
The Daily Planet criticizing those who think they're above the law is a little hypocritical, wouldn't you say? Considering every time your hero saves a cat out of a tree, you write a puff-piece editorial about an alien who – if he wanted to, could burn the whole place down. There wouldn't be a damn thing we can do to stop it.
Clark Kent
Most of the world doesn't share your opinion, Mr. Wayne.
Maybe it's that Gotham City in me. We just have a bad history with freaks dressed like clowns.
Lex Luthor Boys! Mmm, Bruce Wayne meets Clark Kent. Ah, I love it! I love bringing people together! How are we? [Shakes Bruce's hand] Hi, hello.
Lex.
Lex Luthor [Shakes Clark's hand]
Lex. It is a pleasure– Ow! Wow! That is a good grip! You should not pick a fight with this person!
Lex Luthor Do you know the oldest lie in America, Senator? Can I call you June?
You can call me whatever you like. You could piss in a jar and call it Granny's Peach Tea; take a weapon of assassination and call it deterrence. You won't fool a fly or me. I'm not gonna drink it.
Lex Luthor [Sees Superman rising above the tower]
Boy, do we have problems up here! [Twists his timer] The problem of– of evil in the world. The problem of absolute virtue.
I'll take you in without breaking you. Which is more than you deserve.
Lex Luthor The problem of you on top of everything else. You above all. Ah – 'cause that's what God is. Horus. Apollo. Jehovah. Kal-El – Clark– Joseph– Kent. See, what we call God depends upon our tribe, Clark Joe. Because God is tribal. God takes sides. No man in the sky intervened when I was a boy to deliver me from Daddy's fists and abominations. Mmnnn. I've figured it out way back: if God is all powerful, he cannot be all good. And if he's all good, then he cannot be all powerful. And neither can you be. They need to see the fraud you are. With their eyes. The blood on your hands.
What have you done?
Lex Luthor And tonight, they will. Yes. Because you, my friend, have a date! Across the bay. Ripe fruit, his hate; two years growing, but it did not take much to push him over, actually. Little red notes, big bang – "you let your family die!" And now, you will fly to him, and you will battle him– to the death. Black and Blue. Fight Night. The greatest gladiator match in the history of the world. God versus Man; Day versus Night; Son of Krypton versus Bat of Gotham!
You think I'll fight him for you?
Lex Luthor Mmm, yes, I do. I think you will fight, fight, fight for that special lady in your life.
She's safe on the ground. How about you?
Lex Luthor [Smugly]
Close, but I am not talking about Lois. No. Every boy's special lady– is his mother. [Superman becomes stunned, as Luthor shows him pictures of Martha Kent tied up and beaten] Martha, Martha, Martha. But the mother of a flying demon must be a witch. The punishment for witches, what is that? That's right. Death by fire. [A stunned Superman drops to his knees as Luthor throws the pictures at him. Superman's eyes soon turn fiery red]
WHERE IS SHE?!
Lex Luthor I DON'T KNOW! I would not let them tell me! Now, ah, if you kill me, Martha dies. And if you fly away, mmm, Martha also dies. But if you kill the Bat... Martha lives. [Superman's eyes fade to normal as he bows his head down] There we go. There we go. And now God bends to my will. Now, the cameras are waiting at your ship for the world to see the holes in the holy! Yes, the almighty comes clean about how dirty he is when it counts! To save Martha, bring me the head of the Bat! [Luthor's helicopter comes to pick him up] Ah, mother of God, would you look at the time? When you came here, you had an hour. Now it's less.
Lex Luthor I cannot let you win. I gave the Bat a fighting chance to do it, but he's not strong enough. So, if man won't kill God– the Devil will do it! Ancient Kryptonian Deformity– The blood of my blood– Born to destroy you! Your Doomsday.
Lex Luthor [Doomsday emerges to face a shocked Superman]
Now God– is good– as dead.
[Batman is suddenly in front of an imprisoned Lex, he has a knuckleduster with a burning bat shaped brand]
Whatever you do, wherever you go, I'll be watching you!
Lex Luthor [Ultimate Edition dialogue begins] [Unfazed]
Oh. Look at us. This is how it all caves in. Civilization on the Wayne Manor's– out the window. Hmm. [Lex briefly chuckles] But who would believe me? I– Ahh– I'm insane. I'm not even fit to stand trial.
That's right. We have hospitals that treat the mentally ill with compassion. [Lex giggles] But that's not where you're going. I arranged for you to get a transfer to Arkham Asylum in Gotham. I still have some friends there. They're expecting you.
Lex Luthor [Ultimate Edition dialogue ends] [Sneers, unfazed]
But the bell's already been rung. And they've heard it. Out in the dark, among the stars– ding dong, the god is dead.
Lex Luthor [Batman grabs Lex and lashes out, but at the last second strikes the wall next to him and leaves a burning bat symbol, then is suddenly gone] [Alone in his cell]
But a bell cannot be un-rung! He's hungry. He's found us. AND HE'S COMING!
Lex Luthor [Lois arrives at a skyscraper rooftop by helicopter to be greeted by Lex]
Plain Lo in the morning. Lola in slacks. Lois Lane. Hmm. [Puts arm on her shoulders] Come see the view.
Lex Luthor [Lex restrains her]
Now the secret to the height is the building material. It's light metals which sway a bit in the wind. Hmm. And you know something about LexCorp metals, don't you, Miss Lane?
I've proven what you've done.
Lex Luthor Wow, your feisty. Unfortunately, that will blow you away. Like sand in the desert.
You're psychotic.
Lex Luthor That is a three-syllable word for any thought too big for little minds. [Flicks her forehead] Next category: circles. Round and round and round they go to find Superman. Wrong category, boy. No, no, triangles. Yes, Euclid's triangle inequality. The shortest distance between any two points is a straight path. And I believe the straightest path to Superman is a pretty little road... hmm. Called Lois Lane. [Pushes her off the skyscraper and she is rescued by Superman]
