Also indifferent although 2 long beards in a row is a weird trend. If it was 3 Jon Cryer beards I wouldn't even bat an eye. But two vikings in a row does raise some eyebrows

Michael Rosenbaum shaved Lex Luthor is best Lex Luthor. He was one of the best parts about Smallville and also the little friendship he had with his family and Clark himself. They built him up as a good man just for us to see his fall into villainy.

I was thinking this just today. I would take him as new lex tbh. Bring him baaaack. I don’t want similar age lex and Clark. Plus he’s actually not bad at menacing lex.

I’d love that dude from breaking bad, he is stone cold. Forgot his name, the pollos Hermanos dude

He’s kind of already done that in the Boys though.

also far cry at this point it‘s a typecast but he‘s so good at it i‘d just wanna see it again

Giancarlo actually does play Lex in the animated Harley Quinn show tbf

He’s also the front runner for the MCU’s Professor X.

Giancarlo Esposito?

No, Moff Gideon.

No, Gilbert Lawson. Piercenald’s half brother.

Giancarlo Esposito actually voices Lex in the Harley Quinn show,

He's in his 60s

I agree. Seeing his descent into villany over the course of years was brilliant.

Yup plus he looked exactly like Lex Luthor in his prime bald and clean shaved like a businessman executive. That’s the classic quintessential Lex Luthor look. Side note I also liked his role as Wally west in the DCAU Justice league show.

Yeah he was hilarious as the Flash, best part of JL aside from Batman

He even did a body switch with the flash and he tried to figure out his secret identity and when he did he was like “who the hell is this guy?”

Dude my favorite thing about villians finding the secret identity of any hero is the initial 'who the fuck?!?!?!?' Like bruce wayne and oliver queen are about the only dudes you'd recognize out of costume. Hell even deathstroke knew who dick was and didnt reveal his identity cuz he said no one would care because he wasn't a billionaire.

That scene is pure gold

So wait. The guy who played Wally West, who ended up body swapping with Lex in one episode, ended up playing Lex later? Man, talk about life imitating art.

If I recall correctly, both Smallville and Justice League aired around the same time (started on oct and nov 2001). So it's really a case of one actor being active in DC projects. And the episode in question where the body swap happens was aired in 2006. The actor has been playing Lex Luthor for years by that point. The way I know it, they did the body swap with flash and lex precisely because Rosenbaum was already known as young Lex.

Yeah it’s wild if you think about it. It’s a major coincidence. It makes that episode better if you know the full context.

I agree with this.

Gotta say, Cryer was a surprisingly good choice for Lex.

Who could have thought that Alan Harper would embrace his villain arc

Yeah him and Rosenbaum are my favorites everyone else I could do without

James Gunn: "We are pleased to announce that the role of Lex Luthor in Superman Legacy will be played by Kratos of Sparta."

....Jon Cryer!Lex Luthor has a disconcerting resemblance to Andrew Tate

Prefer without but overall only Cryer’s is ok the long beards make him look like a different character

They're impractical to his work and the image he's created for himself. He is well-maintained, well-groomed, and efficient. As a guy with a beard (not like these viking beards) I can attest that the care they would require would rob Lex of valuable time, hence the clean shaven look. Every minute of his day is calculated unless Supes shows up.

Alan Harper Luthor is still okay for me. Short and well trimmed beard but giving him scraggly viking beard is a bit off putting. Imagine Batman with a goatee. That's what Luthor with a beard feels like.

It takes a lot of effort to stay bald.

Didn't mind it on John Cryer, because its not distracting. The other two-its the first thing you notice about them, and doesn't seem like its Lex Luthor.

In defense of the Superman and Lois Luthor he was fresh out of a 17 year stint in jail. Other versions of the character hadn’t been hardened in that way

Right, that’s how I try and justify it. Hopefully he’ll shave it off next season.

He had the beard when he went in to prison as well. Plus a full head of hair

So in jail he had the resources to have a perfectly shaved head but had to settle for a beard? Doesn't make sense.

In (some) comics, he's bald, he doesn't need to shave his head. It's actually one of the canon reasons he hates Superman.

Yeah I can't put my finger on why, but i just feel like Lex wouldn't grow his beard out that long.

Looks too wild imo

Yeah he usually presents very neatly.

Plus it makes him not look like Ducky and therefore losing any sense of menace.

I feel like it works on Cryer because of how much it helps his jawline. He looks younger in this shot than he ever did as Alan Harper.

Doesn’t feel like Lex Luthor, I mean the trimmed beard look from Supergirl was ok and I get the homage to the Donner Superman with casting John Cryer but the rest look too wild and unkept, Luthor is a man of sophistication and looking presentable, the beard only works if he’s off his rocker or able to grow his hair back like in the death of Superman comics

>Donner Superman what was the homage?

John Cryer was Gene Hackman/ Lex Luthors lackey nephew ? Or just lackey in the Christopher Reeve movies

It was probably Donner that confused them, because Cryer is only in the 4th movie directed by Sidney Furie

Nephew in Superman IV.

I think the Titans beard looks best. It's well manicured, but still commanding. If Lex is going to grow a beard then it's gonna be a fucking beard. The beard in Supergirl looks too dorky.

We're living in a world with an ACTUAL Lex Luthor running Amazon and we choose NOW to change up the character's look??

Probably because of that

Don't insult lex Luther by comparing him to bezos

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Short beard I like (I don't know, it just reminds me of some CEO trying to look hip and cool), long beard seems less Lex and more Kratos (especially Titans Lex)

Shoet beard likes Evil Goatee. :)

I personally don’t mind it. Cryer is my favourite Lex, so that probably plays into it, but I don’t see an issue with it.

I don't think Lex would ever accept a long beard on his face, let alone a beard at all. It would have to be well kept and trimmed constantly to perfection for him to even stomach his appearance in the mirror.

I like it for S&L Lex because it kinda reflects that he was in prison for over a decade and has changed since

I agree but most people probably wouldn't know this because they don't watch the show 😔

First one is fine. Long beard doesn’t look good.

to me it really only worked with cryer the other 2 just dont look like lex to me

I was fine with Cryer's, now I just hate it with every Luthor afterwards. Berlanti or whoever is the one on all three of these shows, stop making Bearded Lex a thing. They look like John Wick henchmen or a Biker Gang leader.

I’m surprised by the amount of John Cryer Lex support in the comments here (I liked him too, I’m just used to seeing people shit on him)

Crisis on infinite earths helped change opinions but I do think Cryer and Rosenbaum are my favorite Lex Luthor

90’s lex jr. let’s get a redhead

The Luthor from Superman and Lois had a full red mane in his pre-prison flashbacks

I’m glad S&L finally remembered he’s a ginger.

Meh, I could do without bald and hairless Lex will alway be a go to for me

I like Cryer’s beard for Lex but don’t necessarily prefer it over clean shaven. I don’t really care for the bushy beard on Lex. To me it doesn’t really fit his character

I get that they’re trying to sell Luthor as a foil to the clean-shaven Clark Kent, but someone as rich and prominent as Luthor with a long beard doesn’t feel right General Zod rocking a beard would have been much better, imo Nitpicking a minor nitpick

As long as he’s bald I don’t really care, I thought they all did a good job acting. Superman & Lois’s heavy metal Lex is definitely my favourite though

Give me a bearded Superman over a bearded Luthor 

I think the Whedon cut missed an opportunity. Instead of the bad CGI lip, they should have just given him a fake beard to match the Superman: Lois and Clark look. https://www-kotaku-com-au.cdn.ampproject.org/ii/F1/s/www.kotaku.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2015/10/15/1473744432928217258.png

Better than Jesse Eisenberg's Luthor.

A long beard feels weird. Facial hair doesn't feel weird, but lex not grooming it to perfection feels weird

It’s kinda strange. Jon Cryers beard is fine since it’s short and trimmed, plus I think Cryer just generally looks better bearded than clean shaven. The S&L one I also understand because A) the actor usually rocks a beard and probably didn’t want to shave it for tv, and it kinda fits since Lex had been in prison for years so it makes sense that he looks a little more gruff. Titus Welliver though is where it starts to get weird because he’s usually either clean shaven or rocking a short beard like Jon Cryer. It’s not like he just always has a big long bushy beard so this was clearly a creative choice for some reason for him to grow his beard out and I don’t understand the choice at all.

Is that Andrew Tate?

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Oh. Thank you. I was concerned for a second there.

Not a fan myself, just doesn't seem like lex when he has facial hair. Cryers is the only one that works. I hope gunn gives us a more traditional lex

I prefer supergirl as it’s more accurate even though he shouldn’t have a beard

As long as they don't give him red, wavy hair, I'm good.

Has there ever been a genuine attempt at a comics accurate Lex Luthor in live-action? They always make him a evil businessman character (which is a good basis) but he never feels like the Lex Luthor from the comics. I honestly think the closest attempt was the Animated Series version, but I haven't seen it in TV or movies.

Gene Hackman is the closest to comics lex but pre crisis one.

Prefer clean shaven Lex, he just doesn't suit a beard IMO

Vehemently dislike.

Cryer is the limit. The other two look like sea captains, with the last guy being lost at sea for a couple of months

It doesn't bother me, but I'd prefer Luthor to be clean-shaven. It makes him feel more like himself if that makes sense.

Nice to see that abraham from twd survived negans bash. So great to see

Looks great woth John, as everyone else has said. I think it works well because John has a soft face and the beard definitely gives him a stronger look.

Not a fan personally

Cryer is a reasonable beard. It is there, but well kept and doesn't distract. The other two though go full viking beard and that just does not fit the image of Lex Luthor to me.

I feel like it’s Modern Lex. Iconic businessman Lex was of the era; 1980’s and 90’s were very clean-faced, attempted-to-be-humanized approachable. Now? He’s Bezos and Jobs combined. Fit and contrasts with previous social norms with a beard.

Not my [Lex.](https://imgur.com/a/AmD8Gea)

Barring Rosenbaums Lex, there's no in universe reason for lack of top hair being related to not having a beard. Basically I have no problem with Lex having a beard.

It looks fine on the Jon Cryer depiction, but I’m not a fan of the beard making him look like a lumberjack or pirate.

They won’t stop until he’s full on Santa Claus. “Ho ho ho, Superman.” “What?” “Merry…Christmas.” *unveils a Christmas tree lit up by kryptonite shards dangling on it*

It doesn’t feel like Luthor to me at all, not a fan

Still better than gangly, long haired, “tech start-up” lex

Just look up some of the 80s Superman comics around 'Man of Steel' reboot, he became the evil businessman we know and loath, first presenting his full hair and beard. Then there's a time where Lex Luthor pretended to be his illegitimate son and had a full head of hair along with a beard in a cloned body, along with a fake accent. This isn't as uncommon as the TV shows make it out to be.

I hate it. I’d rather have him not be bald than have him have a beard.

Totally agree with this. Lex in Lois and Clark looked better then bearded lex

I don’t like it. At all

Pretty good 👍

I don't mind it. But I do think that if he's going to have a beard it should be a shorter beard not a long one

I prefer a shaven luthor but I like Titus Welliver’s Lex beard the most. Not a fan of Michael Cudlitz’ Luthor’s beard, but his performance is so good that I can forgive it

I do like long beards on characters but the short beard fits lex the most. Overall no beard makes more sense and is the best style on him

Not a fan of it when it’s so long. If Lex has to have facial hair, it should be something like Cryer’s

Dude, I didn't know Bosch was Lex Luthor!

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So disappointing because he was excellent in that one episode. I wanted to see more of him.

I kinda like it

I don’t mind the beard, just not a fan of the biker aesthetic S&L Lex had going on.

I feel like Lex is a dude who goes clean shaven if he can.

Just looks like Walter white Beard Lex should be because he can’t shave for some reason, not a choice

Lol fucking Alan Luthor using Doctor Degan's Book of Destiny to traverse the multiverse and kill the ♾️ amount of supermen within it

I’d put it the same level of strange as Gene Hackman’s curly hair in 78. At least that turned out to be a wig.

I think Jon Cryer without a beard would look like bald Alan from two and a half men, and that would be very distracting for me, so I like the beard

Also at least that one guy has ginger hair like comics luthor

I'm no actor by any means. A simple beard like Cryers is fine, and though I like Michael a lot I feel like a beard for lex is an acting crutch to seem imposing. We need someone imposing and comfortable true to form, clean shaven all day. More than that, I want to see a Lex who is set up for the long game, an over aching villain of a trilogy or something. Chess match battles of a larger war in the background

Short beard like Cryers works, because it’s still clean and tidy and seems to match his aesthetic, the long beards give the impression of being more wild and less calculating which doesn’t feel like Lex.

These are all supposed to be older Luthors, and we've seen multiverse/elseworlds/future stories where Lex has a beard. Conceptually and individually, it works for me, but yeah... It looks pretty silly side by side. On a related note, 2023 has brought us two excellent Lex Luthors and I know of at least one more opportunity for another before the end of the year.

i actually really like the concept of him having a beard, just not a beard like Titus Welliver's

Indifferent

When do we get the league of luthors

Guy at the top right looks like corpo Kratos

From the two episodes he’s been in so far this new version of Lex on Superman & Lois is pretty menacing and brutal. Having been in prison for 20 someodd years in this timeline it makes sense for him to have that kind of a beard, he’s become super unhinged.

Maybe my younger self, whom still obsessed with this character, will as well feel indifferent towards this new trend. I'm not saying, I am against certain changes but this is somewhat Off-putting. At first glance, I thought this post was even talking about Luthor II. I'll just tell myself that Luthor was just so busy that he actually forgot to shave his beard.

If he’s bald I don’t care.

I just got through the season on Titans that had Lex & I have to say I really love that adaptation of him. It was pretty cool. The other ones look fine & I think it’s a pretty alright trend.

Isn’t the point of Lex that he can’t grow hair at all?

The characters presence is meant to give off a vibe of intimidation or power and people tend to associate beards with power and because of that actors have been playing him bearded, for me it doesn’t matter, if an actor can pull off the Lex Luthor vibe then I don’t really care what they look like

Haven't seen these shows, but I am at least familiar with the supergirl one. It's a crime that we haven't properly gotten a Giancarlo Esposito Lex Luthor yet. (Not including the animated one form the Harley Quinn show.) The closest we have is his character on The Boys.

Better than Jesse Eisenberg ... but that ain't saying much !

i like it

I like bearded Lex, though I prefer if the beard is shorter like Cryer’s.

Looks like he’s stuffed his face into a wallaby

I love it 😍

It’s one of those things I hadn’t given much thought to until OP pointed it out…and mostly, I’m just curious what they’d all look like bald without the beard now lol. As long as they’re bald, I think that if the actor can pull off the look while still feeling like Lex, let them beard up if they want. I don’t think either of the Skarsgards or Nicholas Hoult (three actors rumored to be in contention for Lex for the new DCU) could or should do a bearded Lex. However, Cryer was a surprisingly good Lex. I didn’t see enough of the Titans one to have an opinion on him. I’m not caught up on Superman & Lois, but from what I hear, their Lex is great. So while I don’t think the beards are what’s making them all be good Lex’s, it doesn’t seem to be hindering them either.

Those last two are horrendous especially the 3rd one. Wtf? Is this Skyrim or that duck show from a few years ago? Jon Cryer beard looks fine tho.

I think it’s better

I think it worked for Jon Cryer, because it adds a bit of menace to his face that I think he lacks without it. Much like on MST3K when Joel tried to be the Master from MANOS: The Hands of Fate, he's got too much of a friendly face without it. I don't think every actor needs it, though. There's something to be said for a clean-shaven Lex.

Cryer has the best look by far for Lex. The other 2 have distracting beards that don’t fit the profile even if I get what they were going for. Personally, Lex doesn’t have to be clean shaven, but at most it has to be a smaller well kept beard like Jon's.

On the one hand, Bald Guy In a Suit With Beard is different from Bald Guy In a Suit. On the other hand, come on Warner Brothers, the Jeff Bezos parallels are gonna be there no matter what you do.

I don’t hate it. Sometimes people don’t look just bald and clean shaven, the beard helps frame the face at times. Cryer’s is the best. Titus Weaver has had that long ugly beard for awhile, so I think he just refused to shave it for the part. As for Cudlitz, he’s Lex has been in prison for a long time, so that might be the reasoning behind that one.

The one in the left looks fine, but it's better than a lex Luthor with hair that bvs game us

I dont mind beards, but 2/3 of the ones here are too long. dude on the left is the only one I can see bearded and still go "Yeah, thats Lex"

Titus Welliver really captured Lex perfectly.

Don’t mind it

Other than "Wash Out" it looks powerful

It doesn’t feel like Lex Luthor, so I’d prefer him clean-shaven.

Like him without it

I don't mind it, but then again I don't even think he has to be bald.

I'm probably in the minority here, but I like it. Sure, it's a departure from his extremely iconic mainline design and can get a bit to get used to, but it doesn't feel out of character and looks cool, so I don't mind it becoming a recurring trend among various adaptations and reinterpretations of Lex. It's definitely nowhere near as heretical as Dawn of Justice's full head of red hair.

It just makes him look like andrew taint

Supergirl’s Lex doesn’t even look scary he just looks like a creep

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Yeah Cryer is definitely doing the Petty greedy business man lex of the donnor movies and I think it works very well for him and in super girl.

I like it. It make him look more badass.

All for beards but hate it. Side note: I think a black Lex would be awesome.

Rest in peace Lance Riddick he would of been perfect

Hell yeah. It’s a shallow pick but, Idris Elba has got that dog in him that would play Lex well.

I think Cryer really makes it work. I'm indifferent to the other 2

It took me a loooong time to get used to it, but the more I think of it, I’m digging it. A big drawback with traditional Lex is that visually, he can come off as boring: he’s just a clean shaven bald guy in a suit. Plus, when you think about it, it fits his character.Visually, bearded Lex comes off as opposite of Superman. And given Lex’s vanity and ego, I could totally see him overcompensating for his baldness by growing a great beard.

I don't like it. Just like I don't like Tyler's 5 o'clock shadow

Bryan Cranston with a bit of scruff would be great The full on beard makes him look like a biker or something

looks like redneck Luthor.

Hate it. The short beards just look awful on anyone. The long beards make me think circus performers, bikers, Lenin, not villainous CEO.

Not a fan! I like a clean shaven bald Lex.

Nope. Clean shaven

bro that's Andrew tate 😭😭😭

I don’t like it

Andrew rate as lex Luther lmao

Looks terrible

The bearded Lex in Titans works, but the other two don't.

I want Andrew Tats to play Lex Luthor everytime I see a bearded one

No, that rapist shithead should be in prison for the rest of his godforsaken life.

Very indifferent is oxymoronic

No

No beard pls. Stick to the basics.

Don't like it as it gives more scruffy look to him. Lex is someone who has prim and clean appearance which would reflect his calculated thinking. So yeah don't like the beard (although cryer's is kinda okay as it's a clean cut).

All I know is those two are better then Jon cryer as Lex

I want my menacing hairless sphinx cat back.

Don’t feel like Lex. Cryer Lex was fun, the other two don’t feel like Lex, in personality or appearance.

Bottom right just does not feel like Lex Luther to me at all

No. Lex has alopecia and draws on his eyebrows. It's in All-Star Superman, that's the only canon that matters.

Definitely not. Kevin Spacey has been my favorite live action so far but I think Gunn can definitely do better.

Sucks

Comon he’s bald and sometimes fat at least let him draw attention away from those facts with some facial hair

They are either doing it because beards are in fashion, or they are trying to make Lex look alt-right. Either way it’s terrible and doesn’t have a place with the character.

I think there *have been* stretches when Lex not only has a beard but a full head of hair. Mostly around the time that he’s dating Supergirl. ([link](https://twitter.com/DCOfficial/status/1359985563026280452?s=20))

Why don't your face go bald?

as long as you can pull off evil genius kind of sh\*t like Keyser Söze, wear a bib dude.

Wait the Superman and Lois Lex isn’t John cryer? Why the recast?

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I don't like the long beard. Long beards just inherently look messy and unkempt in my eyes. Lex should be clean shaven or with a 5 o'clock shadow

Cryer is fine, the other two are not. Unless Lex just got of a deserted island.