Superman: Lex Luthor’s Super-Clone Gets a Perfect Name

Lex Luthor has turned to clones before in his many machinations against the Man of Steel. His early efforts created the being known as Bizarro. He was more successful in the creation of the Superboy later called Kon-El. However, Luthor recently topped himself with the creation of a clone of himself with the powers of Superman, which has a most fitting name.

The Super-Lex clone premiered in the closing pages of Superman #24. It was here that Mercy Graves revealed that she had replaced her heart with a piece of Kryptonite, ala Metallo. More, she unleashed a clone of Lex Luthor with Kryptonian superpowers.

This was apparently all part of a plan concocted by Luthor, before the amnesia he acquired while fighting Brainiac inspired him to seek redemption. Despite this, Graves moved forward with the plan, which was meant to ultimately corrupt Superman by having him work with a rebranded LexCorp called SuperCorp. With that having failed, Graves decided to finish off the Man of Steel and Superwoman for good.

What is the Super-Lex clone called?

The opening of Superman #25 reveals that the Super-Lex clone was technically known as Project X-El. Beyond being a reversal of Luthor’s first name, it also fits the naming scheme of members of the Man of Steel’s biological family. This makes it doubly fitting.

The flashback also reveals that X-El was not part of Luthor’s original SuperCorp scheme. While Graves thinks it is wise to have a backup, Luthor dismisses the idea. Partly because a backup implies the possibility of failure, but also because the X-El clone was too unstable to be reliable.

The preview ends with an end to the flashback and a return to the present. It is unclear how Superman will contend with the threat posed by by X-El and a Kryptonite-empowered Mercy Graves. Ironically, his salvation may lie with the now heroic and reformed Lex Luthor.

Superman #25 arrives in comic shops everywhere on April 23, 2025.