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Superman Vol 6 25

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"Last Lex Standing": Shortly before activating Project Blackout, Lex Luthor explains his plans for Supercorp to Mercy Graves. He tells her that when Superman accepts he needs Lex's help to save the world and starts working with him rather than against him, he will have finally won. Mercy asks if

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You might be the Man of Steel, but you are not the Man of Tomorrow. I AM.
— Lex Luthor

Superman (Volume 6) #25 is an issue of the series Superman (Volume 6) with a cover date of June, 2025. It was published on April 23, 2025.

Synopsis for "Last Lex Standing"

Shortly before activating Project Blackout, Lex Luthor explains his plans for Supercorp to Mercy Graves. He tells her that when Superman accepts he needs Lex's help to save the world and starts working with him rather than against him, he will have finally won. Mercy asks if he is still considering the clone, known as X-El, as a backup but he tells her it is too unstable. Lex warns Mercy that no matter what happens in the future, X-El must never be released.

In the present day, X-El emerges from the containment tank. Mercy reveals that she has implanted all of the original Lex's memories up until Project Blackout into the clone, as she believes the original has changed so much since then that he is no longer the "real" Lex. X-El attacks Superman and Superwoman and Lena signals to her father for help with her signal watch. At Stryker's Island, Lex is being returned to his cell when receives Lena's message. He tells Chief Kekoa and the police guarding him that they need to go back to Supercorp but Kekoa assumes this is just a scheme to escape and refuses. Lex yells at him that people are in danger, when suddenly the wall is blasted open and Marilyn Moonlight rides in. She says she has come to bring Lex to justice but he tells her the city is in danger and he can help her protect it. He asks her to take him back to Supercorp, and promises that after she can take as much revenge as she wants when the crisis is over.

At Supercorp, Superman and Superwoman smash through a wall and fly outside to get away from Mercy's Kryptonite, but X-El chases them outside. Marilyn and the original Lex ride in and Lex summons his warsuit. He attacks the clone while Superman and Superwoman, who are still feeling the effects of the Kryptonite and too weak to fight, try to protect civilians from being caught in the crossfire. During the battle, X-El is suddenly wracked with pain, cracks appear across his face and he declares "Me feel great". Lex reveals that X-El was created using the same technology that he used to make Bizarro and his biology is unstable and degenerating. He asks his clone to stand down, promising to help him, but X-El yells "Yes!" and hurls him at a building.

X-El declares that Metropolis rejected him and he will destroy it, proving that he is the one true Lex Luthor. Superman and Superwoman recover from the Kryptonite with the sunrise and attack him; while Marilyn fades away, telling Luthor that he's on his own and to not forget their deal. X-El headbutts Superman in the face and he starts to get angry, his Red-K levels spiking. Superwoman tries to calm him down but X-El grabs her. He tries to make a pass at her and she pushes him away, saying that he's not acting like himself; but he replies that finally has nothing holding him back, and that after he kills them he will kill their family. In a rage she hits him with a massive blast of heat vision and they both fall out of the sky.

X-El, now with the cracked grey skin of a Bizarro, gets up and stumbles towards them, saying he won't ever stop. Lex tells him to stop, again promising that he can help him but X-El replies that Lex Luthor would never help an enemy and he has forgotten who he is and why he does the things he does. He yells that he is not Lex Luthor, but Lex calmly replies that he is and blasts X-El's head off. Mercy, who was watching the whole fight, whispers "Welcome back" to herself. Superman is furious but Lex insists that he did what needed to be done to save the city. Superman says he's taking Lex back to Stryker's and asks Superwoman to go and get Mercy but Lois replies that she can't and her powers are gone.

Appearing in "Last Lex Standing"

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Notes

  • This issue carries the legacy numbering Superman #868.
  • The flashback from this story takes place during the events of Action Comics #1050.
  • Lois Lane loses her "Superwoman" powers in this issue. It is unclear as of now what effect this has had on General Zod, the original owner of those powers.



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