- "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. They need to see the fraud you are... with their eyes... the blood on your hands."
- ―Lex Luthor to Superman[src]
The Conspiracy against Superman was a series of hate terrorist encounters and attacks led by billionaire businessman Lex Luthor, with the goal of discrediting and assassinating the Kryptonian Kal-El to make him look like a fraud to the world's population.
Lex's plan consisted of setting up a trap for Superman to frame him for a brutal massacre in the Nairomi Desert, generating some controversy around the Kryptonian. Being responsible for an explosion at the United States Capitol, Lex psychologically manipulated Bruce Wayne into murdering the Kryptonian, although the two eventually teamed up against him. Eventually, Lex released the deformity Doomsday, which confronted the alliance of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, with Superman sacrificing himself to take down Doomsday.[1]
Background[]
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Lex Luthor viewed Superman as a threat to humanity and made a grandiose plan to expose him as a false god.[1] To that end, he hired Anatoli Knyazev and his contractors to help frame and discredit Superman.
Conspiracy[]
Massacre in Nairomi[]
After discovering the secret identities of both Batman and Superman, Lex Luthor lured Lois Lane to Nairomi to interview Amajagh. He had Jimmy Olsen outed as a CIA agent in order for Amajagh to capture Lane and draw out Superman. He had Amajagh's men murdered and their bodies burned to appear as though Superman killed them with his heat vision. Luthor coerced Kahina Ziri to give a false testimony to Congress so they would summon Superman to testify.
Chase for the Kryptonite[]
Luthor gathered more information on metahumans and asked June Finch for an import license to acquire Kryptonite so he can weaponize it in exchange for access to the corpse of Dru-Zod. When Finch turned him down, he got clearance from Senator Barrows. Luthor used the Kryptonite to make a scalpel and removed Zod's fingerprints, and Batman later stole the Kryptonite and weaponized it himself.
Luthor also hired inmates to kill prisoners branded by Batman to persuade Clark Kent to investigate further, and he also mailed photos and newspaper clippings to Kent. He intercepted the disability checks of Wallace Keefe and mailed them to Bruce Wayne to persuade him to raise his suspicion of Superman. Luthor invited Wayne and Kent to a charity event, leading to them meeting for the first time and have their tensions build on their own views and methods for serving justice.[1]
Bombing of the United States Capitol[]
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When Superman was summoned to the Capitol, he sent Keefe with a wheelchair containing an explosive, lined with lead so Superman could not detect the device. Following the bombing, Batman was pushed over the edge and Superman placed himself in exile.[1]
Duel at Gotham Port and Rescue of Martha Kent[]
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Luthor used Zod's fingerprints to access Scout Ship 0344 and combined his own DNA with Zod's corpse to create Doomsday as a contingency plan if Batman did not kill Superman. He counted on either Superman killing Batman to prove to the world he was not omnibenevolent or Batman killing Superman to prove he was not omnipotent. He had Martha Kent kidnapped by Anatoli as incentive for Batman to fight Superman, although Martha was rescued by Batman.[1]
Showdown in Gotham Port[]
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When Batman and Superman join forces with Wonder Woman, Lex unleashed Doomsday, resulting in a massive battle. In the end, Doomsday killed Superman after he sacrificed himself to kill the abomination.[1]
Aftermath[]
Lex was promptly incarcerated in Belle Reve, although he was later transferred to Arkham Asylum by Batman. Many memorials were created to honor Superman's passing and his sacrifice to defend the world from Doomsday's threat. After Superman was buried in Smallville, Batman and Wonder Woman began to find recruits to form the Justice League and give hope to the world and defend it against any potential threats in the future.[1][2]
The death of Superman also inspired metahumans to use their abilities more openly and the formation of Task Force X, a black-ops team of expendable super-criminals to combat the threat of the Enchantress in 2016.[3]