Lex Luthor is one of the DC Universe’s greatest villains, but he’s never really been known for his fighting ability, despite this though, he once managed to take down the entire Bat-Family. Lex is a world-class genius and the ultimate opponent of Superman, but he’s not above mixing it up with other members of the caped community as well. Unfortunately, that extends to the family of flying rodents operating out of Gotham City.
During the “Public Enemies” storyline in the debut issues of the Superman/Batman series by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness, Lex challenged Superman like never before by using his power as the President of the United States to place a bounty of one billion dollars on Superman’s head. This financial reward drew all kinds of villains and headhunters out of the woodwork and sent the Man of Steel on the run with the Dark Knight in tow. But when Lex claimed to have captured both Superman and Batman, he really captured the attention of their respective crimefighting families.
In Superman/Batman #5, Luthor’s White House finds itself under siege by the Superman Family, including Superboy, Natasha Irons a.k.a. Steel, an alternate version of Supergirl, and even Krypto the Superdog. While the heavy hitters are making all the noise with a full-frontal assault, the stealth team, made entirely of members of the Bat-Family, work together to break into the Oval Office itself. Nightwing, Robin, Batgirl, and the Huntress make their way into the nation’s seat of power, only to find Lex there waiting for them, and the bald billionaire discloses that their press release proclaiming Superman and Batman’s arrest was a ruse to get the duo to show themselves. Lex activates a Kryptonite-based trap to occupy Superman’s allies as he’s interrogated by Batman’s proteges. Just as the heroes threaten him, he reveals that the room has been filled with an odorless nerve gas for which he’s already been inoculated. Robin passes out almost immediately before Lex manages to incapacitate Huntress and Batgirl with one strike. But Nightwing proves harder to put down. Still fighting through the gas, Nightwing swings at the President, demanding that Lex tell him where Batman and Superman are. Unfortunately for Dick, he’s no match for Lex in his current state, and Luthor savagely beats him until he doesn’t get up anymore.
Superman and Batman do arrive to rescue their families, but not until after Lex proves just how dangerous he really is. In a fair fight, Luthor wouldn’t have a chance against heroes like Huntress or Robin, and especially not against Nightwing or Batgirl. That’s why he needed to think ahead – a calculating trait that he shares with the Bat Family’s patriarch.
Lex is a villain of the mind, and it was his mind that won the day against Gotham’s protectors. An odorless nerve gas seems a bit on the nose for a supervillain’s trap, but it’s hard to expect anything else from Luthor. Despite the fact that he was the President at the time, in his heart, Lex Luthor will always be a mad scientist. And luckily for him, it was his intellect that saved him from Batman’s allies.
While Luthor would soon be predictably toppled by Superman and Batman, that doesn’t change the fact that he managed to get the drop on a group of highly trained fighters and detectives. With everything Batman has prepared his proteges for, it’s surprising that odorless nerve gas wasn’t in the regimen. Either way, their training didn’t stop Lex Luthor from taking the Bat-Family down – even if he did have to cheat like the bad guy he is.