Superman II (1980)
Gene Hackman: Lex Luthor
Photos
Quotes
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Lex Luthor : [to Zod and Company, at the half-wrecked White House] ... Hi! Lex Luthor.
[no reaction from the Super Villains]
Lex Luthor : LEX LUTHOR! Possibly you've heard the name? the Greatest Criminal Mind on Earth!
Ursa : I told you this was a puny planet.
[moves menacingly towards Luthor]
Lex Luthor : Whoa whoa whoa wait... why don't you get to know me better?
[Ursa continues moving towards Luthor]
Lex Luthor : WAIT! I can give you anything! The... the... the... the Brass Ring, unlimited freedom to maim and kill! PLUS! Lex Luthor's keen mind, Lex Luthor's savvy, Lex Luthor's school of career guidance...
[Ursa begins crushing his hand]
General Zod : We already have this without you. You cannot bargain with what you don't have.
Lex Luthor : [sucking on his thumb to numb the pain] Oh Great One, what I am bargaining with is what YOU do not have: The Son of Jor-El.
General Zod : The Son of Jor-El?
Lex Luthor : [confused] I just said that.
General Zod : Jor-El? Our jailer?
Lex Luthor : [sarcastically] No, Jor-El the BASEBALL PLAYER...
[Ursa and Non start moving menacingly towards Luthor]
Lex Luthor : Yes, Jor-El your jailer.
General Zod : The Son of Jor-El! On this planet!
Lex Luthor : Perhaps you know him better by his nom de voyage, or the name he travels under: Superman.
General Zod : So THIS is Superman! How do you know of Jor-El?
Lex Luthor : Well, Your Excellency, as I explained earlier: I'm about the best there is.
General Zod : Revenge! We will kill the son of our jailer!
Ursa : Revenge!
Lex Luthor : REVENGE! Now we're cooking!
General Zod : He flies then?
Lex Luthor : Constantly.
General Zod : He has powers as we do?
Lex Luthor : Certainly. But, oh Magnificent One, he is one, while you are three.
[Non growls]
Lex Luthor : Or four, if you count him twice!
General Zod : Come! We will bring him to his knees!
Ursa : Praying!
General Zod : Yes, to ME!
Lex Luthor : Wait!
[the Super Villains turn to face Luthor]
Lex Luthor : First you must find him... and Lex Baby is the only one who knows where he is...
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Lex Luthor : What am I gonna do with you people, huh? I held up my end, I delivered the blue boy. What do I get from my triple threat? "Bow! Yield! Kneel!" That kind of stuff closes out of town.
General Zod : Why do you say this to me when you know I will kill you for it?
Lex Luthor : Kill me? Lex Luthor? Extinguish the greatest criminal flame of our age? Eradicate the only man on Earth with...
Ursa : Kill him!
Lex Luthor : ...Superman's address?
General Zod : Come. The three of us will crush the son of our jailer!
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Lex Luthor : Why didn't you go before we left?
Eve Teschmacher : That was two days ago.
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Eve Teschmacher : I like trees.
Lex Luthor : So does your average cocker spaniel.
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Lex Luthor : [as he's strolling through the half-demolished Daily Planet, in the wake of General Zod's minions; to himself] ... Even with all this accumulated knowledge, when will these dummies learn to use a DOOR KNOB?
[to everyone]
Lex Luthor : Howdy, folks! You should see the White House; they'll be cleaning it for months.
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Superman : [at the Fortress of Solitude; whispering to Luthor] Try and get them all into this molecule chamber. It takes away their powers, see... and turns them into ordinary human beings. Now if you could...
[Zod approaches]
Superman : Shh, shh!
Lex Luthor : [pauses] General, don't go in there. It's a trap.
Superman : Luthor, you poisonous snake!
Lex Luthor : That's a molecule chamber. It turns people like you into people like me.
General Zod : [nods] You've done well, Lex Luthor.
Lex Luthor : [pointing] The crystal there activates the mechanism.
General Zod : Lex Luthor, ruler of Australia... activate the machine.
[Non grabs Luthor and flies him up to the control panel]
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[Eve Teschmacher & Luthor are in a balloon over the arctic, after escaping the penetentiary & leaving Otis behind]
Eve Teschmacher : Lex, how could you do that to Otis?
Lex Luthor : What else is ballast for?
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Eve Teschmacher : [offscreen from a balloon] Psst.
Lex Luthor : Did you do "psst?"
Otis : No, but I wish I had before we left.
Eve Teschmacher : Psst.
Lex Luthor : Not that "psst", *that* "psst."
Eve Teschmacher : Psst.
Lex Luthor : Psst.
Otis : Psst.
Lex Luthor : Don't go "psst"; I'll go "psst"... Now, get on out there and find it.
Otis : Okay... What am I looking for?
Lex Luthor : You'll know it when you see it.
Otis : [after just missing it twice, Otis bumps right into...] I think I've found it - whatever it is.
Lex Luthor : What's it look like?
Otis : ...A ladder?
Lex Luthor : Bingo. Hold it for me.
[climbs up to join Eve T]
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Lex Luthor : North... Why does he always go north?
Otis : He wants to ski?
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Otis : How're we gonna get over that wall?
Lex Luthor : How'd we get in here?
Otis : We flew in, doncha remember?
Lex Luthor : That's how we're gonna get out.
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General Zod : Did you think we would give up our advantage? No! The son of Jor-El will be my slave, forever. If not, the millions of Earthlings you protect shall pay for your defiance... beginning with this one.
[indicates Lois]
General Zod : I sense the presence of Jor-El here. Destroy this place.
Lex Luthor : Hi, guys. Sorry I'm late.
General Zod : We have no more use for this one. Kill him.
Lex Luthor : Me? Lex Luthor? General... I helped you through the tough times, remember? You came to me with nothing, and I gave you Superman!
General Zod : Silence!
Lex Luthor : Well, look -
[Non shoves Luthor from behind]
Lex Luthor : Watch it, don't touch me!
[to Superman]
Lex Luthor : Guy's a clod... Promises were made, gifts exchanged. I gotta hand it to you, you know... You always told the truth. A guy always knew where he stood with you. You kept everything pure and simple. I've always respected you for that.
Superman : ...I guess there's some good in you after all, Lex Luthor.
Lex Luthor : Oh, yeah... I'm full of good. I just don't get to use it very often.
Superman : [whispering] All right, I guess we'll have to take that chance... We need to get them all into this molecule chamber; it takes away their powers, see, and turns them into ordinary human beings. Now, if you can...
[Zod approaches]
Lex Luthor : Don't go in there, General; that's a molecule chamber. It makes people like you into... people like me.
General Zod : You've done well, Lex Luthor.
[he motions to Ursa, who prepares to break Lois's neck]
Lex Luthor : General, the crystal there activates the mechanism.
[Zod motions for the Man of Steel to enter the chamber]
Lois Lane : [choking] No... Please, Superman, don't!
Superman : ALL RIGHT! Leave her alone, Zod!... You win.
General Zod : Lex Luthor, ruler of Australia, activate the machine.
[Non grabs Luthor and flies him up to the control panel]
Lex Luthor : Thank you.
[takes a crystal]
Lex Luthor : With your permission.
General Zod : Of course.
[Lois cries as Superman enters the chamber and the red lights turn on]
General Zod : [Superman exits the chamber] And now, finally...
[motions for the Man of Steel to kneel before him, which Superman does]
General Zod : ... Take my hand, and swear eternal loyalty to Zod.
[Superman grips Zod's hand... and crushes it! As Zod groans in agony, the Man of Steel lifts him off the ground and throws the villain across the chamber into a wall. Zod slides into a chasm below. Then Non tries to fly at Superman, but finds himself unable to do so; he, too, falls into the chasm below]
Lex Luthor : He switched it, did it to them! That's whey the lights were on out here... while he was safe in there!
[Superman nods and gives Luthor a "You guessed it" sign]
Lois Lane : You know something? You're a real pain in the neck!
[Lois punches Ursa into the chasm below]
Superman : [Lois goes to Superman, who hugs her] Are you all right?
[she nods]
Superman : ... I knew you'd double-cross me, Luthor. A lying weasel like you couldn't resist the chance.
Lex Luthor : Me, are you kidding? Hey, I was with you all the time! That was beautiful! Did you see the way they fell into our trap? Ha ha!
Superman : Too late, Luthor! Too late.
Lex Luthor : Look, Superman, I got a proposition for you. Now, don't stop me until you've heard this, because... I know I owe you one, but we're in the North Pole, right? Let's wipe the slate clean. If you give me a ride back, I promise I'll turn over a new leaf - a whole forest, while I'm at it! How's this sound to you: we'll say you were killed in the battle, you lie low at my place for a few months, and then we'll make a name for you as a professional boxer. I can see it now: The Smallville Strongboy. No, better yet: the Metropolis Masher! I ask you, is that a plan or is that a plan!
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Eve Teschmacher : Oh, you must be wrong, Lex. This couldn't be his home way up here.
Lex Luthor : "Wrong, Lex". Miss Teschmacher, those are two words we do not use in the same sentence.
Eve Teschmacher : Well, it's funny there's no front door.
Lex Luthor : Miss Teschmacher, "funny" is a person trying to smile without any teeth.
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General Zod : [to Superman] Your powers are identical to mine. But we are three. We could tear you limb from limb.
Lex Luthor : Do it, Your Grace. Just grab a leg and just make a wish.
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Lex Luthor : This is how it ends for the greatest criminal mind of our time. Not with a whimper, not with a bang. How do they choose to reward Lex Luthor... the greatest genius in this worid? Do they give him glory or treasure? What, matter of fact, do they give him?
Prison Warden : Life plus 25, Luthor. Get to work.
