Three brave heroes. Three diabolical villians. Three couragous heroines. There was a tale, when all three sets of these three legends came together, across three Earths amidst the Multiverse, and defined both similarities as well as difference between them. The younger couple, in love, yet pulled apart by their individual careers. The older couple, in love, bound together as partners in life. And the couple that never was, given choices in the lives of each. And the three opponents to the paragons of power, each as brilliant as their foes were mighty. There was the young genius seeking revenge upon his childhood nemesis, the older genius seeking revenge upon all humanity including his arch-enemy, and the middle-aged scientist motivated into fighting his new adversary based on love. For your consideration: three men from Krypton, three scientists of Earth, and three famed female reporters in Metropolis
Kal-El, Kal-L and Kal-Ll were rocketed from their respective Kryptons, making the Earth their new home. Kal-El as a young man learned his alien origin, met fellow survivors of his homeworld, and protected that planet's last surviving city. Kal-L as an adult learned his alien origin, only met one other survivor who was a bridge to his lost society, herself the one raised within that planet's virtual remnants. Kal-Ll was aware of the world he was exiled from, a world that still survived but shunned both his existence and that of his long-lost father. These experiences formed each of these men's life choices. Kal-El and Kal-L became a heroic Superman, Kal-Ll a villainous Ultraman.
Kal-El always felt like an alien, caught between two worlds, and so didn't form the strongest of bonds with humans on Earth-One. Kal-L only knew of life on Earth-Two, and grew extremely close to humans who became his family. Kal-Ll experiences only ostracization from both the world of his birth and Earth-Three leading toward his criminal tendencies. When the three finally met, their divergent personalities would cause each to have an impact upon the others' lives.
Lex Luthor, Alexie Luthor and Alex Luthor each were their world's greatest scientist, and each would ultimately be caught up in perpetual conflict with the caped Kryptonians living on their planets. Lex allowed childhood tragedy to shape his disposition, seeking to strike back at Superboy whom he felt scarred him for life. Alexie sought ultimate power and proved successful, until he finally met defeat at the hands of Superman. Alex wanted only peace and tranquility, and reluctantly came into conflict with Ultraman in order to achieve these goals.
The one constant in these three relationships was the women at the center of them. Lois Lane, on each world, was fearless, sought the truth in her reporting, and became attracted to the noble champions of their worlds. The Lois of Earth-One could never get close enough to her Superman, because he allowed his mission to take priority over his relationships. The Lois of Earth-Two became not only the wife but also the partner-in-life to her Superman, proving invaluable to his blending their relationship with his mission. Lois of Earth-Three found nobility, first in a visiting Captain Comet of Earth-One, and later in Alex.
And it was Alex Luthor whom this Lois encouraged into becoming the first superhero of Earth-Three. Indeed, he would definitely be needed for the looming threat that came to his universe.
Lex utilized a hidden device to exchange himself with Alexie, from within their jail cells. When each Luthor tried to defeat the other world's Superman and failed, the pair next journeyed to Earth-Three. It was there that Alex revealed that he... like his counterpart... knew of the existence of this Earth. Months earlier, while Lex used a device to travel from Earth-One to Earth-S, home of Captain Marvel, Alexie traveled to Earth-Three to create a secret laboratory which included an ion tractor beam. With this device, he planned to merge Earths One and Two together, destroying both including his hated foe, resolved to instead conquer this third heroless Earth.
At first, Lex hesitated, at this point in his criminal career he wasn't as bloodthirsty, in addition to his familial bond with his sister Lena. Despite this, once the Luthors' and their new ally Ultraman were confronted by the Supermen as well as Alex, Lex joined Alexie in his mad scheme. Although the Supermen defeated the Luthors and saved their worlds, this was the catalyst that later set in motion events to follow
This encounter undoubtedly led to Lex seeing his cold-hearted counterpart, and thus feeling nothing when Alexie was slain by Brainiac, as this rid Lex of a prime competitor. Meanwhile, Alex continued to act a his world's prime protector for years to come, battling both Ultraman and his allies in the Crime Syndicate.
The three Lois Lanes continued to be the moral compass in the lives of their one true love. The Lois of Earth-Two would continue to provide emotion support... not only for her husband Kal-L... but also by being a surrogate mother to his longlost cousin Kara, Power Girl. The Lois of Earth-Three eventually married Alex, and together they would have a son together before their world was destroyed during the Crisis on Infinite Earths.
Perhaps a seed of nobility was planted in the mind of Kal-Ll after meeting his good counterparts, as he sacrificed his life in the end while trying to save his adopted world. Kal-El learned to open his heart to a long-lasting relationship, only as Clark Kent when he and Lana Lang became engaged. And Kal-L learned to cherish the love in his life, nurturing his wife during her advanced years in times of Crisis.
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