Metropolis--Den Of Iniquity And Moral Inversion!!

Elliot S! Maggin has some odd ideas about what was going on in Metropolis in the early 1980s..

Earlier this week we saw a story where Maggin told us that Morgan Edge held Bacchanalian cosplay orgies at his mansion.

Well, sure, that's how the rich live. But what do the simple folk of Metropolis do?!?

Wait...Luthorcon? Luthercon III?!?!?

Yup.

So, wait...Metropolis really has an annual convention celebrating Lex Luthor?? Remember, this was pre-Crisis, so it's old school Luthor, and everyone knows that he's a vile villain!!

And yet...

You're telling us that the good citizen's of Superman's own home city have an annual fete in honor of one of history's greatest monsters?

Yup.

That's kind of...well, wrong, isn't it?

But wait--there's more!! Like lots and lots of Lex Luthor cosplay!!

This is giving me uncomfortable feelings....

Yes, the crowd loves Luthor...and hates Superman!!

What the hell is going on here?!?!

Maybe you think it's all fun, but the biggest event at Luthercon is...

Yes, they stage the death of Superman.

No, really, they act out Lex Luthor killing Superman with kryptonite. And the crowd loves it.

What the hell is going on in Metropolis, Elliot S. Maggin?!?! What kind of den of iniquity and moral inversion have you created here?!?!?

FYI, Gregory Reed is the actor who looks just like Superman, and plays him on TV and movies. He was hurt in a car crash, and Superman agreed to fill in for him at the convention. So it's Superman pretending to be Gregory Reed playing Superman. And the real Lex Luthor knew this, and managed to swap the fake kryptonite for real kryptonite, as part of an overly elaborate plot to kill Kal-El and send Metropolis into another dimension. Which, judging from these stories, Metropolis kind of deserves...

From DC Comics Presents Annual #4 (1985)