Warning: Spoilers for Superman #24Superman has had a lot of powerful enemies over the years, but he's only ever had one nemesis in Lex Luthor - until now. Recently, it has seemed like Lex Luthor was turning over a new leaf and trying to become a hero, which means that the position of Superman's nemesis is open, and it might have just been filled by none other than Mercy Graves.

There have been a lot of changes in Superman's lore recently, and one of the most important is that Superman is now in charge of LexCorp, which has been renamed SuperCorp. Superman was wary at first, but he's been using the company's near-infinite resources to try and make the world a better place, especially with the help of Mercy Graves, who takes a stand in Superman #24 by Joshua Williamson and Eddy Barrows.

"Making the world a better place" is pretty much exactly what one would expect Superman to do when given control of a billion-dollar company. But the company needs to make money, which is a source of friction in the preview pages for Superman #24, which set up a new character arc for Mercy that could once again put her in Superman's path as an antagonist.

Mercy Graves Might Just Be Superman's New Nemesis, Replacing Lex Luthor

Superman #24 by Joshua Williamson, Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, Alejandro Sánchez, and Ariana Maher

One of the many new inventions that Mercy unveils to Superman is a group of drones, built for offense instead of defense. Naturally, Superman is aghast at the idea of any technology being used for destruction. Unfortunately, as Mercy reminds Superman, SuperCorp is still a corporation and ultimately needs money to function. That requires them to sell product. Superman either has to agree to sell machines that destroy or agree to make people pay for protection. Neither option sits well with Superman.

Unfortunately for Superman, despite him being the current leader of the corporation, he doesn't have the ultimate say on what the company does. There are still shareholders and likely a lot of different minor things in the contract that Superman signed when he took over the company. For example, when Lana Lang became CEO of LexCorp years ago, she attempted to use the company's resources to aid Superman, which was a breach of contract that immediately terminated her employment at the company, as seen in the New Krypton storyline.

Mercy Graves Isn't Going to Let the Corporation Fail, Becoming a New Version of Lex Luthor

Even If She Has to Stand Up to Superman

Originally created for Superman: The Animated Series, Mercy has been one of Lex Luthor's most loyal allies in both animation and comics. She has perhaps been Lex's only loyal ally. While Lex has transferred his company to Superman for the time being, that doesn't mean that Mercy will just stand aside and allow Superman to run the company into the ground. The company requires money to function, so Superman has to start green lighting projects eventually, or he might find that the company with his name and logo on it isn't his anymore.

Surely Superman could be fired for preventing the corporation from making a profit...

Mercy Graves knows LuthorCorp inside and out. She's been Lex's right hand for decades, so there's no way that she wouldn't be aware of every stipulation that a CEO is meant to follow. If Lana Lang could be instantly fired for trying to use the corporation's resources to help Superman, then surely Superman could be fired for preventing the corporation from making a profit, and there's no doubt that Mercy knows this. While she won't be battling Superman in the streets, Mercy might just be his next big corporate nemesis, just like Lex Luthor once was.

Superman #24 is available March 26th, 2025 from DC Comics!