Titus Welliver Quietly Played One Of DC Comics’ Best Characters

Titus Welliver has established himself as one of the all-time greatest performers on the small screen, but despite his legacy, his time as a DC character has gone largely under the radar. Many actors have strong feelings about the superhero genre. Some love it, and are incredibly keen to join a universe, while others steer clear of these sprawling franchises.

However, as an actor who has never been afraid to jump into a major project and often becomes an integral part of a much larger puzzle, Titus Welliver was perfectly poised and ready to assume a major role in a DC project. Unfortunately, this role ended up being short-lived, but nonetheless, Welliver’s incredible presence proved compelling when he tackled the role of Lex Luthor in Titans.

Titus Welliver Played Lex Luthor In Titans

Lex Luthor is one of the most infamous characters from any comic book story. As the ultimate rival to Superman, Luthor has proven himself to be incredibly intelligent, capable, and ruthless in his willingness to go to extreme lengths to try and take down the Man of Steel.

So, when Welliver took on the role of Lex Luthor, it seemed like a match made in heaven. Welliver has a reputation for playing enigmatic, larger-than-life villains who create incredible chaos, dismay, and disorder around them, and Luthor certainly has that potential.

However, Welliver was cast to play Lex Luthor when the show was entering its final season. As such, he made a prominent appearance as Lex Luthor, the father of Superboy, during season 4, episode 1, which was titled “Lex Luthor.” Unfortunately, with Titans wrapping up in season 4, there wasn’t enough time to dig into Luthor as a character and see where his story could have gone with Welliver at the helm.

Titus Welliver Leaves A Lasting Impression

Despite this disappointing outcome, Welliver also has a reputation for playing villains for a relatively short time, and still leaving a lasting impression. Take, for instance, one of his most iconic and enduring roles as the Man in Black in Lost. This character served as the ultimate antagonist across one of the most popular shows of all time, but Welliver only appeared in three episodes.

More recently, Welliver appeared as a central antagonist in Dark Winds, where once again, he only appeared for a total of three episodes. While his character, Dominic McNair, has every chance of returning, it’s clear that even with relatively little screen time, Welliver knows how to take control and leave audiences with a lingering sense of his presence.

Still, it would be nice to see him develop a major villain, like the Man in Black, McNair, or Luthor across a larger period of time, and really see how the actor captures the nuances and intricacies of these imposing figures.

Welliver’s Luthor Deserved More Time For His Story To Develop

Lex Luthor is a character who has been adapted many, many times. However, in the vast majority of his on-screen appearances, Luthor has been a much more intellectual character who lacks a physically imposing presence. In many ways, Welliver’s portrayal of Luthor broke new ground by making his Luthor larger and more menacing.

This concept was then taken further a year after Welliver debuted as the iconic villain, when Michael Cudlitz took on the role in Superman and Lois. This iteration of Luthor was more similar to Welliver’s in many ways, being an established villain with years of experience and a large stature that made him a real threat to people who didn’t possess superpowers.

Titus Welliver delivered an incredible introduction to his take on a popular DC character, and it seems that he could have taken things so much further. Unfortunately, along with the cancellation of Titans, his time as part of the wider DC Universe was cut short, and fans never got to experience what more he could have done with this iconic character.

Release Date

2018 – 2023-00-00

Network

DC Universe, HBO Max

Showrunner

Akiva Goldsman

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