This incarnation of Lex Luthor met his end in the non-canonical two-part story " Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? " that closed out the Pre- Crisis Superman continuity of the Silver and Bronze Age. Luthor finds Brainiac 's robotic head, hoping to revive the villain for a new team-up. Instead, Brainiac takes control of Luthor's body, forcing him to be a host as he attempts to destroy Superman. Luthor later begs a superpowered Lana Lang to kill him, who does so. Brainiac retains control of the body for a short period of time before rigor mortis sets in, then abandons it, running out of power shortly afterward.