Lex Luthor Took Forty Cakes

Lex Luthor Took Forty Cakes

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About

Lex Luthor Took Forty Cakes is a popular comic book illustration from the 1978 children's dictionary The Super Dictionary featuring illustrations of heroes and villains from DC comics. One of the illustrations in the book depicts Lex Luthor, the super-villain character and arch enemy of Superman, running away with a cart filled with 40 cakes.

Origin

The Super Dictionary was published by Holt, Rinehart & Winston in July 1978. The book features more than 4,000 alphabetically arranged words, each defined within story sentences involving various DC comic book characters like Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Flash among others. While the illustrations were meant to educate children through popular DC superheroes, some of the more absurd and campy situations portrayed in the book became a subject of internet mockeries. One of the most memorable instances involves the supervillain character Lex Luthor stealing a cart full of cakes (shown bellow, right).


HE DICTIONARY Del forty When no one was looking, Lex Luthor took forty cakes. He took 40 cakes. That's as many as four tens. And that's terrible.

When no one was looking, Lex Luthor
took forty cakes. He took 40 cakes.
That's as many as four tens.
And that's terrible.

Spread

One of the first online references to Lex Luthor's 40 cakes may have appeared in a YTMND[1] uploaded on September 8th, 2005.

Throughout 2006 and 2007, the image has made its way to other sites including Digg[2], Collegehumor[3], Nextround[4], 4chan[5] (Post 1249916), and YTMND.[6]

The image and the book have been frequently discussed and referenced in various forums including SuperheroHeroHype[7], World of Warcraft[8], Ebaum's World[9], and Comic Book Resource.[10]

40 Keks

After the slang term "kek" became popular, an Expand Dong version of the image became popular that replaced the word "cake" with the homophone "kek". The usage became synonymous with "lulz" on image boards.


forty keks

Canonicity

The popularity of Forty Cakes has led it to be introduced into the DC Comics canon. Superman #709 released on March 16, 2011, features a flashback where Clark Kent has been placed in detention during his high school years for skipping class. During his detention he has one of his first encounters with a young Lex Luthor:

"I LATER FOUND OUT THAT HE WAS THERE FOR STEALING FORTY CAKES FROM THE SCHOOL'S BAKE SALE IT WAS HIS REVENGE ON A SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION THA REFUSED TO LET HIM ENTER A FISSION POWERED TOASTER IN THE SCIENCE FAIR." AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN HERE? 7


Derivatives


DID YOU SAY CAKES? 40 of them? lo MotivatedPhotos.com made 40 cakes,for er Luthor but l eated them LEX LUTHOR STOLE FORTY CAKES AND THAT'S TERRIBLE the LEX: INEFFECTUAL VILLAIN mix Lex Luthor Legendary Creature-supervillian 22 First strike When Lex Luthor deals combat damage, put X cake counters on it, where X is equal to amount of damage dealt. If Lex Luthor has 40 or more cake counters, target opponent loses the game "That's as many as four tens. And that's terrible" 4/3 THEYR GONE! SOMEONE TOOK MY PRECIOUS STOLEN CAKES, WHO HOW MANY?! ..TERRIBLE THATS... "WHEN NO ONE WAS LOOKING, PINKIE PIE TOOK FORTY CAKES." WAITI SHE TOOK 40 CAKES... THATS AS MANY AS FOUR TENS. AND THATS TERRIBLE... T MUST STOP HER! IT SEEMS LIKE MY EVIL TWIN PINKIE PIE IS ON THE LOOSE AGAIN DAILY QUESTRIA 40 CAKES STOLEN! PINKIE PIE IS THE MAIN SUSPECT AND THATS HOW T BECAME THE VENGEANCE AND THE NIGHT T BECAME.THE BATMARE. DAILY QUESTRIA CELESTIA'S SCANDALOUS HOTOS XXXp-

Search Interest

External References

[1] YTMND – Luthor

[2] Digg via Wayback MachineOh No Lex Luthor stole 40 cakes

[3] College Humor via Wayback Machine – This time you've gone too far Luthor!

[4] Nextround via Wayback Machine – Lex Luthor Stole Forty Cakes

[5] 4chan – /co/

[6] YTMND – lex luthor cake

[7] Superhero Hype – Lex Luthor's devious forty cakes scheem!

[8] World of Warcraft Forums via Wayback Machine – Going Old School

[9] Ebaumsworld Forums via Wayback Machine – When no one was looking, Lex Luthor took forty cakes.

[10] Comic Book Resource Forums – Lex Luthor stealing forty cakes vs. the Joker stealing a kid's report card

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