Bathroom Monologue: Does anyone check these things?

More people can probably point out Superman and Lex Luthor than the Senate Pro Temps and the Speaker of the House. It's for this reason that I ask if anyone else has noticed a disturbing trend in our world. Gene Hackman, who played Lex Luthor in Superman 1, 2 and 4, is the spokesman for Lowes Home Improvement Centers and the Oppenheimer Funds investment firm. Now sure he's had other roles, but he isn't the only Lex Luthor who's gone on to become a spokesman for American values and low prices. Kevin Spacey, the Luthor of the recent Superman Returns, is the voice of Honda's commercials. He cut his girlfriend's breaklines in a 2006 movie, and yet he's still shilling these cars. Even Clancy Brown, who plotted to destroy the earth as the voice of Luthor in Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League Unlimited, was the voice of the Ridgeline commercials and the spokesman for Home Depot. Meanwhile, where are the Supermen? George Reeves, the Superman of the famous 1950's television series, killed himself. Christopher Reeve, our most iconic Superman actor, was paralyzed by a horse. How often does that freaking happen? How do the Lex Luthors become commercial icons and the Supermen fall from the sky? Does anyone check these things?