Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor | |
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Kryptonite Man | |
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Alexander Joseph "Lex" Luthor (
Lex Luthor was depicted as a narcissistic and egotistical
The character was ranked 4th on IGN's list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time[5] and as the 8th Greatest Villain by Wizard on its 100 Greatest Villains of All Time list.[6] Luthor is one of a few genre-crossing villains whose adventures take place "in a world in which the ordinary laws of nature are slightly suspended".[4] Scott James Wells, Sherman Howard, John Shea, Michael Rosenbaum, Jon Cryer, Titus Welliver, and Michael Cudlitz have portrayed the character in television series, while Lyle Talbot, Gene Hackman, Kevin Spacey, and Jesse Eisenberg have portrayed the character in films, and Nicholas Hoult is set to play him in the upcoming film Superman. Several actors have provided Luthor's voice in animated adaptations, including Clancy Brown, Mark Rolston, James Marsters, Giancarlo Esposito, and Marc Maron.
Publication history
Creation and development
In his first story appearance, Action Comics #23 (April 1940), Luthor is depicted as a diabolical genius and is referred to only by his surname. He resides in a flying city suspended by a dirigible and plots to provoke a war between two European nations.
Luthor returns in Superman #4 and steals a weapon from the U.S. Army capable of causing earthquakes. Superman battles and defeats Luthor, then destroys the earthquake device. The scientist who made the device commits suicide to prevent its reinvention. In a story in the same issue, Luthor creates a city on the sunken
In these early stories, Luthor's schemes are centered around financial gain or megalomaniacal ambitions; unlike most later incarnations, he demonstrates no strong animosity toward Superman beyond inevitable resentment of the hero's constant interference with his plans. Luthor's obsessive hatred of Superman came later in the character's development.
In Luthor's earliest appearances, he is shown as a middle-aged man with a full head of red hair. Less than a year later however, an artistic mistake resulted in Luthor being depicted as completely bald in a newspaper strip.[8] The original error is attributed to Leo Nowak, a studio artist who illustrated for the Superman dailies during this period.[9] One hypothesis is that Nowak mistook Luthor for the Ultra-Humanite, a recurring mad scientist foe of Superman who, in his Golden Age incarnation, resembled a balding, elderly man.[9] Other evidence suggests Luthor's design was confused with that of a stockier, bald henchman in Superman #4 (Spring 1940);[9] Luthor's next appearance occurs in Superman #10 (May 1941), in which Nowak depicted him as significantly heavier, with visible jowls.[9] The character's abrupt hair loss has been made reference to several times over the course of his history. In 1960, writer Jerry Siegel altered Luthor's backstory to incorporate his hair loss into his origin.
During World War II, the War Department asked for dailies of the Superman comic strip to be pulled. The strips in question were created in April 1945 and depicted Lex Luthor bombarding Superman with the radiation from a cyclotron. This violated wartime voluntary censorship guidelines meant to help conceal the Manhattan Project.[10][11]
Silver Age Lex Luthor
In 1956, DC Comics reimagined the Flash with a new secret identity, costume and origin. This led to the new Silver Age of Comics and the first DC Comics reboot, with characters across the board being reimagined or having their histories and nature redefined. The earlier Golden Age stories of Superman and Batman were later said to have taken place on
The Silver Age version of Luthor was introduced in
This revised origin makes Luthor's fight with Superman a personal one and suggests that if events had unfolded differently, Luthor might have grown to be a more noble person. Luthor's ego preventing him from personal growth and the tragedy that he and Clark could have been a force for good together are played up in various stories throughout the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in Elliot S. Maggin's novels Last Son of Krypton and Miracle Monday.[13]
The Golden Age version of Luthor appears again as a villain still alive and well on Earth-Two. To distinguish him from the modern-day Lex Luthor, the original incarnation is shown as having kept his red hair and is retroactively given the first name Alexei. In DC Comics Presents Annual #1 (1982), Alexei Luthor of Earth-Two and Lex Luthor of Earth-One team up. It is shown that Alexei is arguably colder and more villainous, perfectly willing to destroy all of Earth in order to prove his superiority, whereas Lex hesitates to do so because he had no desire to rule a lifeless world and doesn't want his sister to die.[14]
Years later, Lex Luthor and the villain Brainiac recruit an army of super-villains during Crisis on Infinite Earths, including Alexei Luthor from Earth-Two. When Alexei argues that the army doesn't need two Luthors, Brainiac agrees and executes him.
Post-Crisis reboot
Following
I never believed the original Luthor. Every story would begin with him breaking out of prison, finding some giant robot in an old lab he hid somewhere, and then he'd be defeated. My view was if he could afford all those labs and giant robots he wouldn't need to rob banks. I also thought later that Luthor should not have super powers. Every other villain had super powers. Luthor's power was his mind. He needed to be smarter than Superman. Superman's powers had to be useless against him because they couldn't physically fight each other and Superman was simply not as smart as Luthor.[17]
As originally presented in the Post-Crisis version of the DC Comics Universe, Lex Luthor is a product of child abuse and early poverty. Born in the
Luthor does not fully appear in The Man of Steel mini-series until the fourth issue, which takes place over a year after Superman's arrival in Metropolis. Terrorists seize Luthor's yacht, forcing Superman to intervene.[18] Satisfied at the hero's performance, Luthor attempts to hire him, admitting he knew about the incoming attack and allowed it to occur so he could see how Superman responded (assuming that the Man of Steel would arrive in time). Enraged, the Mayor deputizes Superman to arrest Luthor for reckless endangerment. Although Luthor is released from jail quickly and has the charges dropped, the humiliation of being publicly arrested and processed, coupled with indignation that Superman refused to work for him, results in the villain pledging to destroy Superman simply to prove his power.
Despite general acceptance of Byrne's characterization, which led to its influence in media adaptations, DC Comics writers began bringing back his quality of being a scientific genius in the 1990s in stories such as The Final Night. By 2000, it was said that Luthor's genuine accomplishments in several scientific fields is what helped create LexCorp and make it so successful so quickly (in early Post-Crisis stories, Byrne suggested that Luthor was recognized as a brilliant inventor and great scientific mind, but had largely withdrawn from his laboratory in favor of the boardroom). Regarding the character being a corrupt billionaire rather than a mad scientist, author Neil Gaiman commented:
It's a pity Lex Luthor has become a multinationalist; I liked him better as a bald scientist. He was in prison, but they couldn't put his mind in prison. Now he's just a skinny Kingpin.[19]
Luthor's romantic aspirations toward Lois Lane, established early on in the series, become a focal point of the stories immediately following it.[20] He is shown making repeated attempts to court her during The Man of Steel, though Lois plainly does not return his feelings.[21]
In the Superman Adventures comic line based on the TV series of the same name, Luthor's backstory is identical to that of the Post-Crisis origin with slight changes. Luthor is shown originating in Suicide Slum, his intelligence outshining other children, fueling his ambition to have all of Metropolis look up to him one day. Luthor's baldness is never explained, save for a brief depiction of him with blond hair in childhood; it is assumed the hair loss was natural. Luthor's parents die during his teenage years, however, their deaths are indeed accidental. Lex uses the insurance to pay for his tuition to MIT and then founds LexCorp. His hatred of Superman is explained as the citizens of Metropolis have admired the Man of Steel more than him.
Modern depictions
Waid's original intention was to jettison the notion of Lex Luthor being an evil businessman, restoring his status as a mad scientist. He ultimately conceded, however, that the CEO Luthor would be easier for readers to recognize. In Birthright, Luthor remains a wealthy corporate magnate; in contrast to Byrne's characterization, however, LexCorp is founded upon Luthor's study of extraterrestrial life, thereby providing a link between him and Superman.[22][25] In the retrospective section of the Superman: Birthright trade paperback, Waid explains:
Despite my own personal prejudices, I say we leave Lex the criminal businessman he's been for the past 17 years. The Lois & Clark producers liked it, the WB cartoon guys liked it ... so clearly, it works on some level. My concern is that, at least in my eyes, the fact that Luthor's allowed to operate uncontested for years makes Superman look ineffectual.[26]
Birthright was initially intended to establish a new origin for Superman and Luthor.[27] Immediately, the Superman comics and the series Superman/Batman made references to the canonicity of the new origin series. But after Infinite Crisis ended in 2006, new stories discredited parts of it and it was officially replaced by the 2009–2010 series Superman: Secret Origin.[28] Superman: Secret Origin revised Lex's backstory so that he now again had a sister Lena. While he knew Clark as a teenager in Smallville, he rejected the other boy's attempts to form a friendship. Resentful toward his alcoholic and abusive father, Lex arranges his parents to die in a car accident and uses the insurance money to leave Smallville and start a better life. After studying under the villains Ra's al Ghul and Darkseid, he founds LexCorp and uses his PR, resources, and media control to set himself up as a near-savior in Metropolis. The Daily Planet opposes Luthor and he retaliates in ways that leave the newspaper almost bankrupt. Superman's arrival challenges Luthor's image and brings renewed interest to the Planet when he does exclusive interviews with their staff. Clark Kent, Jimmy Olsen, and Lois Lane work together to oppose Luthor's power and Superman tells the public they should strive to achieve great things themselves and not wait for others to be their saviors. Angry at Superman's interference and blaming him for losing the love of the public, Luthor swears vengeance.
Following changes to continuity in 2016's DC Rebirth, the history from Superman: Secret Origin is still largely intact, though it has also been revealed that for a time Lionel Luthor worked as a scientist for Vandal Savage and that this led to a brief friendship between Lex and J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter, when both were children.
Fictional character biography
Whether he is a mad scientist, corrupt businessman, or both, Luthor's ego is a defining trait in all his incarnations; he believes he is entitled to both popularity and power. While each incarnation initially wants the adoration of others and control over either Smallville or Metropolis, the goal eventually rises to control over Earth and possibly universal domination. Luthor's other defining trait is his obsession to destroy Superman and humiliate the alien hero, either by displaying his own superiority by achieving victory without the benefit of superpowers or to prove the Man of Steel is motivated by selfish desire rather than altruism. Many times, Luthor has claimed he could create a better way of life for the entire human race if not for Superman's interference with his work; he has even argued that the Man of Tomorrow's presence not only invites danger, it actually encourages human society not to strive for greatness because a powerful alien is around to protect them and solve problems. During the Blackest Night crossover, Wonder Woman restrains Luthor with her magic lasso and under its spell of truth he confesses he secretly wants to be Superman, revealing that beneath all his blustering, Luthor covets Superman's powers for himself.[29] When Superman was out of sight for a year,[30] Luthor used the time to create the "Everyman" project intending to create new superheroes to replace the Kryptonian, then later attacks Metropolis with a long-buried Kryptonian warship. Returning to action, Superman points out that Luthor had a year to prove his old argument that he could help others and improve Earth if Superman didn't interfere with his life, but instead of curing disease or making technological breakthroughs, all he did was focus on increasing his power and finding "a big destructive machine so [he] could break things."[31] In the storyline "The Black Ring", Luthor is endowed with cosmic powers that could enable him to bring peace and bliss to the entire universe and therefore achieve his dream of being more respected than Superman, but he ultimately chooses to renounce his new powers when he realizes that his greatest enemy would never suffer again if he used them.[32]
At times, Lex has been shown evidence that Clark Kent is Superman and almost always he denies this possibility, unable to imagine a man of such power spending half his time pretending to be average since in his mind, such a possibility would be too humiliating to bear. In stories appearing in JLA and 52 by Grant Morrison, Luthor cannot bring himself to believe Superman is truly altruistic and deeply cares about a planet that is not his native world, concluding the hero's good deeds are often actually passive-aggressive ways of flaunting his power and popularity to Lex. When the hero joins forces with others to form a new, powerful version of the Justice League of America, Lex decides this is Superman's direct challenge to his own power, and establishes an "Injustice League" composed of various supervillains to rival them.[33]
Silver Age
While the Golden Age Luthor (later named Alexei Luthor) is simply an amoral and brilliant man driven by a simple desire for power, the Silver Age incarnation was given a more developed personality and backstory. Teenage Lex Luthor is an aspiring scientist who resides in Smallville and greatly admires its local hero Superboy. After Lex saves him from kryptonite, the Boy of Steel builds him a private laboratory in gratitude. After "thousands of experiments," the young scientist creates an artificial life-form of "primitive protoplasm." Overjoyed, he accidentally causes a chemical fire in the lab. Superboy puts out the fire, inadvertently spilling other chemicals, destroying the artificial life-form and the accumulated research notes that led to its creation. The chemical fumes also cause Lex's hair to completely fall out. Enraged he has lost years of research but unwilling to accept responsibility for the fire, Luthor concludes Superboy intentionally sabotaged his work, jealous of the young scientist's achievements, and swears revenge.[34]
Luthor creates grandiose engineering projects to prove his superiority over the superhero, but each one fails and causes problems that Superboy then solves. Luthor then makes his first attempt to murder the Last Son of Krypton and fails. Instead of bringing him to the authorities, Superboy declares they are even now and expresses hope Lex will "straighten out" and use his intelligence to help humanity rather than try to prove his superiority or waste time seeking power and vengeance.[35]
Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #23 (1961) reveals the Silver Age Lex Luthor parents are Jules and Arlene and that he has a younger sister Lena. When Lex becomes a criminal, the family moves away from Smallville and changes its name to Thorul (an anagram) to start a new life free of him. Lena Thorul is a toddler at the time and grows up not remembering her real last name, while her parents say her older brother died in a mountain climbing accident. Lex later watches over the adult Lena, making sure she does not discover her connection to one of Earth's greatest villains.
As an adult, Lex Luthor's driving ambitions are to kill Superman and rule Earth, a stepping stone to dominating the universe, believing a man of his intellect deserves such power.[36] On several occasions he joins forces with Superman's enemy Brainiac (though the two often betray each other as well). Lex is repeatedly imprisoned, but his genius allows him to routinely escape. He also makes it a point to be out of prison on the birthday of Albert Einstein, regarding it as a holiday.[24] A famous non-canonical "imaginary story" from 1961 entitled "The Death of Superman" has Luthor finally succeed in killing Superman after pretending to reform and befriend him.[37][38]
On a distant arid planet orbiting a red star, Luthor challenges Superman to a fight since Kryptonians lose power when exposed to red sun radiation. Befriending the planet's inhabitants, Luthor aids them in rediscovering lost technology that restores the water supply and helps the society rebuild. As a result, Luthor becomes a hero in the eyes of the planet, whereas his enemy Superman is detested as a villain. The people rename the planet Lexor and it becomes a regular home base and retreat for Luthor in-between his efforts to fight Superman and take over Earth.[39] He later meets a local woman named Ardora (first called "Tharla" but renamed "Ardora" in later stories as well as the reprint of her first appearance). The two eventually fall in love and marry.[40]
Bronze Age
Deciding to retire permanently, Luthor returns to Lexor and learns he has fathered a son by Ardora, Lex Luthor Jr. He spends the next several weeks with his new family before discovering Lexor suffers from the same planetary instability that destroyed Krypton. While creating a "Neutrarod" tower to stabilize the planetary core, Luthor's pathological hatred for Superman resurfaces and he reflects on feeling unsatisfied in life without their conflict. The villain then unearths an ancient underground laboratory of great technology, a relic from Lexor's lost age. After one of Luthor's still-active satellites threatens the people of Earth, he concludes Superman will soon come to Lexor to take him back to Earth authorities. With the underground lab's resources, he spends weeks creating a highly destructive, flight-capable "war-suit" (later simply called a "warsuit") to finally match the Kryptonian in physical combat and counter his powers. To test the suit, Luthor performs several acts of destruction on Lexor, feigning ignorance when he hears about the "mystery marauder" and telling Ardora he has no knowledge of the armored man.
When Superman arrives, Luthor dons his warsuit and attacks, now obsessed with the need to best the hero in combat and prove his superiority. The people of Lexor are shocked to realize he is the mystery marauder and does not care about the harm he has caused them. During the battle, Luthor releases an energy salvo that accidentally overloads the Neutrarod, resulting in the complete destruction of the planet Lexor and all its inhabitants, including Ardora and Lex Jr.. Similar to how he reacted after the destruction of his lab in Smallville, Lex is unable to process his grief and accept his responsibility for Lexor's destruction. He psychologically blocks part of his own memory to convince himself Superman is at fault, renewing his need for vengeance. In his subsequent stories, he regularly uses the Lexorian warsuit.[41] The warsuit was designed by George Pérez[42] as part of the Super Powers toyline in the early 1980s before being introduced into the comics in 1983.[43] The suit vanished in 1986 after Crisis on Infinite Earths rebooted DC Comics continuity, but was reintroduced in 2004, now said to be built with a combination of Earth and alien technology (including tech from the other-dimensional world Apokolips) and armed with different forms of kryptonite in the gauntlet.[44]
Lex Luthor of Earth-One teams up with Alexei Luthor of Earth-Two. It is shown that Alexei is arguably colder and more villainous, perfectly willing to destroy all of Earth in order to prove his superiority, whereas Lex hesitates to do so because he had no desire to rule a lifeless world and doesn't want his sister to die. They even extend their alliance to Ultraman when Earth-Three's Lex Luthor is a good guy. All three villains were defeated by Superman of Earth-One, Superman of Earth-Two, and Lex Luthor of Earth-Three.[14]
During the 12-issue limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths, Luthor allies himself with fellow Superman foe Brainiac to recruit an army of supervillains spanning the DC Multiverse. Alexei Luthor is present and complains this army does not need two Luthors; Brainiac kills Alexei in response. At the conclusion of the series, reality is altered so that each of the different universes converge into one. Luthor is subsequently returned to prison with all his memories of the Crisis forgotten.
This incarnation of Lex Luthor met his end in the non-canonical two-part story "
Post-Crisis
As part of the continuity changes which followed The Man of Steel and Superman: Secret Origin, Alexander "Lex" Joseph Luthor is corrupt businessman profiting from many hidden criminal operations. This Luthor grew up a poor child alongside Perry White, later causing his parents' death via a car accident so he can inherit their life insurance and create a better life for himself, creating LexCorp. He marries and divorces several times and desires a romance with Lois Lane. When Superman appears, Luthor takes advantage of a terrorist attack to see the hero in action and then attempts to make him an employee. But the Man of Steel, acting as a special deputy of Metropolis, arrests him for endangering people by not warning authorities of the impending terrorist attack. Humiliated, Luthor swears revenge, repeatedly letting Superman know about his criminal schemes but never leaving him enough evidence to bring the man to justice again. Luthor becomes obsessed with Superman and gathers all information on him and his associates, leading a computer analysis to conclude Clark Kent and Superman are the same person. Unable to believe someone as powerful as Superman regularly hides his powers and pretends to be average, as that is something he would never do himself, Luthor dismisses the computer's findings and concludes both the machine and its programmer are at fault.[45]
As a nod to the previous continuity, Luthor has his lab create high-tech armor that resembles the Lexorian warsuit. Rather than act directly, he has an employee don the armor and attack Superman for him. The man is defeated and cannot testify against Luthor because the armor's neural control unit destroys his mind. Along with this, Luthor participates in the creation of two Superman villains, Parasite (indirectly) and Bizarro (a failed attempt by Luthor's scientists to clone Superman).
When Superman fights the
Luthor fakes his death in a plane crash in the
Luthor's clone body eventually begins to deteriorate, causing him to lose his hair and age at an accelerated rate, a side-effect of a disease affecting all clones. Lois Lane discovers proof of Luthor's clone harvesting and false identity and exposes him with help from Superman.
When Superman and others form a new, powerful version of the Justice League of America, Lex decides this is Superman's direct challenge to his own power, so he creates a new Injustice Gang in response. Along with his new teammates, Lex acquires a powerful artifact known as the Worlogog, which can warp space and time. The Injustice Gang kills several people while attacking the League then lures the heroes into a trap, but then is defeated. The Joker gains control of the Worlogog, but is then telepathically attacked, becoming temporarily sane and remorseful. Before the killer's mind reverts, Luthor has Joker use the Worlogog to revise history so that those killed no longer died. With the deaths removed and little physical evidence linking him to any wrongdoing, Luthor is free to go. While Batman concludes Luthor simply used Joker to avoid murder charges, Superman believes it is a sign Luthor does not truly desire the deaths of innocents and still has the potential to be a good man.[33]
Luthor marries Contessa Erica Alexanda Del Portenza, a near-immortal and formidable woman with her own agenda. After the birth of their daughter Lena, Luthor attempts to raise the girl without her interference. After several clashes, Luthor has the Contessa seemingly killed by a missile barrage. Later on, the time-traveling villain
President of the United States
Deciding to turn to politics, Luthor becomes President of the United States, winning the election on a platform of promoting technological progress. His first action as president is to take a proposed moratorium on fossil-based fuels to the U.S. Congress. On the night of the election, Batman threatens that Luthor can keep the kryptonite ring or the White House but not both. Later on, Superman, Batman and Lois Lane seemingly try to steal the ring only to be thwarted. In actuality, they manipulated Luthor into retrieving a fake while Batman keeps the actual ring. Superman, upon learning that Lex Luthor was about to be elected president, flew off in a fit of rage and split one of Saturn's small moons in half with one fly through.[60]
Before he takes office in the
Soon after Luthor discovers evidence that leads him to conclude Clark Kent is Superman, the 2001 Our Worlds at War saga begins, in which Topeka, Kansas is destroyed in an attack by the alien Imperiex. Luthor is warned of the impending attack beforehand but alerts no one so Earth can enter a great war and he can prove his leadership to the world. Luthor coordinates the U.S. Army, Earth's superheroes, and a number of untrustworthy alien forces to battle the main villain of the story arc. Although Lex Luthor is able to devise a plan to destroy Imperiex's body, the plan is subsequently hijacked by Brainiac 13, requiring Superman to propose a new plan where Darkseid and Luthor coordinate their efforts to defeat Imperiex by sending him back in time. Following the battle, Superman retrieves Lena and returns her to Lex, advising Luthor to stop trying to be a god and just be a man. Soon afterward, Superman's confronts the telepathic Manchester Black. Realizing Superman is a true hero and therefore true heroism is possible, Black decides to make up for his actions against the Man of Steel and Lois Lane by removing Lex Luthor's knowledge that the Man of Steel is Clark Kent.
Presidential appointees
- Cabinet officials
The Luthor cabinet | ||
---|---|---|
Office | Name | Term |
President | Lex Luthor | 2001–2003 |
Vice President | Pete Ross | 2001–2003 |
Secretary of Defense | Sam Lane | 2001–2001 |
Secretary of Education | Jefferson Pierce | 2001–2003 |
- Other appointments
Office | Name | Term |
---|---|---|
United States Secretary of Metahuman Affairs | Amanda Waller | 2001–2003 |
White House Press Secretary | Cat Grant | 2001–2003 |
Revised backstory and removal from office
Following the publication of Superman: Birthright in 2003–2004, Luthor's history is altered (and the new canon is quickly referenced in both Superman comics and the series Superman/Batman that begins in 2004). In the new history, Luthor is only a few years older than Clark Kent and his family moves to Smallville when he is a teenager. Possibly abused by his father Lionel, and alienated from others by his intelligence and his ignorance of certain social cues and behaviors (he does not understand why gifts are given on birthdays without a promise of payment of some kind), Lex only finds friendship with Clark, impressed by the young man's knowledge though also finding him naive. Luthor discovers kryptonite meteors in Smallville and uses the radioactive mineral as a power source for his experiments. When Clark sees the machine and feels ill from proximity to kryptonite, Luthor mistakes his reaction to mean the young man doesn't believe in the experiment, that he also thinks Lex is lying or "crazy" as others do. The machine then explodes and Luthor survives but loses his hair as a result of radiation. Years later, his scientific research, largely based on his ideas about alien life, results in a small fortune that he uses to create LexCorp. When Superman appears in Metropolis, Lex is angered the man won't bow to his control and takes it very personally that a powerful alien, the kind of companion Luthor had often hoped for and believed would see him as a peer, instead looks on him with disapproval and moral judgment. This, along with Superman interfering with his criminal agenda and openly disrespecting Luthor in front of the media, motivates Lex to humiliate and destroy the alien hero.
The initial story arc of the
Maddened by the Venom, Luthor admits during the battle that he has no real proof Superman is the cause of the deadly asteroid heading to Earth and reveals he traded the creature
In 2009, the story of Luthor's rise and fall as U.S. president was adapted as a
Infinite Crisis
52
In the 2006 – 2007 series
At the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve, Luthor sets in motion a calculated plot to discredit Supernova, a new hero defending Metropolis in Superman's absence. Luthor triggers a mass-shutdown of the powers of everyone who has undertaken the Everyman program, except for the members of Infinity Inc, causing widespread death, injury, and millions of dollars worth of damage. Luthor's plot ultimately fails when Supernova is able to minimize the disaster with a spectacular rescue.[64]
While investigating Luthor, Natasha Irons discovers he has experimented on himself with artificial
One Year Later and Countdown
One year after the events of "Infinite Crisis", weeks after the New Year's Eve Massacre, Luthor is cleared of all criminal charges in the "
Lex Luthor continues his open campaigns against Superman and Earth's heroes, working with Bizarro, a new
Luthor plays a large role in the
Final Crisis
In the Final Crisis crossover, Luthor joins the Inner Circle of Libra's Secret Society of Super Villains. After learning Libra is a prophet of Darkseid, Lex Luthor opposes him, unwilling to be a mindless slave while Earth is largely destroyed. Working with Doctor Sivana, Luthor seemingly destroys Libra and overrides the will-destroying Anti-Life Equation being broadcast into the helmets of the Justifiers, humans forced to obey Darkseid.[69] Luthor subsequently assists Superman in leading the assault against Darkseid's forces, noting that Superman can consider this a legendary first team-up between "good" and "bad." Luthor joins those assisting Superman and his remaining allies in constructing a new wish-granting Miracle Machine, which is later used to reset the universe without Darkseid's presence.[70]
New Krypton
Luthor is finally found guilty for his crimes. Rather than spend life in prison, he is recruited by General
Luthor later manages to use Brainiac's ship to kill the soldiers assigned to watch him. Brainiac frees himself from Luthor's control and the two make their escape.[73] Forming an alliance, Brainiac promises Luthor can have Earth when he is done with it. Lex returns to Smallville, where it is revealed his sister Lena is alive, physically and mentally handicapped, and living with her daughter Lori. In an effort to prove his abilities to Superboy, Lex manages to counter Lena's disabilities, allowing her to walk and regain greater mental awareness, then quickly reverses the process, leaving her completely catatonic. Luthor then informs Superboy that so long as Superman is alive, he will never reveal how he helped Lena. Seeing Superboy now as a failed experiment due to having 50% "wrong alien DNA", Luthor and Brainiac create another binary clone with their own genetics.[74]
Last Stand of New Krypton and War of the Supermen
As part of his participation in Project 7734, Luthor sends a robot double of himself with Brainiac on a mission to attack New Krypton. While there, the Luthor robot tampers with the body chemistry of the previously captured villain
Blackest Night
During the
Still craving the power of the orange light, Luthor recovers and operates on the remains of Black Lanterns. He is visited by Larfleeze, who demands to know what is important to the people of Earth. Luthor responds with "power" (which Larfleeze already possesses) and "land" (which intrigues the alien).[81]
Superman: Secret Origin Revision
The 2009-2010 mini-series Superman: Secret Origin alters Lex's history again. He now grows up in Smallville with his younger sister Lena and abusive, alcoholic father. He meets Clark Kent on a few occasions but is defensive and insulted when he realizes Clark desires a friendship. While in high school, Lex arranges for his parents to die in a car accident, after which he uses the money to travel the world. Action Comics Annual #13 in 2011 reveals that after leaving Smallville, Lex spent some time studying under Ra's al Ghul and later spent time working as a weapons maker for Darkseid, learning the technology of Apokolips.
Lex's scientific work and other factors lead him to create a fortune and found LexCorp. Luthor's public relations paints him as a savior to Metropolis, which suffers greatly from crime, and he makes a display of regularly granting good fortune to a random citizen. When Superman appears, Luthor's secret criminal operations are threatened and Luthor is no longer considered a great savior or power in the city, particularly after the hero tells the public that they should look to themselves to be heroes and not look to others to be their saviors. Luthor begins a quest for vengeance, aiding (indirectly and directly) in the origins of Parasite and Metallo.[82]
"The Black Ring"
After the conclusion of the New Krypton event, Luthor became the lead character in
Luthor's quest involves a conversation with
It becomes clear that the Phantom Zone entity has the power to create a feeling of peace and bliss throughout the entire universe, at the cost of never allowing him to cause any harm to another being. Superman appeals to Luthor to make this a reality, thus giving the universe a gift and achieving something beyond the Man of Steel's abilities. Unwilling to create a universe of bliss when it would mean Superman would also be rewarded instead of suffering, Luthor loses his connection to the entity and its power, as well as his memory of everything he learned merged with it. The entity departs for another reality and Lex falls into a Phantom Zone portal.
The New 52
In 2011, DC Comics implemented
Unknown to the U.S. military, Lex Luthor has been in contact with the "
After the Collector attacks Metropolis and Luthor's deal with the villain is exposed, Luthor is fired as a consultant to the U.S. military by General Sam Lane himself. He is later instrumental in the creation of the New 52 version of the Kryptonite Man, known in this world primarily as the
In the "Forever Evil" storyline, Luthor plays a major role in opposing the Crime Syndicate, an evil version of the Justice League from a parallel Earth. He founds the New 52 incarnation of the Injustice League, helping Batman to free their world from the Syndicate's control and saving Superman's life from a kryptonite attack by Syndicate member Atomica.[91] Public opinion of Lex Luthor becomes favorable. After learning an entity destroyed the Crime Syndicate's Earth, Luthor wants to prepare for the possibility that his Earth could be threatened next. To aid him in this and continue his new role as a hero, he requests Justice League membership.[92] The Justice League are not sure about his altruism but decides his membership would make it easier to monitor him. While a Leaguer, Luthor helps against several threats, wearing a high-tech warsuit created by reverse-engineering Kryptonian technology, and builds a new Watchtower for the team.[93]
When the New God Darkseid is seemingly killed, his "Omega Effect" is contained in Lex Luthor, temporarily turning him into a God of Apokolips.[94]
The New 52 Superman's identity is revealed to the world and the hero subsequently loses most of his powers. Superman consults Luthor for help, but the villain cannot believe that someone as powerful as Superman would pretend to be someone as ordinary as Clark Kent. He decides that Superman's loss of power is a convenient lie to hide the fact that Clark Kent is not really the Man of Steel, that he is only dressing like him and has found a way to acquire limited powers of his own. Luthor asks Clark to tell him the truth of why he and Superman are lying to the world, but the Man of Steel has no answers for him.[95]
DC Rebirth
Following the death of the New 52 Superman, Luthor creates a new warsuit decorated by Superman's S-shield, deciding he is the new protector of Metropolis. He is confronted by the Pre-Flashpoint version of Superman, who refuses to believe Luthor's intentions are noble. In DC's 2016 line-wide relaunch DC Rebirth, large parts of the New 52 canon are removed (later said to have occurred in a different timeline) while large parts of the Post-Crisis canon are restored to the DC Universe. Eventually, this affects the Superman comics as well, in the wake of the 2017 storyline "Superman Reborn"[96] Luthor's backstory from Superman: Secret Origin and large parts of his Post-Crisis continuity are restored, while the New 52 events are largely removed. The canon says that Luthor still served in the Justice League for a time.
In the Watchmen sequel Doomsday Clock, Luthor is approached by Adrian Veidt, who attempts to enlist his aid in finding Doctor Manhattan. He is then attacked by a seemingly-revived Comedian.[97] After recovering from surgery, he reveals he has been investigating claims that many heroes and villains did not gain their powers from accidents, but were actually the results of government experiments.[98] He later provides Lois Lane with footage of the Justice Society of America, who in the new canon were not the publicly known superheroes of World War II, but were clandestine heroes whose existence was largely denied.[99] Doomsday Clock ends with Luthor considering utilizing and improving Veidt's methods for his own personal use. It is also revealed the New 52 Luthor and history still exist in a parallel universe.
Year of the Villain
Lex Luthor's childhood is fleshed our further in the pages of Justice League. Before he ever met Clark Kent, it is said his father Lionel Luthor was a scientist working with the Legionnaires Club, an organization created by the immortal villain Vandal Savage to unlock the secrets of the universe. At one point, Lionel is able to reach through space and time to bring a Martian child named J'onn J'onzz to Earth. Lex and J'onn form a brief friendship. When the heroic Blackhawks attacks the operations of the Legionnaires' Club, Lex sends J'onn back home to Mars to protect him. Many years later, he will meet J'onn again when the alien operates on Earth as the Martian Manhunter. To protect his secrets, Vandal Savage has Lionel's memories altered. As a result of this psychological trauma, Lionel becomes a "broken man" and an alcoholic. Lex comes to hate his father and only feels family love for his sister Lena, who is increasingly ill and whom he wishes to help.[100]
After the universal barrier known as the Source Wall is broken during the events of "No Justice," Luthor forms a new Legion Of Doom to track down the secrets that were once pursued by the Legionnaires' Club, discovering they are connected to the god-like Perpetua, Mother of Forgers. In the Year of the Villain special, Luthor commits suicide to gain favor with Perpetua, who resurrects him as her acolyte/child, becoming a powerful Martian/human hybrid called Apex Lex. He then offers power to many DC Universe villains.[101][102]
Relationships and family
Pre-Crisis continuity
In the Pre-Crisis continuity, Luthor is shown as having very few personal attachments. Shamed by his crimes, his parents Jules and Arlene disown him, move away, cut off all ties to Smallville, and change their name to the anagram "Thorul". Jules and Arlene take their younger child Lena with them, who is only a toddler at the time and later does not remember her real last name. Lena Thorul is told her older brother died in a mountain climbing accident. Not long after their departure from Smallville, Jules and Arlene die in a car accident, leaving Lena to grow up alone. Like her brother, she attends Regis High School and then later becomes a librarian. Lena meets Lois Lane, who plans to mention the young woman in a story but is then warned not to by Lex Luthor. Superman and Lois discover the truth but agree to Lex's request that Lena not learn about their connection. Later on, Lena moves to Midvale and befriends Superman's cousin Supergirl, who also winds up helping to make sure Lena doesn't learn the truth about her brother.
Exposure to one of Luthor's inventions later grants Lena ESP, making her an empath. Lena Thorul marries
The Pre-Crisis Luthor also has a niece named
Lex Luthor himself later marries Ardora of the planet Lexor and, in Action Comics #544 (June 1983), learns he has an infant son by Ardora, Lex Luthor, Jr.. Almost two months later, Luthor accidentally causes the destruction of Lexor, and Ardora and Lex, Jr. die as a direct result.
Post-Crisis continuity
In the Post-Crisis continuity, Lena is the name of Lex's adopted sister when he was living in a foster home. She is accidentally killed by their foster father when she refuses to try to trick Lex out of his inheritance. Lex later names his baby daughter after her.
Following the events of the Infinite Crisis, Luthor's history was again altered, re-introducing Lena as his blood sister. Unlike the Pre-Crisis version, Lena is well aware of her history with Lex, having grown up alongside him, with only an abusive father. Lex and Lena's mother is named Letitia and is presumed deceased. She has no empathic abilities, and is a paraplegic with a teenaged daughter, Lori, both of whom still live in Smallville.[108] Unlike his Pre-Crisis version, Lex has little love for his sister, having abandoned her with an unnamed aunt after their father dies of a heart attack. Lex even goes so far as to cure Lena's illness, and then immediately undoes the process, leaving her completely catatonic, solely to make a mocking point to Superboy and Superman.[109] Lena is currently under the care of the best doctors from Wayne Enterprises, hired by Red Robin.
In the post-The Man of Steel continuity, Luthor is childhood friends with
As an adult, Perry's unwitting 'role' in Lena's death motivates Luthor to have an affair with Perry's wife Alice during a period when Perry is missing and assumed dead. Alice becomes pregnant shortly afterward, though the timing of the conception means an equal possibility of either Luthor or White being the father. The child, Jerry White, later learns his true parentage during his late teens, shortly before being killed by a local street gang he is associated with. The loss of a potential heir weighs heavily on Luthor's mind, particularly when he is dying of cancer; while mulling over his fate, Luthor visits Jerry's gravesite.[117]
Luthor has shown an unusual level of compassion for Conner Kent, a hybrid clone created from the DNA of Superman and Luthor himself. After Conner's death at the conclusion of the Infinite Crisis, Luthor is shown visiting a memorial statue of Conner in Metropolis and placing flowers there.[118] More than once Luthor addresses Conner as his son. Following Conner's resurrection, Luthor is shocked and decides to locate him. When Brainiac accuses him of showing paternal feelings for Conner though, Luthor denies it, saying that he only wants his property back, and has no fatherly feelings towards Superboy. After Superboy and Luthor visit Lena, Luthor makes it clear he now sees Kon-El as an inherently "failed experiment" due to having 50% "wrong alien DNA." Luthor then works with Brainiac to create a binary clone with their own genetics, a possible threat to Superboy.
Lena Luthor was revealed to have mothered a daughter named
In the alternate future timeline of Titans Tomorrow,[120] Conner becomes an uncompromising and dictatorial successor to Superman, while Luthor acts as a caring, father figure to him.[121]
During the "Blackest Night" storyline, Lex Luthor's father Lionel Luthor was featured where it was revealed that he died of an allergic reaction to his medicine during Clark Kent's days as Superboy. He is reanimated as a member of the Black Lantern Corps where he is amongst its members that try to attack Lex Luthor. After the events of "Blackest Night'", Luthor went on to build a gynoid version of Lois Lane using Brainiac technology. His primary purpose for creating her was to have a companion who would voice honest opinions and provide an extra voice of reason to counsel him on his obsessive quest for the Black Lantern energy. Luthor also had a pseudo-romantic relationship with the "Loisbot", and regularly slept with it.[122]
Powers and abilities
Lex Luthor has the physical capabilities of a normal adult human with no
His genius also extends to business (he is one of the world's wealthiest people) and politics (he was elected U.S. president, and he is often the leader of super-villain groups he has belonged to). When posing as Lex Luthor II, Luthor is granted a peaked physical condition and has been trained in hand-to-hand combat, specifically Karate,[123] which he continued even after he reverted to his true age. He has also been occasionally trained by rogue Amazons of Themyscira.
Weaponry
Over the years, Luthor has created (either on his own, using alien technology he acquires, or with the resources of LexCorp and the military) many highly advanced weapons, machines, and robots to carry out his plans or destroy his enemies. He has made liberal use of kryptonite weapons capable of injuring Superman and other Kryptonians, and he has often created synthetic kryptonite (not as lethal as real green kryptonite but still capable of weakening a Kryptonian). Since the Bronze Age, he has also utilized various high-tech "war-suits" in many stories. The first warsuit, introduced in 1983, was a product of lost science from an earlier age in the planet Lexor's history when technology was highly advanced. Its Lexorian materials can withstand several attacks by Superman before sustaining damage and its force field offers further protection still. Wearing it grants Lex great superhuman strength, not equal to Superman but still enough to overpower many of Earth's heroes. The suit can deliver powerful energy blasts and a molecular sheath capable of blocking Superman's body from absorbing energy from solar radiation, meaning his powers will weaken over time. Powered by red solar radiation, the suit can also deliver red solar beams to directly weaken Superman. The suit has other features including advanced sensor systems, a hypnotism weapon, and illusion casting technology.
The warsuit introduced in 2004 is built with technology from Apokolips, granting greater superhuman strength and resistance to injury, a powerful force field, flight, electrical weapons, and a variety of kryptonite-based weaponry such as energy cannons, axes, and a collapsible sword. Its power is great enough that Luthor could fly for several days without interruption. The gauntlets hold different forms of kryptonite stones. After reality is altered by Flashpoint, Luthor uses a new warsuit similar to the 2004 one but slimmer and built by reverse-engineering Kryptonian technology. When he temporarily attempts to act as a hero and works alongside the Justice League, Luthor uses a similar warsuit with non-lethal weaponry and no kryptonite-based features.
Luthor often wore a kryptonite ring on his right hand in Post-Crisis stories, but abandoned this tactic after prolonged exposure to its radiation resulted in cancer, requiring him to transplant his brain into a cloned body to survive. While masquerading as his own son Lex Luthor II, Lex occasionally wore high-tech "LX-20 body armor." During the
LexCorp
LexCorp is the fictional organized crime company owned by Luthor. The company is based in Metropolis and is headquartered in LexCorp Tower.[124]
The establishment of LexCorp by Lex Luthor is a stark departure from earlier portrayals of the company's founder, transitioning the character from a warlord and would-be dictator into a power-mad business magnate. LexCorp was founded primarily to serve as a front to Lex Luthor's criminal enterprise while simultaneously being a symbol of Luthor's victory over Superman, as Luthor values defeating Superman over financial gain (illustrated by abandoning a hollow victory after plundering Fort Knox).[125] Luthor intends to convert LexCorp into a legitimate operation after his retirement from crime, and in the future it is shown being a highly successful non-criminal enterprise, to Superman's pleasure.[126]
LexCorp was originally organized as an aerospace engineering firm started in the top floor offices of the Daily Planet building in Metropolis, and has since become one of the world's largest, most diversified multinational conglomerates.[127]
The company grew by acquisition, starting with struggling airlines "Inter-Continental Airlines" and "Atlantic Coast Air Systems", renaming them to "LexAir". When rising profits were threatened by fuel shortages, LexCorp bought out Southwestern Petroleum and renamed it "LexOil". This pattern of acquisition continued to include the Daily Planet and several Metropolis businesses before LexCorp sold the unprofitable Daily Planet and its building to TransNational Enterprises, establishing an L-shaped 96-story high-rise as its new headquarters.
LexCorp grew rapidly into a diverse international conglomerate with interests in utilities, waste management, industrial manufacturing, computer hardware and software, chemicals, retail, bio-engineering, weapons, pharmaceuticals, oil, communications, airlines, real estate, hotels, restaurants, technology, media, financial services, robotics, security, transportation, satellites, stock brokerage houses, cash businesses, and food. By the timeframe of the Alliance invasion it was estimated that LexCorp either directly or indirectly employed nearly two-thirds of Metropolis' population of 11 million people, dominating commerce around much of the world. Among those many subsidiaries are such diverse businesses as Advanced Research Laboratories, Secur-Corp Armored Car Service, North American Robotics, Hell's Gate Disposal Services, and the Good Foods Group, owners of Ralli's Family Restaurants, Big Belly Burger and the Koul-Brau Breweries. LexCorp's major subsidiary companies include LexComp, LexChemical, LexEl Investments, LexMart, LexComm, FedLex, LexOil, LexAir, and TelLex.[128]
When CEO Lex Luthor was elected President of the United States, he divested from LexCorp to avoid a conflict of interest and
Competitors include
Following Luthor's public acquittal from criminal charges Lana Lang became LexCorp's new CEO[131] and LexCorp began its decline.[132] Lana Lang was dismissed from her post due to a contractual clause in all LexCorp employment charters forbidding aiding Superman in any way, after she attempted to use a LexCorp security unit to aid Superman in a battle against Atlas.[133]
A year after the events of Infinite Crisis, Lex Luthor had been stripped of his wealth and assets; LexCorp was dissolved and sold off to several competitors, most notably to Wayne Enterprises.
Lex Luthor secretly owns the powerful and legitimate Thunder Corporation which he controls through a false identity,[134] maintaining the illusion of the chairman/principal stockholder "Lucius D. Tommytown" through fake magazine articles and actors because he thought himself too honest to be anything but a criminal. The Thunder Corporation headquarters "Zephrymore Building" fronts Lex Luthor's criminal operations and penthouse.
LexCorp in other media
Television
- LexCorp is depicted in the Ruby-Spears Superman cartoons.
- LexCorp appears in the Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Supermantelevision series.
- LexCorp has been shown in episodes of Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League, with it being one of the tallest buildings in Metropolis.
- The major conglomerate featured regularly on Tess Mercer takes control and forms a partnership with Zodto develop a Solar Tower. In the series finale, the LuthorCorp tower is damaged by several explosions which disfigure the corporate logo on the side of the building, with the scarred remains spelling out "LexCorp".
- In the cartoon Krypto the Superdog, LexCorp is shown to be the home of Luthor's pet lizard Ignatius.
- In The Batman, LexCorp is shown in the two part episode "The Superman/Batman Story".
- In Young Justice, LexCorp is featured prominently in the series, including its subsidiaries, LexCorp Robotics and LexCorp Farms. Speedy went missing three years prior to the events of the series while investigating a LexCorp shell company after he was captured and used to perfect the Light's cloning process, creating Red Arrow and Jim Harper. In Season 2, when Red Arrow finds and rescues Speedy, Speedy immediately goes after Lex Luthor and attacks LexCorp, only for Luthor to offer a robotic prosthetic arm to Speedy, who decides to spare Luthor. Luthor then partners with the Reach, creating LexCorp Farms. In Season 3, after Luthor becomes the Secretary-General of the U.N., Lex's sister, Lena Luthor is revealed to have taken over as CEO of LexCorp.
- LexCorp is featured in the TV shows set in the Arrowverse:
- The Flash co-creator Andrew Kreisberg revealed that LexCorp was going to appear in the pilot episode as an Easter egg, but was cut.[135]
- In season 2 of Supergirl, LexCorp appears under the name "Luthor Corp". Lex Luthor's sister Lena takes over the company after Lex's imprisonment and renames it to "L-Corp" to distance the company from her brother's reputation. This also makes her the target of assassin John Corben, whom Lex hires to assassinate her.[136][137]
- In Samantha Arias. When Arias is revealed to be a Kryptonian villain named Reign, L-Corp begins experimenting with synthetic Kryptonite to combat her.
- In Kasniaand AmerTek to instigate a false-flag operation to make himself look like a hero.
- In season 5 of Supergirl, the events of "Crisis on Infinite Earths" drastically affect the history and current standing of the company. In the new reality, Lex was never arrested and the company never became L-Corp, retaining the Luthor Corp name. Lex has always been CEO and now owns the D.E.O., but Leviathanhas infiltrated the Board of Directors and use the company to spread their Obsidian Platinum virtual reality lenses to conquer the planet.
- In season 6 of Supergirl, following Leviathan's defeat, Lex is arrested for various crimes in association with them. He is able to receive an acquittal and returns as CEO. Lena tries to combat his influences by embezzling his funds for better causes. In retaliation, he bombed a children's hospital that Lena paid for. This causes her to resign and leave Lex in total control of the company. After Lex unintentionally imprisoned himself and Nyxlygsptlnz in the Phantom Zone, Lena reclaimed the company and established the Lena Luthor Foundation.
- In the third episode of Powerless, the team of Wayne Security loses their contract with Ace Chemicals due to their own CEO's incompetence. The CEO of Ace Chemicals decides to go with LexCorp instead.
- LexCorp is featured in the Harley Quinn episode "Bachelorette". Eris had plans to sell Themyscira to Lex Luthor and LexCorp. This plan was thwarted by Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy.
- LexCorp appears in the TV series DC Super Hero Girls episode "#SweetJustice", where Lex presents the best technological advances of his company to improve the world, until his younger sister Lena hacks the system of his inventions, uses the robots and Lex's battle suit to destroy the fun places in Metropolis, but after the Super Hero Girls defeat her, the company fixes all the damage Lena caused. The company appears in the episode "#AllyCat" where Catwoman and the Super Hero Girls (except Batgirl) go under cover to retrieve the Book of Eternity, which gives its possessor the ability to see and control the future, and insists that it is too dangerous for any mortal to possess.
Film
- LexCorp is shown in the animated film Justice League: The New Frontier, where it is referred to as "LexCo".
- LexCorp is mentioned in a piece of scrolling text in one of the web pages for The Dark Knight's viral marketing.
- LexCorp's logo can be seen during the beginning of the DVD feature Superman/Batman: Public Enemies. It also marked on Lex Luthor's armor as well.
- Batcomputer in Justice League: Doom.
- LexCorp appears in the DC Extended Universe:
- In the 2013 film Man of Steel, LexCorp is shown both on the skyline of Metropolis and Smallville and on several trucks that appear throughout the film.
- LexCorp appears in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. In the film, it is mentioned that LexCorp was founded by Alexander Luthor Sr., Lex Luthor's father. Senators Finch and Barrows visit Lex who tells them his idea of using the recently acquired kryptonite xenomineral as an official "silver bullet" deterrent against Superman, if the alien superhero decides to turn against humanity. He also keeps General Zod's corpse in his laboratory and uses his remains to access the Kryptonian scout ship. After the destruction of the US Capitol, Batman breaks into the well-guarded LexCorp building, successfully stealing the Kryptonite from the inside, exactly what Lex wanted. Following the death of Superman and the exposure of Lex Luthor by Lois Lane as the primary supercriminal culprit behind the numerous unspeakable crimes against peace and humanity, Lex is arrested and deposed as CEO of LexCorp.
- LexCorp appears in the background of Palmera City next to Kord Industries in the film Blue Beetle.
- LexCorp appears in the films set in DC Animated Movie Universe:
- In Justice League: War, an oil tanker is seen with the LexCorp logo during a battle between Superman, Batman, and Green Lantern. During the fight, the tanker is blown up.
- LexCorp building appears in The Death of Superman.
- LexCorp appears in DC League of Super-Pets.
Video games
- In Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, the background of LexCorp is seen when players fight in Metropolis.
- LexCorp appears in DC Universe Online. LexCorp Tower is located in Downtown Metropolis. The soldiers of LexCorp consist of Lexcorp Shock Troopers, Lexcorp Heavy Troopers, Lexcorp Security Guards, Lexcorp Enforcers, and Lexcorp Gladiators.
- LexCorp appears in Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes. In this adaptation, LexCorp is featured as the main area for the level Research and Development. In addition, robots called LexBots are frequent enemies in the game as well as playable characters. "LexCorp Security" and "LexCorp Heavy" are also two minor playable characters in the handheld versions of the game.
- LexCorp is referenced in Penguin's office, there is list of companies which includes LexCorp. Two of LexCorp subsidiaries, Big Belly Burger and Koul-Brau Breweries, appear in the game.
- In Batman: Arkham Knight, numerous buildings and billboards with LexCorp on them are seen. Lex leave a voicemail for Bruce asking if LexCorp can purchase Wayne Enterprises' Applied Sciences division.
- In Lego Dimensions, LexCorp is temporally seen in the game when Lord Sauron retrieves the Locate Keystone and uses it to plant his lair on top of the building.
- In Deathstorm. A portal to Apokolipsis accessible as well at the top of LexCorp Tower.
Alternate versions
DC Comics often depicts its stories as taking place in a wide multiverse, with many parallel realities where familiar characters have slightly or drastically different lives. Likewise, there are some comics published under the Elseworlds label, meaning it is a story that is outside of canon and does not necessarily have a specific universe designation (such as "Earth-3" or "Earth-X"). The point of Elseworlds stories is to reimagine familiar characters in new settings. While many versions of Luthor are similar to the mainstream one, simply existing in different settings, some significant, famous and/or recurring alternate versions of the character include:
Earth-Three
Earth-Three was introduced during the Silver Age of Comics as a mirror version of the DC Comics Earth where Americans colonized Europe and actor Abraham Lincoln shot President John Wilkes Booth. An evil version of the Justice League known as the Crime Syndicate of America terrorizes this world. Eventually, a heroic scientist named Alexander Luthor opposes them, donning a high-tech red, yellow and blue "supersuit." During his initial adventure he is aided by the Supermen of Earth-One and Earth-Two, as well as Earth-Three's noble reporter Lois Lane, as they face off against Ultraman, Lex Luthor of Earth-One, and Alexei Luthor of Earth-Two.[14] Later, Alex and Lois marry and have a child, Alexander Luthor Jr., who aids Earth's heroes during the Crisis on Infinite Earths and then opposes them in the crossover Infinite Crisis.[138]
Earth-3
Following the reboot of the Multiverse at the end of "
Anti-Matter Earth
The
Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again
In
Bizarro Luthor
In multiple versions of DC Comics canon, Superman's imperfect duplicate Bizarro (sometimes called Bizarro #1) creates an entire Bizarro World ("Htrae") populated by imperfect and backwards thinking duplicates of the people of Earth. One such duplicate is Bizarro Luthor.
Another version of Bizarro Luthor is said to exist on Earth-29, a parallel reality called the "Bizarroverse."
Earth-47
Introduced in Year of the Villain: Lex Luthor #1 (2019), this Lex Luthor studies and uses the Black Mercy, an alien plant that feeds off an organism's psychic energy while distracting them with an illusion of the life they want. Through repeated use, Lex experiences multiple scenarios where he acquires the great power and/or superpowers he always wanted, but finds he is never satisfied. Realizing his ambitions are based on ego, while Superman regularly considers how his actions will affect or benefit others, this Luthor spends the rest of his life creating new ways for people to heal and live better lives.
Amalgam Comics
During the crossover DC vs. Marvel, the realities of DC Comics and Marvel Comics temporarily merged, resulting in the Amalgam Comics universe. In this reality, Lex Luthor's person and history merged with that of the Red Skull, creating the Green Skull. A war profiteer during World War II, this Lex Luthor later injects himself with a chemical agent derived from a radioactive green meteorite, extending his lifespan while giving him green skin and his head a skull-like appearance. In multiple Amalgam Comics stories, he opposes Super-Soldier (a combination of Superman and Captain America).
Earth C Minus
There is a version of Lex Luthor who is a villainous lemur that inhabits Earth C Minus (or Earth C−), a parallel world populated by anthropomorphic animals and protected by Super-Squirrel.[143]
Pocket Universe version
Inhabiting a "pocket universe" created by the villainous
Superman: Earth One
In the second of the Superman: Earth One graphic novels, Dr. Alexandra Luthor and her husband Dr. Alexander Luthor are a pair of brilliant scientists who refer to themselves as Lex2 Incorporated. While working with the military, Alexandra researches ways of killing Superman as an intellectual exercise, while Alexander is more compassionate and questions the ethics of developing weapons to harm a man who has not given cause to be feared.[145] In the third installment, Alexander sacrifices himself to help Superman battle Zod. Alexandra is consumed by grief, blaming the Man of Steel and vowing to destroy him. Claiming the "old Alexandra" died alongside her husband, she adopts the new name "Lex."[146]
Elseworlds
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Versions of Lex Luthor have appeared in different Elseworlds stories:
- In the Elseworlds graphic novel Speeding Bullets, Kal-El is adopted by Thomas and Martha Wayne, who have no other son and name him Bruce. Years after witnessing his parents' murder, Bruce becomes a super-powered Batman in Gotham City, while Lex Luthor operates without interference in Metropolis, acquiring great power and influence. An accident at a chemical plant leads Luthor to acquire chalk-white skin and blood-red lips. Initially hiding his disfigurement, he later reveals his new appearance and adopts the name the Joker. A similar character, simply called Lex Joker, appears in a dream-reality where familiar DC characters are combined with each other.[147]
- A four-issue Elsewords miniseries titled "Kingdom Come" is later said to take place on Earth-22. After a rise of violent anti-heroes and vigilantes is embraced by the public, Superman and many other traditional heroes retire or leave. Later, when Superman and many of his former allies return to action, now acting more authoritative and militaristic, an older Lex Luthor argues this is the first step towards superhumans ruling Earth. He gathers the Mankind Liberation Front to oppose Superman's Justice League. To protect himself from enemies, Luthor brainwashes the hero Captain Marvel into becoming his bodyguard.
- A three-issue Elseworlds miniseries titled "Superman: Red Son" is later said to take place on Earth-30. Kal-L's vessel lands in Ukraine in 1938 and he later becomes Premier of the Soviet Union. He is opposed by Lex Luthor, a respected scientific prodigy in America who is married to Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane-Luthor. This Superman acts as a powerful political figure on his world, while Luthor is increasingly convinced that the Kryptonian's presence is halting human progress.[148] He engineers several schemes to destroy the Man of Steel, all of which fail, before finally convincing Superman that he has no right to interfere in human affairs. Superman fakes his death to live as a normal man and Luthor turns his attention to advancing the human race, ultimately becoming mankind's greatest mind and savior.
In other media
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{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ Superman #650
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{{cite book}}
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Further reading
- Boucher, Ian. "Forging Kryptonite: Lex Luthor’s Xenophobia as Societal Fracturing, from Batman v Superman to Supergirl." Adapting Superman: Essays on the Transmedia Man of Steel, edited by John Darowski, McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2021, pp. 216-234. ISBN 978-1-4766-4239-0
- ISBN 0-8118-4231-2
- Peretti, Daniel. "Through the Lens of Dr. Frankenstein: Luthor as Prometheus." Adapting Superman: Essays on the Transmedia Man of Steel, edited by John Darowski, McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2021, pp. 173-184. ISBN 978-1-4766-4239-0
External links
- DCComics.com – Origin of Lex Luthor
- Lex Luthor chronology index
- Superman Homepage – Lex Luthor biography
- The Justice League Watchtower – Lex Luthor
- Lex Luthor on DC Database, a DC Comics wiki
- Luthor (1940) at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. from the original on November 16, 2015.
- Lex Luthor (1986) at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. from the original on October 25, 2015.