Lex Luthor
Biblography
- First Appearance: (historical) ACTION COMICS #23 (April, 1940); (current) MAN OF STEEL (miniseries) #4 (August, 1986)
- Created by: Original Lex Luthor created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
- Appearing In: ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN, ACTION COMICS, SUPERMAN, MAN OF STEEL
Lex Luthor was first introduced as the red haired mad scientist Alexi Luthor. The character reached his most famous incarnation during the Silver Age when the bald headed version battled Superman in his characteristic green/purple battlesuit. The Silver Age version was a complex character with a certain nobility about him. The modern version was reintroduced during the ground breaking MAN OF STEEL mini-series by John Byrne. However the idea to transform Luthor into a billionaire businessman has been credited to Marv Wolfman. This new Luthor showed none of the nobility of the Silver Age version and quickly became one of the most ruthless characters in comics.
Personal Details
- Status: Active
- Alter Ego: Lex Luthor
- Marital Status: Widowed
- Known Relatives: Contessa Erica (wife, assumed deceased), Lena Luthor (daughter), Edna Luthor (ancestor, deceased), Wallace Luthor (grandfather, deceased), other wifes (unnamed, divorced), parents (unnamed, deceased), White Jr. Perry J. (son, deceased), Elizabeth Perske (wife, divorced)
- Group Affiliation: Lexcorp and the Injustice Gang
- Base of Operations: Metropolis
- Height: 5' 10"
- Weight: 200 lbs
- Hair: Originally red, now bald.
- Eyes: Green
Biography / Profile
The Luthor family had been among the first European settlers that founded the small colony that one day would become Metropolis. In the 1840s and 50s Edna Luthor was one of the city's leading women and a strong proponent of civil rights for immigrants. In the next fifty years the Luthor family became part of the rich upper class of Metropolis. When the US entered the First World War the pacifist Wallace Luthor was convinced against his better feelings to contribute steel to the war effort. When the Great Crash came the Luthor family was ruined and Wallace was left penniless, he spend the rest of his life convinced that the loss of his fortune was punishment for breaking his pacifist beliefs.
The Luthor's had been reduced to nothing and the family that had once been the talk of the town was reduced to living in the slums of Hob's Bay. The young Lex Luthor was born some fifty five years ago. His teachers regarded him as a genius, yet he hid a dark and cruel streak. At one stage he even hired some local thugs to rough up the school bullies. Luthor's best friend was Perry White, through his teachers wondered what they had in common. Luthor hated his parents and grew up listening to Wallace's moanings about failure. So he resolved to control his own destiny and to get as far away from the failure that was the Luthor family as possible.
Aged thirteen Lex took out a massive life insurance policy in his parent's name and paid off a mechanic to meddle with the breaks on his their car. To the world it looked like they had died in a tragic car crash and Lex inherited the insurance pay off. That nest egg was enough to start his rise, propelling himself into good education. Luthor began a series of schemes to increase his wealth. In early adulthood he used his genius to create a series of potent narcotic compounds and sold the formulas to scores of criminal syndicates. He almost signal handily creating the designer drugs market. Then with that money he began investing in legitimate businesses. His first really high profile adventure was the launch of his revolutionary fighter jet the Lex-Wing.
With the foundation of his aerospace holdings Luthor expanded his business empire. He would buy legitimate businesses and create vast networks of dummy corporations to hide his ownership of the not so legitimate businesses. The key to Luthor's power was intelligence. He made it his business to know every indiscretion that his opponents had ever made and then use that information to persuade and blackmail them into working with or under him. Those that disagreed either had their public reputations destroyed or died in strange circumstances. In the matter of a few decades Lexcorp became the largest corporation on the planet, placing Lex Luthor as perhaps the second of third richest man in the world.
In his hometown of Metropolis Luthor was god. He owned the media and employed directly or indirectly two thirds of the population. He choose the mayor, he choose the police, he choose the planning, he built the city, he owned the city, it and its people were his play things to use and abuse as he saw fit. Luthor even played with the fate of his old school friend Perry White by seducing his wife while he was overseas. Neither White nor Luthor would realise until years later that Perry's son was actually Luthor's. Luthor only discovered this when the youth was involved in one of Luthor's underworld schemes. Shortly afterwards Perry White Jr. was killed by the demon Blaze.
Lex Luthor's powerbase in Metropolis was unquestioned until the arrival of Clark Kent from Smallville. In his alter ego as Superman he represented physically the most powerful person in Metropolis. As typical Luthor saw Superman as a resource that would be his to control or destroy. He created a false emergency during a party on his luxury yacht to draw Superman out into the open. Once he had arrived and dealt with the emergency Luthor proudly presented him with a massive check and informed him that he now worked for Lexcorp. Superman was outraged that Luthor had endangered innocents to test his abilities. A sentiment shared by the Mayor who deputised Superman. Superman then arrested Luthor on charges of reckless endangerment. Lex Luthor, the most powerful man in Metropolis was processed and detained like a common criminal.
Luthor's lawyers made sure that no charges were every brought, but the damage had been done. Luthor had been humbled. A feeling that he hated. Now Luthor had a target for his resources, the total and utter destruction of Superman's popularity and eventually his physical being. To that end Luthor began elaborate scheme after scheme to discredit and kill Superman. However all evidence that could have led back to Lexcorp always vanished or had a reasonable explanation. Experimental battle drones stolen from Lexcorp the day before they attacked Superman, faulty satellites that interfered with Superman's powers only to be revealed as tests for experimental government work, etc.
It was during the course of these battles that Luthor's people created a process to clone and duplicate a fully grown being from a DNA scan. When Luthor tried this on Superman he created the monster Bizarro and discovered that Superman was actually an alien. Luthor's paranoia hit the big time, he saw Superman not only as competition but as an alien viper in the nest. When Kryptonite was discovered Luthor had a signet ring made to keep the alien at bay. While short term exposure to Kryptonite radiation is harmless to humans long term exposure can prove fatal. Luthor's own megalomania was killing him, his doctor told him that long term exposure to the Kryptonite had given him cancer. First it claimed his hand and eventually it would claim his life.
Luthor had his brain saved and had his people grow a new body around it. The process worked and the new Luthor was introduced to the world as Lex Luthor II, the son of the original. He managed to fool everybody that he was a decent and honest man and that he did not take after his father. However under the skin he was still the original Luthor, yet he hid his activities even deeper from public view. When Supergirl returned from a period in space Luthor romanced her pulling on her memories of the alternate Lex Luthor that had created her. The plan would have worked if a clone plague had not infected Luthor almost killing him. Only by selling his soul to the demon Neron did he regain full health. It was nothing to Luthor because he didn't even believe he had a soul anyway. As to the criminal activities committed by "Lex Luthor II", he managed to convince a court that they were actually done be a clone that had kept him imprisoned for years.
When Superman became leader of the Justice League Luthor saw it as a deliberate and calculated upgrading of the war between them. He recruited the Joker, Mirror Master II, Ocean Master, Doctor Light II and Circe to become a covert Injustice Gang to stage a corporate take over of the Justice League. He almost succeeded by using the Worlogog to control the alien J'emm and by using Aztek as a contact in the League. However Aztek refused to betray the League and Metron of the New Gods intervened to obtain the Worlogog. Luthor would try once more with an Injustice Gang to attack the League, but he found himself used as a puppet by Maggedon.
>When Gotham City was declared No Man's Land Luthor saw it as an opportunity to obtain a second city. He started moving resources and people into the disaster area and began moves in Washington to have the order reversed. In the meantime Lexcorp would acquire the rights the majority of the land in Gotham and then just move right in and rebuild it. Luthor however did not factor on Bruce Wayne and the Batman. As Wayne Batman had Luthor drawn into check on the land issue and forced him to help pay for the rebuilding. Luthor came out well with public relations, but lost the secret war.
Recently the alien Brainiac 13 virus transformed Metropolis into the city of tomorrow. When it looked as if it was going to be defeated by Superman it made a bargain with Luthor. In exchange for information about the technology in the new Metropolis Luthor would hand over Brainiac 2.5 who was hiding in the body of Luthor's daughter Lena. Luthor agreed and gave over his own daughter in exchange for the wonders of Metropolis. In the aftermath Superman swore to get Lena back and told Luthor that he held him personally responsible if anything happened to the little girl. Privately Luthor felt the loss of his daughter. However his plan is to have it all, he will have the wanders of Metropolis and one day he will find his daughter so he can pass them on to her.
Abilities and Equipment
Lex Luthor is financially the most powerful person in the world. He can command space stations, a private security force that can rival any army and a public relations machine that God would be proud of. Luthor can go anything he want, to anybody and he will always be able to escape blame or conviction. Only Superman and organisations like the Justice League are able to stand up against him.
Connections/Glossary
Allies
Team Luthor
Team Luthor are a team of battle suited operatives employed by Lexcorp as their shock troops and corporate security. They were initially set up by Lex Luthor in order to compete with Superman as heroes around Metropolis, but were not entirely successful.
Enemies
Contessa Erica Alexandra Del Portenza
Contessa Erica Alexandra Del Portenza the influential wife of multi-billionaire Lex Luthor and mother of his child, Lena Luthor, is not all she appears to be. She may or may not be immortal, she may or may not have known Alpha Centurion in ancient Rome, and as far as Luthor is concerned she may or may not be dead. When Lexcorp was in trouble she stepped in and bought out a controlling share before Luthor married her to regain his empire. Manipulative as ever Luthor was her match and the two had a daughter Lena. Shortly afterwards Luthor arranged for the Contessa's death. An event she survived. Every bit as manipulative and evil as Luthor the Contessa will surely have her revenge.
Known Varients
- Emperor Lex the Sixty-First
- Lex Luthor (Anti-Matter Universe)
- Lex Luthor (Kingdom Come)
- Lex Luthor (Pocket Universe)
- Lex Luthor II
Emperor Lex the Sixty-First
In one version of the distant future generations of Luthor clones had conquered the Earth and the Galaxy crushing all opposition before them except for a small band of rebels. One of the last rebels, Kaleb, saw his family destroyed by the forces of Emperor. He then used a prototype time travel device to incrementally travel into the past to find the source of the Luthor emperor clones. Finally he reached the present day and was stopped from killing Lex Luthor by Superman. During the battle he vanished and was captured by Lexcorp. He is now kept in statis by Luthor somewhere in Metropolis. [SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF TOMORROW #11 (1998)]
Lex Luthor (Anti-Matter Universe)
This Luthor is in part based on Alexander Luthor of Earth-Three, he is the sole hero on a parallel Earth where the counterparts of the Justice League are the evil Crime Syndicate. He once came to this world looking for help from the JLA, but the narrative laws on the alternate Earth prevented an easy victory.
Lex Luthor (Kingdom Come)
This is a future version of the Earth-Zero Luthor, he attempted to gain control of the planet via his Mankind Liberation Front. The organisation was a smoke screen for a league of criminals and former super-villains who wanted to bring the new generation of meta-humans under their control. His trump card was a brainwashed Captain Marvel, whom he used against Superman and the Justice League.
Lex Luthor (Pocket Universe)
Lex Luthor of the Pocket Universe - This Lex Luthor was also patterned after the Lex Luthor of Earth-Three. He was the scientist that accidentally released the Kryptonian criminals from the Phantom Zone, he also led the fight against the criminals from his stronghold in Smallville. He created Supergirl and was ultimately killed in the final battle on the Pocket Earth.
Lex Luthor II
Lex Luthor the second was an identity created by Luthor after he faked his own death. He had a new body cloned and his brain transplanted into it. He then posed as his own son.
[Return to Team Superman and the Superman Dynasty]
The Captain's Unofficial JLA Homepage X. December 2000. WEBMASTER: Jason Kirk (jmkprime@yahoo.co.uk). The Justice League, the Justice Society, related icons and images are copyright DC Comics or their original creators/artists and are used without permission. This site is non-profit making and in no way exists to defraud the original artist/writers/owners of the discussed material - it is a work in homage and it is hoped that it is seen as such. Displayed on a reusable monitor.