Lex Luthor

Revision as of 12:17, 1 August 2019

Lex Luthor in Superman: Unchained v1 #4.

Lex Luthor is a male comic supervillain that features in DC Comics.

Biography

Golden Age

Silver Age

Modern Age

He later assembled a new incarnation of the Injustice Gang where he formed an alliance with Queen Bee, met with Prometheus and recruited the General. (JLA v1 #36) Together, the team commenced a surprise attack on the Justice League Watchtower in order to catch the heroes unaware. (JLA v1 #37) Unknown to Luthor, he had fallen under the control of the Mageddon with an aspect of it taking him as a host body and using him to weaken Earth for its impending destruction. Luthor was powerless as he became encased in a giant eye and rooted to his seat when the Justice League encountered him. The heroes managed to goad Lex into being angry at the thought of being under the control of someone else allowing him to free himself from this shard of the weapon of the Old Gods. (JLA v1 #38)

With him being President, Luthor sought someone to manage his company as he assumed the position of leader of the country. To achieve that end, he decided to choose Talia al Ghul for the position who during this time had been hiding from her father under the alias of Talia Head in Hong Kong. President Luthor approached her with the offer and that he would give her protection from Ra's al Ghul but Talia refused as she stated he wanted to be left alone. At night, assassins came upon her seemingly from her father with Talia managing to escape with the aid of Luthor's bodyguards who took her to meet with Lex in Metropolis where she ultimately accepted the position of CEO of LexCorp. (President Luthor Secret Files and Origins v1 #1) During his first presidential press conference, President Luthor announced his candidates for his administration that included General Frank Rock as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Amanda Waller as Secretary of Meta-Human Affairs, Major Sam Lane as Secretary of Defense, Jefferson Pierce as Secretary of Education and Catherine Grant as White Press Secretary. (Superman v2 #166)

It was discovered that a massive mass of Kryptonite was heading towards Earth which was designated as Asteroid X. The asteroid was believed to had been attracted by the presence of Superman with it being on a collision course for Earth. This led to President Luthor placing a bounty for the capture of Superman and also dispatched Captain Atom heading a task force of Metahumans with the goal of apprehending the Man of Steel. (Superman/Batman v1 #4) The White House was later infiltrated by Superman and Batman's respective allies with Luthor managing to defeat them but he was overwhelmed by the Man of Steel himself. As a result, an angry Luthor injected Kryptonite into his body and put on his power-suit as he sought to kill Superman personally. (Superman/Batman v1 #5) He then confronted and battled the Man of Steel through the use of his warsuit where he was defeated. By this point, his former ally Talia Head who served as C.E.O. of LexCorps began to drain all the company's resources and sell its assets leaving Luthor with nothing. It was revealed that the Kryptonite meteor was deliberately being allowed to hit Earth by Luthor but it was stopped by Superman and Batman. This chain of events led to the end of the Luthor Presidency but Lex managed to survive where he promised a reckoning and a coming crisis. (Superman/Batman v1 #6) In hiding, he hired the Calculator under the guise of Mr. X where he tasked him with keeping an eye on the newly arrived Supergirl and monitoring her actions on Earth. (Supergirl v5 #0)

Despite the criminal charges made against him, he was acquitted by the courts allowing for his release where he stated that he wanted to regain his company. However, his ruined reputation led to the LexCorp board of directors seeking to buy him out with Luthor looking at a means of bettering his public image. (Superman v1 #650) He operated in the shadows to gather large stashes of Kryptonite with the assistance of other supervillains whilst making use of the Sunstone for his plans. This led to him calling upon the favour owed to him by the Flea Circus to free the Kryptonite Man from Stryker's Island prison. (Action Comics v1 #651) With the power of the Kryptonite, he awakened a Kryptonian battleship called the Doomsday that had been constructed from Sunstone. Luthor attempted to use its power to devastate Metropolis in retribution for it having casted him out with Superman destroying the Kryptonian technology Lex was using to empower himself. (Superman v1 #653)

From that encounter, he learnt that the orange Power Ring had shown him his greatest desire which was to be a superhero greater than Superman. Thus, he felt a deep sense of loss without the Power Ring and started a quest to find them in the world along with a search for the black Power Rings. He believed that finding them and reverse engineering the devices for himself could lead to his path to become a god with him dedicating LexCorp's efforts to finding any traces of the ring. To keep himself focused, he constructed a sophisticated robot in the guise of Lois Lane that was made from Brainiac and Kryptonian technology to assist him. During this time, he was captured by a group of kidnappers that were under the control of Mister Mind who sought to use Luthor for his own goals. (Action Comics v1 #890) He was kept within a dream-like state whilst Mind probed his mind though Luthor managed to get control of the fantasy reality and battled the worm. Mind had invested his entirety into the mental battle whilst Lex managed to use some limited control over his motor reflexes to kick his foes physical body on the rooftop thus defeating him. (Action Comics v1 #891) He later journeyed to the Ross Ice Shelf in the Antarctica to follow the energy signature of black ring energy with him hiring Deathstroke as his bodyguard. The anomaly affected the consciousness of those around it making them violent turning Deathstroke along with the mercenary crew unstable whereupon they attacked one another until a scan of the ring energy caused it to alter itself into a more harmless form. (Action Comics v1 #892) Luthor later discovered that another source of black ring energy was located in Uganda at a secret base operated by Gorilla Grodd. Through a carefully orchestrated plan, he was able to trick Grodd with an android copy allowing himself to sneak into the base and get the scan of the anomaly. During his attempted escape, he was shot by Grodd causing Luthor to fall off the helicopter and suffer a fatal fall leading to an encounter with Death. (Action Comics v1 #893) During this moment, he spoke to Death believing he was consigned to an afterlife but was told that this was simply a preliminary check before he woke injured in a helicopter after being recovered by his men. (Action Comics v1 #894) He later determined that the secret of the black ring energy was to change all the ten spheres that had appeared on Earth with this bringing him into conflict with Vandal Savage. (Action Comics v1 #895) Luthor had later involved Scandal Savage and the Secret Six in an effort at stopping her father. (Action Comics v1 #896) Afterwards, he went to Gotham City to meet the captive Joker who had within his possession one of the black spheres that he was hiding that could fit in his hands that Luthor managed to alter. (Action Comics v1 #897) He later on discovered the presence of another black sphere that had fallen in possession of Larfleeze with the Orange Lantern demanding Luthor unleash its power for him. Lex managed to trick Agent Orange into one of his white spheres thus defeating him and gaining possession of the black sphere that was in Larfleeze's possession. (Action Comics v1 #898) During his quest, he was confronted by Brainiac who had revealed that he had taken control of his Lois Lane robot though Luthor in turn revealed that he had become aware of the infiltration and arranged for countermeasures to defeat the Coluan who was forced to retreat. It was then that the black spheres were activated leading to them to open a doorway into the Phantom Zone from which an entity emerged that sought to end all negative emotions in the universe as these hurt it. Lex destroyed the Lois Lane robot to use the Kryptonian technology in her to manipulate the Phantom Zone energy and use it to merge with the entity to attain god-like power. (Action Comics v1 #899) With the power of the Zone Child, he confronted Superman with the intention of destroying Superman but was unable to use its abilities to harm him. Due to his hatred for Superman, he was forced to abandon the powers where he lost any of the knowledge he gained during this time. (Action Comics v1 #900)

Post-Flashpoint

The New 52

Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events.

In the aftermath, Lex came to reason that a greater danger was coming to Earth that was posed by the threat that destroyed Earth-3. Thus, he reasoned that there needed to be a response towards that danger and he decided that it could be best achieved by him operating on the Justice League. As such, he re-built the Watchtower in orbit and made overtures to get him installed as one of the newest members of the Justice League. (Justice League v2 #30)

With an army of Parademons, he arrived on Earth to confront the Anti-Monitor Mobius. (Justice League v2 #48) As such, he worked with the heroes of the planet in combating the cosmic being. (Justice League v2 #49) However, Superwoman's child was born who was the son of Alexander Luthor of Earth-3 and inherited his power to take the abilities of others. Thus, with the child, she was able to depower Lex Luthor whose status as god of Apokolips was taken and the Omega Effect was absorbed by the baby. The Justice League managed to unite then to stop the threat posed by Grail who had used the Anti-Life Equation to control her father Darkseid for use against the heroes. In the aftermath, Luthor returned to Apokolips were he was cheered by the Forgotten as their saviour and provided a suit of armor along with a Mother Box to help guide them to their new future. (Justice League v2 #50)

Rebirth

Luthor was among the various individuals brought together by Brainiac to combat the threat of the Omega Titans after the tear was made in the Source Wall following the Dark Multiverse crisis. He was assigned to one of the teams designed to stop one of the cosmic beings from consuming the planet Colu. Despite their efforts, they failed and the planet was destroyed with the Coluans forced to evacuate their world. The Omega Titans were ultimately tricked into consuming one of their own leading to them returning to their eon long slumber but this marked the rise of new threats for the universe. As a result, Luthor departed and decided that the Justice League was incapable of combating these dangers and that he would seek his own way in protecting the Earth. (Justice League: No Justice v1 #3) Afterwards, he sought answers and came to determine that his efforts at being a hero were for nought and that he should not deny his true nature. This led to him breaking apart the Mother Box in his possession to acquire its power source as fuel for a time machine to go into the distant future where he saw that the universe had attained perfection a million years from now where everyone attained powers and had conquered the universe. These denizens claimed that Luthor had been responsible for finding the secret and they named their home Lexor City in his honor but did not tell him the clue except stating that it involved the symbol of doom. This led to Lex returning to his time to uncover the secret where he gathered like-minded allies where he offered them ultimate power to bring the paradise of the future to the modern age. (Justice League v4 #5) He later arrived on the Moon to seemingly murder Vandal Savage and claim his knowledge about the upcoming energy that escaped from the Source Wall. (Justice League v4 #1) As part of his plan, he began to assemble the Legion of Doom where he promised each of its members their hearts desire if they worked alongside him. (Justice League v4 #2)

Overview

Personality and attributes

Lex Luthor in Action Comics v1 #890.

Luthor was said to had not put much stock in the truth as he reasoned it had never gotten him very far in life. (Justice League v4 #2)

He had said that he would never bow his head to anyone including God or Death. (Action Comics v1 #894)

Professor Albert Einstein was noted for being a hero to Lex Luthor. (Superman v1 #416) A favourite literary character of his was Sherlock Holmes as he admired how the detective was always twelve steps ahead of everyone else. (Green Arrow v6 #28)

He was noted for being an atheist which he believed to be both a logical and ethical choice. (Action Comics v1 #894)

Luthor had long believed that only a human could truly protect humanity. (Action Comics v1 #986) He felt that he had been responsible for the growth and splendour of Metropolis with it having been nothing until he transformed it. (Superman v1 #653)

Powers and abilities

Wearing the Super-Armor in Acion Comics v1 #697.

A new version of the warsuit could produce a powerful protective shield that was able to save the wearer from the destruction of a planet. This model was said to possess a limitless armament of offensive weaponry. (Superman v1 #385) One version was armor made from the Firepits of Apokolips. (Superman/Batman v1 #6) One of his creations was the portable power suit that could merge him at a moment's notice and engulf him in his battlesuit for a quick engagement. (Action Comics v1 #892)

He was given a suit of armor that was created by the inhabitants of Apokolips and included a Mother Box. (Justice League v2 #50) The suit contained a range of weaponry and other technologies with the Mother Box using its energies to manage them. It was necessary to use the suit in a delicate balance as with all Apokoliptian technology one risked losing themselves in it. (Action Comics v1 #986) From the palms of hand could emit electrical blasts of varying levels allowing him to stun people by placing it on a taser setting. (Superman v4 #33) Modifications later allowed him to project a Boom Tube beam from the chest symbol that transported targets from one location to another. For quick access, Luthor had also utilised spatial reallocation that allowed him to summon the armor which was entirely contained in his wristwatch. (Action Comics v1 #697) This was done through reverse-engineering the Mother Box technology which allowed him to manifest the 140.12 kilogram suit of armor out of thin air. (New Super-Man v1 #18)

For a time, he had created an exact robotic replica of Lois Lane to serve as his assistant with this being made from Brainiac and Kryptonian technology. (Action Comics v1 #890)

At one point, a techno-organic Hub that resided in his brain that was solar-powered. It served as a meeting place within his mind from where he could consult with others and download or upload data to and from his brain. He could be outside and simply close his eyes whereupon he entered into the Hub where he could meet his constructs that included the super-strong Appex and the intelligent Alphina. (Supergirl v6 #18) For a time, he had inherited the Omega Effect that provided him the powers of Darkseid and was transforming him into a new incarnation of that New God until it was removed from him. (Justice League v2 #50)

Among his creations included the:

• Amazo Virus : a super-virus that was derived from the principles behind the Amazo android with an artificial enzyme being used to patch on a Metahuman's DNA. It was designed with the purpose of suppressing a Metahuman's abilities but was too unpredictable for use. (Justice League v2 #35)

He was known to make use of a Lexbot model that was a replica of himself allowing him to operate in multiple locations at once. (Justice League v4 #2)

A one time base that he used was a fragment of the destroyed planet of Lexor which crashed in the Atlantic which he named L-Island that he fortified to be his ultimate lair. (Superman v1 #385)

Notes

• Lex Luthor was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster where he made his first appearance in Action Comics v1 #23 (April, 1940).
• In Superman v1 #13 (1941), he took an identity called the Light where he was a masked robed figure that could generate a hypnosis beam where he began to brainwash people and attempted to have Superman destroy military material as well as detonate a bomb until he was unmasked and caught by the Man of Steel.
• In Action Comics v1 #42 (1941), he masked his identity under the guise of Zytal where he claimed to be an interplanetary voyager from another universe who stated that thousands of years ago he had accumulated all the knowledge of his old world. This identity claimed that he departed his homeworld on a flying city known as the Empire City of the Sky in order to set out to explore the universes and sought out a planet's most superior minds to join him in this exploration of infinity. He brought the city to Earth near Metropolis where he abducted numerous key figures in the city asking them to join him but this was an elaborate plan for Luthor to gain their private business secrets to enrich himself with Superman uncovering the elaborate plot.
• In Superman v1 #168 (1964), in an attempt to return to Earth from Lexor he accidently crashed in 1906 where he took the identity of Cyrus Groat who had come to America to find a new job and in this guise he became an editor to the Daily Planet as he was trapped in this era.
• In Superman v1 #168 (1964), Luthor came upon another world inhabited by a people had lost their ancient knowledge with Lex uncovering its ancient secrets thus revitalising it. The inhabitants renamed their world as Lexor in his honour and when Superman came upon the planet Luthor used the advanced science to give himself super-powers with him adopting a masked superhero identity known as the Defender.
• In Superman v1 #170 (1964), he travelled through time to a point before Krypton's destruction where he portrayed himself to the Kryptonians as a hero called Luthor the Noble.
• In Superboy v1 #177 (1971), he masqueraded as Cerebron who was a bald long eared telepath that targeted Superboy.
• In DC Special Series v1 #26 (1981), he masqueraded as a red-armored being named Dominus who constructed an elaborate trap to eliminate Superman. The name was later used in the creation of a new character in the Post-Crisis continuity.
• In Adventure Comics v1 #355 (1967), a future descendant of Lex Luthor was shown to reside in the 30th century where he attempted to do good by operating as a hero who could adopt the powers of two other super-heroes. Alongside Mr. Mxyzptlk’s brother, they aided the future adult versions of the Legion of Super-Heroes against their foes the Legion of Super-Villains after they were briefly defeated by their enemies. This led to Luthor and Mxyzptlk being admitted as members of the Legion of Super-Heroes.

Alternate Versions

• In Superman v1 #657 (2006), Lex Luthor was shown in a potential future glimpsed by Arion which saw the world devastated by the machinations of Khyber by the year 2014. This saw Khyber gather numerous supervillains to his command where they targeted and murdered numerous heroes whilst leaving the Earth's surface ruined. During this time, Lex decided to be a champion of the people and allied with others to combat the tyrant's rule. He gathered survivors to reside in his old lair at Luthor Mountain where they continued to battle ambushes from Ghostwolves whilst desperately trying to survive. From Fortress Luthor, they made their last stand with Lex using his various creations against Khyber's forces that included protoplasmic warriors, Xamian Automaton Bloodhounds and the rock-like Petrommandos. He prepared for a final stand against Khyber himself but a long lost Superman arrived in the scene who battled the supervillain leading to his death at the hands of Sirocco. In the aftermath, Earth became divided by the various supervillain warlords with Lex attempting to recover supplies from a site only to be attacked by Degaton and dying in the process with his armor's autorecovery functions bringing his slain remains behind for burial next to Superman's.
• In Superman/Batman v1 #60 (2009), an alternate version of Lex Luthor was shown in a world created by Doctor Destiny that merged different characters into an amalgam form. On this world, Luthor was merged with the Joker creating the villain Lex Joker who was a deadly supervillain that sought control over Gothamopolis and Meto City.
• In Batman Beyond Unlimited v1 #3 (2012), a version of Lex Luthor was shown to exist on a world based on Batman Beyond. It was shown that after being President be served as Mayor of Metropolis with him continuing his vendetta against Superman until his eventual death. At some point, he had a brief affair with a woman with her being pregnant with his daughter though Lex did not keep either with him. The girl named Lucinda grew up without being aware of her fathers identity until after her mother died when an artificial intelligence of Lex Luthor met her revealing her parentage. He convinced her of his vendetta against Superman with Lucinda looking to kill the Man of Steel.
• In Infinite Crisis: The Fight for the Multiverse v1 #9 (2015), an alternate version named Alexander Luthor was shown to reside on Earth-19 that was Gotham by Gaslight in the series that was a tie-in to the video game. He was shown as a rich man and scientist that sought to bring peace and security to his world though he secretly did this by any means necessary. On this Victorian era style world, he was shown to be an inventor and had utilised a steampunk style battle-armour whilst an airship served as his mobile base of operations when he was away from his native Metropolis. He hosted a peace summit among the various nations of his Earth and secretly used a device that influenced the minds of the delegates to achieve his goals. Luthor was shown to be aware of the existence of the Multiverse and the counterparts of individuals from his world.
• In Nightwing: New Order v1 (2017), an alternate version of the world was shown where after a incident with superpowers in Metropolis that the world began the Crusader Program enforced by Dick Grayson to depower all superheroes and supervillains. This was due to Superman under the affects of Black Kryptonite killing Batman. Decades into the future, Luthor was shown to exist where he was no longer a villain and had lost his left arm that was replaced with a cybernetic prosthetic. Lex was shown to be working alongside Superman with the two being allies in this time.
• In Electric Warriors v1 (2019), an alternate possible future version of Lex Luthor was shown to had survived over the centuries. He claimed to had predicted the coming of the Great Disaster and various other crisis events that would devastate the universe. Thus, he planned to survive it and harnessed the Firestorm Matrix where he used it to forcibly bond himself with Superman. This resulted in Luthor becoming Firestorm as Superman was chained to his will as he went off into the universe. After countless centuries, he came to the world of Covenant and orchestrated the Great Compromise with the Gil'Dishpan as a means of settling wars and bringing about a lasting peace. This saw the creation of the Electro-Seed that turned a world's champion into an Electro Warriors that were given superpowers by Electrogenesis. In the role of the Lord Preceptor, he watched over the gladiatorial matches waged between Electro Warriors for resources or territory with the defeated being given away as food to the elite Glided.
• In Red Hood and the Outlaws Annual v2 #3 (2019), an alternate reality version of Lex Luthor appeared in a different version of Earth. This one was the mastermind behind a genetic bomb that empowered normal people who rose up in number to kill the planets heroes in an event known as Hero Day. Lex himself was affected as his body was transformed into a giant living brain with powers where he continued to lead the efforts at purging superheroes and was assisted by that world's version of General Samuel Lane.

In other media

Television

• In the DC Animated Universe, Lex Luthor made a number of appearances in the shared continuity.
  • In Superman: The Animated Series, Lex Luthor made his first appearance in the animated series where he was a regular antagonist and voiced by actor Clancy Brown.
  • In Justice League, Lex Luthor returned as an antagonist in the animated series with him once again voiced by actor Clancy Brown.
• In Smallville, Lex Luthor made regular appearances in the 2001 live-action television series where he was portrayed by actor Michael Rosenbaum.
• In Young Justice, Lex Luthor appeared as an antagonist in the animated series where he was voiced by actor Mark Rolston.
• In Supergirl, Lex Luthor was first mentioned in the live-action television series in the episode "The Adventures of Supergirl" when Winn Schott referred to how the supervillain had once triggered an earthquake. He was shown as being the son of Lillian Luthor and older brother to his half-sister Lena Luthor who looked up to him. Lex was shown to had an anti-alien agenda and frequently battled Superman until he was finally arrested whereupon he was sent to prison. This caused his mother to head the Cadmus initiative against aliens on Earth whilst his sister Lena Luthor sought to distance herself from her family after she took over LexCorp.

Films

• In Atom Man vs. Superman, Lex Luthor appeared in the 1950 live-action black & white serial film where he was portrayed by actor Lyle Talbot. He took on the guise of the supervillain known as the Atom Man who placed several deadly devices throughout Metropolis where he attempted to blackmail the city.
• In Superman: The Movie, Lex Luthor featured as the main antagonist in the 1978 live-action movie where he was voiced portrayed by actor Gene Hackman.
• In Justice League: Gods and Monsters, Lex Luthor appeared in the alternate world setting in the animated film where he was voiced by actor Jason Isaacs. He came to fear the threat posed by the Justice League and in particular on Superman with him instituting Project: Fair Play in an effort to eliminate them.
• In the DC Extended Universe, Lex Luthor made multiple appearances in the shared continuity setting.
  • In Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Lex Luthor featured as an antagonist in the 2016 live-action film where he was portrayed by actor Jesse Eisenberg.
  • In Justice League, Lex Luthor had a minor appearance in the 2017 live-action film where he was portrayed once again by actor Jesse Eisenberg. He was shown in the post-credit scene where it was revealed that he was freed from prison by Deathstroke and intended to create a 'league of his own' to combat the newly formed Justice League.

Video games

• In DC Universe Online, Lex Luthor appeared in the MORPG where he was voiced by actor James Marsters.
• In Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, Lex Luthor appeared as a playable character in the fighting video game where he was voiced by actor Joe J. Thomas.
• In Infinite Crisis, Lex Luthor appeared as a playable character in the MOBA video game where he was voiced by actor Steve Blum.
• In the Injustice series, Lex Luthor appeared in the shared continuity setting.
  • In Injustice: Gods Among Us, Lex Luthor appeared as a playable character in the fighting video game where he was portrayed by actor Mark Rolston.
  • In Injustice 2, Lex Luthor was referenced in the fighting video game sequel.
• In DC Legends, Lex Luthor appeared as a playable character in the mobile video game with two versions wearing different suits including the Survival Support Suit and the Assault Warsuit.

Appearances

• Action Comics v1: #23 (April 1940)
• JLA:
• Superman/Batman:
• Action Comics:
• Superman Unchained:
• Justice League v2:
• Action Comics:
• Superman:
• Justice League: No Justice:
• Justice League v4:

External Links

• Wikipedia Entry

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