"See, what we call God, depends on our tribe, Clark Joe, cause God is tribal, God takes sides. No man in the sky intervened when I was a boy to deliver me from daddy's fist and abominations! I figured it out way back! If God is all-powerful, He cannot be all-good, and if He is all-good, then He cannot be all-powerful...and neither can you be. They need to see the fraud that you are. With their eyes. The blood in their hands."
Alexander Joseph Luthor Jr.[1] (born c. 1984),[2] or more simply Lex Luthor, is a megalomaniacal multi-billionaire businessman, as well as one of the smartest individuals in the world by far. He is the current owner and CEO of LexCorp Industries. Lex Luthor also becomes the archnemesis of Superman, whose very existence makes Lex feel threatened, which makes the malevolent supergenius go out of his way to expose the godlike alien superhero as a fraud, and to subsequently destroy him, by first pitting Superman against Batman, and then his monstrous creation Doomsday. Lex, however, is ultimately jailed for his exposed numerous crimes, first in Belle Reve, and then in Arkham Asylum.
"Lex" was born in 1984, to the businessman and founder of LexCorp Industries, Alexander Luthor Sr., an East German emigre, and was subsequently named after his father. While the company was in fact named after Lex's father, the elder Luthor would claim at investor pitches to have named LexCorp after his son. Years later Lex would muse at how wealthy old women found "[writing] checks for Lex" adorable.
While publicly popular and affable, Luthor Sr. was a very cruel and despicable man behind closed doors, with his son, Lex, later remarking in outrage that no "man in the sky" would ever come to save him from "[his father's] fists and abominations." This induced a traumatized Lex to gain an antitheistic view of God, believing that if God were all-powerful, then He logically could not be all-good and vice versa, thereby solidifying his belief that power cannot be innocent (referring to the antithesis of that as the "oldest lie in America"), and that all individuals with great power and popularity must be evil by definition.
In 2000, Luthor Sr. passed away unexpectedly, leaving his legacy of LexCorp Industries to his only son, the wunderkind Lex, who took control of the business, successfully transforming it from a petrochemical and heavy machinery dinosaur into a cutting edge technology giant. In fact, the very considerable business achievements of his father pale in comparison to the astonishingly prolific accomplishments of the younger Luthor, who thus became the youngest person ever to be named Fortune’s Businessperson of the Year and included in Fortune's list of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders.[2] Among other things, Lex also inherited his father's world-famous collection of meteorite crystals, which, as he would later learn, included Kryptonite minerals.[2]
Lex is known to have at one point encountered Amanda Waller and familiarized himself with her organization, A.R.G.U.S., as he subtly refers to both
while conversing with Ron Troupe.[3]
Interview with Ron Troupe
Shortly before the release of his company's revolutionary new operating system Lex/OS, Lex Luthor was approached by reporter Ron Troupe, and agreed to meet him at the Royal Penthouse Suite at the Park Metropolis Downtown. Lex was then promptly interviewed on a number of subjects, including the alien hero Superman and the Gotham City vigilante Batman. Right afterwards, Lex offers to play bowling with Troupe, confident in his ability to "destroy" the latter.
Aftermath of the Black Zero Event
"There you have it - Lex Luthor, as much a hero to Metropolis as Superman." "No. Not like him."
Luthor standing in front of the ruins of his old building.
After Hanford Technologies was successfully exposed by Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane, Lex arrived at a construction site of the company, and announced that LexCorp Industries was purchasing all of Hanford's holdings (including the site), as well as retaining all of Hanford's employees, as he claimed that the employees should not suffer from the immoral actions of their former CEO. Lex proceeded to admit that despite his failings, Mark Hanford had been a good CEO, whose big mistake was selling illegal Kryptonian technology. Later, in the privacy of his car, with only his assistant Mercy Graves there to hear him, Lex finished - because there were so many more interesting things that could potentially be done with it.[4]
Due to Lex Luthor's prolific philanthropic efforts to help financially support the rebuilding of Metropolis (as well as his company, LexCorp Industries), local politicians and media personalities called the companies that left Metropolis traitors, while a growing number of corporations (including Kord Industries), inspired by Lex Luthor, decided to follow his example, with some of them who had previously planned to pull out of Metropolis reversing course, and others, that had never been in Metropolis at all, choosing to expand there. In fact, due to his actions, some even claimed that Lex was as much a hero to Metropolis as Superman himself. Lex, however, dismissed the comparison, claiming that the alien superhero was a figure too mysterious and controversial for him to be a good comparison, but in light of Superman's debut, Lex claimed that recognizing the importance of the "ordinary" citizens of Metropolis (such as rescue workers, first responders, and countless ordinary citizens, who also helped save others in the Battle of Metropolis) had become more important than ever.[5]
Collecting Information
"I'll be in here for the rest of the day. Make sure I'm not disturbed."
Lex then proceeded to return to his LexCorp facility, admitting to Mercy Graves that while him not knowing much about Superman is in fact completely true, he has been "working on changing that." With those words, Lex enters a private room with CCTV screens (displaying the corpse of General Zod, the Fortress of Solitude, and a Kryptonian DNA double helix), asking Mercy to make sure he isn't disturbed, as he plans to spend the rest of the day in there.[5]
During this time, Lex had a woman named Teri meet with Professor Garcia and another man, who discussed the video footage of Superman saving a runaway train full of passengers. Teri spoke the words spoken to her through an earpiece by Lex (who had her appear to agree with Garcia), while the latter viewed the entire meeting from another CCTV screen.[6]
Luthor keeping an eye on Batman.
During this time, Lex watched on as Firefly was paid to blow up a merchandise warehouse in Gotham City, in order to test out the capabilities of the infamous Batman. Lex set up another CCTV at the warehouse beforehand, in order to watch events unfold.[7]
Hence, it would be around this time that Lex learns of Superman and Batman's alter-egos, while also gaining footage of other metahumans: the immortal Amazon Diana Prince, the Atlantean Arthur Curry, the speedster Barry Allen, and the cyborg Victor Stone.
In order to carry out his plan, Lex employs Anatoli Knyazev and his men, arms them with innovative alloy bullets, and orders them to murder all of the men of a Nairomian terrorist as soon as Superman arrives (to save a captured Lois Lane), and for Knyazev to mutilate the corpses with his flamethrower, in order to make it look like Superman had murdered them with his heat vision.
Shortly thereafter, Lex hires and blackmails a Nairomian woman, Kahina Ziri, to lie and testify against Superman's actions in Nairomi to the US Senate, giving her a specific script to follow when speaking to Senator Finch. Hence, Kahina claims that her parents were among those killed in the incident after Superman's involvement.
Lex Luthor himself is visited at LexCorp Industries by senators Finch and Barrows, and he proposes to them the idea of using the recently acquired Kryptonite xenomineral as an official "silver bullet" deterrent against Superman, to hold him in check if the alien superhero were to ever decide to turn against humanity. In order to forge such a "silver bullet", Lex requests Finch to grant him an import license for the large piece of Kryptonite (nicknamed "Emerald City" by Lex) lying in the Indian Ocean (at the wreckage of General Zod's World Engine). Finch leaves, considering the request, while Barrows stays, clearly intrigued by Lex, and intent to continue a discussion.
Lex quickly manages to persuade the good-natured senator Barrows to grant him access to the Fortress of Solitude, and to the corpse of General Zod. Lex rewards the cooperative politician with the cherry-flavored Jolly Ranchers, and is quick to exploit his new access - taking a good look around the Fortress, and subtly peeling off the fingerprints from General Zod's corpse (with a Kryptonite-bladed scalpel).
The Red Capes are Coming
"The Red Capes are coming! The Red Capes are coming! You and your hearings. Galloping through the streets to warn us. One if by land, two if by air. Mhm. Do you know the oldest lie in America, Senator? Can I call you June?"
Several days later, Senator Finch is escorted into Lex's study by his right-hand assistant Mercy Graves. Lex is initially excited to see her, offers her some whiskey (from her native state of Kentucky), and monologues about how he keeps everything in the study of his father, Alexander Luthor Sr., the same, musing that if he persistently did so, then perhaps his father would return. But Lex then dismisses this, as the "wistful thinking of orphan boys."
Finch promptly tells Lex that she's decided not to grant him the import license. Lex is visibly enraged and sneers, beginning to nervously tap his fingers, begins to tell her what he considers to be the "oldest lie in America", but Finch physically stops him, letting Lex know that she sees right through his altruistic façade, telling him that he can "Take a bucket of piss and call it Granny's peach tea, take a weapon of assassination and call it deterrence", but that she wouldn't "drink it." Lex gives her a sinister grin, and states that he has considered turning an old picture of his father's (depicting a battle between Heaven's angels and Hell's demons) upside down (leaving the demons above, seemingly prevailing over the angels), and enigmatically telling her that "the Red Capes are coming." Finch then promptly departs.
Meeting Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent
"Boys! Mhm! Bruce Wayne meets Clark Kent! I love it! I love bringing people together!"
Lex organizes a fundraiser event at the Metropolis library, with the invited guests including billionaire Bruce Wayne, Daily Planet reporter Clark Kent (with Lex specifically requesting that Clark be the one to attend and cover this even in the press), and antiquities dealer Diana Prince.
Lex, as the event's organizer, is therefore invited to make a speech. In it, he mentions the poor origins of his father, Alexander Luthor Sr. (who had once had trouble affording books in East Germany), and makes an allusion to the Ancient Greek story of how the Titan Prometheus was brutally punished by Zeus for enlightening humankind (much to the visible chagrin of Diana Prince). Near the end of his speech, Lex acknowledges the "bittersweet truth" that knowledge is power, but he then suddenly stumbles over his words, internally realizing their contradiction when applied to him. Lex is then quick to end his address and excuse himself from the stage.
Lex then promptly walks up to Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent, interrupting their somewhat uncomfortable conversation about Batman and Superman. Lex enthusiastically introduces himself to them (aware that he is in fact speaking with Batman and Superman's alter egos), and, in order to continue slyly manipulating them into a conflict, complements the exceptional firmness of Clark's handshake, and therefore jokingly advises Bruce not "pick a fight with [Clark]." Determined to have Batman obtain the information regarding the Kryptonite and Metahuman Thesis, Lex invites Bruce to visit the LexCorp Industries research and development facilities. However, at that moment, Mercy Graves comes up and lets Lex know that a governor wants to speak to him. So Lex is forced to excuse himself, with Bruce offering to possibly visit the facilities another time. Lex's plan, however, was still successful, as Bruce still obtained the information, having uploaded it unto a hacking device, though it was temporarily borrowed from him by Diana.
Bribing Keefe and Bombing the Capitol
"Do you know the oldest lie in America, Senator? That power can be innocent."
Lex then has Knyazev organize Cesar Santos to be murdered by his fellow inmates, while Lex himself pays the bail of embittered cripple Wallace Keefe (who was in the same prison as Santos) and invites him to visit his villa. Lex wants Keefe to testify against Superman in the upcoming Senate committee, and he gifts Keefe with a motorized wheelchair (made of an innovative metal alloy) to sweeten his deal.
Lex stares at Senator Finch alongside Mercy Graves
Right after a guilt-ridden Kahina Ziri has left the US Capitol (managing to tell Senator Finch about Lex's exploitation of her), Lex arrives (just in time to see Finch whispering about Kahina's revelation to a fellow senator), and is present when Superman himself arrives to the hearing. However, before it begins, Lex asks Mercy Graves to reserve him a seat, before speaking to Senator Finch with an air of thinly-veiled condescension. Before leaving, Lex finally tells Finch the "oldest lie in America" - the belief that power can be innocent.
Shortly after the committee begins with the address of Senator Finch, Lex still hasn't arrived. Finch then suddenly notices a jar of urine standing on her desk, labelled "Granny's Peach Tea" (an epithet that she herself had used not along ago), which visibly startles her, making Finch pause mid-speech, horrified at the realization of what was about to occur. At that moment, a bomb (secretly planted inside Keefe's wheelchair by Lex) explodes, killing all present, except for the invulnerable, yet very mortified and heartbroken Superman. Because the wheelchair was lead-lined, Superman believed that it was his fault for purposely passing it. In order to tie up the last loose end, he has Knyazev permanently silence Kahina Ziri by pushing her under an incoming train, killing her.
As the news ponders over the tragedy of the bombing and speculates about Superman's possible involvement behind it, Lex ominously stands atop the LexCorp Tower, and looks at the setting sun with a gleeful sneer on his face.
Entering the Scout Ship
Lex Luthor at the Fortress of Solitude.
With Finch and Barrows out of the way and most of the public in hateful opposition to Superman, Lex finally uses the fingerprints of General Zod to enter the Fortress of Solitude, and re-insert Zod's command key into it, bringing the dormant starship online again. The AI's voice inquires if Lex intends to assume command, to which he answers affirmatively, though Lex is visibly somewhat nervous at first.
Lex quickly learns that the starship's Kryptonian archive has accumulated knowledge from 100,000 alien worlds, and he demands to be taught all of it, further enhancing his already brilliant mind to supergenius level. Among the tremendous amount of new knowledge Lex gains, he learns of the ancient Kryptonian monster Doomsday, and of invading extraterrestrial beings.
Lex then decides to re-create Doomsday as a second contingency plan, in case Batman fails to bring Superman down. In order to begin the lengthy process, Lex brings in General Zod's corpse (lamenting that the Kryptonian invader had "[flown] too close to the sun") into the Genesis Chamber, cuts his own palm, and pours his own blood onto Zod's face. The starship's AI warns Lex that re-creating the fearsome monster was forbidden by the Kryptonian Law Council long ago, but Lex notes that the council is long-gone, along with its destroyed planet, and therefore orders the process to commence.
Ultimatum for Superman
"And now, you will fly to him, and you will battle him. To the death. Black and blue. Fight Night! The greatest gladiator match in the history of the world: God versus Man! Day versus Knight! Son of Krypton versus Bat of Gotham!"
While Doomsday is still forming, Lex continues his first contingency plan by having Knyazev's men kidnap Martha Kent, and later kidnap Lois Lane and bring her before him, to the top of LexCorp Tower. When joined by her, Lois angrily confronts Lex about the innovative metal fired during the Nairomi Incident, and calling him psychotic. Lex, however, dismisses that as a mere "3 syllable word for any thought too big for little minds." He then seemingly digresses, starting to talk about circles and triangles, eventually ending with Euclid's triangle inequality: "the shortest distance between any two points, is a straight path. And I believe the straightest path to Superman is a pretty little road called Lois Lane." As he utters the last word, Lex promptly pushes Lois off the ledge of LexCorp Tower.
Just as Lex had anticipated, Superman promptly arrives, saving her just in time. Superman flies back up, and angrily threatens to bring the malevolent supergenius in "without breaking [him]". However, Luthor confidently retorts by revealing that he is aware of Superman's secret identity, and proceeds to tell Clark about his views on both him and God, stating that "God is tribal." Lex then reveals that his father, Alexander Luthor Sr., while seemingly affable in public, was egregiously cruel evil behind closed doors, abusing his defenseless son with both fists and "abominations." Due to there having been no "man in the sky" to protect Lex from this suffering, he subsequently became a traumatized antitheist, burdened by the theological problem of evil (that if God is truly all-powerful, then He cannot be all-good, and vice versa), and concluding that power cannot be innocent. Hence, Superman (whom Lex compares to Horus, Apollo, and Jehovah), due to his own godlike power, has the same problem of evil applicable to him in Lex's eyes, and Lex is now determined to prove this to the world by having him engage Batman in a mortal duel, the "greatest gladiator match in the history of the world."
Superman, forced to bow to Lex Luthor, and comply to his ultimatum.
When Superman attempts to refuse, Lex reveals that the former's mother, Martha Kent, is held in captivity in a top-secret location by Knyazev (producing several photos of a horrified tied up Martha as proof). An incredibly furious Superman seems ready to destroy Lex with his heat vision, but the latter says that if Superman attempts to kill him or fly away, Martha will be burned alive, and the only way for Superman to save her, is to fly to Gotham, fight and kill Batman in a vicious duel to the death, and subsequently bring the vigilante's head to Lex. Regardless of how the fight ends, however, Lex is confident that it will still expose the theological problem of evil in Superman - if Superman wins and kills Batman (to save his mother's life) he will prove to be supremely powerful yet not supremely good, and if Superman loses (due to holding back and his weakness to Kryptonite) to Batman and dies, he will prove to be supremely good yet not supremely powerful.
An incredibly furious Superman is left with no choice but to comply with Lex's ultimatum, and he flies off, much to the delight of Lex, who gleefully muses that now "God bends to [his] will."
Unleashing Doomsday
"I gave the Bat a fighting chance, but he was not strong enough. If man won't kill God, the Devil will do it! An ancient Kryptonian deformity; blood of my blood, born to destroy you!... Your Doomsday."
Lex then goes to the Fortress of Solitude, awaiting Superman's return, as Doomsday's animation is nearing completion. As the clock reached its end, Lex picks it up from the table and casually shrugs as time runs out. Having mostly recovered from Batman's Kryptonite gas grenades, Superman flies to the Fortress and smashes through the starship's hull to face Lex. The oblivious Luthor then proceeds to the phone to contact Knyazev, only to find out that the mercenary was dead, Batman allied with Superman and Martha was safe. The malevolent supergenius, however is unfazed by the news of his failed plan, claims not to know how to lose, and is quick to reveal his secret contingency plan - a massive hybrid Kryptonian monster grown from General Zod's corpse and Lex's blood, Superman's "Doomsday". Lex gleefully added that now God (represented by Superman) was "as good as dead", since the Devil (represented by Doomsday) would suceed where Batman had failed.
The enormous monster then proceeds to swiftly break out of the ship's birthing matrix and hurls a monstrous punch at Lex. However, the punch is intercepted by Superman, who blocks and counters with a blow of his own. The battling duo then proceed to break out of the Fortress, continuing their mortal duel, much to Lex's delight.
Lex's grandiose contingency plan is ultimately successful, as Superman is ultimately killed while taking down the monstrous Doomsday, to the dismay of Batman, Wonder Woman, and Lois, who all witness his final heroic sacrifice.
Communion and Arrest
Steppenwolf making contact with Lex Luthor.
Shortly after Superman's death, Lois is quick to expose all of Luthor's crimes, so a SWAT team sets out to imprison him.
As they enter the Fortress of Solitude's Genesis Chamber, the team briefly sees Lex sitting in front of a Liquid Geo projection of the massive alien Steppenwolf, holding three Mother Boxes. However, the projection is dispersed almost at once, and Lex turns, to face them, with guns aiming all at him.
Visited by Batman
"Look at us. This is how it all came down: civilization on the wane, manor's top window. But, who would believe me. I-I'm insane. I'm not even fit to stand trial!"
Shortly after his imprisonment in Belle Reve, Lex Luthor (now shaven-headed) is unexpectedly visited in his Belle Reve jail cell by Batman, with the latter expressing his anger at Lex's actions, pinning the malevolent supergenius against a wall and threatening him, but Lex boldly counters, by sneering and revealing that he knows Batman's secret identity, but that nobody would believe him, as Lex is perceived to be insane. Batman then reveals to a dismayed Lex that he has arranged for the latter to be taken to Arkham Asylum. Lex, however, swiftly regains his composure, sneers again, and states that "God" is now dead, and that there is something else, something bigger coming, from outer space. Batman punches the wall with his branding-ring, leaving the mark of a bat symbol on the wall. When Lex turns his head, he sees that Batman has disappeared. He yells at the Dark Knight, that the bells are ringing, and warns him about Steppenwolf's arrival on Earth and then he begins mockingly mimicking the dinging sounds.
Lex Luthor has a tremendously brilliant mind, by far one of the greatest in the world, though it is hideously corrupted by his cruel and traumatic upbringing, horrifically unstable ego, and low morality. While he puts on a kindly, witty and charming façade that he is an altruistic man of and for the people (with Lex comparing himself to the enlightening gift-giving figure of Prometheus), Lex is actually full of rage, sadism, and ruthless malevolence behind closed doors, truly wishing to obtain ultimate power for himself, to control others, and to destroy those that he deems as his competition - namely his archnemesis Superman, but also metahumans in general (specifically Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash, and Cyborg). Furthermore, Lex's attempts to acquire power are quite immoral and ruthless, as he has little care for the methods he uses, or their impact on others. Lex is even shown to have fits of psychotic frustration and rage when talking to a large group of people and not knowing what to say. Hence, when Lois Lane calls him "psychotic", Lex dismisses that word as merely referring to "any thought too big for little minds."
Lex is extraordinarily brilliant in sciences and business, as well as strategy (to the point that he claims not to know how to lose), and is thereby practically always the smartest man in a room, but his God complex persona makes Lex very envious and bitter towards the godlike alien Superman, even going so far as openly describing the latter in infernal and diabolical terms, subtly comparing Superman to a werewolf (by referring to Kryptonite as a "silver bullet"), a "Winged demon" (which he uses to justify his threat of ruthlessly burning Martha Kent alive), and finally, to the biblical Devil himself, who had originated not in "Hell beneath [Lex]", but had come "from the sky", inducing humanity to admire him.
This immense hatred of powerful individuals with popularity seemingly stems from the great amounts of hatred and resentment that Lex harbors for his late father, Alexander Luthor Sr., as the latter, while both powerful and popular, was extremely cruel and egregious behind closed doors, physically abusing his young and helpless son with both fists and "abominations." Thus, Lex's experienced abuse, without any intervention from any "man in the sky", immensely traumatizes him, which in turn induces Lex to gain an antitheistic view of God, believing that if God were all-powerful, then He logically could not be all-good and vice versa (the theological problem of evil), thereby solidifying his belief that power cannot be innocent (referring to the antithesis of that as the "oldest lie in America"). Ironically, while the egregious abuse would make Lex immensely despise his father, he would eventually come to share some of his father's traits as an adult, with Lex's exceptional intelligence, ruthless malevolence, and use of an affable façade all mirroring those of Luthor Sr., though it could be argued that Lex took all of these traits even further, as he would notably become more intelligent, skilled, and powerful than his father had ever been. Hence, Lex projects his childhood trauma and theological resentment onto the godlike Superman, determined to prove to both himself and to humanity at large that the alien superhero, while being supremely powerful, is actually not supremely good, and is in fact an abominable fraud. Hence, while Lex claims to hate "the sinner, not the sin", he specifies that Superman's sin is existing. However, Lex notably does not have the same hatred towards General Zod, and actually seems to admire him, with Lex sadly remarking that the latter had "[flown] too close to the sun." This is most likely due the the fact that General Zod, unlike Superman, did not contradict Lex's worldview, due to Zod's godlike power being used for malevolent purposes.
Somewhat ironically, despite his antitheism, Lex has a penchant for constantly implementing allusions to major figures of both pagan and biblical theology, with him notably comparing himself to Prometheus, General Zod to Icarus, and Superman to Horus, Apollo, and Jehovah. He even compares himself to the biblical God in one way, claiming to hate "the sinner, not the sin."
Another factor of Lex's resentment towards Superman was how, all his adult life, Lex was determined to view himself as a superior, godlike being amongst humans (due to his virtually peerless intellect and great achievements), and his ego was damaged when an actual godlike being induced Lex to question his own deluded self-image. Due to this, Lex, despite his ability to kill Superman himself (with the acquired Kryptonite), instead waits for the opportune moment to manipulate Superman and Batman into a fierce mortal duel, in order to first discredit the Man of Steel, so as to avoid Superman becoming a martyr, and to simultaneously humiliate Superman, by having a being of godlike power killed by an ordinary man (supported by Lex' many biblical allusions when gloatingly describing the heroes' planned mortal duel). Lex carries out this malevolent plan with cold calculation and ruthless cruelty, being quick to murder anyone who comes in his way, such as Senator Finch and Wallace Keefe, his guilt-ridden hired actress Kahina Ziri, and even his own loyal assistant Mercy Graves is likewise shown to be disposable to Lex, as she is likewise killed off along with them. Lex goes so far as to sadistically threaten to burn the kidnapped Martha Kent alive unless Superman "bows to [his] will" by killing Batman. This meticulous and brilliant plan behind Lex's ultimatum was to expose the theological problem of evil in Superman regardless of the fight's outcome - if Superman were to win and kill Batman (to save his mother's life) he would prove to be supremely powerful yet not supremely good, and if Superman were to lose (due to holding back and his weakness to Kryptonite) to Batman and die, he would prove to be supremely good yet not supremely powerful.
In the meantime, Lex continues to garner as much power as he can get his hands on, being quick to order the Fortress of Solitude to teach him all about the knowledge from 100,000 alien worlds, thereby expanding his already brilliant mind to supergenius level, finally becoming even more godlike in his own eyes. Despite the failure of his initial grand plan, Lex's far more grand and extreme contingency plan of unleashing Doomsday succeeds, with Superman seemingly being killed by the bloodthirsty monster. Indeed, Lex appears to be so satisfied with his success (as he claims not to know how to lose), that he cares little about being imprisoned for his crimes shortly thereafter, and gleefully awaits the imminent arrival of impending extraterrestrials.
The new extensive knowledge that Lex gains from the Fortress seems to have also made him incredibly bold, as he shows no fear (although his sneer momentarily disappeared with him showing signs of dismay when when Batman informed him about his transfer to Arkham Asylum) when ambushed in his Belle Reve jail cell and at the mercy of a furious Batman with a branding ring, with Lex going so far as smugly sneering at Batman's threats, and warning him with gleeful sadism about the imminent coming of a new, mysterious alien invader Steppenwolf, to whom Earth is now vulnerable to, due to Superman's death.
Lex also has a somewhat dry, black, and sadistic sense of humor, and love for both witty puns and visual metaphors, shown when Lex mockingly imitated a Kentucky accent when speaking with Senator Finch; when Lex told the wheelchair-bound Wallace Keefe that he wanted to help the latter "stand" for something; when Lex mentions "civilizations of the wane, manors out the window" to Batman (subtly revealing that he knows of Bruce Wayne being the Dark Knight's alter ego); when Lex had a jar of urine placed upon Senator Finch's desk, labelled "Granny's Peach Tea" (illustrating an epithet that she herself had used against him not along ago) before coldly murdering her with a hidden bomb; and when Lex described the upcoming battles between Superman and Batman, and later Superman and Doomsday with dramatic and sadistic glee, mockingly incorporating antique and theological metaphors (such as describing the first battle as the "greatest gladiator match in the history of the world"). In addition, Lex seems to be well-versed in American pop-culture, making quite a few references from it as well, notably "The Midnight Ride" and the "Wizard of Oz."
Genius-Level Intelligence: Lex Luthor is extremely intelligent (known to be a bibliophile), by far one of the most intelligent humans in the world, with his tremendous intellect nearly unrivaled (Lex notably being one of the extreme few to intellectually surpass even Batman, and with him referring to the exceptionally smart Lois Lane as having a "little mind" compared to his), which makes the virtually peerless malevolent genius a worthy opponent even for Superman himself. Hence, Lex was notably not deceived by Batman's inhuman and supernatural façade, being quick to deduce (via CCTV) that the Dark Knight is actually only a mere man without any metahuman powers. In addition, after entering the Fortress of Solitude, Lex orders to be taught the vast amounts of knowledge that the starship's archive had from 100,000 alien worlds, with apparent success. As such, Lex is now more intelligent than ever, effectively a supergenius, and with his newly obtained tremendous amount of knowledge including that of the imminent threat posed by a mysterious alien invader Steppenwolf, coming to Earth (due to Superman's death having left the planet vulnerable), which Lex proclaims to Batman with glee.
Expert Tactician: Lex Luthor is an extremely skilled and formidable tactician, to the point that he claims not to know how to lose. Given his lack of superpowers, he, much like Batman, often uses cunning and planning to successfully outwit stronger and more powerful foes, rather than simply out-fighting them, often using any of their exploitable weaknesses (such as Kryptonite, Lois Lane, and Martha Kent in the case of Superman and manipulation-inducing tunnel vision in the case of Batman) to his advantage, though his approach is far more ruthless than Batman's. And Lex is almost always successful in doing so (claiming not to know how to lose), as even after his initial plan of having Senator Finch publicly support his Kryptonite "silver bullet" deterrent against Superman (which would have forced the godlike alien to be subjugated and forced to answer to the deterrent-wielding government) fails, Lex is unfazed, and sets a grander contingency plan into motion by changing tactics - learning everything about both Batman and Superman. This allows Lex to successfully manipulate not only Superman into killing Batman (by having Cesar Santos murdered in jail, sending Clark photos of Santos' corpse, and finally, by kidnapping Clark's mother), but also to successfully outsmart and manipulate even the extremely intelligent and experienced Batman into killing Superman (by sending Bruce notes with provoking messages "from" Wallace Keefe about the death of his employees in the Black Zero Event, allowing Bruce to steal his data on Kryptonite and metahumans, and later, to steal the Kryptonite itself), without Batman ever suspecting it until after his duel with Superman was over. This meticulous and brilliant plan behind Lex's ultimatum was to expose the theological problem of evil in Superman regardless of the fight's outcome - if Superman were to win and kill Batman (to save his mother's life) he would prove to be supremely powerful yet not supremely good, and if Superman were to lose (due to holding back and his weakness to Kryptonite) to Batman and die, he would prove to be supremely good yet not supremely powerful. And even when Lex's grand contingency plan of pitting both superheroes against each other ultimately fails (and that being only due to Superman saying Martha's name just in time to stop Batman's killing blow), a once again unfazed Lex reveals his far more grand and extreme second contingency plan (by promptly unleashing the mighty monster Doomsday), a plan that ultimately succeeds in carrying out Lex's goal of killing Superman.
Expert Deceiver: Lex Luthor is extremely skilled in deception (at least on par with Batman himself in that regard), as he was notably able to successfully hide his internal ruthless malevolence under a kindly and altruistic façade, which was convincing enough to initially fool Senator Barrows, June Finch, Superman, and even the extremely intelligent and experienced Batman. In addition, no one ever suspected his manipulatee Kahina Ziri to be an actress hired by him (reading a memorized deceitful script that Lex had written for her), until she became guilt-ridden and confessed the the truth to Finch, though at that point it was already too late.
Expert Scientist:
Lex Luthor, in his science attire.
Lex Luthor is an extremely skilled scientist, as he was able to ultimately create the monstrous Doomsday after studying the alien corpse of General Zod and gaining new knowledge from the Fortress of Solitude, and to reverse-engineer a highly advanced Kryptonian Genesis Chamber from the one in the Fortress.
Expert Businessman: Lex Luthor is a brilliant wunderkind businessman, managing to successfully transform his father's company, LexCorp Industries, from a petrochemical and heavy machinery dinosaur into a cutting edge technology giant, helping the company grow and get more business partners, as well as earning himself an immense fortune, rivaled only by extreme few, like his competitor Bruce Wayne. In fact, the business achievements of his father Alexander Luthor Sr. (which were very considerable in their own right) pale in comparison to the astonishingly prolific accomplishments of the younger Luthor, who became the youngest person ever to be named Fortune’s Businessperson of the Year.[2] As a result, Lex is extremely well-respected in the business world. Unlike Bruce Wayne however, Lex is not above secretly using ruthless cutthroat tactics, unethical practices and illegal operations to maintain the success of his business empire.
Leadership: Lex Luthor is an extremely skilled and prodigious leader, becoming the youngest person ever to be included in Fortune's list of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders.[2]
Expert Bowler: Lex Luthor is a highly skilled bowler, confident in his ability to "destroy" Ron Troupe in a game[3].
Human Vulnerabilities: Lex Luthor's greatest weakness is that he is a human with no enhanced strength, speed, durability, or metahuman powers, therefore making him quite vulnerable to the physical attacks of stronger and more powerful opponents. Lex, however, usually compensates for this quite well with his tremendous supergenius intellect, since when he first directly faced Superman, while the latter was easily capable of "taking [Lex] in without breaking [him]", and of destroying Lex with his heat vision, Lex's tactical brilliance had accounted for this in advance, and rendered Superman unable to do so, since if Superman were to injure or kill Lex, Superman's mother Martha Kent would be brutally killed by Lex's loyalist Knyazev. This, in turn, empowered Lex to issue his ultimatum to the Man of Steel. When faced by Superman for the second time, Lex again avoided defeat by unleashing his monstrous creation, Doomsday, against the alien hero, just in time.
Arrogance: Lex Luthor's other main weakness is his overconfidence and arrogance, with him even going so far as to claim that he doesn't know how to lose. Hence, Lex was somewhat caught off-guard when Senator Finch refused to grant him an import license for the Indian Ocean Kryptonite, and when a guilt-ridden Kahina Ziri confessed her lies to Finch, as Lex had, in his arrogance, not predicted such a turn of events in either instance. However, this weakness is not very significant, as Lex's tremendous intellect allows him to very effectively compensate for this at almost all times, as he is swift to come up with an effective contingency plan after Finch's refusal, smuggling the Kryptonite in himself, and swiftly getting Finch out of his way by having her killed in the US Capitol bombing, and later having Knyazev murder Kahina Ziri.
As the CEO of LexCorp Industries, Lex Luthor has earned himself an immense fortune (considerably expanding upon that which he has inherited from his father, Alexander Luthor Sr.), making himself one of the wealthiest people in the world, rivaled only by extreme few (like his business rival Bruce Wayne), with Perry White fearing that if threatened by Lois, Lex could sue the Daily Planet "out of existence" with his tremendous funds. Also, his inheritance and wealth allows Lex access to some of the most sophisticated technology in the world (such as the innovative alloy bullets used by Knyazev in Naioromi, and the recently developed Lex/Os), as well as some other useful equipment, some of it innovative, such as a Kryptonite-bladed scalpel. Hence, Lex easily gets Wallace Keefe to testify against Superman by bribing him with a high-tech wheelchair.
CCTVs: Many video cameras that Lex has a penchant for setting up in locations of interest, in order to watch events unfold from within his private room in the LexCorp facility. He has thus successfully spied on Batman, Professor Garcia's footage of Superman, research on the corpse of General Zod, as well as the Fortress of Solitude[8]. He is later revealed to have also successfully spied on the Amazon Diana Prince, the Atlantean Arthur Curry, the speedster Barry Allen, and the cybernetically enhanced Victor Stone, with Lex dubbing them Meta Humans.
Lex Luthor, examining Kryptonite with fascination.
A glowing green radioactive xenomineral from the planet of Krypton, discovered in the the Indian Ocean, a side effect of the World Engine's attack. As Kryptonite is the greatest weakness of all Kryptonians, Lex effectively wields it against them, with him using it to peel off the fingerprints from General Zod's corpse. It is later stolen and weaponized by Batman, just as Lex had intended.
Lex and Superman share the same middle name: Joseph.
Lex is the youngest person ever to be both named Fortune’s Businessperson of the Year and included on the magazine’s list of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders.
Behind the Scenes
Seventh live action iteration of the character.
This version of Lex Luthor is inspired by the comics Adventure Comics #271 and real life Sillicon Valley CEOs.
Actor Bryan Cranston had been linked to the role of Lex Luthor, as well as Commissioner Gordon before Eisenberg was cast. Mark Strong, Billy Zane and Joaquin Phoenix were also rumored to being considered for the part.
