History ComicBook / LexLuthor

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lex_890.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:If there was ''ever'' a job for Franchise/{{Superman}}... this is it.]]

->''"I'm the only sane inmate of Asylum Earth. I'm not eager to hand tomorrow over to an interplanetary extremist with laser eyes. There's only room on this world for one leader, Superman. When I'm finished with you, every last gibbon out there will know you for the menace you are... and they'll realize that Lex Luthor is their savior."''

DiabolicalMastermind. MadScientist. [[CorruptCorporateExecutive LexCorp CEO]]. EvilGenius.

'''[[TropeCodifier The]]''' {{Supervillain}}.

Alexander Joseph "Lex" Luthor is the {{archenemy}} of Franchise/{{Superman}}, and one of the oldest villains in comic book history, making his debut in ''Action Comics'' #23 in April of 1940. Created by Creator/JerrySiegelAndJoeShuster, the same team who created Superman himself, Luthor was an instant success, and ensured himself a permanent place in the Last Son of Krypton's RoguesGallery. Since then he's gone onto be a major player in the DC Universe, serving as one of its most iconic villains, alongside the likes of [[ComicBook/TheJoker the Joker]].

Luthor has had various hats over the years. He was originally portrayed as a red-headed [[WarForFunAndProfit war profiteer]] who aimed to TakeOverTheWorld by playing various political factions against each other. He was then reimagined as a bald, egomaniacal MadScientist after an illustrator confused him with the Ultra-Humanite. This conception [[ThrowItIn of the character stuck]], and for the remainder of UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|OfComicBooks}} and UsefulNotes/{{the Bronze Age|OfComicBooks}} of comics, Luthor was written as a CardCarryingVillain who used his technological prowess to match Superman's physical might, regularly allying with other villains, like ComicBook/{{Brainiac}}, SelfDemonstrating/{{Bizarro}}, and ComicBook/{{The Joker}} in order to vex the Man of Steel and his allies. One thing that did change about Luthor was that as time went by, he became progressively younger and more physically active. The [[FatBastard paunchy man]] in his fifties was replaced by an [[BadassNormal exceptionally fit man]] in his forties, and was then retconned again into being only a few years older than Superman ''and'' possessed of a [[PoweredArmour warsuit]] that allowed him to fight the Kryptonian hand-to-hand. He also gained his own supporting cast, including his sister and MoralityPet, Lena, and the planet of Lexor, which hailed him as a hero after he saved it from destruction, and a number of alternate universe doppelgangers, including Alexei Luthor of Earth-2 (based on his original, GoldenAge appearance) and the heroic Alexander Luthor Sr. of Earth-3. This version of Luthor, along with the rest of the existing Franchise/DCUniverse, was erased from continuity following the ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths''.

By TheEighties, Lex Luthor was due for another revamp. After the Crisis, Creator/JohnByrne was given the job of re-imagining Luthor for the new DC Universe. Byrne, aware that Luthor's MadScientist portrayal was becoming dated, chose to reinvent Luthor as a CorruptCorporateExecutive, who was able to control the city of Metropolis' criminal underworld from behind the scenes, avoiding any responsibility for his actions by maintaining a [[VillainWithGoodPublicity good public image]] and [[OffOnATechnicality employing legions of lawyers]]. As one of the richest and most politically influential men in the DCU, Luthor was able to become a perpetual thorn in Superman's side, as the one criminal whom the Man of Steel could never bring to justice. As a planner and criminal financier second-to-none Luthor also became the main backer and organizer of the various Injustice Gangs and Secret Societies of Supervillains that have plagued the larger DC Universe, making him a problem for not only Superman, but the entire Justice League as well. Possessed of a "tenth level intellect", Luthor is easily the smartest human being alive, and is a formidable adversary for any hero who thinks of crossing him. It has been said that while other supervillains might fear the Joker, they want to ''be'' Lex Luthor.

He has since gone back and forth in terms of characterization, at times the CEO of [=LexCorp=], at times a MadScientist, at times a classic DiabolicalMastermind, and sometimes a combination of all three. He has faked his own death, and impersonated his supposed son, revealed himself as one of Superboy's genetic donors, and met [[ComicBook/TheSandman Death]]. He's been the mastermind of numerous plots against the heroes of Earth, a participant in General Lane's genocide of ComicBook/NewKrypton, and briefly, President of the United States of America, helping codify the PresidentEvil trope in the process. He's even starred in his own spinoffs, serving as the VillainProtagonist in ''ComicBook/LexLuthorManOfSteel'', the "[[ComicBook/TheBlackRing Black Ring]]" story arc in ''ComicBook/ActionComics'', and ''Comicbook/ForeverEvil''. In any incarnation, Luthor is driven by his burning hatred of Superman (not unlike ComicBook/DoctorDoom and Reed Richards), which is frequently put down to envy over the fact that, no matter how rich Luthor becomes, no matter how much political power he attains, and no matter how hard he schemes, he will never, ever ''[[DrivenByEnvy be]]'' Superman. His current characterization is a balanced medium between all his incarnations: he is the ruthless and savvy corporate executive, the formidably brilliant mad scientist and the egomaniac conqueror in equal measure. This makes him one of the more complex and multifaceted villains in all of comics, which helps cement his enduring popularity.

Luthor has appeared frequently in other media, featuring in video games, the original ''[[Film/SupermanTheMovie Superman films]]'', ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'', ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'', ''Film/SupermanReturns'', the television series ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' and the ''Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse''. He has also appeared in the animated films ''WesternAnimation/SupermanDoomsday'', and ''WesternAnimation/SupermanBatmanPublicEnemies''. He is easily the most recognisable, and best known, member of Superman's RoguesGallery, and was rated IGN's "4th Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time." Comic book critic Peter Sanderson has described Luthor as one of the few genuine megavillains, whose adventures cross genres, putting him in a league alongside The Joker, Professor Moriarty, Count Dracula, Hannibal Lecter, Doctor Doom, and Darth Vader.

If you want to hear Lex's take on all of this, click [[SelfDemonstrating/LexLuthor here]].

!Appearances:
[[AC:Notable Pre-Crisis comics]]
* "Europe at War (Part II)" [Action Comics #23]: Debut of Luthor as a character
* "How Luthor Met Superboy!" [Adventure Comics #271]: UsefulNotes/{{The Silver Age|of Comic Books}} origin story of Luthor
* "The Showdown Between Luthor and Superman!" [Superman #164]: Introduced the planet Lexor; very frequently reprinted and considered a landmark in the characterization of the MadScientist Luthor.
* "Luthor Unleashed!" [Action Comics #544]: Lexor is destroyed; introduces Luthor's distinctive green and purple PoweredArmor
* ''Comicbook/SupermanVsTheAmazingSpiderMan'': In which he teams up with ComicBook/DoctorOctopus to take on the titular duo.
* ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths''
* ''ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheManOfTomorrow''

[[AC:Notable ComicBook/PostCrisis comics]]
* ''ComicBook/TheManOfSteel''
* ''ComicBook/SupermanBirthright''
* ''ComicBook/SupermanSecretOrigin''
* ''ComicBook/SupermanForAllSeasons''
* ''ComicBook/SupermanExile''
* ''Krisis of the Krimson Kryptonite''
* ''ComicBook/BlackOrchid'': While his actual page-time is limited, he's undoubtedly the GreaterScopeVillain of the original mini. This notably makes him the first "big-name" DC villain Creator/NeilGaiman ever wrote. [[note]]Ironic, given Gaiman's stated distaste for the CorruptCorporateExecutive characterization in-vogue at the time; "Skinny Kingpin" wasn't meant as a compliment.[[/note]]
* ''ComicBook/TheFallOfMetropolis''
* ''ComicBook/SupermanForever''
* ''ComicBook/BatmanNoMansLand''
* ''President Lex''
* ''ComicBook/OurWorldsAtWar''
* ''ComicBook/SupermanBatman: The World's Finest'' (aka ''Public Enemies'')
* ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis''
* ''ComicBook/LexLuthorManOfSteel''
* ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo''
* ''ComicBook/SupermanUpUpAndAway''
* ''ComicBook/LastSon''
* ''ComicBook/SalvationRun''
* ''ComicBook/NewKrypton''
* ''ComicBook/TheBlackRing''

[[AC: Notable Imaginary Stories and Elseworlds]]
* "The Death of Superman!" [Superman #149]: Imaginary story in which Luthor manages to kill Superman for good.
* ''ComicBook/ElseworldsFinestSupergirlAndBatgirl''
* ''ComicBook/SupermanRedSon''
* ''Comicbook/{{Justice}}''

[[AC: Notable New 52 comics]]
* ''ComicBook/GrantMorrisonsActionComics''
* ''ComicBook/ForeverEvil'': Propelled Luthor from Superman's arch enemy to major player in the DC universe as a whole.
* ''ComicBook/JusticeLeague'': The later half, in which he is a member of the League.

[[AC: Notable DC Rebirth comics]]
* ''ComicBook/ActionComics'': Still continuing his (mostly) heroic path from Forever Evil.
* ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueNoJustice'': Lex is a major character, and his [[FaceHeelTurn return to villainy]] begins here.
* ''ComicBook/JusticeLeague2018'': Lex is a prominent antagonist in the book.

[[AC: Notable Prose Literature]]
* ''Literature/LastSonOfKrypton''
* ''Literature/MiracleMonday''

[[AC:Film (Live Action)]]
* ''Atom Man vs. Superman'' (played by Lyle Talbot)
* ''Film/SupermanTheMovie'' (played by Creator/GeneHackman)
** ''Film/SupermanII'' (Hackman)
** ''Film/SupermanIVTheQuestForPeace'' (Hackman)
** ''Film/SupermanReturns'' (played by Creator/KevinSpacey)
* Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse (played by Creator/JesseEisenberg)
** ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice''
** ''Film/{{Justice League|2017}}''
** ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague''

[[AC:Live Action TV]]
* ''Series/TheAdventuresOfSuperboy'' (played by Scott James Wells and later Sherman Howard)
* ''Series/LoisAndClark'' (played by Creator/JohnShea)
* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' (played by Creator/MichaelRosenbaum)
* ''Series/{{Arrowverse}} (played by Creator/JonCryer)
** ''Series/{{Supergirl 2015}}''
** ''Series/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths2019''
* ''Series/Titans2018'' (played by Rayne Novak)

[[AC:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Superman 64}}''
* ''VideoGame/SupermanShadowOfApokolips'' (with Creator/ClancyBrown reprising the role)
* ''VideoGame/MortalKombatVsDCUniverse'' (voiced by Joe J. Thomas)
* ''VideoGame/DCUniverseOnline'' (reprised by Creator/JamesMarsters)
* ''VideoGame/LegoAdaptationGame'' (reprised by Creator/ClancyBrown)
** [[VideoGame/LegoBatman Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes]]
** ''Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham''
** ''VideoGame/LegoDCSuperVillains''
* ''VideoGame/LegoDimensions'' (voiced by Creator/TravisWillingham)
* ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'' (reprised by Creator/MarkRolston)
* ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight'' (voiced by Creator/KeithSilverstein, voice-only cameo)

[[AC:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfSuperman'' (voiced by Ray Owens)
* ''{{WesternAnimation/Superfriends}}'' (voiced by Stan Jones)
* ''WesternAnimation/RubySpearsSuperman'' (voiced by Creator/MichaelBell)
* Franchise/{{DCAU}} (''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'', ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague [Unlimited]'') (voiced by Creator/ClancyBrown)
* ''WesternAnimation/KryptoTheSuperdog'' (voiced by Creator/BrianDobson)
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' (voiced by Creator/KevinMichaelRichardson)
* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueAction'' (voiced by Creator/JamesWoods)
* ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'' (reprised by Clancy Brown)
* ''WesternAnimation/SupermanDoomsday'' (voiced by Creator/JamesMarsters)
* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueCrisisOnTwoEarths'' (voiced by Creator/ChrisNoth)
* ''WesternAnimation/SupermanBatmanPublicEnemies'' (reprised again by Clancy Brown)
* ''WesternAnimation/AllStarSuperman'' (voiced by Anthony [=LaPaglia=])
* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' (voiced by Mark Rolston)
* ''WesternAnimation/JLAAdventuresTrappedInTime'' (voiced by Creator/FredTatasciore)
* ''WesternAnimation/LegoDCComicsSuperHeroes'' (voiced by Creator/JohnDiMaggio)
* ''WebAnimation/DCSuperFriends'' (role reprised by Creator/TravisWillingham)
* ''WesternAnimation/TheDeathOfSuperman'' and ''WesternAnimation/ReignOfTheSupermen'' (voiced by Creator/RainnWilson)
* ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' (voiced by a variety of actors, but his primary voice in the ''DC Comics Specials''[[note]]where he's a prominent character based off the ''Super Friends'' version, with a notable OldShame- back in the 80s he was in a HairMetal band called "Sexx Luthor"[[/note]] is Creator/AlfredMolina)
* ''WesternAnimation/DCSuperHeroGirls'' (voiced by Creator/WillFriedle)
* ''WesternAnimation/HarleyQuinn2019'' (voiced by Creator/GiancarloEsposito)
* ''WesternAnimation/SupermanManOfTomorrow'' (voiced by Creator/ZacharyQuinto)

----
!!Tropes associated with Luthor:

* AbsoluteXenophobe: Sometimes written as someone who hates all alien life and wants it destroyed or enslaved.
* AbusiveDad:
** Luthor's father ([[RetCanon eventually named Lionel]]) has at best been characterised as a fellow criminal, and at worst as an abusive, alcoholic monster. ''Smallville'''s portrayal of him is probably the best known, showing him as a domineering, tyrannical narcissist and CorruptCorporateExecutive who wants Lex to turn out as badly as he has.
** And Lex himself with his own children, such as selling his own daughter, or treating Conner Kent as an extension of himself.
* AdaptationalBadass: The versions from the DCAU and ''Smallville'' were both significantly more dangerous in hand-to-hand combat than almost any comic incarnation of the character. This was particularly true of the ''Smallville'' version, who was shown to be a physical match for Green Arrow, and one of the most consistently dangerous fighters on the show, despite his total lack of superpowers, or most of his comic counterpart's gadgetry.
* AdaptationalWimp: For some reason, none of his live-action film adaptations give him credit as a MadScientist whose inventions are deadly. Gene Hackman and Kevin Spacey's Luthor has him as a "criminal mastermind" who hijacks nuclear weapons, partners with Kryptonian villains or use Superman's fortress against his foe. Jesse Eisenberg's is a very convoluted mastermind even more petty than the usual interpretation lacking Lex's magnificent bastard traits and his central plan is [[HereWeGoAgain using Kryptonian machinery]] against Superman [[spoiler:and the finale implies that he's a Darkseid cultist and a herald]]. None of them have Luthor actually inventing anything spectacular, deadly and fiendish or portray him as a human being whose inventions and scientific acumen puts him, alone among humans, on Brainiac-level playing field.
* AlliterativeName: LL, just like Lois Lane, Lana Lang, his sister Lena and his father, Lionel.
* AlternateCompanyEquivalent: As prominent non-powered humans with megalomaniacal intentions and a suit of PoweredArmour, he and Marvel's ComicBook/DoctorDoom have become this for one another, occupying a very similar place in their respective universe's supervillain fraternities.
** He can also be considered an EvilCounterpart to Comicbook/IronMan: a [[Fiction500 very rich]] genius and a BadassNormal who has a PoweredArmor. Lex's good counterparts of other universes can be even closer, as they share Iron Man's morality. On the other hand, [[EvilCounterpart evil versions]] of Iron Man are also close to mainstream Lex. It also helps that both Lex and Iron Man were involved, at some point, with Italian villainesses (Contessa Erica del Portenza and Madame Masque, respectively).
* AlternateUniverseReedRichardsIsAwesome: Luthor saved the world of Lexor Pre-Crisis, and is the greatest superhero on the Crime Syndicate's homeworld, Pre-and-Post-Crisis. ''ComicBook/SupermanRedSon'' also has a heroic, alternate universe Luthor, who manages to stop a Stalinist Superman from taking over the world, although Superman had altruistic reasons to take over, and Luthor's good deeds are shown to be for his own ego. ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'' also features a heroic Luthor. It's actually kind of a running theme that, when Superman's bad, Lex Luthor is the one who steps up as humanity's greatest hero.
* AlwaysSecondBest: From the Post-Crisis era onwards, Lex may be one of the richest men on Earth, but if it comes to money, Bruce Wayne tends to have him beat.
* AndThenWhat: Lex has achieved everything he ever wanted except killing Superman, and really has no idea what he’d do if “the alien” went away one day. For all the grand plans he supposedly has on hold until Superman is defeated, he really doesn't care about saving the world or lifting humanity up, only helping himself. He's already rich and powerful, and only getting wealthier by the day, Superman's existence is the only bruise on his ego. When Superman disappeared for a full year, Lex did nothing. It’s one thing he has in common with ComicBook/TheJoker, except Joker admits he’d be nothing without ComicBook/{{Batman}}.
* AntagonistInMourning: [[ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman After Superman met his demise protecting the world from Doomsday]], a quite distraught Luthor donated a mausoleum to house the superhero's remains, commenting that if [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou he could not kill Superman]], [[WorthyOpponent then he at least wanted to bury him.]]
* AntiHero: A NominalHero in those stories where he serves as the protagonist, mostly due to the nature of the people he is up against.
* ArchEnemy: Luthor is the longest running contender for the title of Superman's archnemesis, and is the character who most readily springs to mind when you hear "Superman villain". Brainiac and Zod are also in the running, but Luthor is the one everyone thinks of. In fact, this status carries over to alternate universes: on the Crime Syndicate's homeworld, Luthor's GoodTwin, Alexander Luthor Sr., is the archenemy of Ultraman, while on the Pre-Crisis Earth-2, Alexei Luthor was the rival of the GoldenAge Superman, Kal-L.
* ArchnemesisDad: Towards Superboy who was created at his instigation from his and Superman's DNA. Luthor displays a fairly unhealthy sense of ownership towards Connor, going so far as to hijack his mind at one point. He eventually casts Connor off as a failed experiment due to Superman's prevalent influence on him.
* AwesomenessByAnalysis: During ''Forever Evil'', he manages to deduce Batman's secret identity from a few clues.
* AxCrazy: Luthor's usually fairly stable, but when he cracks it is always in a violently psychotic manner.
* BadBoss[=/=]BenevolentBoss: DependingOnTheWriter Luthor may be a tyrannical boss, or a master manager who takes careful care of his underlings' needs. He has respect for blue-collar people who go beyond their means to get ahead (since he used to be one as well).
* TheBadGuyWins: He certainly does in ''ComicBook/NewKrypton'', where he renders the Kryptonians functionally extinct and is rewarded for it by the American government.
** Also, in ''President Lex'' when he spins all his good press from ''No Man's Land'' and takes advantage of the chaotic 2000 elections to snag the White House. And Superman can do ''nothing'' about it.
* BadassBoast: The page quote. Also...
--> ''[[ComicBook/BlackestNight "Lex Luthor of Earth. You want it all."]]''
--> ''[[Series/{{Smallville}} "I am the villain of the story."]]''
--> ''"I am Lex Luthor. I am the greatest scientist on this planet, and would be on yours as well."''
-->''"I raise my voice, and {{Satan}} himself is on bended knee. I am TheLeader of the free world, [[ComicBook/TheJoker you impotent little psychotic]]. I've had the most powerful beings on this or any planet gunning for me for years, and you think you're going to scare me?"''
* BadassInANiceSuit: When he's not in prison togs or an exoskeleton, Luthor is usually in his business suit. It's exemplified in the finale of ''Justice League Unlimited'' when he shows up to the final confrontation with Darkseid having ditched his battle fatigues for his "power suit" so it's what he's wearing when he saves the world.
* BadassNormal: Luthor's only consistent power is his vast intellect, but he's managed to pose a threat to Superman of all people regardless. Has become an EmpoweredBadassNormal on occasion, either by donning his warsuit, gaining an Orange Lantern Ring, or other means.
* BaldOfAwesome: Lex is an evil SOB, but he can certainly inspire awe when he wants to.
* BaldOfEvil: Perhaps ''the'' iconic example. Pre-Crisis he was evil ''because'' he was bald, blaming Superboy for the accident that cost him his hair.
* BastardUnderstudy: Paul Cornell's backstory in Action Comics Annual established that a young Luthor had apprenticed himself to, and subsequently betrayed both Ra's al-Ghul and Darkseid.
* BattleButler: His (possibly literally) Amazonian bodyguards Mercy and Hope.
* [[BewareTheSuperman Beware The Supermen]]: More modern interpretations often have Luthor preaching a pro-human/anti-metahuman line, claiming that they (Superman especially) will eventually go rogue.
* BigBad: If somebody is screwing with Superman's life, the odds of it being traced back to Luthor stand at somewhere around ninety percent. He's also a prominent figure among the [[EvilIsOneBigHappyFamily DC villain community]] as a whole; most DC villains may fear ComicBook/TheJoker, but they want to ''be'' Luthor. If someone is combining the DC villains into a LegionOfDoom, it'll be Lex Luthor. Even the Joker knows he's the leader, even he doesn't follow him.
** He was also the BigBad in ''ComicBook/BatmanNoMansLand'' and select arcs in ''ComicBook/JusticeLeague''
* BigBadFriend: In many continuities, he starts out as a friend of either Superboy or Clark Kent in Smallville. Even when this wasn't the case, he was Perry White's childhood friend gone wrong.
* BodyguardBabes: Pre-New 52 Luthor had Mercy Graves (who is a CanonImmigrant from ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'') and Hope Taya, two towering super-strong women who were implied to be Amazons.
* BodyHorror: When he was forcibly fused with Brainiac during ''ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheManOfTomorrow''. His clone degeneration during the nineties may qualify as a more mundane example.
* BrainsEvilBrawnGood: Superman is far from stupid, but he usually solves his problems with his fists, an option that Luthor doesn't have open to him. Moreover, as a "tenth level intellect", Luthor is still orders of magnitude smarter than Superman.
* BreakoutVillain: He was originally a minor, yet powerful adversary, but when he became so popular the creators decided to make him the primary nemesis to Superman.
* BrokenAce: A powerful, highly successful man with almost everything he wants at the reach of his fingertips, but the darkness inside him prevents him from truly being one of our best.
* BroughtToYouByTheLetterS: Luthor's warsuit often features a large "L" on the chest. During DC's "Rebirth" event he borrowed Superman's "S" as part of a new suit of armour.
* CardboardPrison: Whether it's through legal or illegal means, Luthor will always be out of prison in a matter of days, if not hours. Lampshaded in the novel ''Superman: Miracle Monday'' when it's stated that Luthor once broke out of prison, then broke back in to fetch something he had inadvertently left behind.
* CardCarryingVillain: Pre-Crisis, and in some adaptations.
* CareBearStare: Forced to this when fused with the Zone Child, who would not allow him to do anything negative. He eventually lost his godlike powers when he tried to kill Superman anyway.
* CassandraTruth: Flatly refuses to believe that Clark Kent is Superman regardless of how reliable the source or irrefutable the evidence is, including Superman himself.
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: He's gone from being a stereotypical war profiteer to a pro-human extremist, with plenty of stops in-between.
* TheChessmaster: Lex's schemes always involve vast amounts of forethought and planning, and there's inevitably a back up plan or three.
* ChestInsignia: Often puts an "L" or "LL" on the chests of his warsuits. In the "Rebirth" event, he wore the Superman shield instead.
* ChronicVillainy: Luthor simply ''cannot'' give up on supervillainy so long as Superman is alive and loved.
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome:
** His daughter Lena hasn't been heard from since he was impeached as President and she was put in foster care.
** His niece Nasthalthia's last appearance was in ''Adventure Comics #424'' published in 1972. A Post-Crisis version showed up in ''Comicbook/AllStarSuperman'' and faded in comic limbo right afterwards.
* ChubbyChaser: He may be this for Amanda Waller.
* ClarkKenting: The only reason a brilliant mind like Lex's hasn't figured out [[ClarkKenting Clark Kent is Superman]] is that he can't [[EvilCannotComprehendGood conceive]] of a powerful being like Superman even ''having'' an alter ego, let alone a mere human like humble Clark.
* ClassicVillain: The total opposite of the hero he fights, with {{pride}}, {{envy}}, and a dose of {{wrath}} as his major sins.
* CloningGambit: In the early '90s, after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, he faked his own death and came back as a younger clone, [[MyGrandsonMyself posing as his identical son]]. This led to...
** CloneDegeneration: He eventually contracted a degenerative illness due to a flaw in the cloning process.
* ColourCodedEyes: His green eyes represent his {{envy}} of Superman.
* CondescendingCompassion: Even more humanist takes on Luthor tend to frame his
* ContemplativeBoss: Fond of the pose.
* ControlFreak: In his mind he needs to be seen as the one in control of the situation at all times. If anyone or anything threatens his position at the top, Lex will brutally eliminate them, which is one of the reasons why he hates Superman so much.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: His default since the eighties. In addition to engaging in a wide variety of unethical business practises, [=LexCorp=] is deeply involved with the illegal arms trade in Metropolis and beyond, with tendrils reaching deep into the DCU underworld, and that's without getting into the number of times that Luthor has used its resources to fund organizations like the Injustice Gang.
* CrossoverVillainInChief: In DC's CrisisCrossover events that involve a lot of villains, like ''ComicBook/SalvationRun'' and ''ComicBook/ForeverEvil'', Luthor usually fills this role along with ComicBook/TheJoker.
* CulturedBadass[=/=]WickedCultured: Loves classic literature, philosophy, classical music, and art, seeing them as proof of his superiority.
* CurbStompBattle:
** Inflicted one on one of General Zod's soldiers in ''ComicBook/LastSon'', leaving the guy a smoking corpse after a few seconds of combat. Luthor with Kryptonite gas grenades and a red solar rifle, vs a Kryptonian who doesn't know about any of his race's weaknesses? Not even close to fair.
** His brutal beatdown of Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} during one of her first Post-Crisis outings is also a standout. Within about a minute of engaging Luthor, the normally overconfident Kara realizes that she's in way over her head. She ends up comparing it to Superman's first fight with Doomsday.
* CutLexLuthorACheck: Lex is the TropeNamer. He's the smartest man in the world, but he wastes his resources on fighting a flying alien in blue spandex because he's angry that there's [[AlwaysSomeoneBetter someone out there that's better than he]]. Lampshaded by Superman after Big Blue returns from a prolonged absence. Superman comments that if it really mattered to him Lex could have cured cancer and generally made himself an even bigger hero than Superman ever was, but instead he spent all his time obsessing over Superman's inevitable return. Also happened in ''All-Star Superman'' where Superman points out he could've saved the world years ago if he'd wanted to. [[spoiler:Lex actually admits he's right.]]
* DarkAndTroubledPast: His abusive childhood is just the tip of the iceberg.
* DarkLordOnLifeSupport: In the early '90s, he contracted terminal cancer from the kryptonite ring he wore. Later, after his CloningGambit backfired into CloningBlues, he was left a shriveled husk suffering from [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locked-in_syndrome locked-in syndrome]]--though by wiring himself into Superman's Kryptonian battlesuit he was still able to be a serious threat.
* DartboardOfHate: Has used Superman's picture as one before.
* DeadpanSnarker: Has a very dry, caustic sense of humor.
* DealWithTheDevil: In ''ComicBook/UnderworldUnleashed'', he sold his soul to the [[DemonLordsAndArchDevils demon lord]] Neron in exchange for a cure for the [[CloningBlues degenerative illness afflicting his cloned body]].
* DefeatingTheUndefeatable: Has this as his life's goal. While he's yet to succeed, he has come very close, and has bested several other nigh-godlike beings, including the Crime Syndicate's Ultraman.
** Ironically, Superman sometimes sees Luthor as "the undefeatable" thanks to Luthor's mastery of legal LoopholeAbuse; Lex is often portrayed as the one criminal Superman can't bring to justice.
* DemotedToDragon: This occasionally happens to Luthor, though it usually doesn't turn out well for his would-be employers.
* DespotismJustifiesTheMeans: For Lex gaining control is what matters, and everything else is just secondary.
* {{Determinator}}: Nothing keeps Lex down permanently.
* DiabolicalMastermind: He began as one, and retains aspects of the trope to this day, though he usually tries to operate with at least a pretense of legality in the modern era.
* DirtyOldMan: In the Post-Crisis era, especially seen commonly surrounded by attractive young ladies in his company building to do his bidding. When a fifteen-year-old Lois Lane breaks into Lexcorp to get some dirt on him, Luthor has her strip searched, personally spanked, and makes a point of keeping the security footage of the strip search for himself.
* DisproportionateRetribution: So [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] Lex, you tried to kill Superman for making you bald? To be fair, that story had Luthor's revenge being initially restricted to Luthor trying to show up Superboy with grandiose public works projects. When they went disastrously wrong and forced Superboy to intervene, Luthor was publicly scorned and sought to kill him in revenge. Elliot S. Maggin also later added a retcon where the experiment where Luthor lost his hair was aiming to create artificial life, so in Luthor's twisted views Superboy had killed his 'child'.
** He's also had people murdered (or killed them himself) merely for embarrassing him in front of others.
* DistaffCounterpart: Both Alexandra Luthor of ''ComicBook/SupermanEarthOne'' and Franchise/WonderWoman villain Veronica Cale can be said to be female versions of our Lex.
* DomesticAbuse: In ''Lex Luthor: The Unauthorized Biography'', Lex is shown to be highly abusive to his mates, even becoming more cruel and spiteful when they try to opt out of the relationship strictly to flaunt his sense of power. Made even more apparent when he had his wife the Contessa murdered.
* DragonInChief: During ''New Krypton'' he was this to General Sam Lane, whose plan could not have functioned without Luthor's technical expertise and supervillain credentials.
* TheDreaded: By superhero and supervillain alike. Anyone who can go up against Superman and come out even time and again tends to earn the fear and respect of every cape, cowl, and criminal out there.
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: Golden Age Alexei Luthor is killed partway through ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' simply because Brainiac felt he was redundant.
* DrivenByEnvy: Lex was the most beloved figure in Metropolis before Superman arrived, and he will never forgive "the alien" for taking that from him.
* EasilyForgiven: Even after the public revelation of years' worth of his various murders and manipulations, and a nearly successful attempt to destroy Metropolis just to spite Superman, Luthor manages to make himself a VillainWithGoodPublicity again by taking credit for saving the world during Comicbook/FinalNight.
* {{Egopolis}}: Lexor, in the Pre-Crisis universe, and [=LexCorp=] Post-Crisis.
* EnemyMine: Has regularly allied with Superman against various alien threats. In the "New 52" this extended to joining the Justice League for a time after defeating the Crime Syndicate.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: His sister, Pre-Crisis.
** Subverted Post-Crisis. He kept his wife in a medically-induced coma after she gave birth to their daughter and later had her assassinated so she couldn't make trouble for his presidential campaign. And the aforementioned daughter? He sold her to [[{{ComicBook/Brainiac}} Brainiac 13]] for control of the 64th century technology he brought to Metropolis.
** In the New 52, played straight again with the first Bizarro, [[spoiler:and with his sister.]]
* EvenEvilHasStandards: DependingOnTheWriter.
** A notable example was when during the "Rock of Ages" storyline in ''ComicBook/GrantMorrisonsJLA'' featuring Luthor's first Injustice Gang taking on the Justice League, Luthor bashes The Joker with the Worlogog to express his disgust at Joker tampering with the bodies of child victims. Later in the same storyline, Lex tricks Joker - who is currently holding the Worlogog and having a "MyGodWhatHaveIDone" moment induced by the ComicBook/MartianManhunter's telepathy - into undoing all the murders the Injustice Gang had caused. Though this resulted in there being nothing the Justice League could charge Luthor and the rest of the criminals with, Superman still said he believed it was because some part of Lex drew the line at killing innocent children and that it wasn't just to save his own skin.
** In Comicbook/GreenArrow, it is revealed that Lex Luthor was offered membership in The Ninth Circle - a financial group built on laissez-faire capitalism - and turned it down. While one might think this is because Lex refuses to be part of any group he isn't in charge of, even Lex drew the line at a Satanic bank that abducted children and sold them into slavery or to be used for medical experiments.
** ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis'' sees Luthor disgusted with Libra to begin with, but with his disgust coming to a head when Libra offers Luthor the chance to be the first to, what's implied, rape Supergirl.
** In a pre-Crisis story, his respect for UsefulNotes/AlbertEinstein was so great, he couldn't allow someone to be seriously hurt on his birthday. Similarly, in another comic he's shown to have a great respect for Abraham Lincoln as well, and when he accidentally prevents a time-traveling Superboy from stopping his assassination [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone he's horrified when he realizes what's happened.]]
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: This is why Lex will never truly understand that Superman doesn't have an ulterior motive. In one of the early John Byrne stories, Luthor commissions a study on Superman and Clark Kent that soon deduces they're the same man. Luthor, however, purges the study and fires those involved as he refuses to accept that anyone with the power of Superman would pretend to be a normal human being.
* EvilCripple: For a time in the nineties when his clone degeneration left him in a coma, unable to so much as close his own eyes.
* EvilFormerFriend: To Clark Kent, in the Silver Age.
* EvilGenius: Lex is one of the smartest characters in all of DC, an OmnidisciplinaryScientist in everything from closing to rocket science and he's definitely evil as they come.
* EvilIsPetty: Lex's supervillain career is based around a need to be better than others. ''Especially'' Superman.
* EvilPlan: Kill and/or ruin Superman.
* EvilRedhead: Luthor was originally a redhead and still has red eyebrows. His Earth-2 counterpart, Alexei Luthor, kept the GoldenAge Luthor's full head of red hair.
* EvilVersusEvil: Luthor has regularly clashed with the DCU's other major villains, most notably in ''Comicbook/TheBlackRing'' when he took on Mr. Mind, Gorilla Grodd, Larfleeze, and Brainiac in rapid succession, and in ''Comicbook/ForeverEvil'' when he took on the Crime Syndicate. His war with Alexander Luthor Jr. in ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'' is also notable, as are his various conflicts with Darkseid.
* EvilUncle:
** To his niece, Lori, Post-Crisis.
** And to his equally evil niece Nasthalthia 'Nasty' Luthor in Pre-Crisis and ''Comicbook/AllStarSuperman'' continuities. 'Nasty' tried to help him kill Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} and when their plot failed, she tried to prove that Linda Danvers was Supergirl every so often.
* EvilerThanThou: If there is another contender for the title of BigBad in the storyline, Luthor will at some point try to take the position from them.
* EvilVersusOblivion: He has acted to protect Earth and Metropolis from various threats, including Doomsday, the Sun-Eater, and Brainiac, if only because they would leave him nothing to control.
* ExpertConsultant: While it's not usually his main line of business, Luthor has occasionally taken consultancy gigs when the price was adequate. For example, during the arc where ComicBook/SwampThing was holding Gotham City hostage until his lover Abby was freed, enemies from the Sunderland Corporation brought Luthor in to map out how to destroy the plant elemental. Luthor finished his presentation 10 seconds early, just so the Sunderland people had enough time to write out his check for a million dollars.
-->''"'''I''' know from invulnerable... ...and this refugee from a canned '''sweet-corn label''' isn't '''it'''."''
* FakingTheDead: During his "Lex Luthor II" phase, when he impersonated his previously unheard of son.
* FalselyReformedVillain: He's faked reformation on a few occasions. One of those occasions let him become President.
* FantasticRacism: Towards aliens and meta's in general, Kryptonians in particular.
** TheResenter: During the ''Comicbook/ForeverEvil'' event he admitted this was driven out of envious resentment not only towards Superman but to a great many SPB's (Super Powered Beings) who could fly farther, move faster and hit harder than he ever could, he kinda got over it eventually.
* FatBastard: In UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|of Comic Books}}. He lost the weight throughout UsefulNotes/{{the Bronze Age|OfComicBooks}}. Beginning in the 80's Post-Crisis Reboot, he was portrayed this way again, but slimmed down in the 90's first thanks to cloning and then after [[DealWithTheDevil making a deal with]] Neron.
* FauxAffablyEvil: More often than not, Luthor's revealed to be this. He appears to charming and pleasant but he is a cruel, ruthless, manipulative narcissist and sociopath. It's worth noting that of all the supervillains out there, the one he gets along with the best is ''the Joker''.
* {{Fiction 500}}: One of the richest, if not ''the'' richest men in the world, alongside the likes of [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Bruce Wayne]].
** In one strip, Lois Lane mentions that she once calculated Luthor's annual income. Taking into account his investments, interest on his savings and his actual salary, it came to 150 dollars ''a second!'' Meaning, if he was walking along the street and saw a $100 bill on the ground, it wouldn't be worth his time to pick it up.
* FictionalPoliticalParty: Represented the Tomorrow Party as President.
* FinalSolution: Was complicit in genocide when he, Sam Lane, and Reactron destroyed New Krypton. In "Birthright" he acknowledges that since Superman is the last of his kind, murdering him has always had genocidal undertones.
* FirstNameBasis: When written by Byrne.
* FiveStagesOfGrief: More like three stages. When he met Death, he experienced the first three stages and then, having realized what he was doing, faked depression to manipulate her (it didn't work). As he said, he doesn't do "acceptance".
* FlatEarthAtheist: On moral rather than scientific grounds. It's been pointed out that it's not because Luthor can't believe in something bigger than humanity. It's because he can't believe in something [[ItsAllAboutMe bigger than him.]]
* {{Foil}}:
** Superman and Luthor stand, respectively, atop the pinnacles of physical and intellectual perfection, have a vast array of powers at their disposal (Superman's innate, Luthor's technological), and understand what it's like to be isolated from society. Yet where Superman tries to use his powers (which are uniquely his) to help the rest of the people around him, Luthor uses his (which are at least partly owed to his workers and the various alien races he's lifted concepts from) to exploit people for his own gain. Throw in the fact that Superman is an alien who nevertheless represents the best of humanity, and Luthor is a human who represents the worst of humanity, and you've got a solid contrast.
** ''World's Finest'', ''Superman/Batman'' and other crossovers love to draw attention to the similarities between Luthor and Bruce Wayne. They're two of the richest, smartest men on the planet, who have aimed their obsessive personalities and immense resources at different targets. Luthor lampshades it in the New 52, telling Batman: "We're in the same club, you and I. Just two incredibly rich, mere mortal boys playing dress-up in the end."
** On the criminal side of things, Luthor and The Joker are as diametrically opposed as their respective archenemies, with Lex constantly working within the system, while Joker tries to burn it down. The contrast between their motivations is even greater, with Luthor having to convince himself that he has noble intentions, while Joker cheerfully admits to being as evil as they come. Their regular team-ups only serve to emphasize these contrasts all the more.
* FormerTeenRebel: Rebelled against his father in the most extreme ways.
* ForTheEvulz: Some of his KickTheDog moments fall under this.
* FreudianExcuse: In modern continuity, Luthor is usually portrayed as having had a truly miserable childhood at the hands of parents and foster families who abused and exploited him.
* FunetikAksent: Golden Age Alexei Luthor often had a very pronounced Oirish accent.
* FunnyAnimal: His Earth-C-Minus counterpart, Lex Lemur, archfoe of Supersquirrel.
* GoodTwin: Alexander Luthor Sr. of Earth-3 Pre-Crisis, the Antimatter Universe Alexander Luthor Post-Crisis, and the Pocket Universe Lex Luthor from ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlSaga''.
* {{Greed}}: Lex has long had greed as one of his defining vices. The Orange Lantern ring that he get in ''Blackest Night'' ends up worsening his greed, leaving him with a yawning gulf inside when he loses it.
* GreenEyedMonster: Towards Superman. No matter what Lex does he will never be as powerful, as loved, or as ''good'' as Superman.
* GrandfatherClause: For anyone else, being a Supervillain archenemy of ostensibly less physical power than the SuperHero is an uphill battle to establish credibility. Luthor however has been precisely that since UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks and has never had been questioned as the nemesis of Superman.
* GunsAkimbo: He's done this a few times in the comics, and in various adaptations like ''Smallville'' and ''Justice League Unlimited''.
* HairTodayGoneTomorrow: In the Post-Crisis continuity, when Lex first appears, he's balding when Superman begins his career.
* HairTriggerTemper: Especially in animated adaptations, Lex doesn’t handle failure or inconvenience well, if things aren’t going completely his way, his smooth and confident persona slips away and he goes ballistic. A common scene is for him to smugly lecture Superman about how untouchable and smart he is, then start yelling and throwing things when the Man of Steel refuses to be baited or intimidated.
* HeelFaceTurn: Is a member of the Justice League in the ''New 52'' and ''Rebirth''. Despite maintaining his somewhat snobby attitude, he seems to genuinely want to help Metropolis this time around [[spoiler:in honor of the New 52's Superman death.]] It doesn't last, though.
* HeelRealization: In ''All-Star Superman'', and ''Forever Evil''.
* HelmetsAreHardlyHeroic: More like Helmets Are Hardly Villainous. Even though he wears his iconic PoweredArmor, the suit itself is lacking a helmet. DC made up for it by including a helmet with the suit in the ''New 52'' comics.
* AHeroToHisHometown: A hero on the planet Lexor, actually.
** His "Lex Luthor II" identity [[InvokedTrope deliberately invokes the trope]], even managing to fool Superman for a short while.
* HeroKiller: Against anybody other than Superman he typically gets treated this way, since there's not much any lesser heroes can do to touch him.
* HeroicBuild: Starting in the eighties.
* HijackedByGanon: Towards the end of ''ComicBook/BatmanNoMansLand'', he was revealed (read: {{Retcon}}ned) to be TheChessmaster behind the events of the StoryArc and then, at the last minute, was himself hijacked by ComicBook/TheJoker.
** Done InUniverse in ''Superman Villains Secret Files and Origins'' where he tells his infant daughter a bedtime story that (falsely) suggests that he was secretly behind nearly every major villain Superman ever faced.
* HumongousMecha: Once used Superman's Kryptonian warsuit to attack the hero, after he himself had been left crippled by CloneDegeneration. [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] Luthor was also fond of giant robots of various abilities.
* {{Hypocrite}}: A frequent issue in more pro-humanist takes on the character. He likes to view himself as a champion of ordinary, unpowered humans against a godlike alien who renders all human accomplishment and achievement worthless... while being perfectly willing to sacrifice any number of those same ordinary, unpowered humans in order to achieve victory over said alien.
* IJustWantToBeSpecial: The root of his loathing of superhumans.
* IJustWantToBeYou: Why he especially loathes Superman. When he was bound by the Lasso of Truth in ''Blackest Night'', it caused him to admit it.
* InsistentTerminology: Calling Superman "the alien".
* InsufferableGenius: Will always remind people that he's the smartest man alive.
* IronicHell: Post-Crisis Luthor was ultimately left stranded in the Phantom Zone, with all the Kryptonian criminals he hates.
* IronicName: "Alexander" and its derivatives mean "Defender of Mankind," and "Lex" is Latin for "the law". The historical UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat while a megalomaniacal conqueror with a god complex was also a man with a far-sighted multi-cultural worldview while Lex Luthor is a xenophobe who hates Superman for being an alien.
* IrrationalHatred: His hate for Superman is based on nothing but his own personal prejudices.
* ItsAllAboutMe: Other people simply don't matter to Lex. He's at the centre of the universe, and everybody else is irrelevant.
** He reforms the Injustice Gang solely because Superman is now leading the Comicbook/JusticeLeague, which Lex believes can only be Superman deliberately trying to escalate their conflict.
** During ''52'', a new superhero called Supernova shows up. Lex comes to the conclusion that it's Superman ''pretending'' to be someone else, just to mess with him. He even has Clark Kent abducted and dosed with a truth serum just to "confirm" this, and is incensed when Clark answers, in all honesty, that it's not Superman (and he'd know). It never occurs to Lex to ask the right questions, and Clark gets out scott-free.
** Lex Luthor's refusal to believe any claims that Clark Kent is Superman is based on the logic that if ''Luthor'' had powers like that, he would ''never'' hide himself away as an average person. Luthor's thinking seems to go, "I am a genius. Superman is a genius. Therefore, Superman must think like I do!"
* KickTheDog: Constantly. Most notably when he healed his (Post-Crisis) sister of a neurological disease, then gave it right back to her.
* KickTheSonOfABitch: Whether it's handing Alexander Luthor Jr. over to the Joker, setting up Toyman to be executed by a robot assassin, or gunning down [[SociopathicSoldier Gor]] from behind, Luthor has regularly inflicted horrible abuse on the DCU's other villains.
* LadyMacbeth: His alternate universe counterpart on Earth-One has little interest in killing Superman, and considers the concept unethical. His wife, Alexandra, on the other hand, is fascinated by the concept, and pushes him towards doing it. One begins to wonder which of them is really Earth-One's version of him.
%%* LargeHam: Always.
* LaserGuidedKarma: A few times over the years, when he's not a KarmaHoudini.
** Luthor's Kryptonite ring allowed him to keep Superman at bay and get away with all sorts of crime, but eventually he learned it had given him fatal cancer.
** After returning in a clone body, he kills his personal trainer just to prove he can get away with it; this eventually puts Lois Lane on his trail when the trainer's father asks her to investigate his daughter's disappearance, which costs him his VillainWithGoodPublicity status for a few years of real time.
** After trying to eliminate the geneticist who cloned him, Luthor belatedly discovers that a disease that destroys clones is starting to affect him...and the geneticist he betrayed is all too happy to leave him to his fate.
* TheLeader: Of a number of supervillain collectives over the years. It should come as little surprise that he tends to be The Mastermind type.
* LegionOfDoom: If one exists, he will be running it.
* ALighterShadeOfBlack: Lex can and does end up here in conflicts with other villains. This is most notable when he faces Alexander Luthor Jr. in ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'', when he allies with Superman against Zod in ''ComicBook/LastSon'', in ''Comicbook/TheBlackRing'', where he is up against a virtual who's who of DC's worst, including Venusian parasite [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Mr. Mind]], brain eating primate [[ComicBook/TheFlash Gorilla Grodd]], immortal psychopath and conqueror ComicBook/VandalSavage, living embodiment of {{greed}} [[ComicBook/GreenLantern Larfleeze]], and [[OmnicidalManiac omnicidal]] computer mind ComicBook/{{Brainiac}}, and in ''Comicbook/ForeverEvil'', where he takes on Earth-3's Crime Syndicate.
* LikesClarkKentHatesSuperman: The TropeNamer and probably the most famous example. Lex's animosity towards Superman is vast, but he has deep respect for Clark Kent and has told Kent such on several occasions, often because Clark represents the ordinary, average people that Luthor views himself as the protector of. DependingOnTheWriter, this can take the form of CondescendingCompassion.
* {{Lust}}: For power. No matter how much he has, Lex will always want more.
* MadScientist: Was an archetypal one in the sixties and built his fortune on his technology in the modern era. Occasionally he'll revert to form, particularly if [=LexCorp=] is unavailable to him for whatever reason.
* ManOfTheCity: Considers himself (and most citizens consider him to be it also) the first citizen of Metropolis.
* MercyKill: Receives one from Lana Lang in ''ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheManOfTomorrow''.
* MobBossSuitFitting: Lex has been shown in this kind of scene.
* MoralityPet: His sister Lena during UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|of Comic Books}} and UsefulNotes/{{the Bronze Age|OfComicBooks}}. Luthor went out of his way to shield her from any knowledge of his criminal lifestyle. [[spoiler:It appears she's this again in the New 52; he tried and failed to save her when she fell ill, leaving her an invalid. Then it turns out Lena despises him, and would quite gladly kill him given the chance.]]
* MugglePower: Goes on and on about leveling the playing field, and preaches a xenophobic, pro-human/anti-alien form of extremism. This is especially notable in ''Last Son'' and ''New Krypton'', when he's given the chance to "save the world" from evil Kryptonians led by Zod.
* MyGrandsonMyself: During the time he faked his own death because of his Kryptonite ring-induced cancer, he transferred his brain into a clone body and came back pretending to be his own son until said body fell under CloneDegeneration and Luthor suffered a rather bad SanitySlippage.
* {{Narcissist}}: Probably the best diagnosis for Lex, given his inability to see others as anything other than extensions of himself, his pathological need to be the most important person in the room, and his identification with beings like Brainiac and the Joker. When under the influence of the Lasso of Truth and asked why he wants to join the JLA he is forced to admit "Because I'm an egomaniac."
* {{Naytheist}}: Refuses to acknowledge any of the setting's gods.
* NeverMyFault: Always refuses to take responsibility for his actions, typically blaming Superman. This especially goes in Luthor's [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] origin when his first revenge of grandiose public works projects went disastrously wrong and Luthor blamed Superboy for humiliating him when the superhero was forced to intervene.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: When Superman accidentally destroyed Lexor in UsefulNotes/{{the Bronze Age|OfComicBooks}}, intensifying Luthor's (already extreme) hatred of him.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: The Businessman Luthor from the 80s was modelled on prominent tycoons of the time, such as Rupert Murdoch [[http://www.nationalmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/donald-trump-art-of-the-deal-lex-luthor-unauthorized-biography-full-combo.jpg and]] Creator/DonaldTrump. More recent incarnations have also borrowed from Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg.
* NobleDemon: When written by Creator/ElliotSMaggin in UsefulNotes/{{the Bronze Age|OfComicBooks}}.
* NonIdleRich: Still heavily involved in running [=LexCorp=], and that's in addition to being a supervillain.
* NotSoDifferent: From Brainiac, as ''New Krypton'' points out. Both are obsessed with the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake, though Lex considers the alien's [[OmnicidalManiac omnicidal mania]] to be self-defeating.
** Also with The Joker. Joker is obviously far more insane, but Lex's grasp on insanity and the degree of unhealthiness in his obsession with Superman are not that apart from the issues Joker has with Batman. Joker is keenly aware of this, but Luthor remains in constant denial about it.
* NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist: In his own mind, Lex is quite sincere in his desire to uplift humanity and serve as an example of all they can accomplish. In reality, that philanthropy only extends to how much gain he can get out of the situation, and he'd be more than willing to slit every human on the planet's throat if it will further his vendetta with Superman.
* ObviousTrap: Clearly marked as [[http://www.superdickery.com/superboy-is-a-colossal-dumbass/ "Luthor Trap To Capture Superboy"]].
* OddFriendship: With the Joker. While they've fought, the two work surprisingly well together and tend to display a mutual respect. One of the best examples of this comes from ''ComicBook/UnderworldUnleashed''. Recruited as part of a team of five villains to serve to demon Neron, Luthor and Joker immediately conspire with the others to steal Neron's power, only for it to be revealed as a successful scheme to get rid of the other three villains. Luthor and Joker understood each other so well they managed to put this together without even speaking about it. They even high-five afterwards.
* OffOnATechnicality: Again and again and again.
* OtherMeAnnoysMe: Lex's ego and pettiness means even in a room with his alternate counterparts, he'll still look down his nose at them. Case in point, Silver Age and Golden Age Lex during ''Crisis on Infinite Earths''. Lex doesn't blink an eye when Brainiac reduces Alexei to a pile of ash.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: He has always gone by "Lex," but what it's short for has varied. For the record, Golden Age Luthor is Alexei, Silver/Bronze Age Luthor is Alexis, and Post-Crisis Luthor is Alexander.
* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: Nobody else gets to take down Superman. Not Zod, not Brainiac, not even Darkseid. Only Lex.
* ThePardon: Given one after ''New Krypton''.
* {{Patricide}}: Usually kills his father, sometimes kills his mother as well.
* PhotographicMemory: It has been established on a number of occassions that Luthor has an eidetic memory. It's a gift that has been invaluable in both science and finance and which has helped made him be one of the most intelligent human figures in the DC Universe.
* PhysicalGod[=/=]RealityWarper: Luthor briefly attained godlike powers at the end of ''The Black Ring'', when he fused with the Zone Child. This has also happened in adaptations like the DCAU.
* PlotSensitiveSnoopingSkills: Luthor interacts with Superman face-to-face all the time, and in a good number of continuities is also childhood friends with Clark Kent (and at the very least sees him often through Lois), and he's among the most intelligent men in the world. Somehow in spite of these three facts he never, ever figures out Clark Kent and Superman are the same person. Various explanations for this have cropped up over the decades, but the fact remains that Luthor only figured out Clark's true identity when it was spelt out for him via looking through Superman's memories. Even then it took him a minute.
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: In his early Comicbook/PostCrisis appearances, in which he takes special pleasure in belittling women or threatening them into sleeping with him, and taunting Maggie Sawyer regarding her sexuality.
* PoweredArmour: His green and purple warsuit, which he gained in the eighties, and uses in various forms to today.
* ThePowerOfHate: His hatred of Superman has kept him going on many occasions.
* PragmaticVillainy: Lex can't rule the world if everybody is dead.
* PresidentEvil: The TropeNamer, in fact.
* {{Pride}}: Supremely hubristic, to an almost Greek level. This affected even the Pocket Universe Lex Luthor in ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlSaga'', who, although he knew about the various Kryptonite isotopes hidden in Superboy's lab that could have stopped the Phantom Zone criminals before they started their reign of terror, refused to use them because he wanted the defeat of the criminals to be by his own hand. He regretted this decision upon his death long after his Earth suffered a ApocalypseHow/Class6 on the ApocalypseHow scale.
* PrimaryColorChampion: As part of DC's "Rebirth" event, Luthor, currently acting as a superhero, gained a blue-and-red version of his usual power armour, complete with Superman "S" and red cape.
* PsychologicalProjection: In some continuities, like the New 52, he presumes Superman is the one obsessed and conspiring against him. It's also part of the reason he can't work out Superman is Clark Kent, even when told. Not only can he not accept that he hasn't figured it out, he can't believe that someone with Superman's powers would ''want'' to hide anything.
* PsychoSerum[=/=]SuperSerum: Luthor has experimented with chemical enhancement on several occasions, including a Kryptonite-laced variant of Bane's Venom steroid, which heightened his strength and reflexes to near-superhuman levels.
* PetTheDog: In Lex Luthor: Man of Steel he helps his janitor's son get into a prestigious school by using his influence with the headmaster.
** Averted that his assistant points out doing so takes away an earned spot from another student. Luthor also "gifts" the janitor and his son with an invitation to the opening of his new skyscraper, which he destroys as part of a plot to discredit Superman.
* RagsToRiches: Luthor is usually portrayed as growing up poor, be it in Metropolis or Smallville. It was selling his inventions that made him a millionaire, and the construction of [=LexCorp=] that turned him into a multibillionaire.
* RedRightHand: From 1988-1990 in the comics, he had a cybernetic prosthetic covered by a glove for his right hand after the original was amputated due to radiation poisoning from his kryptonite ring.
* {{Robosexual}}: A few times, typically with his own creations.
* RobotMaster: Luthor's had legions of robotic minions since UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|of Comic Books}}, and regularly uses them to even the odds between himself and Superman.
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections: What money cannot buy, political influence and business connections can.
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: There's not a lot of things Lex's money can't buy.
* ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem: During his time as President, Luthor violated many, many laws.
* SecondaryColorNemesis: As Superman's archnemesis, Luthor directly contrasts his primary colors with secondary colors purple and green.
* SelfMadeOrphan: In many origin stories, Luthor got his start by taking out a life insurance policy on his parents and cutting the brake lines to their car while both were taking a trip, leading to their immediate death and Luthor collecting the insurance money for start up capital to his company.
* ShadowArchetype: To Superman, both are extremely gifted individuals that can do great things for the world, but while Superman is humble and charitable Lux only uses his gifts for his [[ItsAllAboutMe his own benefit.]]
* ShootingSuperman: Lex ''has'' tried this even though ''he'' of all people should know better. In ''Action Comics #286'', he picks an ordinary machine gun, shoots at Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} and then he swears because [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/action_286_31.jpg the bullets bounce off]].
* SignificantGreenEyedRedhead: While he's now bald, he had flaming red hair as a kid, and retains red eyebrows to go with his envious green eyes. As for significance, he's TheHero's archfoe.
* SmartPeoplePlayChess: Often depicted this way.
* SmugSnake: In UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|of Comic Books}}, when he had all the arrogance of his modern day incarnation, but none of the success rate. They started to undo this in UsefulNotes/{{the Bronze Age|OfComicBooks}}, and as of the 1980s, he usually falls into MB territory.
* TheSociopath: Often referred to as such. Though he fits most of the requirements for the psychiatric diagnosis in the Pre-Crisis version. However, Post-Crisis incarnations and those that followed tend to hit every requirement trait.
* StalkerWithATestTube: Towards Superman, resulting in many different clones, one of which being Kon-El aka Superboy.
* StrawHypocrite: Whether Luthor believes his pro-human rhetoric, or whether it's a cover for his hatred of Superman is a case of DependingOnTheWriter, but his actions show he doesn't care for humanity as much as he says.
* SuperIntelligence: Brainiac described him as a "10th Level Intellect", making his intelligence superior to the combined [=IQ=]s of everyone on Earth, both now (6th Level) and in the 31st Century (9th). He is also smarter than almost every individual on Colu, a planet renowned for the computer like minds of its inhabitants (8th on average). In the DC Universe as a whole, only Brainiac himself (a 12th Level Intellect) is known to be smarter than Lex. He utilizes his superhuman intellect to concoct [[XanatosRoulette plans that require near-omniscient predictive ability]] and to invent all manners of super-tech ranging from Superman-level power armor to teleporters to (in the Pre-Crisis era) time machines.
* SwissCheeseSecurity: Whatever Lex is paying his security team, he should probably cut it.
* TakeOverTheWorld: This was usually Luthor's end goal Pre-Crisis, and it occasionally resurfaces as a motivation even today.
* TeenGenius: Was an inventor even in high school.
* TeensAreMonsters: Had a violent streak even as an adolescent. In ''Lex Luthor: The Unauthorized Biography'', he was said to be cruel in his youth, especially towards girls, and killed his parents to cash on a life insurance policy he put on them.
* TheOnlyOneAllowedToKillYou: Post-Crisis, he stopped Metallo from doing in Superman and was extremely frustrated when Doomsday seemingly slew Superman because that meant Luthor wouldn't get to do it himself.
* TragicVillain: The fact that Luthor could have done great things and benefited the world in a very real way, is at the core of much of his modern portrayal, with Superman often lamenting his inability to turn Luthor around.
* {{Ubermensch}}: He certainly thinks he is.
* {{Trumplica}}: As noted earlier, one of the inspirations to depict him as a businessman was Donald Trump. Amusingly, the arc that would depict Luthor as President of the United States came 16 years about the real Trump's own victory.
* UngratefulBastard:
** No matter how many times Superman saves his life, Lex will never get over his grudge and plan again to destroy Superman. Justified, as he sees Superman helping him as just another form of "the alien" condescending to him.
** In ''Action Comics #286'', Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} saved Lex Luthor's life. He yelled he hated her and he tried to kill her again. It didn't help that Supergirl informed him that she saved him because she wants him to pay for his crimes. He declared [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/action_286_31_0.jpg "[He] loathed [her] '''more''' than '''Superman'''"]]
* UnholyMatrimony: He once entered into a marriage of convenience with fellow DiabolicalMastermind Contessa Erica Alexandra Del Portenza after she seized control of [=LexCorp=] while he was [[DarkLordOnLifeSupport indisposed]]. They alternated between being partners and trying to eliminate each other until Luthor decided to run for President, at which point he had her assassinated.
* UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans: Sometimes goes on about how much better the world would be under his rule, or just how if Superman was gone he'd make a utopia. Superman justifiably calls him out on doing next to nothing of worth while Superman ''was'' gone for awhile despite all his boasting and in ''All Star Superman'' points out the only one stopping Luthor from making the world a better place is Luthor himself.
* VillainHasAPoint: He certainly wasn't wrong about what would happen if a whole army of Kryptonians landed on Earth during ''ComicBook/NewKrypton''. Even without Lane and Luthor's interference, the Kandorians (or at least their leadership) quickly showed themselves to be arrogant supremacists who flouted human laws and felt themselves to be immune to any form of corrective behaviour. Luthor finds the affair extremely gratifying.
* VillainProtagonist: Of ''ComicBook/LexLuthorManOfSteel'', ''ComicBook/TheBlackRing'', and ''Comicbook/ForeverEvil'', as well as his during his time as a JLA member.
* VillainTeamUp: An expert at getting other villains to get together, typically in counterpoint to the JLA.
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: For most of the post-Crisis era.
* VillainousBreakdown: Always spectacular when it happens.
* VillainousCrush: In TheEighties and TheNineties, he had one of these on Lois Lane. The ''Series/LoisAndClark'' incarnation in particular was obsessed with her.
* VillainousFriendship: He and ComicBook/TheJoker are probably the closest thing the other one has to a friend Post-Crisis. Pre-Crisis he considered Brainiac a friend, but the robot eventually betrayed and bodyjacked him.
* VillainousRescue: Lex and the Superman Revenge Squad freed Metropolis from General Zod's control, saving the JLA and the world during ''ComicBook/LastSon''. In ''ComicBook/ForeverEvil'' he does it again, defeating the Crime Syndicate and then freeing the JLA.
* VillainousUnderdog: Grant Morrison once noted that a part of you almost has to cheer for Luthor, as he goes up against a demigod armed with nothing but his intellect and his arrogance.
* VillainousValor: He's a man with no real superpowers. Superman can benchpress planets. This is part of Luthor's character by default.
* WeCanRuleTogether: He says this to Amanda Waller while explaining his plan. He concludes this with a ForcedKiss. It's unknown if he has feelings for her or he was too delusional from the kryptonite injections.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: Several comic book origin stories have suggested that Lex Luthor and Clark Kent both attended Smallville High, and were friends. ''Smallville'' took this interpretation and ran with it.
* WealthyYachtOwner: Usually has one.
* WillNotBeAVictim: One of Lex's biggest resolves is to never be helpless or a victim to the might of another and he will fight to the bitter end to make sure that he can come out on top. He once had an ex-employee of his company assassinated in front of his family for striking Lex in the face before being fired. According to Lex, for a second he was made weak and helpless, and for that offense the employee could not be allowed to live. In ''Lex Luthor: The Unauthorized Biography'' he had a former bully of his framed for the murder of journalist Peter Sands. Not for the bullying - which was ended when Lex hired some thugs to beat him and another bully up - but because said bully had the temerity to ''spit in his face'' when Lex offered him a job.
* WorldsSmartestMan: Lex Luthor is typically regarded as the pinnacle of intelligence in the DC universe, with the only other being Luthor considers an intellectual equivalent to be Brainiac who possesses SuperIntelligence.
* WouldHitAGirl: Most notably when he [[http://imgur.com/GweVX0r beat the tar out of Supergirl]].
-->'''Lex Luthor:''' There was a time when I wouldn't sully myself with the pedestrian art of fisticuffs. Striking a woman -- worse, a ''girl'' -- reduces me to the level of some thug -- a ''hooligan''--on the street. Then, I see [[BroughtToYouByTheLetterS that "S"]] that you so brazenly decided [[ChestInsignia to wear on your]] [[EvilIsPetty less than impressive chest]]. And I can ''almost'' forgive myself.
* WouldHurtAChild: Doesn't like to hurt kids, but will do it without regrets.
* {{Wrath}}: Towards anyone who aids "the alien" or damages his sense of power.
* YouCouldHaveUsedYourPowersForGood: Superman has pointed out on multiple occasions that Luthor has the intelligence to revolutionize the world and benefit everyone, but he's too focused on himself and 'revenge' on Superman to ever do it.
** Reaches it's zenith during the ''Brightest Day'' storyline. [[spoiler:Lex Luthor gains near omnipotence and is given the opportunity to become the greatest hero in the ''universe'', even greater that Superman. Passively, his power sooths the anger and hatred of everyone, causing even the ''red lanterns'' to be at peace. He could turn the universe into a literal paradise. The only caveat to this is that the being that gave him these powers requires that he not harm Superman in any way. And that is simply a bridge too far for Lex, who was already furious from the revelation that Superman and Clark Kent were in fact the same person all along. He attempts to attack Superman and loses everything.]]
* YoureInsane: Been on the receiving end of this a few times.
----

* LargeHam: Always.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1297543-actioncomics_luthor177cc3b_2068.jpg]]

* AdaptationalWimp: For some reason, none of his live-action film adaptations give him credit as a MadScientist whose inventions are deadly. Gene Hackman and Kevin Spacey's Luthor has him as a "criminal mastermind" who hijacks nuclear weapons, partners with Kryptonian villains or use Superman's fortress against his foe. Jesse Eisenberg's is a very convoluted mastermind even more petty than the usual interpretation lacking lex' magnificent bastard traits and his central plan is [[HereWeGoAgain using Kryptonian machinery]] against Superman [[spoiler:and the finale implies that he's a Darkseid cultist and a herald]]. None of them have Luthor actually inventing anything spectacular, deadly and fiendish or portray him as a human being whose inventions and scientific acumen puts him, alone among humans, on Brainiac-level playing field.

* AntiHero / AntiVillain: A NominalHero in those stories where he serves as the protagonist, sympathetic mostly due to the nature of the people he is up against.

* DirtyOldMan: In the Post-Crisis era, very much so, especially seen commonly surrounded by attractive young ladies in his company building to do his bidding. When a fifteen-year-old Lois Lane breaks into Lexcorp to get some dirt on him, Luthor has her strip searched, personally spanked, and makes a point of keeping the security footage of the strip search for himself.

* EvilIsPetty: Lex's entire supervillain career is based around a need to be better than others. ''Especially'' Superman.

* HijackedByGanon: Towards the end of ''ComicBook/BatmanNoMansLand'', he was revealed (read: {{Retcon}}ned) to be TheChessmaster behind the events of the entire StoryArc and then, at the last minute, was himself hijacked by ComicBook/TheJoker.

* PlotSensitiveSnoopingSkills: Luthor interacts with Superman face-to-face all the time, and in a good number of continuities is also childhood friends with Clark Kent (and at the very least sees him often through Lois), and he's among the most intelligent men in the entire world. Somehow in spite of these three facts he never, ever figures out Clark Kent and Superman are the same person. Various explanations for this have cropped up over the decades, but the fact remains that Luthor only figured out Clark's true identity when it was spelt out for him via looking through Superman's memories. Even then it took him a minute.
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Very much so in his early Comicbook/PostCrisis appearances, in which he takes special pleasure in belittling women or threatening them into sleeping with him, not to mention taunting Maggie Sawyer regarding her sexuality.

* TeensAreMonsters: Had a violent streak even as an adolescent. In ''Lex Luthor: The Unauthorized Biography'', he was said to be cruel in his youth, especially towards girls, and even killed his parents to cash on a life insurance policy he put on them.

* VillainHasAPoint: He certainly wasn't wrong about what would happen if a whole army of Kryptonians landed on Earth during ''ComicBook/NewKrypton''. Even without Lane and Luthor's interference, the Kandorians (or at least their leadership) quickly showed themselves to be arrogant supremacists who flouted human laws and felt themselves to be immune to any form of corrective behaviour. Luthor finds the entire affair extremely gratifying.

Alexander Joseph "Lex" Luthor is the {{archenemy}} of Franchise/{{Superman}}, and one of the oldest villains in comic book history, making his debut in ''Action Comics'' #23 in April of 1940. Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the same team who created Superman himself, Luthor was an instant success, and ensured himself a permanent place in the Last Son of Krypton's RoguesGallery. Since then he's gone onto be a major player in the DC Universe, serving as one of its most iconic villains, alongside the likes of [[ComicBook/TheJoker the Joker]].

* AffablyEvil: Luthor tries to present this way, and DependingOnTheWriter, may actually be fairly reasonable when he's not dealing with Superman. One thing that is often noted is that Lex is actually quite sincere about how he treats his employees, and he has respect for blue-collar people who go beyond their means to get ahead (since he used to be one as well).

* BadBoss[=/=]BenevolentBoss: DependingOnTheWriter Luthor may be a tyrannical boss, or a master manager who takes careful care of his underlings' needs.

* TheExtremistWasRight: He certainly wasn't wrong about what would happen if a whole army of Kryptonians landed on Earth during ''ComicBook/NewKrypton''. Even without Lane and Luthor's interference, the Kandorians (or at least their leadership) quickly showed themselves to be arrogant supremacists who flouted human laws and felt themselves to be immune to any form of corrective behaviour. Luthor finds the entire affair extremely gratifying.

* FauxAffablyEvil: More often than not, Luthor's revealed to be this. It's worth noting that of all the supervillains out there, the one he gets along with the best is ''the Joker''.

* TheSociopath: Often referred to as such. Though he doesn't necessarily hit all the requirements for the psychiatric diagnosis in the Pre-Crisis version. However, Post-Crisis incarnations and those that followed tend to hit every requirement trait.

* {{TRumplica}}: As noted earlier, one of the inspirations to depicted him as a businessman was Donald Trump. Amusingly the arc that would depict Luthor as President of the United States came 16 years about the real Trump's own victory.

** A notable example was when during the "Rock of Ages" storyline in ''ComicBook/GrantMorrisonsJLA'' featuring Luthor's first Injustice Gang taking on the Justice League, Luthor bashes The Joker with the Worlogog to express his disgust at Joker tampering with the bodies of child victims. Later in the same storyline, Lex tricks Joker - who is currently holding the Worlogog - into undoing all the murders the Injustice Gang had caused. Though this resulted in there being nothing the Justice League could charge Luthor and the rest of the criminals with, Superman still said he believed it was because some part of Lex drew the line at killing innocent children and that it wasn't just to save his own skin.

* BigBadEnsemble: With Brainiac and Zod for ''New Krypton''. Ultimately Luthor becomes the last one standing.

Luthor has had various hats over the years. He was originally portrayed as a red-headed [[WarForFunAndProfit war profiteer]] who aimed to TakeOverTheWorld by playing various political factions against each other. He was then reimagined as a bald, egomaniacal MadScientist after an illustrator confused him with the Ultra-Humanite. This conception [[ThrowItIn of the character stuck]], and for the remainder of UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|OfComicBooks}} and UsefulNotes/{{the Bronze Age|OfComicBooks}} of comics, Luthor was written as a CardCarryingVillain who used his technological prowess to match Superman's physical might, regularly allying with other villains, like ComicBook/{{Brainiac}}, Bizarro, and the Joker in order to vex the Man of Steel and his allies. One thing that did change about Luthor was that as time went by, he became progressively younger and more physically active. The [[FatBastard paunchy man]] in his fifties was replaced by an [[BadassNormal exceptionally fit man]] in his forties, and was then retconned again into being only a few years older than Superman ''and'' possessed of a [[PoweredArmour warsuit]] that allowed him to fight the Kryptonian hand-to-hand. He also gained his own supporting cast, including his sister and MoralityPet, Lena, and the planet of Lexor, which hailed him as a hero after he saved it from destruction, and a number of alternate universe doppelgangers, including Alexei Luthor of Earth-2 (based on his original, GoldenAge appearance) and the heroic Alexander Luthor Sr. of Earth-3. This version of Luthor, along with the rest of the existing Franchise/DCUniverse, was erased from continuity following the ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths''.

* BattleButler: His Amazonian bodyguards Mercy and Hope.