The Yahtzee quote is a very good short summary of the trope; it's almost a better introduction to it than our description. The Agony Booth quote is a bit more concise, but it'd be a better target for quote removal, as it relies too much on Sarcasm Mode, and is thus harder for the first time reader to understand.

I really don't get the title. Who is cutting Luthor a check? And why? Is it what people would say if he was using his powers for good? Or are we cutting him a check in the hopes he'll stop being evil? Is it a quote from somewhere? I don't think it makes much sense, personally.

There's an irony to calling this trope "Cut Lex Luthor A Check" as according to my research before the Corrupt Corporate Executive identity, he did patent many inventions under assumed names in order to fiance his revenge on Superman.

Does anybody else think this trope is somewhat spurious in that it automatically assumes that the villain will actually succeed at making money off his inventions, whatever they are? Keep in mind that in Real Life many businesses tend to fail within their first year of operation, and that just because the villain has the scientific smarts to build some fancy machine doesn't necessarily mean he'll have the business sense to market it correctly. Not to mention that it can be a pain in the neck lining up potential investors for your invention, especially if it does something people would think is impossible.

It seems like the critics who complain about this trope are themselves assuming Step Three Profit by having the villain market his tech or skills legally, without considering all the hoops a villain would have to jump through to bring a product to market, much less make money off it.

Thoughts?