Editing Lex Luthor (section)

=== Publication history ===

==== Creation and development ====
[[File:Action Comics 26 Luthor.jpeg|thumb|upright|Luthor, during his debut in ''Action Comics'' #23 (April 1940). Art by Joe Shuster.]]

In his first story appearance, ''Action Comics'' #23 (April 1940), Luthor is depicted as a diabolical genius and is referred to only by his surname. He resides in a flying city suspended by a dirigible and plots to provoke a war between two European nations. [[Lois Lane]] and [[Clark Kent]] investigate, which results in Lois being kidnapped. Luthor battles Superman with a green ray but he is ultimately defeated, and Lois is rescued. Superman destroys Luthor's dirigible with him still on it, implying Luthor may have died. Stories ending with Luthor's apparent death become common in his earliest appearances, with him turning up alive later on.<ref name="Siegel 1940">[[Jerry Siegel|Siegel, Jerry]] (w), [[Joe Shuster|Shuster, Joe]] (p, i). ''Action Comics'' #23 (Spring 1940), [[DC Comics]].</ref>

[[File:Luthor Action Comics 23.png|thumb|right|Luthor as he appears in ''[[Superman (comic book)|Superman]]'' #4 (1940)]]

Luthor returns in ''Superman'' #4 and steals a weapon from the U.S. Army capable of causing earthquakes. Superman battles and defeats Luthor, then destroys the earthquake device. The scientist who made the device commits suicide to prevent its reinvention. In a story in the same issue, Luthor creates a city on the sunken [[Lost continent]] of Pacifo and populates it with recreated prehistoric monsters he plans to unleash upon the world. Superman thwarts his plans and Luthor is seemingly killed by the dinosaurs he created. Luthor returns in ''Superman'' #5 with a plan to place hypnotic gas in the offices of influential people so he can throw the nation into a depression with the help of corrupt financier Moseley. The story ends with Superman defeating him.

In these early stories, Luthor's schemes are centered around financial gain or megalomaniacal ambitions; unlike most later incarnations, he demonstrates no strong animosity toward Superman beyond inevitable resentment of the hero's constant interference with his plans. Luthor's obsessive hatred of Superman came later in the character's development.

In Luthor's earliest appearances, he is shown as a middle-aged man with a full head of red hair. Less than a year later however, an artistic mistake resulted in Luthor being depicted as completely bald in a newspaper strip.<ref>Siegel, Jerry (w), [[Leo Nowak (artist)|Nowak, Leo]] (p, i). ''Superman'' #10 (1941), DC Comics.</ref> The original error is attributed to [[Leo Nowak (artist)|Leo Nowak]], a studio artist who illustrated for the ''Superman'' dailies during this period.<ref name="cbul">Cronin, Brian (November 26, 2006) [http://www.cbr.com/comic-book-urban-legends-revealed-79/ Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #79]. ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20060516074741/http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/ Comic Book Resources]''. Retrieved July 18, 2007.</ref> One hypothesis is that Nowak mistook Luthor for the [[Ultra-Humanite]], a recurring mad scientist foe of Superman who, in his [[Golden Age of Comic Books|Golden Age]] incarnation, resembled a balding, elderly man.<ref name="cbul"/> Other evidence suggests Luthor's design was confused with that of a stockier, bald [[Henchman#In popular culture|henchman]] in ''Superman'' #4 (Spring 1940);<ref name="cbul"/> Luthor's next appearance occurs in ''Superman'' #10 (May 1941), in which Nowak depicted him as significantly heavier, with visible jowls.<ref name="cbul"/> The character's abrupt hair loss has been made reference to several times over the course of his history. In 1960, writer Jerry Siegel altered Luthor's backstory to incorporate his hair loss into his origin.

During [[World War II]], the War Department asked for dailies of the ''Superman'' comic strip to be pulled. The strips in question were created in April 1945 and depicted Lex Luthor bombarding Superman with the radiation from a cyclotron. This violated wartime voluntary [[censorship]] guidelines meant to help conceal the [[Manhattan Project]].<ref>{{cite book|title= Superheroes! Capes, cowls and the creation of comic book culture|first1=Laurence|last1=Maslon|author-link1=Laurence Maslon|first2=Michael|last2=Kantor|page=91}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Restricted Data: The History of Nuclear Secrecy in the United States|first=Alex|last=Wellerstein|publisher=University of Chicago Press|date=2021|page=74}}</ref>

==== Silver Age Lex Luthor ====
In 1956, DC Comics reimagined the Flash with a new secret identity, costume and origin. This led to the new [[Silver Age of Comics]] and the first DC Comics reboot, with characters across the board being reimagined or having their histories and nature redefined. The earlier Golden Age stories of Superman and Batman were later said to have taken place on [[Earth-Two]], a [[Parallel universe (fiction)|parallel universe]] that was part of the larger [[Multiverse (DC Comics)|DC Multiverse]].

The Silver Age version of Luthor was introduced in ''[[Adventure Comics]]'' #271 (April 1960), now given the first name "Lex" (later said to be short for Alexis, eventually [[retcon]]ned as Alexander) and an [[origin story]]. Originally hero-worshiping Superboy, teenage Lex Luthor of Smallville is determined to prove he is Earth's greatest scientist by creating artificial life. His recklessness and inexperience causes a fire in his lab and he calls on Superboy to save him. The Boy of Steel puts out the fire but, in the process, accidentally destroys the artificial life form and the years of research notes that led to its creation, while fumes from the chemical fire cause Luthor's hair to fall out. Unwilling to hold himself responsible for the lab fire and the destruction of his own life's work, Luthor decides that Superboy was jealous of his intellect and caused the fire himself. Believing he's been betrayed by his hero and friend, Lex swears revenge. His first attempts at that are grandiose scientific and engineering projects around Smallville to steal Superboy's thunder. When these attempts, for which, unknown to Luthor, Superboy was supportive as consolation that Lex was at least being constructive in his vendetta, each go disastrously awry and force Superboy to intervene while earning the citizenry's scorn, Lex's hate for Superboy only grew in rationalization of his failures.<ref>''Adventure Comics'' #271 (April 1960). DC Comics.</ref>

This revised origin makes Luthor's fight with Superman a personal one and suggests that if events had unfolded differently, Luthor might have grown to be a more noble person. Luthor's ego preventing him from personal growth and the tragedy that he and Clark could have been a force for good together are played up in various stories throughout the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in [[Elliot S. Maggin]]'s novels ''[[Superman: Last Son of Krypton|Last Son of Krypton]]'' and ''[[Miracle Monday]]''.<ref name="cbr maggin">{{cite web|author=Callahan, Timothy|date=September 4, 2008|url=http://www.comicbookresources.com/?id=17934&page=article|title=Elliot S! Maggin's Noble Humanity|work=Comic Book Resources|access-date=November 2, 2008}}</ref>

The Golden Age version of Luthor appears again as a villain still alive and well on [[Earth-Two]]. To distinguish him from the modern-day Lex Luthor, the original incarnation is shown as having kept his red hair and is retroactively given the first name Alexei. In ''DC Comics Presents'' Annual #1 (1982), Alexei Luthor of Earth-Two and Lex Luthor of Earth-One team up. It is shown that Alexei is arguably colder and more villainous, perfectly willing to destroy all of Earth in order to prove his superiority, whereas Lex hesitates to do so because he had no desire to rule a lifeless world and doesn't want his sister to die.<ref name="DCP Annual">''DC Comics Presents'' Annual #1 (1982). DC Comics.</ref>

Years later, Lex Luthor and the villain Brainiac recruit an army of super-villains during ''[[Crisis on Infinite Earths]]'', including Alexei Luthor from Earth-Two. When Alexei argues that the army doesn't need two Luthors, Brainiac agrees and executes him.

==== Post-''Crisis'' reboot ====
[[File:Lex Luthor (circa 1986).png|thumb|upright|Lex Luthor, as he appeared on the cover of ''[[The Man of Steel (comics)|The Man of Steel]]'' #4 (1986), art by [[John Byrne (comics)|John Byrne]]]]

Following ''[[Crisis on Infinite Earths]]'' (1985-1986), DC rebooted its universe yet again, creating the "Post-''Crisis''" reality. In the 1986 limited series [[The Man of Steel (comics)|''The Man of Steel'']], [[John Byrne (comics)|John Byrne]] redesigned Lex Luthor from scratch, intending to make him a villain that the 1980s would recognize: an evil [[corporate]] [[Corporate title|executive]]. Byrne intentionally chose to base this new depiction of Luthor on the businessmen [[Donald Trump]], [[Ted Turner]], and [[Howard Hughes]] as well as [[Satan]].<ref name="CBR Trump">{{cite web|url=https://www.cbr.com/superman-lex-luthor-donald-trump/|title=Comic Legends: Was Lex Luthor in Man of Steel Based on Donald Trump?|work=CBR.com|last=Cronin|first=Brian|date=February 5, 2018|access-date=February 5, 2018}}</ref> Initially brutish and overweight, the character later evolved into a sleeker, more athletic version of his old self. Luthor is no longer recounted as having lost his hair in a chemical fire; rather, his hairline is shown to be receding naturally over time. [[Marv Wolfman]], a writer on ''Action Comics'' who had one conversation with Byrne prior to Luthor's reboot<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.byrnerobotics.com/FAQ/listing.asp?ID=2&T1=Questions+about+Comic+Book+Projects#31|title=Who created the "new" Lex Luthor for MAN OF STEEL?|publisher=Byrnerobotics.com|access-date=June 17, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130126025406/http://www.byrnerobotics.com/FAQ/listing.asp?ID=2&T1=Questions%2Babout%2BComic%2BBook%2BProjects|archive-date=January 26, 2013}}</ref> recalled:
{{Blockquote|I never believed the original Luthor. Every story would begin with him breaking out of prison, finding some giant robot in an old lab he hid somewhere, and then he'd be defeated. My view was if he could afford all those labs and giant robots he wouldn't need to rob banks. I also thought later that Luthor should not have super powers. Every other villain had super powers. Luthor's power was his mind. He needed to be smarter than Superman. Superman's powers had to be useless against him because they couldn't physically fight each other and Superman was simply not as smart as Luthor.<ref>Freiman, Barry (15 November 2005). [http://www.supermanhomepage.com/comics/interviews/interviews-intro.php?topic=c-interview_wolfman1 Interview with Marv Wolfman]. [http://www.supermanhomepage.com Superman Homepage]. Retrieved 2007-7-7. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150614005933/http://www.supermanhomepage.com/comics/interviews/interviews-intro.php?topic=c-interview_wolfman1|date=June 14, 2015}}</ref>}}

As originally presented in the Post-''Crisis'' version of the DC Comics Universe, Lex Luthor is a product of child abuse and early poverty. Born in the [[Suicide Slum]] district of [[Metropolis (comics)|Metropolis]], he is instilled with a desire to become a self-made man of great power and influence. As a teenager, he takes out a large [[life insurance]] policy on his parents without their knowledge, then sabotages their car's brakes, causing their deaths. Upon graduating from [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]], Luthor founds his own business, [[LexCorp]], which grows to dominate much of Metropolis.

Luthor does not fully appear in ''The Man of Steel'' mini-series until the fourth issue, which takes place over a year after Superman's arrival in Metropolis. Terrorists seize Luthor's yacht, forcing Superman to intervene.<ref>[[John Byrne (comics)|Byrne, John]] (w, p), [[Dick Giordano|Giordano, Dick]] (i). ''[[The Man of Steel (comic book)|The Man of Steel]]'' #4 (1986), DC Comics</ref> Satisfied at the hero's performance, Luthor attempts to hire him, admitting he knew about the incoming attack and allowed it to occur so he could see how Superman responded (assuming that the Man of Steel would arrive in time). Enraged, the Mayor deputizes Superman to arrest Luthor for reckless endangerment. Although Luthor is released from jail quickly and has the charges dropped, the humiliation of being publicly arrested and processed, coupled with indignation that Superman refused to work for him, results in the villain pledging to destroy Superman simply to prove his power.

Despite general acceptance of Byrne's characterization, which led to its influence in media adaptations, DC Comics writers began bringing back his quality of being a scientific genius in the 1990s in stories such as ''[[The Final Night]]''. By 2000, it was said that Luthor's genuine accomplishments in several scientific fields is what helped create LexCorp and make it so successful so quickly (in early Post-Crisis stories, Byrne suggested that Luthor was recognized as a brilliant inventor and great scientific mind, but had largely withdrawn from his laboratory in favor of the boardroom). Regarding the character being a corrupt billionaire rather than a mad scientist, author [[Neil Gaiman]] commented:
{{Blockquote|It's a pity Lex Luthor has become a [[Multinational corporation|multinationalist]]; I liked him better as a bald scientist. He was in prison, but they couldn't put his mind in prison. Now he's just a skinny [[Kingpin (character)|Kingpin]].<ref>Neil Gaiman Interview (December 1994) ''[[Hero Illustrated]]'' #18</ref>}}

Luthor's romantic aspirations toward Lois Lane, established early on in the series, become a focal point of the stories immediately following it.<ref>''The Adventures of Superman'' #424 (January 1987)</ref> He is shown making repeated attempts to court her during ''The Man of Steel'', though Lois plainly does not return his feelings.<ref>Byrne, John (w), Giordano, Dick (i). ''The Man of Steel'' #2 (1986), DC Comics</ref>

In the ''Superman Adventures'' comic line based on the TV series of the same name, Luthor's backstory is identical to that of the Post-Crisis origin with slight changes. Luthor is shown originating in Suicide Slum, his intelligence outshining other children, fueling his ambition to have all of Metropolis look up to him one day. Luthor's baldness is never explained, save for a brief depiction of him with blond hair in childhood; it is assumed the hair loss was natural. Luthor's parents die during his teenage years, however, their deaths are indeed accidental. Lex uses the insurance to pay for his tuition to MIT and then founds LexCorp. His hatred of Superman is explained as the citizens of Metropolis have admired the Man of Steel more than him.

==== Modern depictions ====
'''''[[Superman: Birthright]]'',''' a limited series written by [[Mark Waid]] in 2004, offers an alternate look at Luthor's history, including his youth in [[Smallville (comics)|Smallville]], and his first encounter with Superman. The story has similarities to the 2001 television series ''[[Smallville]]'',<ref name="cbr bright">{{cite web|author=Singh, Arune|date=March 11, 2004|url=http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=3256|title=Super-Stars (Part 1): Mark Waid's "Birthright," The Official Origin|work=Comic Book Resources|access-date=November 2, 2008}}</ref> which follows [[Clark Kent]]'s life as a teenager and into early adulthood. One plot element shared by the comic and the show is the problematic relationship between Lex and his father [[Lionel Luthor|Lionel]]. Along with this, ''Birthright'' restores the [[Silver Age of Comic Books|Silver Age]] concept of Luthor befriending Clark Kent as a young man. The two find a kinship in both feeling like outsiders and sharing a wish to explore outer space and discover alien alife, despite one resenting humanity and the other hoping to understand and be accepted by it. Lex discovers kryptonite samples in Smallville and uses them as a power source for a machine he hopes will pierce space and time so he can communicate with [[Krypton (comics)|Krypton]]. When Clark falls ill approaching the machine, Lex mistakes his reaction as doubt in the young scientist's ability and sanity. Feeling betrayed, Lex continues the experiment but an explosion erupts, the radiation blast causing his hair to fall out.<ref>[[Mark Waid|Waid, Mark]] (w), [[Leinil Francis Yu|Yu, Leinil Francis]] (p, i). ''[[Superman: Birthright]]'' #8 (2004), DC Comics</ref><ref name="scifi" /> Luthor leaves Metropolis and years later his scientific work, largely based on his ideas about alien life, results in a fortune he uses to create LexCorp. When Superman appears, Lex is angry that the powerful alien, the kind of companion he'd often hoped for, looks on him with disapproval and openly disrespects him in front of the media. For this and his interference with Luthor's criminal operations, the scientist businessman decides to humiliate and destroy the alien.

Waid's original intention was to jettison the notion of Lex Luthor being an evil businessman, restoring his status as a mad scientist. He ultimately conceded, however, that the CEO Luthor would be easier for readers to recognize. In ''Birthright'', Luthor remains a wealthy corporate magnate; in contrast to Byrne's characterization, however, LexCorp is founded upon Luthor's study of extraterrestrial life, thereby providing a link between him and Superman.<ref name="cbr bright"/><ref>Waid, Mark (w), Yu, Leinil Francis (p, i). ''Superman: Birthright'' #6 (2004), DC Comics</ref> In the retrospective section of the ''Superman: Birthright'' [[Trade paperback (comics)|trade paperback]], Waid explains:
{{Blockquote|Despite my own personal prejudices, I say we leave Lex the criminal businessman he's been for the past 17 years. The ''[[Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman|Lois & Clark]]'' producers liked it, the [[Superman: The Animated Series|WB cartoon]] guys liked it ... so clearly, it works on some level. My concern is that, at least in my eyes, the fact that Luthor's allowed to operate uncontested for ''years'' makes Superman look ineffectual.<ref>[[Mark Waid|Waid, Mark]] (2005). ''Superman: Birthright – The Origin of the Man of Steel''. DC Comics. {{ISBN|1-4012-0252-7}}</ref>}}

''Birthright'' was initially intended to establish a new origin for Superman and Luthor.<ref>Singh, Arune. (March 11, 2004) [http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=3256 Super-Stars (Part 1): Mark Waid's "Birthright," The Official Origin]. ''Comic Book Resources''. Retrieved September 10, 2008.</ref> Immediately, the Superman comics and the series Superman/Batman made references to the [[canon (fiction)|canonicity]] of the new origin series. But after ''[[Infinite Crisis]]'' ended in 2006, new stories discredited parts of it and it was officially replaced by the 2009–2010 series '''''[[Superman: Secret Origin]]''.'''<ref>Kistler, Alan. (October 30, 2005). [http://www.supermanhomepage.com/news/2005-news/2005-news-comic.php?topic=2005-news-comic/1030i Mark Waid Talks "Superman Returns" and "Birthright"]. Superman Homepage. Retrieved October 9, 2008.</ref> ''Superman: Secret Origin'' revised Lex's backstory so that he now again had a sister Lena. While he knew Clark as a teenager in Smallville, he rejected the other boy's attempts to form a friendship. Resentful toward his alcoholic and abusive father, Lex arranges his parents to die in a car accident and uses the insurance money to leave Smallville and start a better life. After studying under the villains [[Ra's al Ghul]] and [[Darkseid]], he founds LexCorp and uses his PR, resources, and media control to set himself up as a near-savior in Metropolis. The ''[[Daily Planet]]'' opposes Luthor and he retaliates in ways that leave the newspaper almost bankrupt. Superman's arrival challenges Luthor's image and brings renewed interest to the ''Planet'' when he does exclusive interviews with their staff. Clark Kent, Jimmy Olsen, and Lois Lane work together to oppose Luthor's power and Superman tells the public they should strive to achieve great things themselves and not wait for others to be their saviors. Angry at Superman's interference and blaming him for losing the love of the public, Luthor swears vengeance.

Following changes to continuity in 2016's '''''[[DC Rebirth]]''''', the history from ''Superman: Secret Origin'' is still largely intact, though it has also been revealed that for a time Lionel Luthor worked as a scientist for [[Vandal Savage]] and that this led to a brief friendship between Lex and J'onn J'onzz, the [[Martian Manhunter]], when both were children.