Editing Lex Luthor (section)

==== 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>