Editing Lex Luthor (section)

==== 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.