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Lex Luthor
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==== Silver Age ==== While the Golden Age Luthor (later named Alexei Luthor) is simply an amoral and brilliant man driven by a simple desire for power, the Silver Age incarnation was given a more developed personality and backstory. Teenage Lex Luthor is an aspiring scientist who resides in [[Smallville (comics)|Smallville]] and greatly admires its local hero [[Superboy (Kal-El)|Superboy]]. After Lex saves him from [[kryptonite]], Superboy builds him a private laboratory in gratitude. After thousands of experiments, Luthor creates an artificial living protoplasm. Overjoyed, he accidentally causes a chemical fire in the lab. Superboy puts out the fire, inadvertently spilling other chemicals, destroying his research. The chemical fumes also cause Lex's hair to completely fall out. Enraged he has lost years of research but unwilling to accept responsibility for the fire, Luthor concludes Superboy intentionally sabotaged his work and swears revenge.<ref>{{cite book|last=Wells|first=John|title=American Comic Book Chronicles: 1960-64|date=2015|publisher=TwoMorrows Publishing|isbn=978-1605490458|page=25}}</ref> Luthor creates grandiose engineering projects to prove his superiority over the superhero, but each one fails and causes problems that Superboy then solves. Luthor then makes his first attempt to murder Superman and fails. Instead of bringing him to the authorities, Superboy declares they are even now and expresses hope Lex will "straighten out" and use his intelligence to help humanity rather than try to prove his superiority or waste time seeking power and vengeance.<ref>[[Jerry Siegel|Siegel, Jerry]] (w), Plastino, Al (p). ''"How Luthor Met Superboy!" [[Adventure Comics]]'' #271 (1960), DC Comics</ref> ''Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane'' #23 (1961) reveals the Silver Age Lex Luthor parents are Jules and Arlene and that he has a younger sister Lena. When Lex becomes a criminal, the family moves away from Smallville and changes its name to Thorul (an [[anagram]]) to start a new life free of him. [[Lena Luthor|Lena Thorul]] is a toddler at the time and grows up not remembering her real last name, while her parents say her older brother died in a mountain climbing accident. Lex later watches over the adult Lena, making sure she does not discover her connection to one of Earth's greatest villains. As an adult, Lex Luthor's driving ambitions are to kill Superman and rule Earth, a stepping stone to dominating the universe, believing a man of his intellect deserves such power.<ref>''Action Comics'' #294 (1962)</ref> On several occasions he joins forces with Superman's enemy [[Brainiac (character)|Brainiac]] (though the two often betray each other as well). Lex is repeatedly imprisoned, but his genius allows him to routinely escape. He also makes it a point to be out of prison on the birthday of Albert Einstein, regarding it as a holiday.<ref name="scifi">[http://scifipedia.scifi.com/index.php/Lex_Luthor Scifipedia β Lex Luthor]. Retrieved July 18, 2007. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213195446/http://scifipedia.scifi.com/index.php/Lex_Luthor|date=February 13, 2009}}</ref> A famous non-[[Canon (fiction)|canonical]] "imaginary story" from 1961 entitled "The Death of Superman" has Luthor finally succeed in killing Superman after pretending to reform and befriend him.<ref>Daniels (1998), p. 109</ref><ref>{{cite comic|writer=[[Jerry Siegel|Siegel, Jerry]]|penciller=[[Curt Swan|Swan, Curt]]|inker=[[Sheldon Moldoff|Moldoff, Sheldon]]|colorist=Wray, Bill|editor=Weisinger, Mort|story=The Death of Superman|title=Superman|issue=#149|date=November 1961|publisher=National Periodical Publications}}</ref> On a distant arid planet orbiting a red star, Luthor challenges Superman to a fight since Kryptonians lose power when exposed to red sun radiation. Befriending the planet's inhabitants, Luthor aids them in rediscovering lost technology that restores the water supply and helps the society rebuild. As a result, Luthor becomes a hero in the eyes of the planet, whereas his enemy Superman is detested as a villain. The people rename the planet Lexor and it becomes a regular home base and retreat for Luthor in-between his efforts to fight Superman and take over Earth.<ref>''[[Superman (comic book)|Superman]]'' #164</ref> He later meets a local woman named Ardora (first called "Tharla" but renamed "Ardora" in later stories as well as the reprint of her first appearance). The two eventually fall in love and marry.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Greenberger|first1=Robert|last2=Pasko|first2=Martin|title=The Essential Superman Encyclopedia|date=2010|publisher=Del Rey|isbn=978-0-345-50108-0|page=208}}</ref>
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