Lex Luthor (DCAU)

Lex Luthor was a cold and arrogant business magnate who ran LexCorp and owned much of Metropolis. He was a sworn enemy of its protector, Superman, frequently plotting against him, and after he lost his company, became a criminal mastermind who lead the Legion of Doom against the Justice League.

History

Born in poverty to abusive alcoholic parents in the Suicide Slums and blessed with an extreme intellect, Lex's biggest dream was that all Metropolis would look up to him and would work to ensure he'd create a multinational business to realize his dream.^[3] As his business empire grew and grew, and his goals were getting closer, Superman arrived, and stole his thunder and his dreams of worship.

From that point, Luthor wasted no expense to destroy Superman. He also invested heavily in Superman's enemies - Metallo, Livewire and Sergeant Mills. His backstabbing antics caused few people to remain loyal to him. Several - including John Henry Irons - resigned. Only Mercy Graves stayed at his side.

After unsuccessfully battling the Justice League, Luthor was exposed as a criminal and locked away. Mercy took over as CEO of LexCorp, while Luthor teamed up with other villains in an attempt to defeat the Justice League.

Luthor was redeemed after he helped in the defeat of the Justice Lords. He received a full pardon, and dedicated himself to politics and charity. However, he also funded Project Cadmus, and was still bent on destroying Superman's career. He tarnished the reputation of the Justice League successfully twice - first by pitting Captain Marvel against the Man of Steel, and later by firing the Watchtower's fusion weapon at a Cadmus facility in Covenant, New Mexico. After being exposed by Batman and Amanda Waller, Brainiac revealed himself inside Luthor. In the fight that ensued, Flash managed to separate Luthor and Brainiac. The event severely damaged Luthor's sanity.

After escaping jail, Luthor teamed up with Grodd for a large Legion of Doom. Bent on resurrecting Brainiac, he eventually overthrew the gorilla, and set source towards Apokolips. There, a version of Brainiac had been destroyed years earlier. Tapping into Tala's magic to resurrect Brainiac, he was surprised to find she had resurrected Darkseid instead. The Lord of Apokolips desired killing Superman even more than Luthor, so Luthor came to warn the Justice League and fought Darkseid together with Batman and Superman.

With the help of Metron, Luthor slipped away from the battle to recover the Anti-Life Equation after threatening Metron. He was somehow able to get the Equation though Metron said a twelfth-level intellect was needed for this, implying traces of Brainiac were left in him. He bargained with Darkseid to save the Earth, and was seemingly destroyed with Darkseid as he was absorbed by the Equation.

Earth 12 Future

In Earth 12, Luthor and Darkseid weren't absorbed by the equation and eventually returned to their respective homes.^[4] He returned to politics, briefly serving as the president of the United States of America before becoming Mayor-for-Life in his hometown of Metropolis.^[1] Before his death, he programmed an A.I. to seek out his estranged daughter, Lucinda, in order to convince her to continue his mission of destroying Superman.^[5]

Powers and Abilities

Powers

Abilities

• Aviation
  • Aerial Combat
• Genius Level Intellect^[6]
  • Business Management: Lex ran a false campaign for the presidency and spent millions of dollars just to gain more political and monetary power.^[7]
  • Deception
  • Eidetic Memory^[8]
  • Electrical Engineering: Based on stolen CADMUS property, Lex Luthor developed technology to take control of the Justice League Watchtower's Binary Fusion Generator orbital cannon and force it to fire at Earth.^[9]
  • Intimidation
  • Leadership
  • Political Science
  • Tactical Analysis
• Weaponry
  • Demolitions
  • Firearms
  • Gadgetry

Other Characteristics

• Cancer (Formerly): As a result of prolonged exposure to Kryptonite radiation, Luthor developed cancer.^[10] This was eventually cured when Brainiac took over his body.^[11]
• Hallucinations: After Brainiac was stripped from Lex by Flash, Lex became obsessed with Brainiac to the point where it damaged his sanity and he began constantly hallucinating Brainiac is by his side, guiding Lex back to Brainiac.
  

Paraphernalia

Weapons

• Green Kryptonite: Luthor carried a brick of kryptonite with him at all times; this eventually gave him cancer.^[10]
• Lex Luthor's Warsuit: A special designed suit made to combat his cancer and enhance his physical attributes.

Notes

• This version of the character is exclusive to the continuity of the DC Animated Universe and is an adaptation of Lex Luthor. The original character was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster and first appeared in Superman #4.
• Lex Luthor was voiced by Clancy Brown. During "The Great Brain Robbery", while Luthor's mind was in the Flash's body, the character was voiced by Michael Rosenbaum.
  

Trivia

• Lex Luthor had varying levels of superhuman abilities after being exposed to Kryptonite and bonding with Brainiac.
  

Recommended Reading

• Superman: The Animated Series
• Justice League: "Injustice for All, Part I"-"Injustice for All, Part II
• Justice League: "Tabula Rasa, Part I"-"Tabula Rasa, Part II"
• Justice League: "Secret Society, Part I"-"Secret Society, Part II"
• Justice League Unlimited

Related

• 104 Appearances of Lex Luthor (DCAU)
• 12 Images featuring Lex Luthor (DCAU)
• 9 Quotations by or about Lex Luthor (DCAU)
• Character Gallery: Lex Luthor (DCAU)

External Links

• Lex Luthor at the DC Animated Universe Wiki

Footnotes

Legion of Doom member This character is or was a member of the Legion of Doom, a team of supervillains called together for the purpose of conquering the world and defeating the Super Friends, in any of its various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Legion of Doom members" category.

Secret Society of Super-Villains member This character is or was a member of the Secret Society of Super-Villains, a cadre of super-villains who band together to accomplish feats no one super-villain can do alone, in any of its various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Secret Society of Super-Villains members" category.

Batman Villain(s) This character, team or organization, has been primarily an enemy of the Batman, or the Batman Family as a whole. This template will categorize articles that include it into the category "Batman Villains."

Justice League Villain This character is or was primarily an enemy of the Justice League, in any of its various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the category "Justice League Villains."

Steel Villain(s) This character, team or organization, is or was primarily an enemy of Steel. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Steel Villains category."

Superman Villain(s) This character has been primarily an enemy of Superman in any of his various incarnations, or members of the Superman Family. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Superman Villains category."