He is typically portrayed as a mad scientist lacking a secret identity, costume, or other elements of supervillains, but he occasionally wears his warsuit, a suit of mechanized armor that gives him enhanced strength, flight, advanced weaponry, and other capabilities.

Several actors have voiced Luthor in animated adaptations, including Clancy Brown, Mark Rolston, James Marsters, Giancarlo Esposito, Marc Maron, and Max Mittelman.

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.

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 retconned as Alexander) and an origin story.

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.

[18] 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).

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.

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.

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.

Luthor's other defining trait is his obsession to destroy Superman and humiliate the alien hero, either by displaying his own superiority by achieving victory without the benefit of superpowers or to prove the Man of Steel is motivated by selfish desire rather than altruism.

In stories appearing in JLA and 52 by Grant Morrison, Luthor cannot bring himself to believe Superman is truly altruistic and deeply cares about a planet that is not his native world, concluding the hero's good deeds are often actually passive-aggressive ways of flaunting his power and popularity to Lex.

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.

During the battle, Luthor releases an energy salvo that accidentally overloads the Neutrarod, resulting in the complete destruction of the planet Lexor and all its inhabitants, including Ardora and Lex Jr..

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.

As part of the continuity changes which followed The Man of Steel and Superman: Secret Origin, Alexander "Lex" Joseph Luthor is a corrupt businessman profiting from many hidden criminal operations.

When Clark sees the machine and feels ill from proximity to kryptonite, Luthor mistakes his reaction to mean the young man doesn't believe in the experiment, that he also thinks Lex is lying or "crazy" as others do.

When Superman appears in Metropolis, Lex is angered the man won't bow to his control and takes it personally that a powerful alien, the kind of companion Luthor had often hoped for and believed would see him as a peer, instead looks on him with disapproval and moral judgment.

Maddened by the Venom, Luthor admits during the battle that he has no real proof Superman is the cause of the deadly asteroid heading to Earth and reveals he traded Doomsday to Darkseid in return for technology.

In an effort to prove his abilities to Superboy, Lex manages to counter Lena's disabilities, allowing her to walk and regain greater mental awareness, then quickly reverses the process, leaving her completely catatonic.

[78] During the Blackest Night storyline, when the public learned that everyone who has died are rising as undead Black Lanterns, Luthor isolates himself in his safehouse in fear that all the people he has murdered over the years will reanimate and seek revenge.

Before he ever met Clark Kent, it is said his father Lionel Luthor was a scientist working with the Legionnaires Club, an organization created by the immortal villain Vandal Savage to unlock the secrets of the universe.

[101] After the universal barrier known as the Source Wall is broken during the events of "No Justice," Luthor forms a new Legion Of Doom to track down the secrets that were once pursued by the Legionnaires' Club, discovering they are connected to the god-like Perpetua, Mother of Forgers.

Over the years, Luthor has created (either on his own, using alien technology he acquires, or with the resources of LexCorp and the military) many highly advanced weapons, machines, and robots to carry out his plans or destroy his enemies.

The warsuit introduced in 2004 is built with technology from Apokolips, granting greater superhuman strength and resistance to injury, a powerful force field, flight, electrical weapons, and a variety of kryptonite-based weaponry such as energy cannons, axes, and a collapsible sword.

Luthor often wore a kryptonite ring on his right hand in Post-Crisis stories, but abandoned this tactic after prolonged exposure to its radiation resulted in cancer, requiring him to transplant his brain into a cloned body to survive.

[125] The establishment of LexCorp by Lex Luthor is a stark departure from earlier portrayals of the company's founder, transitioning the character from a warlord and would-be dictator into a power-mad business magnate.

[127] LexCorp was originally organized as an aerospace engineering firm started in the top floor offices of the Daily Planet building in Metropolis, and has since become one of the world's largest, most diversified multinational conglomerates.

LexCorp grew rapidly into a diverse international conglomerate with interests in utilities, waste management, industrial manufacturing, computer hardware and software, chemicals, retail, bio-engineering, weapons, pharmaceuticals, oil, communications, airlines, real estate, hotels, restaurants, technology, media, financial services, robotics, security, transportation, satellites, stock brokerage houses, cash businesses, and food.

Lex Luthor secretly owns the powerful and legitimate Thunder Corporation which he controls through a false identity,[135] maintaining the illusion of the chairman/principal stockholder "Lucius D. Tommytown" through fake magazine articles and actors because he thought himself too honest to be anything but a criminal.

[92] Due to changes made to the multiverse during the events of "Dark Nights: Death Metal", Alexander Luthor became a human African American man who wears a suit of high-tech armor and opposes Ultraman.