History Characters / SupermanLexLuthor

* ''ComicBook/PublicEnemies''

* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: He spent his term as President avoiding any real consequences for his actions, but that came to an end in ''ComicBook/PublicEnemies'', which ended with him getting impeached after he went crazy and tried to publicly destroy Superman while wearing Apokoliptian battle armor.

* PresidentEvil: In addition to being the TropeNamer, the Post-Crisis storyline, ''President Luthor'' is about Lex's political campaign to become the United States president, which he succeeds at. His platform was that he would spread advanced technology from Metropolis (which had become even more futuristic than normal at the time) around the country, but once he was elected, he mostly ignored this plan in favor of using the government's resources to cause trouble for superheroes and other people he doesn't like. One of his first acts as President is to have his ex-wife murdered with missiles. He remains president for several years and becomes more involved in the rest of the DCU (for example, framing [[ComicBook/{{Batman}} Bruce Wayne]] for murder in ''ComicBook/BruceWayneFugitive''). In ''ComicBook/OurWorldsAtWar'', he ''invites Imperiex to invade Earth'' so he can look good using the military to repel the invasion (making him partly responsible for the deaths of numerous humans including American citizens). While innocent in the main story of ''ComicBook/JokersLastLaugh'', its tie-ins saw him try to kill Superman while trying to stop a Jokerized Doomsday, hand Doomsday to Darkseid, and become Jokerized himself. Then in ''ComicBook/PublicEnemies'', he tries to frame Superman for a Kryptonite comet heading to Earth and then loses it -- this is what gets him impeached. Going on a killing spree with your old Apokoliptian powersuit will do that.

* ''Series/Titans2018'' (played by Rayne Novak)

** He's on surprisingly decent terms with Brainiac whenever they aren't in conflict, given that Brainiac is also an alien and the xenophobia he has towards Superman generally doesn't extend to Brainiac, with both Luthor and Brainiac being able to team up and work together in the LegionOfDoom with no issues. While the two have genius level IQs, shared hatred of Superman, and supervillainy as common denominators, they're as different as can be in just about everything else in life.

* OddFriendship: With the Joker. While they've fought, the two work surprisingly well together and tend to display mutual respect toward each other. One of the best examples of this comes from ''ComicBook/UnderworldUnleashed''. Recruited as part of a team of five villains to serve to demon Neron, Luthor and Joker immediately conspire with the others to steal Neron's power, only for it to be revealed as a successful scheme to get rid of the other three villains. Luthor and Joker understood each other so well they managed to put this together without even speaking about it. They even high-five afterward.

* TragicVillain: The fact that Luthor could have done great things and benefited the world in a very real way, is at the core of much of his modern portrayal, with Superman often lamenting his inability to turn Luthor around.

Luthor has had various hats over the years. He was originally portrayed as a red-headed [[WarForFunAndProfit war profiteer]] who aimed to TakeOverTheWorld by playing various political factions against each other. He was then reimagined as a bald, egomaniacal MadScientist after an illustrator confused him with the Ultra-Humanite. This conception [[ThrowItIn of the character stuck]], and for the remainder of UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|OfComicBooks}} and UsefulNotes/{{the Bronze Age|OfComicBooks}} of comics, Luthor was written as a CardCarryingVillain who used his technological prowess to match Superman's physical might, regularly allying with other villains, like ComicBook/{{Brainiac}}, Bizarro, and ComicBook/{{The Joker}} in order to vex the Man of Steel and his allies. One thing that did change about Luthor was that as time went by, he became progressively younger and more physically active. The [[FatBastard paunchy man]] in his fifties was replaced by an [[BadassNormal exceptionally fit man]] in his forties, and was then retconned again into being only a few years older than Superman ''and'' possessed of a [[PoweredArmour warsuit]] that allowed him to fight the Kryptonian hand-to-hand. He also gained his own supporting cast, including his sister and MoralityPet, Lena, and the planet of Lexor, which hailed him as a hero after he saved it from destruction, and a number of alternate universe doppelgangers, including Alexei Luthor of Earth-2 (based on his original, Golden Age appearance) and the heroic Alexander Luthor Sr. of Earth-3. This version of Luthor, along with the rest of the existing Franchise/DCUniverse, was erased from continuity following the ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths''.

* ''ComicBook/HowLuthorMetSuperboy'' [Adventure Comics #271]: UsefulNotes/{{The Silver Age|of Comic Books}} origin story of Luthor.

* DisproportionateRetribution: So [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] Lex, you tried to kill Superman for making you bald? To be fair, that story had Luthor's revenge being initially restricted to Luthor trying to show up Superboy with grandiose public works projects. When they went disastrously wrong and forced Superboy to intervene, Luthor was publicly scorned and sought to kill him in revenge. Elliot S. Maggin also later added a retcon where the experiment where Luthor lost his hair was aiming to create artificial life, so in Luthor's twisted views Superboy had killed his 'child'.

* FatBastard: In UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|of Comic Books}}. He lost his weight throughout UsefulNotes/{{the Bronze Age|OfComicBooks}}. Beginning in the '80s Post-Crisis Reboot, he was portrayed this way again, but slimmed down in the '90s first thanks to cloning and then after [[DealWithTheDevil making a deal with]] Neron.

* GrandfatherClause: For anyone else, being a Supervillain archenemy of ostensibly less physical power than the SuperHero is an uphill battle to establish credibility. Luthor however has been precisely that since UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks and has never had been questioned as the nemesis of Superman.

* HumongousMecha: Once used Superman's Kryptonian warsuit to attack the hero, after he himself had been left crippled by CloneDegeneration. [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] Luthor was also fond of giant robots of various abilities.

* MoralityPet: His sister Lena during UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|of Comic Books}} and UsefulNotes/{{the Bronze Age|OfComicBooks}}. Luthor went out of his way to shield her from any knowledge of his criminal lifestyle. [[spoiler:It appears she's this again in the New 52; he tried and failed to save her when she fell ill, leaving her an invalid. Then it turns out Lena despises him, and would quite gladly kill him given the chance.]]

* NeverMyFault: Always refuses to take responsibility for his actions, typically blaming Superman. This especially goes in Luthor's [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] origin when his first revenge of grandiose public works projects went disastrously wrong and Luthor blamed Superboy for humiliating him when the superhero was forced to intervene.

* NobleDemon: On his better days, Lex does have a sense of honor and would uphold his bargain anytime he accomplishes something. This side of Lex is best shown in stories written by Creator/ElliotSMaggin in UsefulNotes/{{the Bronze Age|OfComicBooks}}.

* RobotMaster: Luthor's had legions of robotic minions since UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|of Comic Books}}, and regularly uses them to even the odds between himself and Superman.

* SmugSnake: In UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|of Comic Books}}, when he had all the arrogance of his modern-day incarnation, but none of the success rate. They started to undo this in UsefulNotes/{{the Bronze Age|OfComicBooks}}, and as of the 1980s, he usually falls into MB territory.

* HijackedByGanon: Towards the end of ''ComicBook/BatmanNoMansLand'', he was revealed (read: {{Retcon}}ned) to be TheChessmaster behind the events of the StoryArc and then, at the last minute, was himself hijacked by ComicBook/TheJoker.

DiabolicalMastermind. MadScientist. [[CorruptCorporateExecutive LexCorp CEO]]. EvilGenius.

'''[[TropeCodifier The]]''' {{Supervillain}}.

[[Characters/SupermanCentralRoguesGallery Central Rogues Gallery]] ('''Alexander "Lex" Luthor''', [[Characters/SupermanBizarro Bizarro]], [[Characters/SupermanBrainiacCharacter Vril Dox/Brainiac]], [[Characters/SupermanCyborgSuperman Cyborg-Superman]], [[Characters/NewGodsDarkseid Darkseid]], [[Characters/SupermanDoomsdayCharacter Doomsday]], [[Characters/DCComicsLobo Lobo]], [[Characters/SupermanMisterMxyzptlk Mister Mxyzptlk]], [[Characters/DCComicsMongul Mongul]], [[Characters/SupermanRoguesGalleryPhantomZone Phantom Zone Criminals]] [[[Characters/SupermanGeneralZod General Zod]]]) | [[Characters/SupermanRoguesGalleryAToL A-L]] | [[Characters/SupermanRoguesGalleryMToZ M-Z]] ([[Characters/SupermanSuperboyPrime Superboy-Prime]])\\

* {{Robosexual}}: He's done it with a robot a few times, typically with his own creations.

* WeUsedToBeFriends: Several comic book origin stories have suggested that Lex Luthor and Clark Kent both attended Smallville High, and were friends.

* ClassicVillain: The total opposite of the hero he fights, with {{pride}}, [[GreenEyedMonster envy]], and a dose of {{wrath}} as his major sins.

* {{Wrath}}: Towards anyone who aids "the alien" or damages his sense of power. Lex is a man internally defined by his jealousy of Superman and his inability to consider the fact that the world loves him more than Lex. As a result, he tends to possess an immeasurable amount of disdain and scorn toward the Man of Steel to the point where even a reminder would set him off. While Lex is formal, approachable, and rational on the outside, they're covers for the deeply wrathful madman he is on the inside, trying to hide the fact that Lex does not take kindly to being seen as an inferior.

** Even when Lex doesn't have the armor on, he can have moments like this. Normally, whenever Superman does physically hit Lex, it's usually when Lex has gained god-like powers of beings like the Zone Child, Superman has been brought down to normal so he and Lex can exchange blows, or Superman hits Lex very gently with something like a minor flick to incapacitate him. However, in ''ComicBook/DarkseidWar'', Superman becomes the God of Strength and begins punch and stomp Lex into the floor. Miraculously, Lex manages to take all those blows without being atomized even though Superman was much more amped up than he normally was.

* StrongAsTheyNeedToBe: This happens to Lex during ''The Black Ring''; Luthor's battlesuit allows him to face Slade, Larfleeze, and finally Brainiac. In each case, the suit seems just strong enough to allow Luthor to battle his adversary of the moment. Of course, it's possible they are different models.

* VillainousCrush: In TheEighties and TheNineties, he had one of these on Lois Lane. The ''Series/LoisAndClark'' incarnation in particular was obsessed with her.

* EvilVersusOblivion: He has acted to protect Earth and Metropolis from various threats, including Doomsday, the Sun-Eater, and Brainiac, if only because they would leave him nothing to control.

* DistaffCounterpart: Both Alexandra Luthor of ''ComicBook/SupermanEarthOne'' and ComicBook/WonderWoman villain Veronica Cale can be said to be female versions of our Lex.

* CutLexLuthorACheck: Lex is the TropeNamer. He's the smartest man in the world, but he wastes his resources on fighting a flying alien in blue spandex because he's angry that there's [[AlwaysSomeoneBetter someone out there that's better than he]]. Lampshaded by Superman after Big Blue returns from a prolonged absence. Superman comments that if it really mattered to him Lex could have cured cancer and generally made himself an even bigger hero than Superman ever was, but instead he spent all his time obsessing over Superman's inevitable return. Also happened in ''All-Star Superman'' where Superman points out he could've saved the world years ago if he'd wanted to. [[spoiler:Lex actually admits he's right.]]

** As ''All-Star Superman'' puts it, if Lex had truly cared about the world, he would have saved it years ago.

* HeelRealization: In ''All-Star Superman'', and ''Forever Evil''. In the latter case it comes across less as he genuinely sees himself as bad, and more that he sees working ''with'' the public heroes instead of against them is better for him in the long run.

* UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans: Sometimes goes on about how much better the world would be under his rule, or just how if Superman was gone he'd make a utopia. Superman justifiably calls him out on doing next to nothing of worth while Superman ''was'' gone for awhile despite all his boasting and in ''All-Star Superman'' points out the only one stopping Luthor from making the world a better place is Luthor himself.

* CardCarryingVillain: Pre-Crisis, and in some adaptations, where he was proud and unabashed about his villainy and was also very open to his jealousy and contempt for Superman. Nowadays, this is downplayed, or averted, in the current main universe where Lex is a VillainWIthGoodPublicity instead.

* BadassInANiceSuit: When he's not in prison togs or an exoskeleton, Luthor is usually in his business suit. It's exemplified in the finale of ''Justice League Unlimited'' when he shows up to the final confrontation with Darkseid having ditched his battle fatigues for his "power suit" so it's what he's wearing when he saves the world.

* AlternateUniverseReedRichardsIsAwesome: Luthor saved the world of Lexor Pre-Crisis, and is the greatest superhero on the Crime Syndicate's homeworld, Pre-and-Post-Crisis. ''ComicBook/SupermanRedSon'' also has a heroic, alternate universe Luthor, who manages to stop a Stalinist Superman from taking over the world, although Superman had altruistic reasons to take over, and Luthor's good deeds are shown to be for his own ego. ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'' also features a heroic Luthor. It's actually kind of a running theme that, when Superman's bad, Lex Luthor is the one who steps up as humanity's greatest hero.

* AdaptationalWimp: For some reason, none of his live-action film adaptations gives him credit as a MadScientist whose inventions are deadly. Gene Hackman and Kevin Spacey's Luthor have him as a "criminal mastermind" who hijacks nuclear weapons, partners with Kryptonian villains or use Superman's fortress against his foe. Jesse Eisenberg's take is a very convoluted mastermind even pettier than the usual interpretation lacking Lex's magnificent bastard traits and his central plan is [[HereWeGoAgain using Kryptonian machinery]] against Superman [[spoiler:and the finale implies that he's a Darkseid cultist and a herald]]. None of them has Luthor actually inventing anything spectacular, deadly and fiendish or portray him as a human being whose inventions and scientific acumen puts him, alone among humans, on Brainiac-level playing field.

* AbusiveDad:
** Luthor's father ([[RetCanon eventually named Lionel]]) has at best been characterized as a fellow criminal, and at worst as an abusive, alcoholic monster. ''Smallville'''s portrayal of him is probably the best known, showing him as a domineering, tyrannical narcissist and CorruptCorporateExecutive who wants Lex to turn out as badly as he has.
** And Lex himself with his own children, such as selling his own daughter, or treating Conner Kent (who happens to be a hybrid clone of Luthor and Superman) as an extension of himself.

* AdaptationalBadass:
** While Lex has always been a formidable foe, his physical prowess and abilities are a lot more impressive from Post-Crisis onward, having been trained in martial arts and applying them to foes whenever he has to directly defend himself. Beyond that, the potential and power of his technology have also been amped up to planetary levels.
** The versions from the DCAU and ''Smallville'' were both significantly more dangerous in hand-to-hand combat than almost any comic incarnation of the character. This was particularly true of the ''Smallville'' version, who was shown to be a physical match for Green Arrow, and one of the most consistently dangerous fighters on the show, despite his total lack of superpowers, or most of his comic counterpart's gadgetry.

-->''[[Series/{{Smallville}} "I am the villain of the story."]]''

* GunsAkimbo: He's done this a few times in the comics, and in various adaptations like ''Smallville'' and ''Justice League Unlimited''.

* WeUsedToBeFriends: Several comic book origin stories have suggested that Lex Luthor and Clark Kent both attended Smallville High, and were friends. ''Smallville'' took this interpretation and ran with it.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: When Superman accidentally destroyed Lexor in UsefulNotes/{{the Bronze Age|OfComicBooks}}, intensifying Luthor's (already extreme) hatred of him.

* YoureInsane: He's been on the receiving end of this a few times. |Most notably, in a crossover featuring Superman battling and then working alongside [[Characters/MarvelComicsPeterParker Spider-Man]], he's called out as this by [[Characters/MarvelComicsOttoOctavius Doctor Octopus]], of all people, when he realizes that while he's okay with defeating Superman and Spider-Man to showcase their superiority, he's ''not'' okay with Lex being willing to destroy the world out of spite, causing him to defect Lex and temporarily work with Superman and Spider-Man in stopping Lex's attempt on ravaging the world.

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