Lex Luthor (User:Leader Vladimir)

Lex Luthor is a supervillain in the DC Comics Universe and the archenemy of Superman. He is the founder and CEO of LexCorp, a multinational corporation that dominates much of Metropolis. Unlike other supervillains, Luthor does not possess superpowers or a dual identity. Instead, Luthor uses his extraordinary intellect and almost unlimited economical and technological resources to fight his enemies. He hates Superman, not only for repeatedly ruining his plans, but because Luthor believes Superman's heroic acts are an obstacle for human progress. In the end, Luthor wants to destroy Superman so that he can be recognized as humanity's true champion.

Luthor was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Officially, Luthor first appeared in Action Comics # 23, but his first appearance in Leader Vladimir's fan fiction continuity was in Superman: Secret Origin.

Biography
Lex was born to Lionel and Letitia Luthor in Metropolis's Suicide Slum. His father was an alcoholic who brutally murdered Lex's mother and took Lex to Smallville to avoid suspicion when Lex was only one year old. In his years in Smallville, Luthor developed a strong and ruthless desire to become important and improve his life. Lex took out a large insurance policy on his father without his knowledge and then sabotaged his car's brakes, causing his deaths. Using the insurance money, Lex returned to Metropolis and founded a large conglomerate named LexCorp.

Luthor is so powerful that he owned every media in Metropolis and used it to enforce his public image as a wealthy benefactor, while the Daily Planet had always stood free, even condemning his actions with an outrageous editorial signed by Perry White himself. As a result, when Clark Kent is first inducted into the Planet, the newspaper is almost bankrupt, dilapidated and unable to afford new reporters. Thanks to Clark Kent's appearance as Superman granting exclusive interviews and photographs to Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen when he debuts, the paper's circulation increases 700%. However, the paper's refurbishment is interrupted when the US Army, led by Lois's father, General Sam Lane, forcibly shuts down the business while attempting to force her to tell them everything she knows about the now fugitive superhero after he fled a military interrogation. Thanks to Jimmy's help, Lois manages to escape to help Superman just when he is finished. Sam arrives and orders Superman and Lois arrested. However, the crowd turns on the Army, and Superman orders the crowd to stop, telling them that they, not the Army, not Lex Luthor, nor himself, are meant to be Metropolis's saviors.[volume & issue needed] Knowing Luthor's role in the Army's attack against him, Superman confronts him and tells him that Metropolis doesn't belong to him: "You don't own us." Lex objects, since Superman isn't from Earth. Superman replies, "This is my home", and leaves. The next day, Lex goes to pick another person from the crowd of Metropolis to give a new life to (which he always does as his normal routine), only no one is there. Holding Superman responsible for losing his complete grip over the people of Metropolis, Luthor holds a grudge against Superman, which lasts for an eternity.

Personality
Luthor is commonly seen as a power-hungry and sadistic villain of pure evil. His sole ambition in life is to destroy Superman so that he can become humanity’s rightful champion.

Luthor was already antisocial and bitter during his childhood. Having endured continuous abuse from his father, Luthor murdered him and made his death look like an accident. Since then, Luthor has become more and more ruthless, seeing people as tools to be manipulated or as enemies to be destroyed. His hatred grew even more when Superman first appeared, as Luthor believed the people of Metropolis had replaced him for Superman as the city’s savior. Swearing vengeance on Superman, Luthor has tried to destroy the Man of Steel for an eternity.

Ironically, Luthor even discovered Superman’s secret identity, but dismissed this knowledge, as he believed that someone with the power of Superman would not want to live a life as plain Clark Kent.

For all his attempts to destroy Superman, Luthor sees himself as a hero and Superman as a villain. He believes Superman’s heroic acts are an obstacle for human progress. Luthor has stated in many occasions that after he destroys Superman, he will work towards the betterment of mankind. However, Superman has proven that Luthor will not keep this supposed promise.

Despite his crimes, Luthor has established an image as a wealthy philanthropist and manages to maintain a notable political popularity.

Powers
Lex Luthor has no permanent superhuman powers but has temporarily acquired such.

Abilities
Gifted Businessman: Lex Luthor is one of the most shrewd businessmen in the world, a trait that has earned him an immense fortune second only to entrepreneurs like Bruce Wayne and Steve Dayton. Unlike Wayne however, Luthor is not above using cuthroat tactics, unethical practices and illegal operations to maintain the success of his business empire. At the height Lexcorp's power, Lex Luthor virtually owned every business enterprise in the city of Metropolis.

Seasoned Politician: Lex Luthor's corporate skills applied just as sharply in the political arena as they did in the boardroom. As President of the United States, he groomed the best candidates to serve as his cabinet members and knew the intricacies of bureaucratic politicking as well as any other former Chief Executive. Although Luthor's tenure as president ended in scandal, he successfully guided the nation during the massive alien invasion that came to be known as "Our Worlds At War".

Genius-level Intellect: Enhanced physical and cognitive abilities due to his cloned body's specific genetic design construction. Although Luthor possesses a genius level intellect, his scientific prowess is not as refined as his Earth-One, Earth-Two and Earth-Three counterparts who were able to create artificial lifeforms from scratch, interdimensional travel and functional time travel.

Trained Combatant: Lex Luthor is also trained in hand-to-hand combat, though his personal Amazon fighting instructors consider him a a sub-par combatant with poor form.

Strength

 * In his original body, Lex Luthor possessed the strength level of a middle-aged man who engaged in minimal regular exercise. In his cloned body, Lex possesses the strength level slightly above that of a normal human male who engages in intensive regular exercise. He routinely works out with state of the art bodybuilding equipment, and has hired Amazon warriors to put him through a thorough exercise regiment.

Weakness

 * His own Arrogance, Megalomania, Jealousy, Ruthlessness.