Lex Luthor

Lex Luthor is the infamous archenemy of Superman. He was introduced as a minifigure in the DC Universe Super Heroes theme in a set where he is pitted against Superman and Wonder Woman in a mech wearing a business suit. A variant featuring Lex in his warsuit was later released as a promotional tie-in for LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, which features Lex as one of two main antagonists alongside The Joker. He returns as a playable character in LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham where he is a member of the Legion of Doom.
== Description ==
In his first variation, Lex is bald with a scowling expression. He wears a black black business suit with a contrasting white shirt underneath and a grey tie. The torso has back printing of a few lines created by the suit's impression.
A version of Lex Luthor featuring his warsuit was later released as part of a promotion for LEGO Batman 2. While he is still scowling, Lex' teeth are now gritted. He wears a bulky piece of bright green armour with shoulder pads, a chest plate with a stud in the center, and an extension which protects the back of his head. Purple stripes are printed on his shoulders, a green stud is attached on his back, and grey cones sprout off of the bottom in the rear. Underneath the armour is darker green section of armour with a segmented pattern on the abdomen. The segmented look continues on the back of the torso Over Lex' chest is trapezoidal power accumulator with three yellow shapes in the center. Lex' hips are green, a slightly darker shade than the armour, and his legs and hands are purple.
=== In the video games ===
In LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, Lex Luthor has his appearance from 6862 Superman vs. Power Armour Lex. He is armed with the Deconstructor which can be used to pull shiny black LEGO pieces and objects apart.
A non-playable Man of the Year variant was cut from the final game, though it does appear in cutscenes from the opening level. Lex wears a white tuxedo with a matching undershirt, a grey vest, and a black bow tie and trousers. Again, he would have been armed with the Deconstructor."Lego Batman 2 Mod #2: The Lost Characters" at YouTube
For LEGO Batman 3, Lex has been seen wearing his warsuit, but with a round tile over the exposed stud on his armour piece emulating the power accumulator. Lex has been confirmed as returning as a playable character, but his abilities are unknown except that he will have access to various super suits.
== Background ==
As a child, Alexander Luthor is an estranged prodigy who is unwelcome among his elders and peers in the town of Smallville, where he spends part of his adolescence. Starting a new life in Metropolis, Lex founds a company named LexCorp. Building an industrial empire, Lex practically owns Metropolis and rebuilds it into his vision as a "city of the future." Though Lex is popular in public opinion, a newspaper company by name of the Daily Planet is openly critical of Lex which has it left in bad financial shape. Lex becomes suspicious jealous when Superman replaces him as Metropolis' favorite son. Unable to believe that anyone with as much power as a being like Superman, Lex becomes driven to prove that Superman cannot be trusted. His fears only grown with the revelation that Superman is not an ordinary metahuman, but a refugee from the alien planet Krypton; as a self built billionaire, Lex despises the idea of an alien meddling in human affairs and bringing an end to their independence.
Lex's crusade against the Man of Steel causes him to apply his genius to creating supervillains such as Metallo and Bizarro to attack Superman without getting his own hands dirty. Though Superman's presence continues to cause his control over Metropolis' populace to wane while the Daily Planet also receives more footing as Lois Lane begins to gain access to exclusive interviews with Superman. Lex eventually steals Metallo's Kryptonite heart and carves a ring to wear as a symbol of his power over Superman. After running a DNA test, Lex receives results that state Superman is Clark Kent, but dismisses them because of disbelief that someone as gifted as Superman would choose to be so meager in his civilian life. Lex's genetic code is also used in addition to that of Superman and an unknown third source by CADMUS to create Superboy.
When Gotham City is destroyed by an earthquake and the government's answer is to declare it a no man's land, leaving the city to fend for itself, Lex takes the chance to increase his own influence by hiring Bane to help him destroy the rights to much of the city's property while he promises to rebuild Gotham, as he did Metropolis, but will own most of it. Batman catches on to his plan, convinces Bane that Luthor is using him, and Lucius Fox manages to find backups for many of the ruined documents. Batman warns Lex to stay out of his city, but Luthor's perceived willingness to help the abandoned Gothamites earns him popularity in the next presidential election where he wins.
Lex's presidency begins successfully as he unites both the army and superheroes in battling an invasion the alien Imperiex. However, Lex knew of Imperiex' attack beforehand and did not alert anyone to it so that he could be remembered as a hero in a time of crisis. Luthor's tenure in office worries the Justice League, and Batman leads a strike on the White House to confront Luthor for attempting to blame a Kryptonite asteroid hurtling towards Earth on Superman. Batman's coup d'état is unsuccessful and both he and Superman go on the run when a bounty is placed on their heads which both hero and villain alike wish to collect. Captain Atom leads a team of Major Force, Green Lantern John Stewart, Starfire, Power Girl, Black Lightning, and Katana, but they are defeated when Power Girl and Katana betray Atom for Superman and Batman. Power Girl observes that Luthor had believed they would listen to him solely because he is president. Hawkman and Captain Marvel are then sent to unsuccessfully prevent Superman and Batman from breaking into the White House a second time. In a last ditch effort to defeat his nemesis, Lex injects himself with Venom (a drug used by Bane) infused with Kryptonite and dons a suit of armour from Apokolips for battle. During the fight, Lex confesses his unethical involvement in the alien invasion, which Batman captures on film. Lex retreats to LexCorp, only for acting CEO Talia Head to reveal that she has sold his business to Bruce Wayne.
thumb|right|250px|Lex Luthor in his warsuit from Apokolips
After his fall from grace, Luthor appears to become the leader of a vast Secret Society of Super Villains threatening the existence of the time stream, but the true culprit is revealed to be Lex's son from an alternate universe while the real Luthor is actually the benefactor of the Secret Six, a group of villains and antiheroes Deadshot, Catman, Scandal Savage, Cheshire, Ragdoll, and a rogue Parademon banded in opposition to the Society. Lex later watches as The Joker murders his doppelgänger for excluding him from the Society.
Over the next year, Lex becomes involved in the Everyman project which he secretly uses to find a way to artificially transform himself into a metahuman. He successfully grants himself Superman's powers, but he is defeated by by Steel and his niece Natasha. Though Lex is able to escape legal charges, his public opinion is ruined. Luthor continues to try to destroy Superman, now willing to do the dirty work himself. Along with Joker and Cheetah, Lex found the Injustice League with other nemeses such as Killer Frost, Gorilla Grodd, Poison Ivy, Deathstroke, and many others. The Injustice League manages to defeat most of the Justice League, but they are defeated by Firestorm and scattered. Lex, among hundreds of other villains, is then collected by Amanda Waller who banishes them to what they believe is an unpopulated, but habitable, alien world. Lex becomes the ringleader for most of the villains, though Joker and Grodd separately oppose him and are joined by their own villains. A brewing showdown is interrupted when they realize that Apokolips uses the planet as a training ground for Parademons. Lex creates a transporter and rescues most of the other villains.
Luthor is later inducted into a new Secret Society where he is a member of the inner circle. However, he is not pleased to learn that the Society's new leader, Libra, is a prophet of Darkseid. Lex betrays Libra to the Justice League and joins Superman in battling the God of Evil.
Though Lex is finally imprisoned, Lois' father Sam allows him to be pardoned if he can assess Brainiac's knowledge banks, which he does so successfully, and uses Brainiac to kill the soldiers guarding him and escape. In exchange for his freedom, Brainiac promises Luthor the Earth when he is finished with it.
During the Blackest Night when deceased heroes and villains rise from the dead as zombie Black Lanterns to feed on emotions, Lex attempts to bar himself off fearing reciprocation from those who have murdered him. Luthor escapes the Black Lanterns who come after him and is deputized as a member of the Orange Lantern Corps and granted a power ring fueled by his avarice. In the midst of battle with the Black Lanterns, Larfleeze (who is used to being the sole Orange Lantern and hoarding all of the rings) fights Luthor for his ring. Larfleeze is defeated, and Lex begins attacking other deputies to steal their rings, successfully stealing The Scarecrow's yellow ring powered by fear. He attempts to steal Mera's red ring of rage, but is stopped by The Flash, Wonder Woman, and The Atom (who have a blue, violet, and indigo rings, respectively). While in the confines of Wonder Woman's lasso, Lex admits that he desires to be Superman. Larfleeze then takes Luthor's ring, leaving him powerless.
In the aftermath of the event, Lex attempts to discern the source of the Black Lanterns' power to take for himself while also rooting out conspirators in LexCorp. Once he discerns the Black Lantern power source, Lex frees a creature from the Phantom Zone which wants to destroy all negative emotions. The creature bonds with Lex, and Luthor attempts to use the creature to drive Superman insane. Incidentally, the creature causes Lex to realize that Superman is actually trying to better the world and his goal is not to upstage Lex. Unable to believe this new realization, Lex loses control of the creature and falls into the Phantom Zone.
Lex remains trapped in the Phantom Zone until history is rewritten by The Flash during a battle with Professor Zoom. In the new history, Lex Luthor has been hired by the United States government to find a way to bring down Superman. When the government learns that Lex has been conspiring with Brainiac, he is fired. Lex continues to try to find a way to bring down Superman, his reasons for hating Kal-El remaining intact with the history change, and is responsible for the creations of Bizarro and K-Man (also known as the Kryptonite Man).
When the Crime Syndicate and Secret Society of Super Villains take over the Earth and are believed to have killed the members of the three Justice Leagues, Lex stands up to replace his enemies as a hero. He forms the "Injustice" League alongside Bizarro, Black Manta, Captain Cold, Black Adam, Sinestro, Deathstroke, and Catwoman. Lex and his League are integral in defeating the Crime Syndicate. In the aftermath, Luthor realizes that Bruce Wayne is Batman and uses this knowledge and his acts of heroism during the Syndicate's reign to get himself and Captain Cold spots on the Justice League. 
=== In the video games ===
Lex Luthor is a trailing presidential candidate who has an undefined history as an enemy of Superman. An animosity with Bruce Wayne also brews when Wayne wins the Man of the Year Award over Luthor. After the venue is attacked by The Joker, Harley Quinn, The Penguin, The Riddler, and Two-Face, Lex takes an interest in The Joker. Later, using a Kryptonite powered gun called the Deconstructor, which can pull apart shiny black objects, Lex frees Joker from Arkham Asylum and promises him access to the Deconstructor (which is effective against 's vehicles) if he will help Lex gain access to a stash of Kryptonite kept in the Batcave. After creating false Kryptonite and allowing Batman and Robin to steal it, Lex and Joker are able to use a tracking device to find the Batcave. They destroy the hidden headquarters by using the Deconstructor, steal Batman's horde of Kryptonite, and head for Metropolis.
At LexCorp, Lex and Joker construct a mech which resembles Joker to spread a mind altering gas to influence the results of the presidential election. Though Batman and Superman attempt to stop the mech from reaching Gotham, they are unsuccessful and Superman is weakened by the Kryptonite power source. Batman and Robin alert Martian Manhunter of Luthor's plot and he dispatches Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, and Cyborg to help Batman. Exposed, Lex and Joker attempt to use the mech to destroy Wayne Tower, but Lantern creates a construct to knock it off of the building's top, damaging it. After the Justice League penetrates the mech's runes and apprehends Joker, Lex reveals a back-up mech which he uses to fight the League until Manhunter uses the Watchtower's cannon to destroy it. With his own mech gone, Lex is incarcerated.
Sometime later, Lex forms the Legion of Doom with Joker, Cheetah, Solomon Grundy, Firefly, and Killer Croc and they attack the Watchtower.
== Notes ==
* In LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes Clancy Brown reprises his role of voicing Lex LuthorJoystiq.com from cartoons such as Superman: The Animated Series, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, and The Batman. Brown also voices Mr. Krabs in SpongeBob SquarePants, Savage Opress in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Chris Bradford/Dogpound in the current Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon.
* Tor-An, a Sith Trooper, and the movie version of Shredder reuse Lex' face from 6862.
== Appearances ==
* 6862 Superman vs. Power Armour Lex 
* 10724 Batman and Superman vs. Lex Luthor 
* 30164 Lex Luthor 
* 76046 Heroes of Justice: Sky High Battle 
* 76097 Lex Luthor Mech Takedown 
* Comic book: Lex Luthor's Puzzle
;Other
* LEGO Batman: The Movie - DC Super Heroes Unite
* LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes
* LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham
* LEGO Dimensions
* "LEGO Batman Short"
* LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (Comic book)
* The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part
== LEGO.com Description ==
== Description from LEGO Magazine ==
== Gallery of Variants ==
== Gallery ==
Lexluthor.png|CGI
Lex.png|CGI
lex luther back.png|Back printing (Business suit)
Lex_Luthor_2.png|Lex comes to The Joker's rescue in the "LEGO Batman Short"
Lex_Luthor_1.png|Lex armed with a gun
lex lb2.jpg|Promotional art for LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes
Lego batman 2 3 605x.jpg|Lex LEGO Batman 2: game play
LEGO-Batman-Short-2.png|Luthor strikes an alliance with The Joker
Lex Promo back.jpg|The warsuit's rear
Lex promo torso.png|The warsuit sans armour (front)
Lex promo back.png|The warsuit sans armour (back)
LB2 Lex-Luthor BAC-Parody Final 040312-138x156.jpg|A promotional picture emulating Batman: Arkham City marketing material style
Lex Luthor White Tux 3.png|Lex at the Man of the Year Award ceremony
JokerandLexLB3.jpg|Joker and Lex lay siege to the Justice League Watchtower
LegionofDoom.png|The Legion of Doom (from left to right: Cheetah, Killer Croc, Lex Luthor, Joker Henchman, The Joker, Firefly, another Joker Henchman, Solomon Grundy)
S-l1600.jpg
S-l1601.jpg
S-l1602.jpg
S-l1603.jpg
== References ==
== External links ==
* Lex Luthor' bio at the LEGO Batman 2 mini-site.
Category:Dimensions minifigures