Luminary

Luxor Josué Aušra is one of the most dangerously intelligent men on the planet; a reformed super-villain, a brilliant scientist, a billionaire industrialist, and once one of Superman's greatest enemies. This combination makes him an extremely powerful and formidable opponent; he is ruthless, efficient and creative. With his company LuxCorp and his scientifically advanced Warsuit, he has acted as both an antagonist and an ally to Superman, Batman, and the Justice League Avengers.

In addition to his previous personal vendetta against the man who once thwarted his every scheme, he despised the alien Man of Steel from an ideological standpoint for contradicting his human achievements. He has always been a controversial figure in the public eye due to LuxCorp's corrupt business dealings, but he has also maintained political popularity and is beloved by his own country.

## History

After the second world war, Europe was split into two. Western Europe remained a confederacy of sovereign nations, but Eastern Europe became a part of the superpower that was the Soviet Union. As the tensions between communist and capitalist nations grew, the world eventually found itself in a new kind of conflict: an arms race that would come to be referred to as the Cold War.

The primary conflict was between two rival powers: the U.S.S.R. and the United States of America. The U.S. had a unique advantage in the form of a remarkable uptick in superhuman individuals. Without such a genetic blessing on their side, the Soviets were forced to use technological advancement to keep up. The best minds were conscripted into the weapons development program. The most prominent among them was Fyodor von Doom.

A Lithuanian super scientist, Ramonat was placed in direct command of a weapons research and development plant outside of a town near the Latvian border called Mordengrad. His research would eventually gain the attention of the U.S. military, and when Fyodor’s team completed the creation of their crown jewel, an orbital shrink ray that could reduce any target on the planet to one percent of its former size, and were preparing to use it, it was time for the Americans to take action.

Unwilling to create an international incident, the U.S. sent in a team of its top superhumans, led by that generation's Legacy. The ensuing battle proved devastating for both sides. Most of the heroes sent to fight were gunned down by the legions of mechanically enhanced Soviet soldiers at Ramonat’s disposal, and Legacy himself was nearly bested by Ramonat’s remote-controlled walking tank. However, Legacy managed to find Ramonat in his command center and stop him. Weakened by the fighting, the factory collapsed in on itself, and Legacy was the only one seen escaping from the burning wreckage.

Mordengrad ended up paying the price for the destruction of the weapons plant. With no need for its workers, the Soviet command made the decision to redistribute supplies and rations to more strategic population centers. Its citizens were forced to wait for hours in the breadlines, often coming home empty-handed. Among those with tattered lives were the remnants of the Aušra family. Fyodor's widow, Edita, died from a combination of the awful living conditions and a broken heart, leaving young Luxor to fend for himself at the age of 13. Many of those Luxor grew up with and around starved; only the most ruthless or the most clever survived.

Luxor fell firmly within the latter category. Like his father, he was brilliant. Instead of focusing on trying to scrounge for food himself, his goal became to gain a following to do the dirty work for him. His plan was to re-open the plant, and those to whom he explained his plan were ready to do anything that might restore the town’s favor. He amassed a large following of men who acted both as body guards and servants.

Over the years, Luxor gradually became the unofficial ruler of Mordengrad, even rising to rule Latveria itself. Hardened by necessity, he reigned with an iron fist. Its people were either with him or against him: there was no in-between. And those who were against him either were persuaded otherwise or were dealt with personally.

Rumor quickly spread once Luxor and his men managed to restore production at the plant, and when the Soviet generals arrived to investigate, production had far surpassed that of when Luxor’s father was in charge. The generals obviously had questions about who the mystery person was and how he had managed such a feat, and when he met with them, Luxor finally executed his plan.

The man they spoke to was no longer Luxor, but Dr. Dread. More importantly, he revealed to the generals that the plant and the weapons within were all his. And when they objected, he led them to the window, showing them the now empty courtyard where their troops once had been. The soldiers had been vaporized, he explained, as would be the Soviet generals and anyone else who stood in his way.

Luxor, now known as Dr. Dread, held no actual animosity towards the Soviets. As a self-appointed ruler himself, he understood the need for tough decisions, but he would never again allow himself to be subject to the whims of another. Batman, however, was a different story. His technology was directly responsible for the destruction of the plant and the death of his father. The Soviets were driven from the surrounding lands out of necessity, but the Parsons would have to pay.