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Changes: Lex Luthor

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{{Spoiler}}
  
{{Spoiler}}
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{{Location
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{{Character
  
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|name= Lex Luthor
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|name= Metropolis
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|image= Lex Luthor.png
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|image= Met.png
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|founded= 1661
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|real name= Alexander Joseph Luthor Jr.<ref name="p45">{{Book ref|Time Out Shortlist Gotham and Metropolis|Metropolis|p=45}}</ref>
  
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|capital=
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|species= [[Human]]
  
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|locale= District of Metropolis or Delaware
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|nationality= {{Nationality|us}}<!-- DO NOT put German heritage, his nationality is American -->
  
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|country= [[File:USA.png|20px|link=]] [[United States of America]]
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|alias= Alexander Luthor<br>Lex Luthor<br>Tech Wunderkind <small>(by [[Ron Troupe]])</small><br>Man of Tomorrow <small>(by [[LexCorp]] tour attendees)</small>
  
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|planet= [[Earth]]
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|DOB=1984
 
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|galaxy= Milky Way
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|DOD=
 
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|population= 3 million<ref name="Turkish Airlines">[http://www.tkairlines.com/metropolis ''Metropolis'' - Turkish Airlines]</ref>
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|affiliation= [[LexCorp|LexCorp Industries]]<br>[[Doomsday]]<br>[[Steppenwolf]]<br>[[Deathstroke]]
  
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|movie= ''[[Man of Steel]]''<br/>''[[Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice]]''<br/>''[[Justice League (film)|Justice League]]''<br/>"[[Man of Steel 2]]
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|family= [[Alexander Luthor Sr.]]<small> (father; deceased)</small>
  
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|status= Alive
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|comic=
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|book= ''[[Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Cross Fire]]''<br/>''[[Time Out Shortlist Gotham & Metropolis]]''
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|actor= [[Jesse Eisenberg]]
  
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}}'''Metropolis''' is a large city located in the District of Metropolis<ref name="Turkish Airlines"/> or Delaware in the [[United States of America]]. Metropolis is famous for its forward-looking, optimistic spirit, captured in its nickname "City of Tomorrow".<ref name="Turkish Airlines"/> It is home to the headquarters of both the [[Daily Planet]] newspaper and global corporation [[LexCorp|LexCorp Industries]]. It is located across the bay from its sister city, [[Gotham City|Gotham]], New Jersey. For two years the city was the home of the alien superhero Superman, and was protected by him along with the rest of the world until his tragic death in 2015, when sacrificing himself to stop a mighty monster known as [[Doomsday]].
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|movie= ''[[Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice]]''<br/>''[[Justice League (film)|Justice League]]''
  
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|comic= ''[[Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Batman]]''<br/>''[[Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Superman]]''<br/>''[[Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Lois Lane]]''<br/>''[[Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Lex Luthor]]''
  
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|book= ''[[Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Cross Fire]]''<br/>''[[Time Out Shortlist Gotham and Metropolis]]'' <small>(''Metropolis''; mentioned)</small>
  
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}}
  
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{{Quote|See, what we call God depends on our tribe, [[Superman|Clark Joe]], 'cause God is tribal, God takes sides. No man in the sky intervened when I was a boy to deliver me from [[Alexander Luthor Sr.|daddy]]'s fist and abominations! I figured it out way back! If God is all-powerful, he cannot be all-good. And if he is all-good, then he cannot be all-powerful...and neither can you be. They need to see the fraud that you are. With their eyes. The blood on your hands.|Lex Luthor to [[Superman]]|Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice}}
  
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'''Alexander Joseph "Lex" Luthor Jr.'''<ref name="p45" /> is a megalomaniacal multi-billionaire businessman, as well as one of the smartest individuals in the world by far. He is the current owner and CEO of [[LexCorp|LexCorp Industries]]. Lex Luthor also becomes the archnemesis of [[Superman]], whose very existence makes Lex feel threatened, which makes the malevolent supergenius go out of his way to expose the godlike alien superhero as a fraud, and to subsequently destroy him, by first pitting Superman against [[Batman]], and then his monstrous creation [[Doomsday]]. Lex, however, is ultimately jailed as a supercriminal for his exposed numerous unspeakable crimes, first in [[Belle Reve]] supermax, and then in [[Arkham Asylum|Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane]]. Following the founding of the [[Justice League]] and defeat of [[Steppenwolf]], Lex escapes captivity, acquires a private yacht, and meets up with [[Deathstroke]] to discuss their upcoming partnership.
  
   
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==Biography==
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==History==
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Metropolis was founded in 1661 by early European settlers at the start of the colonization of North America. It grew steadily to become one of the largest cities in the world, and became a famous tech hub and media centre.
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===Early life===
  
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Alexander Joseph "Lex" Luthor, Jr. was born in 1984, in [[Metropolis]] to [[Alexander Luthor Sr.|Alexander Luthor, Sr.]], an East German-born billionaire petrochemical and heavy machinery developer, and was subsequently named after his father. While the family's company, [[LexCorp|LexCorp Industries]], was in fact named after Lex's father, the elder Luthor claimed at investor pitches to have named it after his son as well, while Lex himself often mused at how wealthy old women found his father "[writing] checks for Lex" adorable.
 
   
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Much of Metropolis' central business district was destroyed by [[General Zod]] and his [[Kryptonian]] military forces in their attempt to convert [[Earth]]'s atmosphere to that of [[Krypton]]'s. Whole buildings were obliterated and rubble and debris covered the area. Metropolis recovered in time and became safeguarded by their new local savior, [[Superman]]. In the aftermath, a large statue of Superman was built in the city centre in a new purpose built venue called [[Heroes Park]].<ref name="Turkish Airlines" />
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While publicly popular and affable, [[Alexander Luthor Sr.|Luthor Sr.]] was a very cruel and despicable man behind closed doors, with Lex later remarking in outrage that no "man in the sky" would ever come to save him from "[his father's] fists and abominations". This induced a traumatized Lex to gain a militantly misotheistic view of God, believing that if He were omnipotent, then it would be logically impossible for Him to be omnibenevolent and vice versa, thereby solidifying his belief that power cannot be innocent (referring to the antithesis of that as the "oldest lie in [[United States of America|America]]"), and that all individuals with great power and popularity must be evil by definition.
 
   
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==Locales==
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By age 16, the wunderkind Lex was left with the legacy of LexCorp as its only heir shortly after his father passed away unexpectedly, taking control of the business and success fully transformed it from a petrochemical and heavy machinery dinosaur into a cutting-edge Fortune 500 technology giant. In fact, the very considerable business achievements of his father pale in comparison to the astonishingly prolific accomplishments of the younger Luthor, who thus became the youngest person ever to be named Fortune’s Businessperson of the Year and included in Fortune's list of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders. Among other things, Lex also inherited his father's world-famous collection of meteorite crystals, which, as he would later learn, included [[Kryptonite]] minerals.<ref name="Fortune">[http://fortune.com/contentfrom/2015/10/05/lex-luthor-jr/ntv_a/3dsBA58oDAfxgFA/ ''Lex Luthor Jr.: Not Just His Father’s LexCorp'' - Fortune]</ref>
  
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[[File:Metropolis map.png|thumb|300px|Map of downtown Metropolis.]]
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*[[Abbey]]
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*[[Ace O'Clubs]]
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*[[Alewife]]
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*[[AmerTek Arena]]
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*[[Apricot Spa]]
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*[[Atwater Tower]]
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*[[Avenue of Tomorrow]]
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*[[Awakenings Youth Theater]]
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*[[Berkeley Lodge]]
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*[[Berkowitz Airport]]
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*[[Bessolo Bistro]]
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*[[Big Belly Burger]]
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*[[Billups Hall]]
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*[[Blaze Comics]]
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*[[Blaze Publishing]]
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*[[Bloom]]
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*[[Border Room]]
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*[[Broadrun Jazz Club]]
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*[[Carlini's]]
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*[[Carrasco's]]
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*[[Centennial Hotel]]
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**[[Centennial Café]]
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*[[Chaney's]]
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*[[Chez Joey's]]
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*[[Daily Planet|Daily Planet Building]]
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*[[Digby & Sons]]
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*[[Dooley's Pub]]
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*[[Dynasty]]
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*[[El Ciento]]
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*[[Empire Pier]]
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*[[Evans Pretzel Factory]]
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*[[Geschäft-Krieg|Geschäft-Krieg Building]]
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*[[Giuseppe's]]
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*[[Glenmorgan Square]]
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*[[Grantland Park Outdoor Arts]]
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*[[Greico Theater Workshop]]
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*[[Hammersmith Tower]]
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*[[Heroes Park]]
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*[[Hob's Bay Hospital]]
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*[[Hotel Metropolis]]
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*[[Joy Lounge]]
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*[[Jules Verne Extra-Terrestrial Museum]]
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*[[Julian Gallery]]
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*[[Karl's Pump & Brew]]
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*[[Kenmore Bowling Alley]]
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*[[Koul-Brau Breweries]]
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*[[LeMarvin Bistro]]
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*[[LexCorp Plaza]]
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**[[LexCorp Tower]]
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**[[Lexor Hotel]]
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**[[Lex Luthor's Mansion]]
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*[[Lois and Clark's Apartment]]
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*[[Longshore Ballroom]]
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*[[Lucy's Pub]]
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*[[Mary Alice's Consignment Shop]]
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*[[Metro Palace Theater]]
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*[[Metro Souvenirs]]
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*[[Metro Square]]
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*[[Metropolis Athletic Club]]
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*[[Metropolis Ballet]]
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*[[Metropolis City Hall]]
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*[[Metropolis General Hospital]]
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*[[Metropolis Grand Hotel]]
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*[[Metropolis History Museum]]
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*[[Metropolis International Airport]]
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*[[Metropolis Middle School]]
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*[[Metropolis Museum of Modern Art]]
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*[[Metropolis Overstreet Mall]]
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*[[Metropolis Park]]
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*[[Metropolis Philharmonic]]
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*[[Metropolis Police Department]]
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*[[Metropolis Public Library]]
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*[[Metropolis Science Explorarium]]
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*[[Metropolis Stock Exchange]]
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*[[Metropolis University]]
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*[[Metropolitan Club]]
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*[[Minko Hall]]
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*[[Mo's Café]]
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*[[Mr Leonards]]
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*[[Nova]]
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*[[Park Metropolis Downtown]]
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*[[Pit]]
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*[[Queensland Park]]
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**[[Schwartz Field]]
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*[[Queensland Pier]]
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*[[Rail Line]]
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*[[Schaffenberger]]
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*[[Schott's Toys]]
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*[[Schwartzenoff]]
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*[[Shuster Arena]]
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*[[Siegel Music Hall]]
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*[[Sienna Hall]]
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*[[Simmons Gallery]]
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*[[S.T.A.R. Labs]]
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*[[Stryker's Island]]
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*[[Supernova]]
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*[[Swinburne Hall]]
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*[[Turley Gallery]]
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*[[Uri's Family Restaurant]]
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*[[Utopia Casino]]
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*[[Washington Medical Center]]
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*[[Wayne Financial Building]]
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*[[WGBS News]]
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*[[Yellow Prawn]]
   
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==Known residents==
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Lex is known to have at one point encountered [[Amanda Waller]] and familiarized himself with her organization, [[ARGUS]], and also learned of her [[Task Force X]] idea, as he subtly refers to all three while conversing with [[Ron Troupe]].<ref name="Lexical Analysis">[http://www.wired.com/brandlab/2015/12/lexical-analysis-lex-luthor-on-disrupting-the-vigilante-industrial-complex/ Lexical Analysis]</ref>
  
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[[File:District of Metropolis.jpg|thumb|District of Metropolis seal.]]
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*[[Bibbo Bibowski]]
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*[[Superman|Clark Kent/Superman]]
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*[[Glen Woodburn]]
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*[[Jenny Jurwich]]
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*[[Lex Luthor]]
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*[[Lois Lane]]
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*[[Perry White]]
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*[[Steve Lombard]]
   
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===Former residents===
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==== Interview with Ron Troupe ====
  
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*[[Mercy Graves]] (deceased)
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Shortly before the release of his company's revolutionary new operating system [[LexCorp|Lex/OS]], Lex Luthor was approached by reporter [[Ron Troupe]], and agreed to meet him for 15 minutes at the opulent Royal Penthouse Suite at the [[Metropolis|Park Metropolis Downtown]]. Lex was then promptly interviewed on a number of subjects, including the alien hero [[Superman]] and the [[Gotham City]] vigilante [[Batman]]. Right afterwards, Lex offers to play bowling with Troupe, confident in his ability to "destroy" the latter.
  
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*[[Wallace Keefe]] (deceased)
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==== ''[[Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - Lois Lane|Dawn of Justice - Lois Lane]]'' ====
  
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{{Quote|There you have it - Lex Luthor, as much a hero to [[Metropolis]] as [[Superman]]."<br>"No. '''Not''' like him.|Lex Luthor to a reporter|Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Lex Luthor}}
  
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[[File:Luthor standing in front of the ruins of his old building.jpg|thumb|204x204px|left|Luthor standing in front of the ruins of his old building.]]
  
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After [[Hanford Technologies]] was successfully exposed by [[Daily Planet]] reporter [[Lois Lane]], Lex arrived at a construction site of the company, and announced that [[LexCorp|LexCorp Industries]] was purchasing all of Hanford's holdings (including the site), as well as retaining all of Hanford's employees, as he claimed that the employees should not suffer from the immoral actions of their former CEO. Lex proceeded to admit that despite his failings, Mark Hanford had been a good CEO, whose big mistake was selling illegal [[Kryptonian]] technology. Later, in the privacy of his car, with only his personal assistant [[Mercy Graves]] there to hear him, Lex finished - because there were so many more interesting things that could potentially be done with it.<ref>{{Comic ref|Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Lois Lane}}</ref>
  
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==== ''[[Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - Lex Luthor|Dawn of Justice - Lex Luthor]]'' ====
  
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Due to Lex Luthor's prolific philanthropic efforts to help financially support the rebuilding of [[Metropolis]] (as well as his company, [[LexCorp|LexCorp Industries]]), local politicians and media personalities called the companies that left Metropolis traitors, while a growing number of corporations (including [[Kord Industries]]), inspired by Lex Luthor, decided to follow his example, with some of them who had previously planned to pull out of Metropolis reversing course, and others, that had never been in Metropolis at all, choosing to expand there. In addition, while funding the rebuilding of Metropolis, Lex also had the [[Lexor Hotel]] built, thus naming it after himself<ref>[http://www.tkairlines.com/metropolis ''Metropolis'' - Turkish Airlines]</ref>. Indeed, due to his actions, some even claimed that Lex was as much a hero to [[Metropolis]] as [[Superman]] himself. Lex, however, dismissed the comparison, claiming that the alien superhero was a figure too mysterious and controversial for him to be a good comparison, but in light of Superman's debut, Lex claimed that recognizing the importance of the "ordinary" citizens of Metropolis (such as rescue workers, first responders, and countless ordinary citizens, who also helped save others in the [[Battle of Metropolis]]) had become more important than ever.<ref name="Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Lex Luthor">{{Comic ref|Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Lex Luthor}}</ref>
  
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==== ''[[Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - Superman|Dawn of Justice - Superman]]'' ====
  
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{{Quote|I'll be in here for the rest of the day. Make sure I'm not disturbed.|Lex Luthor to [[Mercy Graves]]|Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Lex Luthor}}
  
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[[File:Lex Luthor in his observation room.png|thumb|250px|Luthor collecting information.]]
  
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Lex then proceeded to return to his [[LexCorp]] facility, admitting to [[Mercy Graves]] that while him not knowing much about [[Superman]] is in fact completely true, he has been "working on changing that." With those words, Lex enters a private room with CCTV screens (displaying the corpse of [[General Zod]], the [[Fortress of Solitude]], and a [[Kryptonian]] DNA double helix), asking Mercy to make sure he isn't disturbed, as he plans to spend the rest of the day in there.<ref name="Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Lex Luthor" />
  
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During this time, Lex had a woman named Teri meet with Professor Garcia and another man, who discussed the video footage of [[Superman]] saving a runaway train full of passengers. Teri spoke the words spoken to her through an earpiece by Lex (who had her appear to agree with Garcia), while the latter viewed the entire meeting from another CCTV screen.<ref>{{Comic ref|Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Superman}}</ref>
  
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==== ''[[Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - Batman|Dawn of Justice - Batman]]'' ====
  
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[[File:Luthor spies on Batman.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Luthor keeping an eye on Batman.]]
  
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During this time, Lex watched on as [[Firefly]] was paid to blow up a merchandise warehouse in [[Gotham City]], in order to test out the capabilities of the infamous [[Batman]]. Lex set up another CCTV at the warehouse beforehand, in order to watch events unfold.<ref>{{Comic ref|Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Batman}}</ref>[[File:LexCorp Meta Human data.png|thumb|310px|LexCorp data on Metahumans.]]Hence, it would be around this time that Lex learns everything about [[Batman]] and [[Superman]] (notably their alter-egos, powers, abilities, physical and emotional weaknesses, relationships, and psychological profiles), as well as that of other [[metahuman]]s: the immortal Amazon demigoddess [[Wonder Woman]] (a [[World War I]] era photo of whom, together with [[Steve Trevor's team]], which he obtained with facial recognition software), the Atlantean [[Aquaman]] (footage of whom he found in the Pacific with the [[United States Army|NSA]]'s UUV drones), the speedster [[Flash]] (footage of whom he obtained from a [[Central City]] pharmacy's security camera), and the technologically enhanced [[Cyborg]] (footage of whom he obtained from a video log on the [[S.T.A.R. Labs]] database).
  
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==== Framing Superman for Nairomi ====
  
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In order to carry out his plan, Lex employs [[Anatoli Knyazev]] and his men, arms them with innovative alloy bullets, and orders them to murder all of the men of the [[Nairomi]]an terrorist warlord [[Amajagh]] as soon as [[Superman]] arrives (to save a captured [[Lois Lane]]), and for Knyazev to mutilate the corpses with his flamethrower, in order to make it look like Superman had murdered them with his heat vision.
 
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Shortly thereafter, Lex hires and blackmails a Nairomian woman, [[Kahina Ziri]], to lie and testify against Superman's actions in Nairomi to the US Senate, giving her a specific script to follow when speaking to [[Senator Finch]]. Hence, Kahina claims that her parents were among those killed in the incident after [[Superman]]'s involvement.
  
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==== Meeting Finch and Barrows ====
  
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{{Quote|Ahoy, ahoy! I did not know you were here!|Lex Luthor to [[Senator Finch]] and [[Barrows]]|Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice}}
  
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[[File:Barrows and Lex.png|thumb|280px|Senator Barrows and Lex]]
  
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Lex Luthor himself is visited at [[LexCorp|LexCorp Industries]] by senators [[Finch]] and [[Barrows]], and he proposes to them the idea of using the recently acquired [[Kryptonite]] xenomineral as an official "silver bullet" deterrent against [[Superman]], to hold him in check if the alien superhero were to ever decide to turn against humanity. In order to forge such a "silver bullet", Lex requests Finch to grant him an import license for the large piece of Kryptonite (nicknamed "Emerald City" by Lex) lying in the Indian Ocean (at the wreckage of [[General Zod]]'s [[World Engine]]). Finch leaves, considering the request, while Barrows stays, clearly intrigued by Lex, and intent to continue a discussion.
  
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Lex quickly manages to persuade the good-natured senator [[Barrows]] to grant him access to the [[Fortress of Solitude]], and to the corpse of [[General Zod]]. Lex rewards the cooperative politician with the cherry-flavored Jolly Ranchers, and is quick to exploit his new access - taking a good look around the Fortress, and subtly peeling off the fingerprints from General Zod's corpse (with a [[Kryptonite]]-bladed scalpel).
  
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===The Red Capes are Coming===
  
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{{Quote|The Red Capes are coming! The Red Capes are coming! You and your hearings. Galloping through the streets to warn us. One if by land, two if by air. Mhm. Do you know the oldest lie in America, Senator? Can I call you June?|Lex Luthor mocking [[Senator Finch]]|Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice}}
  
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[[File:Finch and Luthor.png|thumb|left|300px|Lex momentarily muses about his late father.]]Several days later, [[Senator Finch]] is escorted into Lex's study by his right-hand personal assistant [[Mercy Graves]]. Lex is initially excited to see her, offers her some whiskey (from her native state of Kentucky), and monologues about how he keeps everything in the study of his father, [[Alexander Luthor Sr.]], the same, musing that if he persistently did so, then perhaps his father would return. But Lex then dismisses this, as the "wistful thinking of orphan boys."
 
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[[File:Luthor.jpg|thumb|250x250px|Luthor smiles at Finch]]
  
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Finch promptly tells Lex that she's decided not to grant him the import license. Lex is visibly enraged and sneers, beginning to nervously tap his fingers, begins to tell her what he considers to be the "oldest lie in America", but Finch physically stops him, letting Lex know that she sees right through his altruistic façade, telling him that he can "Take a bucket of piss and call it Granny's peach tea, take a weapon of assassination and call it deterrence", but that she wouldn't "drink it." Lex gives her a sinister grin, and states that he has considered turning an old picture of his father's (depicting a battle between Heaven's angels and Hell's demons) upside down (leaving the demons above, seemingly prevailing over the angels), and enigmatically telling her that "the Red Capes are coming." Finch then promptly departs.
 
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==== Meeting Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent ====
  
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{{Quote|Boys! Mhm! Bruce Wayne meets Clark Kent! I love it! I love bringing people together!|Lex Luthor to [[Superman|Clark]] and [[Batman|Bruce]]|Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice}}
  
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[[File:Clark and Bruce meet Lex.jpg|thumb|250px|Lex, Clark, and Bruce first meet.]]
  
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Lex organizes a fundraiser event at the [[Metropolis]] library, with the invited guests including [[Gotham City]] billionaire [[Batman|Bruce Wayne]], [[Daily Planet]] reporter [[Superman|Clark Kent]] (with Lex specifically anonymously requesting [[Perry White]] that Clark be the one to attend and cover this even in the press), and [[Louvre Museum]] antiquities curator [[Wonder Woman|Diana Prince]].
  
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Lex, as the event's organizer, is therefore invited to make a speech. In it, he mentions the poor origins of his father, [[Alexander Luthor Sr.]] (who had once had trouble affording books in East Germany), and makes an allusion to the Ancient Greek story of how the Titan Prometheus was brutally punished by [[Zeus]], King of the [[Olympian God|Old Gods]], for enlightening humankind (much to the visible chagrin of [[Wonder Woman|Diana Prince]], Zeus' daughter). Near the end of his speech, Lex acknowledges the "bittersweet truth" that knowledge is power, but he then suddenly stumbles over his words, internally realizing their contradiction when applied to him. Lex is then quick to end his address and excuse himself from the stage, successfully covering up his blunder.
 
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Lex then promptly walks up to [[Batman|Bruce Wayne]] and [[Superman|Clark Kent]], interrupting their somewhat uncomfortable conversation about Batman and Superman. Lex enthusiastically introduces himself to them (aware that he is in fact speaking with Batman and Superman's alter egos), and, in order to continue slyly manipulating them into a conflict, complements the exceptional firmness of Clark's handshake, and therefore jokingly advises Bruce not "pick a fight with [Clark]." Determined to have Batman obtain the information regarding the [[Kryptonite]] and [[metahuman|Metahuman Thesis]], Lex invites Bruce to visit the [[LexCorp|LexCorp Industries]] research and development facilities. However, at that moment, [[Mercy Graves]] comes up and lets Lex know that a governor wants to speak to him. So Lex is forced to excuse himself, with Bruce offering to possibly visit the facilities another time. Lex's plan, however, was still successful, as Bruce still obtained the information, having uploaded it unto a hacking device, though it was temporarily borrowed from him by [[Wonder Woman|Diana]].
 
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==== Bribing Keefe and bombing the Capitol ====
  
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{{Quote|Do you know the oldest lie in America, [[June Finch|Senator]]? That power can be innocent.|Lex Luthor to June Finch|Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice}}
  
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Lex then has [[Anatoli Knyazev|Knyazev]] organize [[Cesar Santos]] to be murdered by his fellow [[Blackgate Penitentiary]] inmates, while Lex himself pays the bail of embittered cripple [[Wallace Keefe]] (who was in the same prison as Santos) and invites him to visit his villa. Lex wants Keefe to testify against [[Superman]] in the upcoming Senate committee, and he gifts Keefe with a motorized wheelchair (made of an innovative metal alloy) to sweeten his deal.
 
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[[File:Lex Luthor stares at Senator Finch alongside Mercy Graves.png|thumb|left|300px|Lex stares at Senator Finch alongside Mercy Graves]]
  
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Right after a guilt-ridden [[Kahina Ziri]] has left the US Capitol (managing to tell [[Senator Finch]] about Lex's exploitation of her), Lex arrives (just in time to see Finch whispering about Kahina's revelation to a fellow senator), and is present when [[Superman]] himself arrives to the hearing. However, before it begins, Lex asks [[Mercy Graves]] to reserve him a seat, before speaking to Senator Finch with an air of thinly-veiled condescension. Before leaving, Lex finally tells Finch the "oldest lie in America" - the belief that power can be innocent.
 
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Shortly after the committee begins with the address of [[Senator Finch]], Lex still hasn't arrived. Finch then suddenly notices a jar of urine standing on her desk, labelled "Granny's Peach Tea" (an epithet that she herself had used not along ago), which visibly startles her, making Finch pause mid-speech, horrified at the realization of what was about to occur. At that moment, a bomb (secretly planted inside Keefe's wheelchair by Lex) explodes, killing all present, except for the invulnerable, yet very mortified and heartbroken Superman. Because the wheelchair was lead-lined, Superman believed that it was his fault for purposely passing it. In order to tie up the last loose end, he has [[Anatoli Knyazev|Knyazev]] permanently silence [[Kahina Ziri]] by pushing her under an incoming train, killing her.
 
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As the news ponders over the tragedy of the bombing and speculates about Superman's possible involvement behind it, Lex ominously stands atop the [[LexCorp|LexCorp Tower]], and looks at the setting sun with a gleeful sneer on his face.
  
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==== Entering the Scout Ship ====
  
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[[File:Lex Luthor - Fortress of Solitude.png|thumb|280px|Lex Luthor at the Fortress.]]
  
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With [[Finch]] and [[Barrows]] out of the way and most of the public in hateful opposition to [[Superman]], Lex finally uses the fingerprints of [[General Zod]] to enter the [[Fortress of Solitude]], and re-insert Zod's command key into it, bringing the dormant starship online again. The AI's voice inquires if Lex intends to assume command, to which he answers affirmatively, though Lex is visibly somewhat nervous at first.
 
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Lex quickly learns that the starship's Kryptonian archive has accumulated knowledge from 100,000 alien worlds, and he demands to be taught all of it, further enhancing his already brilliant mind to supergenius level. Among the tremendous amount of new knowledge Lex gains, he learns of the ancient Kryptonian monster [[Doomsday]], and of invading extraterrestrial [[Parademon]] army of the [[New God]] [[Steppenwolf]], of Steppenwolf's fearsome master [[Darkseid]], and of the [[Mother Box|Unity]]. Lex seemed so excited about his discoveries concerning the [[New Gods]] and [[Apokolips]], that he draws symbols of the 3 [[Mother Box]]es compromising the Unity numerous times in coded notes.
  
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Lex then decides to re-create [[Doomsday]] as a second contingency plan, in case [[Batman]] fails to bring [[Superman]] down. In order to begin the lengthy process, Lex brings in [[General Zod]]'s corpse (lamenting that the Kryptonian invader had "[flown] too close to the sun") into the [[Genesis Chamber]], cuts his own palm, and pours his own blood onto Zod's face. The starship's AI warns Lex that re-creating the fearsome monster was forbidden by the [[Kryptonian Law Council]] long ago, but Lex notes that the council is long-gone, along with its destroyed planet, and therefore orders the process to commence.
  
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==== Ultimatum for Superman ====
  
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{{Quote|And now, you will fly to him, and you will battle him. To the death. Black and blue. Fight Night! The greatest gladiator match in the history of the world: God versus Man! Day versus Night! Son of Krypton versus Bat of Gotham!|Lex Luthor to [[Superman]]|Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice}}
  
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[[File:Lois Lane and Lex Luthor.png|280px|left|thumb|Lex talks with Lois Lane]]
  
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While [[Doomsday]] is still forming, Lex continues his first contingency plan by having [[Anatoli Knyazev|Knyazev]]'s men kidnap [[Martha Kent]], and later kidnap [[Lois Lane]] and bring her before him, to the top of [[LexCorp|LexCorp Tower]]. When joined by her, Lois angrily confronts Lex about the innovative metal fired during the Nairomi Incident, and calling him psychotic. Lex, however, dismisses that as a mere "3 syllable word for any thought too big for little minds." He then seemingly digresses, starting to talk about circles and triangles, eventually ending with Euclid's triangle inequality: "the shortest distance between any two points, is a straight path. And I believe the straightest path to [[Superman]] is a pretty little road called Lois Lane." As he utters the last word, Lex promptly pushes Lois off the ledge of LexCorp Tower.
 
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Just as Lex had anticipated, [[Superman]] promptly arrives, saving her just in time. Superman flies back up, and angrily threatens to bring the malevolent supergenius in "without breaking [him]". However, Luthor confidently retorts by revealing that he is aware of Superman's secret identity, and proceeds to tell Clark about his views on both him and God, stating that "God is tribal." Lex then reveals that his father, [[Alexander Luthor Sr.]], while seemingly affable in public, was egregiously cruel and evil behind closed doors, thereby abusing his defenseless son with both fists and "abominations." Due to there having been no "man in the sky" to protect Lex from this suffering, he subsequently became a traumatized militant misotheist, burdened by the theological problem of evil (that if God is truly omnipotent, then He cannot be omnibenevolent, and vice versa), and concluding that power cannot be innocent. Hence, Superman (whom Lex compares to the deities Horus, Apollo, and Jehovah), due to his own godlike power, has the same problem of evil applicable to him in Lex's eyes, and Lex is now determined to prove this to the world by having him engage [[Batman]] in a mortal duel, the "greatest gladiator match in the history of the world."
  
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[[File:Superman bows to Lex Luthor.png|thumb|280px|Superman, forced to bow to Lex Luthor, and comply to his ultimatum.]]
  
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When [[Superman]] attempts to refuse, Lex reveals that the former's mother, [[Martha Kent]], is held in captivity in a top-secret location by [[Anatoli Knyazev|Knyazev]] (producing several photos of a horrified Martha tied up with the word "Witch" written on her forehead in her own blood as proof). An incredibly furious Superman seems ready to destroy Lex with his heat vision, but the latter says that if Superman attempts to kill him or fly away, Martha will be burned alive, and the only way for Superman to save her, is to fly to [[Gotham City]], fight and kill [[Batman]] in a vicious duel to the death, and subsequently bring the vigilante's head to Lex. Regardless of how the fight ends, however, Lex is confident that it will still expose the theological problem of evil represented by Superman - if Superman defeats and kills Batman (to save his mother's life) he will prove to be supremely powerful yet not supremely good, and if Superman loses (due to holding back, and his weakness to [[Kryptonite]]) to Batman and dies, he will prove to be supremely good yet not supremely powerful. And in turn, which ever one of the two heroes survives the mortal duel and confronts Lex, is destined to be destroyed when Lex unleashes [[Doomsday]].
  
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An incredibly furious Superman is left with no choice but to comply with Lex's ultimatum, and he flies off, much to the delight of Lex, who gleefully muses that now "God bends to [his] will."
  
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=== [[Showdown in Gotham Port|The Death of Superman]] ===
  
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==== Unleashing Doomsday ====
  
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{{Quote| I cannot let you win. I gave the [[Batman|Bat]] a fighting chance, but he was not strong enough. If man won't kill [[Superman|God]], the [[Doomsday|Devil]] will do it! An ancient [[Kryptonians|Kryptonian]] deformity; blood of my blood, born to destroy you!... Your Doomsday.|Lex Luthor|Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice}}
  
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[[File:Luthor confronted by Superman in the fortress.jpg|thumb|left|280px|Lex is confronted by Superman in the Fortress.]]
  
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Lex then goes to the [[Fortress of Solitude]], awaiting [[Superman]]'s return, as [[Doomsday]]'s animation is nearing completion. As the clock reached its end, Lex picks it up from the table and casually shrugs as time runs out. Having mostly recovered from [[Batman]]'s [[Kryptonite]] gas grenades, Superman flies to the Fortress and smashes through the starship's hull to face Lex. The oblivious Luthor then proceeds to the phone to contact Knyazev, only to find out that the mercenary was dead, Batman allied with Superman and Martha was safe. The malevolent supergenius, however is unfazed by the news of his failed plan, claims not to know how to lose, reaffirms his unconditional misotheistic hatred of Superman (who's "sin" is his very existance), and is quick to reveal his secret contingency plan - a massive hybrid [[Kryptonian]] monster grown from [[General Zod]]'s corpse and Lex's blood, Superman's "[[Doomsday]]". Lex gleefully added that now God (represented by Superman) was "as good as dead", since the "Devil" (represented by Doomsday) would succeed in "killing God" where Batman had failed.
  
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The gigantic monster then proceeds to swiftly break out of the ship's birthing matrix and hurls a monstrous punch at Lex. However, the punch is intercepted by Superman, who blocks and counters with a mighty blow of his own. The battling duo then proceed to break out of the Fortress, continuing their mortal duel, much to Lex's delight.
 
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Lex's grandiose contingency plan is ultimately successful, as Superman is ultimately killed while taking down the monstrous Doomsday, to the dismay of [[Batman]], [[Wonder Woman]], and [[Lois Lane|Lois]], who all witness his final heroic sacrifice.
  
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==== Communion and Arrest ====
  
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[[File:Steppenwolf appears before Lex Luthor.png|thumb|280px|Steppenwolf making contact with Lex Luthor.]]
  
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Shortly after Superman's death, [[Lois Lane|Lois]] is quick to expose all of Luthor's unspeakable crimes, so a SWAT team sets out to imprison him.
  
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As they enter the [[Fortress of Solitude]]'s [[Genesis Chamber]], the team briefly sees Lex sitting in front of a Liquid Geo projection of the massive alien New God [[Steppenwolf]], holding three [[Apokolips|Apokoliptan]] [[Mother Box|Mother Boxes]]. However, the projection is dispersed almost at once, and Lex turns, to face them, with guns aiming all at him. The supercriminal surrenders without a fight.
 
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==== Visited by Batman ====
  
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{{Quote|Look at us, this is how it all caves in. Civilization on the wane, manners out the window, but who would believe me. I-I...I'm insane. I'm not even fit to stand trial.|Lex Luthor mocks [[Batman]]|Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice}}
  
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[[File:Lex is threatened by Batman.jpg|thumb|300px|left|Lex, threatened by Batman in prison.]]
  
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Shortly after his imprisonment in [[Belle Reve]] supermax prison as a supercriminal, Lex Luthor (now shaven-headed) is unexpectedly visited in his jail cell by [[Batman]], with the latter expressing his anger at Lex's actions, pinning the malevolent supergenius against a wall and threatening him, but Lex boldly counters, by sneering and revealing that he knows Batman's secret identity, but that nobody would believe him, as Lex is perceived to be insane. Batman then reveals to a dismayed Lex that he has arranged for the latter to be taken to [[Arkham Asylum|Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane]]. Lex, however, swiftly regains his composure[[File:REBUTTAL LEX jail.png|thumb|250px|Lex, sadistically mocking Batman.]], sneers again, and states that "[[Superman|God]]" is now dead, and that there is something else, something bigger coming, from outer space. Seething with rage, Batman punches the wall with his branding-ring, leaving the mark of a bat symbol on the wall. When Lex turns his head, he sees that Batman has disappeared. He yells at the Dark Knight, that the bells are ringing, and gleefully warns him about Steppenwolf's arrival on Earth and then he begins mockingly mimicking the dinging sounds.
  
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===Escape from Arkham===
  
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{{Quote|I was just celebrating God's return out of the ground and back up into the sky.|Lex Luthor to [[Deathstroke]]|Justice League (film)}}
  
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[[File:Screen Shot 2018-02-21 at 13.28.50.png|left|thumb|250x250px|Lex meeting with [[Deathstroke]].]]
  
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Shortly after the formation of the [[Justice League]], resurrection of [[Superman]], and defeat of [[Steppenwolf]], Lex responds by deciding that this is the optimal time to enact his contingency to escape [[Arkham Asylum]]. To keep the guards none the wiser, Lex somehow had another bald male inmate put in his place &ndash; inside a straight-jacket.
 
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[[File:Screen Shot 2018-02-21 at 13.32.26.png|thumb|250x250px|Lex talking with [[Deathstroke]] about forming a team.]]
  
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With the help of off-shore accounts with spare money, Lex retreated to a lavish private yacht, with a group of female bodyguards. Shortly thereafter, Lex contacted the notorious mercenary [[Deathstroke]], inviting him to his boat. Deathstroke, however, was cold upon arrival, warning Lex not to waste his time. Lex however, calmly pointed out that upon "[[Superman|God's]]" return, the latter and his allies had formed a league, so he inquired if the Deathstroke wished to join in the new "league of [their] own" that Lex was building in response.<ref>{{Film ref|Justice League}}</ref>
  
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==Personality==
  
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{{Quote|The bittersweet pain among men is having knowledge with no power... Because that is paradoxical!|Lex Luthor|Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice}}
  
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[[File:Lex h.png|thumb|300px|Lex, finally revealing his true colors.]]Lex Luthor is actually the ultimate living personification of megalomania, and he has a tremendously brilliant supergenius mind, quite possibly the greatest mind in the world (in many ways considerably intellectually superior to even most geniuses), though it is hideously corrupted by his cruel and traumatic upbringing, horrifically unstable ego, and low morality, as well as his egoistical nature of pure malevolence and megalomania, thereby making Lex as malevolent as he is intelligent. While he puts on a kindly, witty and charming façade that he is an altruistic humanist, a man of and for the people (with Lex comparing
 
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[[File:LEX_4.png|thumb|300px|left|Lex's kindly and affable façade.]]himself to the enlightening gift-giving figure of Prometheus, and supporting it well with his superb demagogic skills), Lex is actually full of rage, psychopathy, sadism, and ruthless malevolence behind closed doors, truly wishing to obtain ultimate power for himself, to control others, and to destroy those that he deems as his competition - namely his archnemesis [[Superman]], but also [[metahuman]]s in general (specifically [[Wonder Woman]], [[Aquaman]], [[Flash]], and [[Cyborg]] of the [[Justice League]]). Furthermore, Lex's attempts to acquire power imply psychopathy, as they are extremely immoral and egregiously ruthless, with him having little care for the methods he uses, or their impact on others. Lex is even shown to have fits of psychotic frustration and rage when talking to a large group of people and not knowing what to say, due to his mind being otherwise occupied at that moment. Hence, when [[Lois Lane]] calls him "psychotic", Lex smugly dismisses that word as merely referring to "any thought too big for little minds." Lex takes smug pride in his phenomenal intellect, usually sadistically thinking of others as his inferiors and pawns (managing to slyly reveal, for instance, that he is aware of Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent's alter egos, without them realizing it, and smugly sneering at the prospect of knowing something that Batman doesn't when the latter ambushes him in [[Belle Reve]]), proudly proclaiming how easy it had been for him to outsmart and manipulate even the experienced tactical and detective genius [[Batman]], in addition to claiming that the exceptionally smart and insightful [[Lois Lane]] has only a "little mind" compared to his. Indeed, Lex's reliance on intellect and contingencies make him far more effective than almost all other supervillains. Hence, like, [[Amanda Waller]], Lex is a manipulative and devious leverager, but an even more effective one than her, as Lex relies on more than just leverage, and never allows leverage-based power to become his weakness. Like [[Enchantress]], Lex has a God complex, though he consistently relies far more on intellect and plans, never allowing arrogance to become his weakness. Like [[General Zod]], Lex is a ruthless and indomitable winner who refuses to lose, though even more effective, due to not being limited by thinking boundaries or dogmatic tunnel vision. Like [[Joker]], Lex is a sadistic psychopath with a penchant for unspeakable crimes, though far more covert and implicit, and hence far more successful at keeping those crimes from getting tied to him. Like [[Ares]], Lex is an incredible deceiver who covertly manipulates his enemies and superbly hides in plain sight, though he has a greater number of contingencies planned. Finally, Lex is as intelligent as his archnemesis Superman is powerful, making Lex a worthy opponent for him, more than capable of gaining the upper hand against the mighty alien, despite his own lack of [[metahuman]] powers.
 
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Lex is phenomenally brilliant in sciences and business, as well as tactics and strategy (to the point that he claims not to know how to lose), and is thereby practically always the smartest man in a room, but his God complex persona makes Lex very envious and bitter towards the godlike alien [[Superman]], even going so far as openly describing the latter in infernal and diabolical terms, subtly comparing Superman to a werewolf (by referring to [[Kryptonite]] as a "silver bullet"), a "flying demon" (which he uses to justify his threat of ruthlessly burning [[Martha Kent]] alive), and finally, to the biblical Satan himself, who had originated not in "Hell beneath [Lex]", but had come "from the sky" (as a fallen archangel), inducing humanity to admire him.
 
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This immense hatred of powerful individuals with popularity seemingly stems from the great amounts of hatred and resentment that Lex harbors for his late father, [[Alexander Luthor Sr.]], as the latter, while both powerful and popular, was extremely cruel and egregious behind closed doors, physically abusing his young and helpless son with both fists and "abominations." Thus, Lex's experienced abuse, without any intervention from any "man in the sky", immensely traumatizes him, which in turn induces Lex to gain a militantly misotheistic view of God, believing that if God were omnipotent, then he logically could not be omnibenevolent and vice versa (the theological problem of evil), thereby solidifying his belief that power cannot be innocent (referring to the antithesis of that as the "oldest lie in America").
 
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Somewhat ironically, despite his misotheism, Lex has a penchant for constantly implementing allusions to major figures of both pagan and biblical theology, with him notably comparing himself to Prometheus, [[General Zod]] to Icarus, and [[Superman]] to Zeus, Horus, Apollo, Jehovah, and Satan. He even compares himself to the biblical God in one way, claiming to hate "the sinner, not the sin", and plays God by creating the monster [[Doomsday]]. When making these allusions, however, Lex tends to cast these theologies' supreme gods in a not very discreet negative light (expertly finding the right myths for that, as he did with Zeus' punishment of Prometheus), to the point that [[Wonder Woman]] was visibly enraged by Lex's description of [[Zeus]] and the [[Olympian God|Old Gods]].
 
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Ironically, while the egregious abuse would make Lex immensely despise his father, he would eventually come to share some of his father's traits as an adult, with Lex's exceptional intelligence, ruthless malevolence, and use of an affable façade all mirroring those of [[Alexander Luthor Sr.|Luthor Sr.]], though it could be argued that Lex took all of these traits even further, as he would notably become more intelligent, skilled, malevolent, and powerful than his father had ever been. Hence, Lex projects his childhood trauma and theological resentment onto the godlike [[Superman]], determined to prove to both himself and to humanity at large that the alien superhero, while being supremely powerful, is actually not supremely good, and is in fact an abominable fraud. Hence, while Lex claims to hate "the sinner, not the sin", he specifies that Superman's sin is existing. However, Lex notably does not have the same hatred towards [[General Zod]], and actually seems to admire him, with Lex tearfully remarking that the latter had "[flown] too close to the sun." This is most likely due the the fact that General Zod, unlike Superman, did not contradict Lex's worldview, due to Zod's godlike power being used for malevolent purposes.
 
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Ultimately however, while Lex does somewhat admire [[General Zod]], he proves himself to be considerably more evil than the latter, and thus an even greater enemy for [[Superman]]. Zod, after all, had initially tried to persuade Superman to side with him, and had genuinely cared for his allies (especially his closest and most trusted one, [[Faora]]), all while seeking to protect, save and resurrect what remained of his destroyed beloved world and his race, with only Zod's methods of doing this actually making him evil. Lex, by contrast, is purely evil and irredeemable, as he instantly resolves to become enemies with Superman (viewing the latter's very existence as a "sin"), was willing to become a supercriminal, committing unspeakable crimes against peace and humanity, all for the sheer purpose of destroying his archnemesis (and what the latter represents), of proving his cynical ideology and points (based in the theological problem of evil), and of reaffirming his deluded, megalomaniacal godly self-image to himself, while ultimately being egregiously egotistical, not caring about anyone other than himself, as even [[Doomsday]] (Lex's own Frankensteinian creation, whom Lex thought of as a surrogate son of sorts<ref name="The Empire of Luthor">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3-R1r9PH1I The Empire of Luthor - Batman vs Superman]</ref><ref name="Endgame">[http://www.manofsteelanswers.com/50-endgame/ MOSAIC Episode 50 - Endgame]</ref>) and [[Mercy Graves]] (Lex's closest and most trusted ally) were ultimately disposable to him, being but means to an end. Lex even shows himself to be a psychopath on a level comparable to that of the [[Joker]], since right before Lex is about to ruthlessly have [[Senator Finch]] killed, and later when he threatens to ruthlessly burn [[Martha Kent]] alive, Lex actually manages to find both situations funny, and cracks several sinister black humor pun jokes, with gleeful sadism. In addition, while all of Superman's other haters and detractors were guilt-ridden following his death and mourned him, with even the exceptionally amoral [[Amanda Waller]] posthumously respecting him, while even the brutal and cynical [[Batman]] was inspired by him to better himself, Lex was as gleeful as ever, in utter defiance of himself being exposed as a supercriminal and incarcerated in [[Belle Reve]] supermax.
  
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Also, despite his purely and egregiously malevolent egotistical nature as a deceitful supercriminal, Lex views himself as a heroic, enlightening, and altruistic humanist, even comparing himself to humanity's savior Prometheus, since Lex does indeed actually firmly believe in the importance of bettering humankind to its peak, and Lex claims that he wants to "elevate the right people, the right [[human]] people" in order to "leave the planet in better shape for the next generation, to make the world and its children safer<ref name="Lexical Analysis">[http://www.wired.com/brandlab/2015/12/lexical-analysis-lex-luthor-on-disrupting-the-vigilante-industrial-complex/ Lexical Analysis]</ref>." Indeed, his [[LexCorp|LexCorp Industries]] mission statement is: "Let's build a better tomorrow today", while the specified one for [[LexCorp|Lex/Os]] is: "Help us build a more human system<ref name="ViralLexCorpWebsite">[http://www.theactionpixel.com/comics/batman-v-superman-launch-viral-lexcorp-website/ “BATMAN V SUPERMAN” LAUNCH VIRAL LEXCORP WEBSITE]</ref>." Due to [[Batman]] epitomizing many of these humanist beliefs (having bettered himself both mentally and physically to his peak, without any superhuman assistance, making him capable of pulling off terrific feats without actually being superhuman), Lex somewhat admires him, despite Batman being his enemy and business rival, and Lex therefore selects the tremendously skilled vigilante to be his (discreetly manipulated) champion against [[Superman]] and the [[metahuman]]s. Lex does not, however, view Batman as an equal, as he takes pride in his intellectual superiority, smugly proclaiming how easy it had been for him to deceive the vigilante into unknowingly becoming his pawn. Lex appears to respect [[Deathstroke]] for similar reasons.
  
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Another factor of Lex's resentment towards [[Superman]] was how, all his adult life, Lex was a megalomaniac and xenophobe, determined to view himself as a superior, godlike being amongst humans (due to his phenomenal intellect and achievements), and his ego was damaged when an actual godlike being induced Lex to existentially question his own deluded self-image. Hence, much like [[Enchantress]], Lex has a superiority complex. Due to this, Lex, despite his ability to kill Superman himself (with the acquired [[Kryptonite]]), instead waits for the opportune moment to manipulate Superman and [[Batman]] into a fierce mortal duel, in order to first discredit the Man of Steel, so as to avoid Superman becoming a martyr, and to simultaneously humiliate Superman, by having a being of godlike power killed by an ordinary man (supported by Lex' many biblical allusions when gloatingly describing the heroes' planned mortal duel). Overall, while actually sane and only feigning insanity during his [[Belle Reve]] supermax imprisonment, Lex had in fact grown increasingly unhinged, due to the existential crisis that opposing Superman induced within him<ref name="The Empire of Luthor">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3-R1r9PH1I The Empire of Luthor - Batman vs Superman]</ref><ref name="Endgame">[http://www.manofsteelanswers.com/50-endgame/ MOSAIC Episode 50 - Endgame]</ref>.
 
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Lex is also incredibly brave, almost completely fearless, showing no signs of fear when confronted by an angry [[Superman]], and even when unexpectedly ambushed in his [[Belle Reve]] supermax jail cell and at the mercy of a furious [[Batman]] with a branding ring (although Lex's sneer momentarily disappeared when Batman informed him about his transfer to [[Arkham Asylum|Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane]]), with Lex going so far as smugly sneering at Batman's threats, gloating over Superman's death with gleeful sadism, and equally sadistically warning Batman about the imminent coming of a new, mysterious alien invader, the [[New God]] [[Steppenwolf]], to whom Earth is now vulnerable to, due to Superman's death.
 
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Lex does, however, have several prominent fears, the biggest of which, even more than that of losing his own life, being his fear of losing power and control, so yet another factor of Lex's resentment towards [[Superman]] was his outrage over the latter not deserving his godlike power, while feeling that instead, he is the one that deserves it, due to Lex being a self-made man (amassing his supergenius intellect, building up [[LexCorp|LexCorp Industries]], and earning himself a phenomenal fortune in a superhuman business feat) from a difficult and traumatic upbringing. Indeed, due to this existential sense of entitlement, Lex epitomizes the Easterlin Paradox - being absolutely tormented, miserable, and full of rage, despite also being tremendously rich and successful<ref name="The Empire of Luthor">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3-R1r9PH1I The Empire of Luthor - Batman vs Superman]</ref><ref name="Endgame">[http://www.manofsteelanswers.com/50-endgame/ MOSAIC Episode 50 - Endgame]</ref> Therefore, Lex values control above all else, so much so, that he places himself above Superman, and almost asks Superman to tear him apart, in their first confrontation. Hence, when confronted with his greatest fear, Lex shows himself to be a fatalist, as he used [[Doomsday]] as his last-ditch effort to destroy his archnemesis<ref name="The Empire of Luthor">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3-R1r9PH1I The Empire of Luthor - Batman vs Superman]</ref><ref name="Endgame">[http://www.manofsteelanswers.com/50-endgame/ MOSAIC Episode 50 - Endgame]</ref>.
  
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While Lex's god complex does occasionally make him arrogant and overconfident, this weakness of his (unlike with supervillains like [[Ares]], [[Enchantress]], [[Erich Ludendorff|General Ludendorff]], or [[Amanda Waller]]) is ultimately an insignificant one, as Lex's tremendous intellect and cold calculation allow him to very effectively compensate for this at almost all times, mastering almost any situation with his numerous tactical contingencies. Hence, when [[Senator Finch]] unexpectedly refuses to grant Lex an import license for the Indian Ocean [[Kryptonite]], he promptly smuggles it in instead; when a guilt-ridden [[Kahina Ziri]] unexpectedly confesses her lies to Finch, Lex promptly has them both killed; when [[Batman]] and [[Superman]] unexpectedly stop their duel, team up and save [[Martha Kent]], Lex promptly unleashes [[Doomsday]] upon them, killing Superman; when Lex's numerous unspeakable crimes get exposed and result in [[Belle Reve]] supermax imprisonment, Lex promptly makes himself unfit to stand trial by convincingly feigning insanity; and when Lex learns of his unexpected transfer to [[Arkham Asylum]], he regains his confidence mere seconds later, due to Lex having adapted a contingency plan for a break-out from Arkham (and subsequent retreat to a contingency private yacht) at the optimal time. Even after [[Superman]] is resurrected from the dead more powerful than before and cements together the [[Justice League]], Lex is as confident as ever in face of this greater challenge, and swiftly chooses this as the optimal time to escape Arkham, retreats to the contingency yacht, and meets up with [[Deathstroke]] to discuss founding "a league of [his] own".
 
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Hence overall, Lex Luthor is extremely unpredictable, as he often has numerous back-up plans to his back-up plans, accounting for numerous possible scenarios with efficient contingencies. Indeed, Lex's unparalleled ability to plan, strategize, restrategize, and break down his opponents grants him power that surpasses even that of Superman and [[metahuman]]s, since Lex's ability to predict and gather information on his many opponents allows him to easily outstrategize any of them one-on-one, thereby making it almost impossible for them to succeed against Lex. As a result, Lex caught both [[Batman]] and [[Superman]] off-guard with the revelation of his endgame - [[Doomsday]]. Even Lex's personal assistant, confidant, and right-hand woman [[Mercy Graves]], who knew him best, was ultimately not privy to all of Lex's master plans, and therefore was unable to correctly predict his future actions.
 
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Much like his archenemy [[Superman]], Lex has tremendous determination and strength of will, since he absolutely refuses to ever hunker down and give up, even when placed against seemingly insurmountable odds, with Lex mastering almost any situation with his numerous tactical contingencies, and even going so far as to claim that he doesn't know how to lose. Indeed, Lex even resolves to dominate in something as trivial as a bowling game with [[Ron Troupe]]<ref name="Lexical Analysis">[http://www.wired.com/brandlab/2015/12/lexical-analysis-lex-luthor-on-disrupting-the-vigilante-industrial-complex/ Lexical Analysis]</ref>. Hence, Lex managed to successfully transform his father's company, [[LexCorp|LexCorp Industries]], from a petrochemical and heavy machinery dinosaur into a cutting-edge Fortune 500 technology giant (in a stupendous, what some call a superhuman, business feat), and being willing to use illegal operations to maintain the success of his oligarchical business empire. Later, despite the seemingly impossible task of bringing down the godlike Superman without having [[metahuman]] powers himself, Lex refuses to back down from it, and resolves to utilize his phenomenal intellect to devise complex and intricate plans to bring down his archenemy, along with back-up plans, and back-up plans to his back-up plans, for good measure, with Lex ultimately succeeding in defeating and killing Superman with his personal Frankensteinian creation [[Doomsday]].
 
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Lex carries out this malevolent plan with cold calculation and ruthless cruelty, being quick to murder anyone who gets in his way, such as the militantly oppositional [[Senator Finch]], his guilt-ridden pawn [[Kahina Ziri]], his unsuspecting pawns [[Jimmy Olsen]] and [[Cesar Santos]], his no longer useful pawns [[Barrows|Senator Barrows]] and [[Wallace Keefe]] (along with the 66 other attendees of Superman's hearing<ref name="Endgame">[http://www.manofsteelanswers.com/50-endgame/ MOSAIC Episode 50 - Endgame]</ref>), [[Amajagh]]'s Nairomian soldiers, and even his own loyal assistant [[Mercy Graves]] is likewise shown to be disposable to Lex, as she is likewise killed off along with them. Lex even goes so far as to sadistically threaten to burn the kidnapped [[Martha Kent]] alive unless Superman "bows to [his] will" by killing Batman. This meticulous and brilliant plan behind Lex's ultimatum was to expose the theological problem of evil in Superman regardless of the fight's outcome - if Superman were to win and kill Batman (to save his mother's life) he would prove to be supremely powerful yet not supremely good, and if Superman were to lose (due to holding back and his weakness to [[Kryptonite]]) to Batman and die, he would prove to be supremely good yet not supremely powerful.
 
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In the meantime, Lex continues to garner as much power as he can get his hands on, being quick to order the [[Fortress of Solitude]] to teach him all about the knowledge from 100,000 alien worlds, thereby expanding his already brilliant mind to supergenius level, finally becoming even more godlike in his own eyes. Despite the failure of his initial grand plan, Lex's far more grand and extreme contingency plan of unleashing [[Doomsday]] succeeds, with [[Superman]] seemingly being killed by the bloodthirsty monster. Indeed, Lex appears to be so satisfied with his success (as he claims not to know how to lose), that he cares little about being imprisoned for his numerous unspeakable crimes shortly thereafter, and gleefully awaits the imminent arrival of [[Darkseid]].
  
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Lex also has a somewhat dry, black, and sadistic sense of humor (similar to that of the [[Joker]] and [[Erich Ludendorff|General Ludendorff]]), and love for both witty puns and visual metaphors, shown when Lex mockingly imitated a Kentucky accent when speaking with [[Senator Finch]]; when Lex told the wheelchair-bound [[Wallace Keefe]] that he wanted to help the latter "stand" for something; when Lex claims that the shortest road to Superman is "[[Lois Lane|Lois]] lane"; when Lex mentions "civilizations of the [[Wayne Manor|wane, manners]] out the window" to [[Batman]] (subtly revealing that he knows of Bruce Wayne being the Dark Knight's alter ego); when Lex had a jar of urine placed upon Senator Finch's desk, labelled "Granny's Peach Tea" (illustrating an epithet that she herself had used against him not along ago) before coldly murdering her with a hidden bomb; and when Lex described the upcoming battles between [[Superman]] and [[Batman]], and later Superman and [[Doomsday]] with dramatic and sadistic glee, mockingly incorporating antique and theological metaphors (such as describing the first battle as the "greatest gladiator match in the history of the world"). In addition, Lex seems to be well-versed in American pop-culture, making quite a few references from it as well, notably "The Midnight Ride", "Alice in Wonderland", "Lolita" and the "Wizard of Oz." Following his incarceration in [[Belle Reve]] and the shaving of his head, Lex retained his sadism, but also paired it with a far more confident, cold and calculating attitude than before, in contrast to his previous darkly humorous persona.
  
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== Abilities ==
  
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<tabber>Abilities=
  
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*'''Genius-Level Intelligence:''' Lex Luthor is a phenomenally intelligent supergenius (known to be a polymath and bibliophile, making numerous eclectic references), quite possibly the most intelligent human being in the world, with his phenomenally eclectic intellect virtually unrivaled, with Lex standing out even among other geniuses (notably being in many ways considerably intellectually superior even to a genius polymath like [[Batman]], whom Lex outsmarted with ease, and with Lex referring to even the exceptionally smart and insightful [[Lois Lane]] as having a "little mind" compared to his) with his ability to master nearly any situation, usually against staggering odds, which makes the virtually peerless malevolent supergenius a worthy opponent even for [[Superman]] himself (despite his lack of [[metahuman]] powers), being as intelligent as Superman is powerful and far more intelligent than the latter despite Clark's own profilic intelligence inherited from his father Jor-El, the greatest scientist in all of Krypton and its greatest mind, making him more than able to gain the upper hand over the superhero and he was eventually able to kill him. Hence, Lex was notably not deceived by Batman's inhuman and supernatural façade (being quick to deduce via CCTV that the Dark Knight is actually only a mere man without any [[metahuman]] powers) and Flash's momentum negation mirage (still capturing footage of the speedster's powers by accessing the pharmacy's security cameras), and was able to easily outsmart and keep tabs on not only Batman, but also [[Aquaman]], the [[Flash]], [[Cyborg]], and [[Wonder Woman]] simultaneously (despite all of those [[metahuman]]s, as Lex dubs them, attempting to maintain their secret identities with discreet power usage), with only Wonder Woman eventually figuring that out (due to having been tricked before by another deceitful supervillain, [[Ares]]), but even she did so too late, and was unable to figure it out fully. In addition, after entering the [[Fortress of Solitude]], Lex orders to be taught the vast amounts of knowledge that the starship's archive had from 100,000 alien worlds, with apparent success. As such, Lex's already pheneomonal intelligence became much greater than ever, effectively a supergenius, and he now has obtained tremendous amounts of knowledge regarding extraterrestrial beings, including that of the imminent threat posed by the [[New God]] invader [[Steppenwolf]], coming to [[Earth]] (due to the [[Olympian Gods|Old Gods]]' and [[Superman]]'s deaths having left the planet vulnerable), which Lex proclaims to [[Batman]] with glee. Lex's tremendously eclectic intellect extends itself to his unparalleled leadership, tactical, strategic, demagogic, deceptive, mathematical, scientific, engineering, computer science, computer programming, cryptographic, robotics, hacking, criminology, genetics, neuroscience, political science, literary, mythological, theological, exploitative networking, and oligarchical business skills, in addition to his phenomenal idiosyncratic wordplay skills with witty puns and malapropisms (allowing Lex to subtly reveal things he is aware of, with people only realizing it when he intends them to).
 
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**'''Master Tactician:''' Lex Luthor, as a megalomaniac, is an phenomenally formidable tactical and strategic supergenius, to the point that he claims not to know how to lose. Given his lack of metahuman powers, Lex, much like [[Batman]], often uses cunning and planning to successfully outwit stronger and more powerful foes, gaining leverage over them rather than simply out-fighting them, often using any of their exploitable weaknesses (such as [[Kryptonite]], [[Lois Lane]], and [[Martha Kent]] in the case of Superman and manipulation-inducing tunnel vision in the case of Batman) to his advantage, though Lex's approach is even far more effective, intricate, and complex, and also more ruthless than Batman's, with Lex often having numerous back-up plans to his back-up plans, accounting for numerous possible scenarios with efficient contingencies, making him extradionarily versatile and unpredictable. Indeed, Lex's unparalleled ability to plan, strategize, restrategize, and break down his opponents grants him power that surpasses even that of Superman and [[metahuman]]s, since Lex's ability to predict and gather information on his many opponents allows him to easily outstrategize any of them one-on-one, thereby making it almost impossible for them to succeed against Lex. And Lex is almost always tremendously successful in the long-term (claiming not to know how to lose), as even after his initial plan of having [[Senator Finch]] publicly support his [[Kryptonite]] "silver bullet" deterrent against Superman (which would have forced the godlike alien to be subjugated and forced to answer to the deterrent-wielding government) fails, Lex is unfazed, and sets a grander contingency plan into motion by changing tactics - learning everything about both [[Batman]] and [[Superman]]. This allows Lex to successfully manipulate not only Superman into killing Batman (by having [[Cesar Santos]] murdered in jail, sending Clark photos of Santos' corpse, and finally, by kidnapping Clark's mother), but also to successfully outsmart and manipulate even the extremely experienced tactical genius [[Batman]] (with Lex notably even claiming that this was an easy feat for him) into killing Superman (by sending Bruce notes with provoking "red note" messages with "from" [[Wallace Keefe]] about the death of his employees in the [[Black Zero|Black Zero Event]], allowing Bruce to steal his data on [[Kryptonite]] and [[metahuman]]s, and later, to steal the Kryptonite itself), without Batman ever suspecting it until after his duel with Superman was over. This meticulous and brilliant plan behind Lex's ultimatum was to expose the theological problem of evil in Superman regardless of the fight's outcome - if Superman were to win and kill Batman (to save his mother's life) he would prove to be supremely powerful yet not supremely good, and if Superman were to lose (due to holding back and his weakness to Kryptonite) to Batman and die, he would prove to be supremely good yet not supremely powerful. And even when Lex's grand contingency plan of pitting both superheroes against each other ultimately fails (and that being only due to Superman saying [[Martha Kent|Martha]]'s name just in time to stop Batman's killing blow), a once again unfazed Lex reveals his far more grand and extreme second contingency plan (by promptly unleashing the mighty monster [[Doomsday]]), a plan that ultimately succeeds in carrying out Lex's goal of killing Superman, leaving Lex victorious. Furthermore, when [[Batman]] unexpectedly has Lex transferred from [[Belle Reve]] supermax to [[Arkham Asylum]], Lex is yet again mostly unfazed, due to him having adapted a contingency plan for a break-out (and subsequent retreat to a contingency private yacht) at the optimal time. Even after [[Superman]] is resurrected from the dead more powerful than before and cements together the [[Justice League]], Lex is as confident as ever in face of this greater challenge, and chooses this as the optimal time to escape Arkham, retreating to the contingency yacht, and meeting up with [[Deathstroke]] to discuss founding "a league of [his] own" as a contingency against the Justice League.
 
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**'''Expert Deceiver:''' [[File:REBUTTAL_LEX_jail.png|thumb|250px|Lex, convincingly feigning insanity]]Lex Luthor is pheneomonally skilled in deception, surpassing even deceptive genius [[Batman]] himself in that regard, as he was, much like [[Ares]], notably able to successfully hide his internal pure malevolence under a kindly and altruistic façade, which was convincing enough to initially fool [[Wallace Keefe]], [[Barrows|Senator Barrows]], the extremely perceptive [[June Finch|Senator Finch]], the insightful and brilliant reporters [[Superman]] and [[Lois Lane]], and even the extremely experienced tactical and detective genius [[Batman]], with none of them initially suspecting him to be a psychopathic supercriminal. In addition, Lex deceived [[Amajagh]] and the entire [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] (by having [[Anatoli Knyazev]] and his men discreetly infiltrate the Nairomian warlord's ranks and incriminate [[Superman]] in the resulting bloodshed), was able to deceive the entire US Senate and general public (by having his discreetly hired manipulatee [[Kahina Ziri]] read the memorized deceitful script that Lex had written for her, while addressing the Senate and a live news reporter), was able to masterfully deceive [[Wallace Keefe]] into siding with him (by bribing him with a high-tech wheelchair and convincing him that he is a useful asset for Lex in changing the world's perception of Superman, while in fact he was a mere disposable pawn), was able to superbly deceive [[Wonder Woman]], [[Aquaman]], the [[Flash]], and [[Cyborg]] (by successfully keeping discreet tabs on them without their knowledge, with only Wonder Woman figuring it out, but only when it was too late), was able to deceive the [[Fortress of Solitude]]'s entrance into allowing him to pass (by posing as [[General Zod]], using the fingerprints previously sliced off the latter's corpse), was able to mostly deceive the brilliant reporter [[Lois Lane]] (by leaving behind so few loose ends, that she was only able to identify him as the main supercriminal culprit behind Superman's framing after receiving some assistance from from [[Jenet Klyburn]] and [[Calvin Swanwick|Secretary of Defense Swanwick]], and even then she was unable to uncover his entire endgame, until it was too late), was able to masterfully deceive [[Superman]] into perceiving [[Batman]] as a threat and into angrily confronting the latter (by having [[Cesar Santos]] murdered in jail, and anonymously sending Clark photos of Santos' corpse), was able to superbly and easily deceive even the extremely experienced [[Batman]] himself into becoming his champion against [[Superman]] (by sending Bruce notes with provoking "red note" messages with "from" [[Wallace Keefe]] about the death of his employees in the [[Black Zero|Black Zero Event]], by allowing Bruce to steal his data on [[Kryptonite]] and [[metahuman]]s, and later, by allowing him to steal the Kryptonite itself, thereby convincing him that he genuinely, of his own accord, wished to kill Superman, while in fact he was a mere discreetly manipulated pawn), and was able to deceive even his personal assistant [[Mercy Graves]], who knew him best, into getting killed (by having her attend Superman's hearing and convincing her that she is his right-hand woman and confidant, privy to all of his master plans, while in fact even she was a mere disposable liability). Lex's phenomenal deception supergenius was even effective following his imprisonment in [[Belle Reve]] supermax, as Lex very convincingly feigned insanity, thereby making himself unfit to stand trial for his numerous unspeakable crimes.
  
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**'''Master Escapologist:''' Lex Luthor, much like [[Joker]], although he may very well be even more skilled than the psychopath, is exceptionally skilled at escaping unscathed in highly unlikely situations, with him notably somehow escaping from a straight-jacket in [[Arkham Asylum]] (covertly leaving another bald inmate in his place), and from the asylum itself without anyone noticing until it was too late, and despite [[Batman]] having promised to keep constant surveillance on Lex, with Lex having enough of a head-start to comfortably retreat to a private yacht.
 
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**'''Master Demagogue:''' [[File:LEX 3.png|thumb|250px|Lex, having delivered his demagogic anti-Superman pitch.]]Lex Luthor is a superbly skilled demagogic supergenius (more so than even [[Ares]] and [[Amanda Waller]]), as his intention is to come off as an altruistic humanist of and for the people (with Lex comparing himself to the enlightening gift-giving figure of Prometheus), so he therefore masterfully appeals to popular desires and prejudices when addressing people, often championing the cause of the common (non-[[metahuman]]) people, with his usage of seemingly rational arguments making Lex's method even more effective. Indeed, his [[LexCorp|LexCorp Industries]] mission statement is: "Let's build a better tomorrow today," while the specified one for [[LexCorp|Lex/Os]] is: "Help us build a more human system<ref name="ViralLexCorpWebsite">[http://www.theactionpixel.com/comics/batman-v-superman-launch-viral-lexcorp-website/ “BATMAN V SUPERMAN” LAUNCH VIRAL LEXCORP WEBSITE]</ref>." Lex's most notable demagogic demonstrations were when he both spearheaded prolific philanthropic efforts to rebuild [[Metropolis]] and stressed that recognizing the importance of the "ordinary" non-[[metahuman]] heroes of the city (such as the countless citizens who also helped save others during the [[Black Zero|Black Zero Event]]) had become more important than ever in light of [[Superman]]'s debut (all of which inspired [[Kord Industries]] and other corporations to follow his example, and even made many people think of Lex Luthor as being as much a hero to Metropolis as [[Superman]] himself<ref name="Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Lex Luthor">{{Comic ref|Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Lex Luthor}}</ref>), when Lex easily manipulates [[Barrows|Senator Barrows]] into giving high-level clearance (to both the [[Fortress of Solitude]] and [[General Zod]]'s corpse) without the latter even uttering verbal consent, and when Lex attempts to manipulate [[June Finch|Senator Finch]] into utilizing [[Kryptonite]] as a deterrent against Superman (by attempting to appeal to a fear of merely having to depend upon "the kindness" of Superman, who could potentially become a "monster"). It should be noted that Lex failed only with Finch, and only because the latter had been both a long-term adamant supporter of Superman and exceptionally perceptive. When openly discussing his motives with fellow supervillains, Lex is no less eloquent and persuasive.
  
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**'''Master Social Intuit:''' Lex Luthor, as a very outspoken humanist, has an incredible degree of social confidence, allowing him to intuitively determine how to interact with others, gain their respect and get his point across with a calmness, eloquence, and charisma that belie his sadistic malevolence, megalomania, psychopathy, and actual emotional state. Hence, Lex diplomatically greeted [[Clark Kent]] upon first meeting him (despite his incredible misotheistic hatred for the latter and plot to get him killed), diplomatically stated his hopes and ambitions in an interview with [[Ron Troupe]], and successfully appealed to the bitter [[Wallace Keefe]], ignoring the latter's initial vulgar insults (despite merely desiring to him as a disposable pawn). In one of the extremely few instances when Lex makes a slight social blunder (by being unable to improvise a captivating fundraiser speech on the spot) it is only because his mind was otherwise occupied at the moment (with sadistic glee at all the pieces of his grand plan finally beginning to fall together), and he was visibly upset at contradicting his own ideology with a paradoxical statement, but Lex swiftly regains control of the awkward situation by politely excusing himself from the stage. Only when finally confronted by [[Superman]] does Lex not hold himself back in conversation for the first time, passionately expressing his immense misotheistic hatred for the alien superhero, and everything the latter represents to him. As a result, Lex remains extremely well-respected not only by his [[LexCorp|LexCorp Industries]] employees (especially [[Mercy Graves]]) and criminal allies, but (right up until [[Lois Lane]] exposes his supervillainous actions) even by most politicians and the general public. Following his incarceration in [[Belle Reve]] and the shaving of his head, Lex retained his social confidence and wit, but also paired them with a far more confident, cold and calculating attitude, in contrast to his previous darkly humorous persona.
 
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**'''Master Word-Player:''' Lex Luthor, as a meglamoniac, is phenomenally skilled with wordplay, with it granting him the unique idiosyncratic ability to subtly reveal things that he is aware of, with people only realizing it if he intends them to (thus allowing Lex to openly and smugly flaunt his knowledge to their faces with them remaining ignorant of it all, even people as perceptive as [[Batman]] and [[Senator Finch]]), with Lex employing witty (occasionally transpositional) puns, malapropisms, discreet black humor, and layered pop-culture references.
 
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**'''Master Mathematician:''' Lex Luthor is a supergenius mathematician, with him being able to effortlessly verbally extemporize computer code, akin to Miles Davis improvising a trumpet solo<ref name="Fortune">[http://fortune.com/contentfrom/2015/10/05/lex-luthor-jr/ntv_a/3dsBA58oDAfxgFA/ ''Lex Luthor Jr.: Not Just His Father’s LexCorp'' - Fortune]</ref>, being able to pick up on patterns others do not notice, having a penchant to make even something as casual as sports scores sound like algebraic integers<ref name="Lexical Analysis">[http://www.wired.com/brandlab/2015/12/lexical-analysis-lex-luthor-on-disrupting-the-vigilante-industrial-complex/ Lexical Analysis]</ref>, and being able to casually tie mathematical references into conversations while remaining relevant, such as with Euclid's triangle inequality in relation to [[Lois Lane]] and [[Superman]].
 
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**'''Master Scientist:''' [[File:Lex Luthor in a lab coat.jpg|thumb|300px|Lex Luthor, in his science attire.]]Lex Luthor is a supergenius scientist, pheneomonally skilled and knowledgeable in a vast array of scientific fields (including physics, chemistry, biology, genetics, neuroscience, computer science, psychology, and many others), even more so after absorbing new knowledge from the [[Fortress of Solitude]]'s Kryptonian archives (of 100,000 alien worlds), which allowed him to correctly postulate the "[[Metahuman|Metahuman Thesis]]" (coining the scientific term personally), to discover and re-purpose [[Kryptonite]] (coining this scientific term as well), to ultimately create the monstrous [[Doomsday]] after studying the alien corpse of [[General Zod]], to understand the extremely powerful and futuristic [[Mother Box]]es' function without actually observing them (subsequently making many detailed coded notes about them and the [[Mother Box|Unity]], which even [[Batman]] and [[Alfred Pennyworth|Alfred]] had trouble deciphering), and to reverse-engineer an extremely futuristic and advanced Kryptonian [[Genesis Chamber]] from the one in the Fortress.
  
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**'''Master Engineer:''' Lex Luthor is a pheneomonally brilliant and profilic supergenius engineer, computer scientist, computer programmer, cryptographer and robotics technician, a wunderkind prodigy as a child, even more so after absorbing new knowledge from the [[Fortress of Solitude]]'s Kryptonian archives (of 100,000 alien worlds), since his company, [[LexCorp|LexCorp Industries]] is the world's premiere one in high-technology defense innovation (surpassing [[Wayne Enterprises]], [[Kord Industries]], [[STAGG]], [[Queen Industries]], and [[Geschäft-Krieg]]), specializing in new disruptive technologies, notably creating the revolutionary new operating system [[LexCorp|Lex/OS]] (the world's first neural network-based operating system<ref name="ViralLexCorpWebsite">[http://www.theactionpixel.com/comics/batman-v-superman-launch-viral-lexcorp-website/ “BATMAN V SUPERMAN” LAUNCH VIRAL LEXCORP WEBSITE]</ref>), the innovative alloy bullets he provided [[Anatoli Knyazev]] with, and the high-tech wheelchair he provided [[Wallace Keefe]] with, in addition to Lex being able to effortlessly verbally extemporize computer code, akin to Miles Davis improvising a trumpet solo<ref name="Fortune">[http://fortune.com/contentfrom/2015/10/05/lex-luthor-jr/ntv_a/3dsBA58oDAfxgFA/ ''Lex Luthor Jr.: Not Just His Father’s LexCorp'' - Fortune]</ref>, and also able to fully understand how to utilize extremely futuristic and sophisticated [[Kryptonian]] technology (centuries more advanced than that of [[Earth]]), and even managing to successfully integrate it with his own [[LexCorp]] technology and scientific apparatus before starting the procedure of reverse-engineering the [[Genesis Chamber]] and creating [[Doomsday]].
  
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**'''Expert Hacker:''' Lex Luthor, as a prolific computer scientist and programmer, is an immensely formidable supergenius hacker, cryptographer and cybercriminal, notable for his phenomenal skills of intelligence gathering, and data interpretation, his ability to hack into most computer systems without tripping any firewalls or security, as well as his superb pattern recognition and analysis skills, with Lex therefore being able to pick up on patterns others do not notice. Hence, Lex was able to hack into several [[Gotham City]] CCTVs (successfully catching shots of [[Batman]] in action, despite the latter's immense stealth skills), into a [[Central City]] pharmacy's security camera (successfully catching shots of the [[Flash]]'s supersonic speed), into several high-clearance [[United States Army|NSA]] UUV drones in the Pacific Ocean (successfully recording [[Aquaman]], despite the Atlantean's attempts to destroy the drones with his trident, and avoid them, with his tremendous swimming speed), into the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] database (learning of the CIA's intention to have [[Jimmy Olsen]] infiltrate [[Amajagh]]'s Nairomian forces via [[Lois Lane]]'s credentials), into the highly classified [[S.T.A.R. Labs]] video log of [[Silas Stone|Dr. Silas Stone]] (successfully capturing footage of [[Cyborg]]'s enhancement by a top-secret [[Apokolips|Apokoliptan]] [[Mother Box]]), and also into high-clearance government facial recognition software (successfully managing to determine that the Amazon demigoddess [[Wonder Woman]] from an old [[World War I]] photo with [[Steve Trevor's team]], is in fact still alive as the [[Louvre Museum]] antiquities curator "Diana Prince", and also learning the secret identities of both [[Batman]] and [[Superman]]). Hence, Lex swiftly becomes one of the extreme few individuals to know not only Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Flash's secret identities (the first one to know the secret identities of the entire future [[Justice League]]), but also the first to learn practically everything about both Batman and Superman (notably their powers, abilities, physical and emotional weaknesses, relationships, and psychological profiles), which allowed Lex to discreetly outwit, manipulate, and gain the upper hand against both superheroes with ease.
 
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**'''Expert Cryptographer:''' Lex Luthor is a pheneomonally skilled cryptographer supergenius, since he was able to code the writings on the notes about the [[Mother Box]]es and their [[Mother Box|Unity]] to such effiency to the point that even the extremely experienced [[Batman]] and [[Alfred Pennyworth|Alfred]] had little success deciphering them until learning additional Mother Box lore from [[Wonder Woman]].
 
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**'''Expert Businessman:''' Lex Luthor is a pheneomonally brilliant, supergenius oligarchical businessman, a wunderkind prodigy, managing to successfully transform his father's company, [[LexCorp|LexCorp Industries]], from a petrochemical and heavy machinery dinosaur into a cutting-edge Fortune 500 technology giant (in a stupendous, what some call a superhuman, business feat), helping the company grow and get more business partners (notably quickly absorbing [[Hanford Technologies]]), as well as earning himself a phenomenal fortune, rivaled only by extreme few, like his competitor [[Batman|Bruce Wayne]]. However, while his fortune is rivaled by Bruce's, Lex's skill in business still noticeably surpasses Bruce's, as even the latter's company, [[Wayne Enterprises]] (along with [[Kord Industries]], [[STAGG]], [[Queen Industries]], and [[Geschäft-Krieg]]) has a considerably lower R&D budget than LexCorp, with Lex's company also surpassing the five others in the field of military defense contracts, making LexCorp the world's premiere company in high-technology defense innovation. In fact, the genius business achievements of his father [[Alexander Luthor Sr.]] (which were very considerable in their own right) pale in comparison to the astonishingly prolific accomplishments of the younger Luthor, who became the youngest person ever to be named Fortune’s Businessperson of the Year.<ref name="Fortune" /> As a result, Lex has considerable oligarchical influence, and is extremely well-respected in the business world. Unlike Bruce Wayne however, Lex is not above secretly using ruthless cutthroat tactics, unethical practices and illegal operations (with his ties to criminal underworlds) to maintain the success of his oligarchical business empire. Indeed, [[Perry White]] feared that if threatened by [[Lois Lane]] through the press, Lex could sue the [[Daily Planet]] "out of existence" with his tremendous funds.
 
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**'''Master Leader:''' Lex Luthor is a phenomenally skilled and brilliantly talented leader, a wunderkind prodigy, becoming the youngest person ever to be included in Fortune's list of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders, due to him spearheading [[LexCorp|LexCorp Industries]] with consistently tremendous effectiveness.<ref name="Fortune" /> After breaking out of [[Arkham Asylum]], Lex is confident in his ability to bring together and lead "a league of [his] own" against [[Superman]] and the [[Justice League]].
  
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**'''Expert Criminologist''': Lex Luthor, quite ironically, is an extremely skilled and knowledgeable criminologist, at least on par with, if not even superior to, that of [[Batman]], since he has great insight into and understanding of [[Gotham City]]'s criminals and their mindsets, which allows him to understand how Batman consistently overpowers and undermines their operations<ref name="Lexical Analysis">[http://www.wired.com/brandlab/2015/12/lexical-analysis-lex-luthor-on-disrupting-the-vigilante-industrial-complex/ Lexical Analysis]</ref>. As a result, Lex is superbly adept at keeping his own supercriminal status covert (even from Batman), keeping his oligarchical business empire booming with illegal operations (thanks to his ties to criminal underworlds), and easily orchestrating the death of [[Cesar Santos]] in [[Blackgate Penitentiary]], at the hands of the latter's fellow inmates.
  
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**'''Expert Literarian:''' Lex Luthor, as a famous bibliophile, has an encyclopedic knowledge of literary works, with him being particularly well versed in American pop culture, notably hosting a fundraiser for the [[Metropolis|Metropolis Public Library]], being famously recognized as a true friend of said library, and making numerous layered references to various books in conversation, including "The Midnight Ride", "Alice in Wonderland", "Lolita" and the "Wizard of Oz."
  
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**'''Master Theologian and Mythologist:''' Lex Luthor, despite being a militant misotheist, has an encyclopedic knowledge of both pagan (particularly Egyptian and Greco-Roman) and biblical creeds, myths, and theology, as he is able to understand how [[metahuman]]s are the basis of many pagan myths (with [[Enchantress]] and [[Incubus]] notably inspiring the pagan myths of the ancient Pre-Columbian Maya and Incas), and he also has a penchant for constantly implementing allusions to major figures of those theologies. Notably, he compares himself to Prometheus, [[General Zod]] to Icarus, and [[Superman]] to Zeus, Horus, Apollo, Jehovah, and Satan. Lex even compares himself to the biblical God in one way, claiming to hate "the sinner, not the sin", and plays God by creating the monster [[Doomsday]]. When making these allusions, however, Lex tends to cast these theologies' supreme gods in a not very discreet negative light (expertly finding the right myths for that, as he did with Zeus' punishment of Prometheus), to the point that [[Wonder Woman]] was visibly enraged by Lex's description of [[Zeus]] and the [[Olympian God|Old Gods]].
 
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**'''Master Political Scientist''': [[File:LEX_6.png|thumb|300px|Lex bribing Senator Barrows.]]Lex, as an oligarchical supergenius businessman, has a pheneomonal understanding of political science, such as the inner workings and intended goals of both political structures and intelligence agencies - notably the [[United States of America|US government]] (whose Senate Lex easily deceived and manipulated), [[ARGUS]] (being privy to [[Amanda Waller]]'s [[Task Force X|Suicide Squad]] pitch to the [[The Pentagon|Pentagon]], understanding her motives<ref name="Lexical Analysis">[http://www.wired.com/brandlab/2015/12/lexical-analysis-lex-luthor-on-disrupting-the-vigilante-industrial-complex/ Lexical Analysis]</ref>), and the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] (whose covert Nairomian operation, with [[Jimmy Olsen]], Lex easily thwarted without detection). Hence, Lex fully understood the paradigm shift that the goals of modern politics took after the emergence of [[Superman]] and [[metahuman]]s, with him expertly using this to his own benefit, by openly addressing the newfound political concerns in a demagogic speech when meeting Senators [[Finch]] and [[Barrows]], and then effortlessly manipulating Barrows into granting him high clearance. Indeed, [[Ron Troupe]] would go so far as to say that Lex's ideology of humanism makes the latter sound like someone running for political office<ref name="Lexical Analysis">[http://www.wired.com/brandlab/2015/12/lexical-analysis-lex-luthor-on-disrupting-the-vigilante-industrial-complex/ Lexical Analysis]</ref>.
 
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**'''Master Networker''': Lex Luthor, as a supergenius manipulator, deceiver, and oligarch, very superbly uses a vastly dense network of professional and social contacts to further both his business and supervillain ambitions. This is notable through his influence of prominent politicians (like [[Barrows|Senator Barrows]]), other supervillains (like [[Deathstroke]]), other powerful companies (like [[Kord Industries]]), powerful intelligence agencies (like [[ARGUS]], the [[CIA]], [[FBI]], and [[United States Army|NSA]]), and formidable criminal underworlds (like [[Anatoli Knyazev]] and his men), as well as his many covert moles and pawns in various places (like Teri, [[Wallace Keefe]], [[Cesar Santos]], [[Jimmy Olsen]], [[Kahina Ziri]], [[Mercy Graves]], and [[Batman]]) that do Lex's malevolent bidding for him, sometimes unknowingly. Hence, Lex is able to discreetly keep tabs on numerous people and things that interest him, was able to illegally smuggle in a [[Kryptonite]] nugget into the [[United States of America]] (to a [[LexCorp]] facility), and have [[Blackgate Penitentiary]] inmates murder [[Cesar Santos]] in prison, without any of it getting tied to Lex. Indeed, Lex seems to remain confident in his eclectic network even when imprisoned in [[Belle Reve]] supermax, and later [[Arkham Asylum]], and indeed he manages to quickly contact [[Deathstroke]] following his escape from the asylum.
  
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**'''Eidetic Memory:''' Lex Luthor, as a supergenius, has a photographic memory and perfect recall, which greatly aided him in mastering a vast array of eclectic fields to the highest level as a polymath, while also allowing him to make numerous layered references (to pop-culture, to biblical and pagan theology, to mathematics, to computer science, to famous books, and etc.), and to know seemingly random facts, such as the scores of recent basketball games<ref name="Lexical Analysis">[http://www.wired.com/brandlab/2015/12/lexical-analysis-lex-luthor-on-disrupting-the-vigilante-industrial-complex/ Lexical Analysis]</ref>.
  
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*'''Expert Basketballer:''' Lex Luthor, despite his relatively short stature, is a highly accomplished basketballer, easily scoring while in his personal [[LexCorp]] basketball court, and he apparently fancies the sport and has great knowledge of it in general, quoting the score of a recent (Metros vs Guardsmen) basketball game while interviewed by [[Ron Troupe]]<ref name="Lexical Analysis">[http://www.wired.com/brandlab/2015/12/lexical-analysis-lex-luthor-on-disrupting-the-vigilante-industrial-complex/ Lexical Analysis]</ref>.
 
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*'''Expert Bowler:''' Lex Luthor is a highly skilled bowler, confident in his ability to "destroy" [[Ron Troupe]] in a game<ref name="Lexical Analysis">[http://www.wired.com/brandlab/2015/12/lexical-analysis-lex-luthor-on-disrupting-the-vigilante-industrial-complex/ Lexical Analysis]</ref>.
  
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*'''Indomitable Will:''' [[File:Lex_h.png|thumb|300px|Lex, finally revealing his true colors.]]Lex Luthor, much like his archenemy [[Superman]], has tremendous determination, fearlessness, and strength of will, since he absolutely refuses to ever hunker down and give up, even when placed against seemingly insurmountable odds, with Lex mastering almost any situation with his numerous tactical contingencies, and even going so far as to claim that he doesn't know how to lose. Indeed, Lex even resolves to dominate in something as trivial as a bowling game with [[Ron Troupe]]<ref name="Lexical Analysis">[http://www.wired.com/brandlab/2015/12/lexical-analysis-lex-luthor-on-disrupting-the-vigilante-industrial-complex/ Lexical Analysis]</ref>. Hence, Lex managed to successfully transform his father's company, [[LexCorp|LexCorp Industries]], from a petrochemical and heavy machinery dinosaur into a cutting-edge Fortune 500 technology giant (in a stupendous, what some call a superhuman, business feat), and being willing to use illegal operations to maintain the success of his oligarchical business empire. Later, despite the seemingly impossible task of bringing down the godlike Superman without having [[metahuman]] powers himself, Lex refuses to back down from it, and resolves to utilize his phenomenal intellect to devise complex and intricate plans to bring down his archenemy, along with back-up plans, and back-up plans to his back-up plans, for good measure, with Lex ultimately succeeding in defeating and killing Superman with his personal creation [[Doomsday]]. Lex remains fearless and incredibly resolute even while imprisoned in [[Belle Reve]] supermax, and confronted in his cell by [[Batman]], only showing unease at the news of being transferred to [[Arkham Asylum|Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane]], but nonetheless swiftly regaining his confidence mere seconds later even then, due to Lex having adapted a contingency plan for a break-out from Arkham (and subsequent retreat to a contingency private yacht) at the optimal time. Even after [[Superman]] is resurrected from the dead more powerful than before and cements together the [[Justice League]], Lex is as confident as ever in face of this greater challenge, and swiftly chooses this as the optimal time to escape Arkham, retreats to the contingency yacht, and meets up with [[Deathstroke]] to discuss founding "a league of [his] own".
 
−
|-|
  
−
Weaknesses=
  
−
*'''Human Vulnerabilities:''' Lex Luthor's greatest weakness is that he is a [[human]] with no enhanced strength, speed, durability, or [[metahuman]] powers, therefore making him quite vulnerable to the physical attacks of stronger and more powerful opponents. Lex, however, usually compensates for this quite well with his tremendous intellect, since when he first directly faced [[Superman]], while the latter was easily capable of "taking [Lex] in without breaking [him]", and of destroying Lex with his heat vision, Lex's phenomenal tactical genius had accounted for this in advance, and rendered Superman unable to do so, since if Superman were to injure or kill Lex, Superman's mother [[Martha Kent]] would be brutally killed by Lex's loyalist [[Anatoli Knyazev|Knyazev]]. This, in turn, empowered Lex to issue his ultimatum to Superman. When faced by the godlike alien for the second time, Lex again avoided defeat by unleashing his monstrous creation [[Doomsday]] against him just in time. In addition, Lex compensates with incredible escapology skills, with him notably somehow escaping from a straight-jacket in [[Arkham Asylum]], and from the asylum itself without anyone noticing until it was too late.
  
−
*'''Arrogance:''' Lex Luthor's other main weakness is his overconfidence and arrogance (stemming from his megalomania and god complex), with him even going so far as to claim that he doesn't know how to lose. Hence, Lex is somewhat caught off-guard when an unexpected turn of events causes his plans to not work out the way he indented. However (unlike with supervillains like [[Ares]], [[Enchantress]], [[Erich Ludendorff|General Ludendorff]], or [[Amanda Waller]]), this weakness of his is ultimately an insignificant one, as Lex's tremendous intellect and cold calculation allow him to very effectively compensate for this at almost all times, mastering almost any situation with his numerous tactical contingencies. Hence, when [[Senator Finch]] unexpectedly refuses to grant Lex an import license for the Indian Ocean [[Kryptonite]], he promptly smuggles it in instead; when a guilt-ridden [[Kahina Ziri]] unexpectedly confesses her lies to Finch, Lex promptly has them both killed; when [[Batman]] and [[Superman]] unexpectedly stop their duel, team up and save [[Martha Kent]], Lex promptly unleashes [[Doomsday]] upon them, killing Superman; when Lex's numerous unspeakable crimes get exposed and result in both [[Belle Reve]] supermax imprisonment and the possibility of execution, Lex promptly makes himself unfit to stand trial by convincingly feigning insanity; and when he learns of his unexpected transfer to [[Arkham Asylum]], Lex regains his confidence mere seconds later, due to Lex having adapted a contingency plan for a break-out from Arkham at the optimal time - indeed, Lex chooses to break out of Arkham after [[Superman]]'s resurrection and the establishment of the [[Justice League]].
  
−
|-|
  
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Equipment=
  
−
As the CEO of [[LexCorp|LexCorp Industries]], Lex Luthor has earned himself a phenomenal fortune (considerably expanding upon that which he has inherited from his father, [[Alexander Luthor Sr.]]), making himself one of the wealthiest people in the world, rivaled only by extreme few (like his business rival [[Batman|Bruce Wayne]]), with Lex renting the opulent Royal Penthouse Suite at the [[Metropolis|Park Metropolis Downtown]] (with 11 lavish bedrooms, each with its own floor-to-ceiling Italian marble bath, a 100-seat cinema/lecture hall, a four-lane bowling alley, twin helipads and its own private Caffè Bene) just for his 15 minute interview with [[Ron Troupe]]<ref name="Lexical Analysis">[http://www.wired.com/brandlab/2015/12/lexical-analysis-lex-luthor-on-disrupting-the-vigilante-industrial-complex/ Lexical Analysis]</ref>, greatly financially contributing to the post-[[Black Zero|Black Zero Event]] rebuilding of Metropolis (naming the new [[Lexor Hotel]] after himself<ref>[http://www.tkairlines.com/metropolis ''Metropolis'' - Turkish Airlines]</ref> in the process), and with [[Perry White]] fearing that if threatened by [[Lois Lane]] through the press, Lex could sue the [[Daily Planet]] "out of existence" with his tremendous funds. Also, his inheritance and wealth allows Lex access to some of the most sophisticated technology in the world, as well as some other useful equipment, some of it innovative and futuristic. These resources, along with his immensely formidable hacking (enough to discreetly learn classified secrets from the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]], [[FBI]], [[United States Army|NSA]], [[DARPA]], [[ARGUS]], and [[S.T.A.R. Labs]] databases) and exploitative networking skills (enough to influence prominent politicians, other powerful companies, intelligence agencies, and criminal underworlds), allow Lex to be extremely well-informed in regards to individuals (be they [[human]], [[metahuman]], or [[Kryptonians|otherworldly]]) who could potentially pose a threat to him (allowing Lex to keep discreet tabs on all of the future [[Justice League]] members, among others), along with Lex's knowledge of many, classified, global security secrets. Hence, Lex is one of the extreme few to know the secret identities of [[Batman]], [[Superman]], [[Wonder Woman]], [[Aquaman]], [[Cyborg]], and the [[Flash]], being one of the extreme few to know of [[Amanda Waller]]'s [[Task Force X|Suicide Squad]] idea before it's implementation<ref name="Lexical Analysis">[http://www.wired.com/brandlab/2015/12/lexical-analysis-lex-luthor-on-disrupting-the-vigilante-industrial-complex/ Lexical Analysis]</ref>, and also being the first known human on [[Earth]] to learn the [[Fortress of Solitude]]'s knowledge of 100,000 alien worlds (thus learning of [[Doomsday]], of [[Steppenwolf]]'s imminent invasion, and of the [[Mother Box|Unity]]). Despite having not yet regained control of [[LexCorp|LexCorp Industries]] following his escape from [[Arkham Asylum]], Lex still seemingly had enough money in off-shore accounts to comfortably retreat to a private yacht, with a group of female bodyguards.
  
−
*'''Yacht:''' An opulent private yacht, equipped with a swimming pool and a group of femle bodyguards. Lex boards it after escaping from [[Arkham Asylum]], and meets with [[Deathstroke]] in it.
  
−
*'''[[Kryptonite]]:''' [[File:Batman-V-Superman-Movie-Kryptonite.jpg|thumb|280px|Lex Luthor, examining Kryptonite with fascination.]]A glowing green radioactive xenomineral from the planet of [[Krypton]], discovered in the the Indian Ocean, a side effect of the [[World Engine]]'s attack. As Kryptonite is the greatest weakness of all [[Kryptonian]]s, Lex effectively wields it against them, with him using it to peel off the fingerprints from [[General Zod]]'s corpse. It is later stolen and weaponized by [[Batman]] (turned into the [[Kryptonite spear]]), just as Lex had intended.
  
−
*'''Kryptonite Scalpel:''' [[File:LEX 5.png|thumb|250px|Lex operates on General Zod's corpse.]]An innovative extremely sharp bladed instrument, with a blade of [[Kryptonite]] xenomineral, capable of cutting right through [[Kryptonian]]s, with Lex using it to peel off the fingerprints from [[General Zod]]'s corpse, so as the enter the [[Fortress of Solitude]].
  
−
*'''Wheelchair:''' A fancy high-tech a chair with wheels, capable of quick rotation, with Lex using it to easily bribe [[Wallace Keefe]] into testifying against [[Superman]]. As noted by [[Jenet Klyburn]], the wheelchair was composed of the same innovative unknown metal alloy as the LexCorp bullets, while it's interior was lined with lead (so as to render the bomb concealed within invisible to [[Superman]]'s X-ray vision).
  
−
*'''Innovative Alloy Bullets:''' Sophisticated high-caliber bullets, produced by LexCorp Industries, and supplied to [[Anatoli Knyazev]] and his men by Lex, used by them in [[Nairomi]]. As noted by [[Jenet Klyburn]], they are composed of an unknown innovative metal alloy.
 
−
*'''[[LexCorp|Lex/Os]]:''' [[File:LEX_1.png|thumb|250px|Lex/Os' Beta Test login.]]Revolutionary new high-speed computer operating system developed by LexCorp (it's mission statement being: "Help us build a more human system"), the world's first neural network-based operating system, capable of gradually becoming more and more intelligent each time [[human]] beta testers volunteer<ref name="ViralLexCorpWebsite">[http://www.theactionpixel.com/comics/batman-v-superman-launch-viral-lexcorp-website/ “BATMAN V SUPERMAN” LAUNCH VIRAL LEXCORP WEBSITE]</ref>.
  
−
*'''CCTVs:''' Many video cameras that Lex has a penchant for setting up in locations of interest, in order to watch events unfold from within his private room in the LexCorp facility. He has thus successfully spied on [[Batman]], Professor Garcia's footage of [[Superman]], research on the corpse of [[General Zod]], as well as the [[Fortress of Solitude]]<ref>[http://www.outerplaces.com/science-fiction/item/11070-everything-that-all-5-chapters-of-the-prequel-comic-taught-us-about-the-world-of-batman-v-superman Everything That All 5 Chapters of the Prequel Comic Taught Us About the World of Batman v Superman]</ref>. He is later revealed to have also successfully spied and kept tabs on the Amazon demigoddess [[Wonder Woman]], the Atlantean [[Aquaman]], the speedster [[Flash]], and the mechanically enhanced [[Cyborg]], with Lex dubbing them all "[[metahuman]]s".
  
−
</tabber>
  
−  
−
==Relationships==
  
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{{Col-begin}}
  
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{{Col-2}}
  
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===Family===
  
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*[[Alexander Luthor Sr.]] † &ndash; father, mentor, and abuser
  
−  
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===Allies===
  
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*[[LexCorp|LexCorp Industries]]
  
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**[[Mercy Graves]] † &ndash; personal assistant, confidant, bodyguard, and victim
  
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**[[Anatoli Knyazev]] &ndash; mercenary
  
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**[[Emmet Vale]] &ndash; scientist
  
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*[[Deathstroke]] &ndash; trusted ally
  
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*[[Doomsday]] † &ndash; Creation
  
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*[[ARGUS]]
  
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**[[Amanda Waller]] &ndash; acquaintance
  
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*[[New Gods]]
  
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**[[Steppenwolf]]
  
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{{Col-2}}
  
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===Enemies===
  
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*[[Justice League]]
  
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**[[Superman|Clark Kent/Superman]] &ndash; archnemesis and manipulatee, indirect victim (resurrected)
  
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**[[Batman|Bruce Wayne/Batman]] &ndash; business rival and manipulatee
  
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**[[Wonder Woman|Diana/Wonder Woman]] &ndash; discreet observee
  
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**[[Aquaman|Arthur Curry/Aquaman]] &ndash; discreet observee
  
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**[[Flash|Barry Allen/Flash]] &ndash; discreet observee
  
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**[[Cyborg|Victor Stone/Cyborg]] &ndash; discreet observee
  
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*[[Daily Planet]]
  
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**[[Lois Lane]] &ndash; exploited prisoner and exposer
  
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**[[Perry White]]
  
−
*[[Martha Kent]] &ndash; archenemy's mother, exploited prisoner, intended victim
  
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*Superman Study Committee
  
−
**Senator [[June Finch]] † &ndash; rival and victim
  
−
**Senator [[Barrows]] † &ndash; exploited manipulatee and victim
  
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**[[Purrington]] † &ndash; victim
  
−
*[[Wallace Keefe]] † &ndash; manipulatee and victim
  
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*[[Kahina Ziri]] † &ndash; blackmailed manipulatee, indirect victim
  
−
*[[Cesar Santos]] † &ndash; indirect victim
  
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*[[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] &ndash; exploited organization
  
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**[[Jimmy Olsen]] † &ndash; indirect victim
  
−
*[[FBI]] - exploited organization
  
−
*[[National Security Agency|NSA]] &ndash; exploited organization
  
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*[[Nairomi]]an terrorists † &ndash; exploited victims
  
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**[[Amajagh]]
  
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*[[United States Army|United States Armed Forces]]
  
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**Secretary of Defense [[Calvin Swanwick]] &ndash; supporter of exposer's investigation
  
−
*[[S.T.A.R. Labs]]
  
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**Dr. [[Silas Stone]] &ndash; discreet observee
  
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**[[Jenet Klyburn]] &ndash; supporter of exposer's investigation
  
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{{Col-end}}
  
   
 
==Gallery==
  
==Gallery==
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===Promotional stills===
  
 
<gallery>
  
<gallery>
  +
Metropolis 2013.jpg|Zod's ship amongst the Metropolis skyline
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Lex Luthor leaning on a table - promotional still.jpg
  
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Black Zero over Metropolis.jpg|Black Zero over Metropolis in 2013
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Lex Luthor stares at Senator Finch alongside Mercy Graves.png
  
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Metropolis in 2013.jpg|Metropolis devastated in 2013
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Lex observing some Kryptonite.png
  
  +
Fortress of Solitude crashing in Metropolis.png|The Fortress of Solitude ship crashing through Metropolis
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Lex Luthor stands behind Lois Lane.png
  
  +
Metropolis Promotional Photo.jpg|The rebuilt Metropolis skyline in a promotional image
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Lex Luthor on LexCorp basketball court.png
  
  +
Metropolis Airport.jpg|Metropolis Airport
  +
Metropolis Skyline.jpg|The Metropolis skyline at night
  +
Heroes Park Metropolis.jpg|The facility surrounding the Fortress of Solitude ship in Metropolis
  +
Metropolis buildings.jpg
  +
Metropolis in Justice League.jpg
 
</gallery>
  
</gallery>
−  
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===Promotional images===
  
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<gallery>
  
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Lex Luthor - Fortune promo.png|Headshot from ''Fortune'' interview
  
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Bvs Cover3 Keyart.jpg
  
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Lex Luthor grayscale promo.png
  
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Batman v Superman Dawn of Justice - Lex Luthor character poster.png
  
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</gallery>
  
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==Trivia==
  
−
*Lex is the first person in the DCEU to coin the terms "[[metahuman]]" and "[[Kryptonite]]".
  
−
*Lex, Superman, and Deathstroke share the same middle name: "Joseph".
  
−
*Lex is the youngest person ever to be both named Fortune’s Businessperson of the Year and included on the magazine’s list of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders.
  
−  
−
==Behind the scenes==
  
−
*This version of Lex Luthor is inspired by the comics ''Adventure Comics'' #271 and real life Silicon Valley CEOs.
  
−
*Lex is 31 in ''[[Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice]]'', four years younger than [[Superman]], when in most forms of media, he is either slightly or much older than Superman.
  
−
*Before [[Jesse Eisenberg]] was casted as Lex Luthor, Tom Hanks were in early talks for the role of Lex Luthor. Later on Matt Damon, Bradley Cooper, Joaquin Phoenix, Adam Driver and Jean Dujardin were on the final shortlist for the role.
  
−
*Jesse Eisenberg was uncredited for his appearance in ''Justice League''.
  
   
 
==References==
  
==References==
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<references/>
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<references />
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{{Succession box
  
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|before= [[Alexander Luthor Sr.]]
  
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|title= CEO of [[LexCorp|LexCorp Industries]]
  
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|current= c. after 2000–present
  
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|after= ''incumbent''
  
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}}
  
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Luthor, Lex}}
  
   
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== External Links ==
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[[es:Lex Luthor]]
  
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* {{DC}}
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[[Category:Humans]]
  
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* {{WP|Metropolis (comics)|Metropolis}}
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[[Category:Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice characters]]
  
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[[Category:Cities]]
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[[Category:Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Batman characters]]
  
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[[Category:Locations]]
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[[Category:Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Superman characters]]
  
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[[Category:Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Lois Lane characters]]
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[[Category:Man of Steel locations]]
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[[Category:Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Lex Luthor characters]]
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[[Category:Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Locations]]
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[[Category:Justice League characters]]
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[[Category:Justice League locations]]
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[[Category:Flashpoint characters]]
  
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[[Category:Villains]]
  
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[[Category:Gotham residents]]
  
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[[Category:Metropolis residents]]
  
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[[Category:Arkham Asylum inmates]]
  
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[[Category:Males]]
  
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[[Category:LexCorp Leaders]]
  
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[[Category:Executives]]
  

Revision as of 15:05, 19 August 2018

"When it's time for you and I to say goodbye, you'll know
"When it's time for you and I to say goodbye, you'll know." ―Kent Nelson, Black Adam
This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the most recent DC Extended Universe content. You have been warned.

Metropolis is a large city located in the District of Metropolis[1] or Delaware in the United States of America. Metropolis is famous for its forward-looking, optimistic spirit, captured in its nickname "City of Tomorrow".[1] It is home to the headquarters of both the Daily Planet newspaper and global corporation LexCorp Industries. It is located across the bay from its sister city, Gotham, New Jersey. For two years the city was the home of the alien superhero Superman, and was protected by him along with the rest of the world until his tragic death in 2015, when sacrificing himself to stop a mighty monster known as Doomsday.

History

Metropolis was founded in 1661 by early European settlers at the start of the colonization of North America. It grew steadily to become one of the largest cities in the world, and became a famous tech hub and media centre.

Much of Metropolis' central business district was destroyed by General Zod and his Kryptonian military forces in their attempt to convert Earth's atmosphere to that of Krypton's. Whole buildings were obliterated and rubble and debris covered the area. Metropolis recovered in time and became safeguarded by their new local savior, Superman. In the aftermath, a large statue of Superman was built in the city centre in a new purpose built venue called Heroes Park.[1]

Locales

Metropolis map

Map of downtown Metropolis.

Known residents

District of Metropolis

District of Metropolis seal.

Former residents

Gallery

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Metropolis - Turkish Airlines

External Links

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