Lex Luthor (DCAU)

Everything that exists has a specific nature, and possesses characteristics that are a part of what it is. A is A... And no matter what reality he calls home, Luthor is Luthor.

-- Question ^[src]

History

Born in poverty in the Suicide Slums, Lex's biggest dream was that all metropolis would look up to him. As his business empire grew and grew, and his goals were getting closer, Superman arrived, and stole his thunder.

From that point, Luthor wasted no expense to destroy Superman. He also invested heavily in Superman's enemies - Metallo, Livewire and Sergeant Mills. His backstabbing antics caused few people to remain loyal to him. Several - including John Henry Irons - resigned. Only Mercy Graves stayed at his side.

After unsuccessfully battling the Justice League, Luthor was exposed as a criminal and locked away. Mercy took over as CEO of LexCorp, while Luthor teamed up with other villains in an attempt to defeat the Justice League.

Luthor was redeemed after he helped in the defeat of the Justice Lords. He received a full pardon, and dedicated himself to politics and charity. However, he also funded Project Cadmus, and was still bent on destroying Superman's career. He tarnished the reputation of the Justice League successfully twice - first by pitting Captain Marvel against the Man of Steel, and later by firing the Watchtower's fusion weapon at a Cadmus facility in Covenant, New Mexico. After being exposed by Batman and Amanda Waller, Brainiac revealed himself inside Luthor. In the fight that ensued, Flash managed to separate Luthor and Brainiac. The event severely damaged Luthor's sanity.

After escaping jail, Luthor teamed up with Grodd for a large Legion of Doom. Bent on resurrecting Brainiac, he eventually overthrew the gorilla, and set cource towards Apokolips. There, a version of Brainiac had been destroyed years earlier. Tapping into Tala's magic to resurrect Brainiac, he was surprised to find she had resurrected Darkseid instead. The Lord of Apokolips desired killing Superman even more than Luthor, so Luthor came to warn the Justice League and fought Darkseid together with Batman and Superman.

With the help of Metron, Luthor slipped away from the battle to recover the Anti-Life Equation. He bargained with Darkseid to save the Earth, and was seemingly destroyed with Darkseid as he was absorbed by the Equation.

Powers and Abilities

Abilities

12-th Level Intellect

Paraphernalia

Weapons

Kryptonite: Luthor carried a brick of kryptonite with him at all times; this eventually gave him cancer.

Notes

This version of the character is voiced by The Highlander actor Clancy Brown in Superman: The Animated Series, Justice League, and Justice League Unlimited.

Links and References

Lex Luthor at the DC Animated Universe Wikia

Footnotes