In: Lexcorp, Legion Of Good
In: Lexcorp, Legion Of Good
Lex Luthor Jr. is the son and heir of the late Lex Luthor, a brilliant industrialist who transformed his inheritance into LexCorp and eventually surpassed his father’s empire. Driven by an obsession with technological progress and the discovery of Potential Energy, Lex has come to believe that humanity’s future depends on transcending its dependence on heroes, myths, and conventional science. Through Project Life, his experiments, and the organization known as the Enlightened, he is preparing what he considers the beginning of a new Industrial Revolution—and a future without the Justice League.
Lex Luthor Jr. was still a teenager when his father, Lex Luthor, died during a highly dangerous experiment conducted at one of his company’s subsidiaries in the countryside near Smallville. With his father gone, Lex attempted to assume control of the Luthor family empire and establish himself as its sole heir. However, he was legally prevented from doing so by an older half-sister from another marriage. Lena Luthor possessed the same legal rights to the company and ultimately became responsible for LuthorCorp, while Lex received a significant monthly salary in compensation for relinquishing his claim.
Rather than accept a subordinate position within his family’s company, Lex invested the money into an enterprise of his own. He founded Lexcorp, dedicated to the discovery and development of advanced technology rather than his father’s focus on energy production. His ambition quickly proved successful. Within only a few years, Lexcorp became so valuable that its worth surpassed the empire inherited by Lena. Demonstrating his confidence in his own achievements, Lex eventually purchased his father’s company and absorbed it into Lexcorp as one of his subsidiaries.
Considered one of the richest and most intelligent men in the world, Lex spent years planning what he believed would become the New Industrial Revolution and the greatest technological breakthrough in history. His research eventually led him to the concept of Potential Energy, a mysterious and seemingly inexhaustible source of energy that requires no conventional power source and does not diminish through production. Lex discovered that this energy could be generated by living and sentient beings, leading him to the conclusion that the future of technology would depend not upon machines alone, but upon sentient machinery.
His research soon expanded into human experimentation. Albert Michaels, the brilliant chief administrator of S.T.A.R. Labs, had abandoned his position after discovering that he suffered from an incurable seizure disorder caused by stress. With increasingly severe episodes threatening his life, Lexcorp offered Albert millions to become both a scientist and a test subject. Lex proposed an experimental radiation treatment that had never been attempted before and could permanently alter Albert's physiology.
The experiment was secretly connected to Project Life, Lex's belief that the highest form of technology could only be achieved through life and consciousness. The treatment transformed Albert into a living reactor, creating a biological generator that could produce energy continuously for as long as he remained alive.
Lexcorp's experiments also produced several other extraordinary individuals and threats. Among them was Metallo, created through Lex's research into unusual metallic artifacts believed to have fallen to Earth following Superman's arrival. After years of acquiring and studying these materials, Lex discovered a unique substance that retained its structure and immense potential rather than becoming crystallized or toxic.
Lex's pursuit of Potential Energy also led him to the Ultra-Humanite. Originally created through a secret post-World War II experiment conducted by pardoned Nazi scientists, the Ultra-Humanite existed as a parasitic consciousness capable of moving between human hosts. Each body eventually failed under the enormous strain of sustaining its intellect. Lex recognized its potential and spent years developing a genetically engineered albino gorilla capable of supporting the entirety of the Humanite's consciousness. In return, the Ultra-Humanite entered into an alliance with Lex, gaining permanent physical form while integrating itself with Lexcorp's technological infrastructure, satellites, security systems, and mechanical networks.
Name: Alexander Joseph "Lex" Luthor Jr.
Aliases: Man of Tomorrow, Lex Luthor
Affiliation: Lexcorp, Legion of Good, A.R.G.U.S., The Light
Pets:
Relatives: Hannah Alexandria Luthor (deceased ancestor), Jimberly Jimmington Olsen (deceased ancestor), Leticia Luthor (mother), Lionel Luthor Sr. (deceased father), Lena Luthor (half-sister), Lillian Luthor (aunt), Conner Kent (partial clone), Jimmy Olsen (distant cousin)
Allies: Amanda Waller, Albert Michaels, Metallo, Parasite, Ultra-Humanite, Winslow Schott, Robert Dubois, Leslie Willis, The Gorilla-King, Clown of Crime, Witch-Queen, Black Manta, Demon's Head, Queen Bee, Sir Savage, Star Sapphire, White Knight
Origin: Human
Living Status: Alive
Marital Status: Single
Identity: Public Identity
Occupation: Businessman, Scientist
Base of Operations: Metropolis
Lex's technological ambitions also brought him into repeated conflict with Superman. He became obsessed with proving himself superior to the Kryptonian and attempted to recreate Kryptonian power through cloning experiments. The projects produced powerful duplicates, but Superman stopped them before they could cause irreversible damage. The two cases that caused the most trouble both involved clones that got out of control and have not yet been captured by Lexcorp. The first, called “The Offspring,” disappeared in Hawaii while being transported; it combined the genetic potential of Superman and Lex into a single being—a genetic chimera based on Luthor’s dreams of power, stemming from his belief that a human body compatible with his own, one that also possessed Kryptonian genetic powers, could be the key to discovering how to alter his own DNA.
The second was nicknamed “Bizarro” by the public—a disjointed counterpart who escaped from the CADMUS laboratories. This one isn’t very important; it would have been exterminated like so many others if it hadn’t escaped.
At the same time, Lexcorp's activities indirectly created or empowered several of Superman's recurring enemies, including Parasite, Toyman, Volcana, Rampage, Livewire, and Bloodsport alongside Intergang also became a recurring threat in Metropolis, using advanced alien technology to transform criminal operations into disasters on a massive scale.
Lex's contribution to the U.S. government focused on providing technological support to CADMUS, a U.S. defense agency created by Amanda Waller. Lex eventually became involved with The Elite, a group of individuals once considered enemies of the state who were recruited and repurposed as controlled agents against dangerous superhumans. Through a partnership with Lexcorp, the group gained access to 5-U-93-R, a synthetic substance capable of temporarily granting metahuman abilities, though with potentially serious long-term consequences.
When Superman exposed Lex’s connection to CADMUS to the public, the billionaire’s immediate response to the public was to announce his candidacy for the U.S. presidency; fortunately, this overshadowed the news and infuriated the hero.
Lex's research eventually evolved beyond individual experiments and into a broader ideological project. He began gathering people whom he believed shared his vision of humanity's future and named them the Enlightened, also known as The Light. To Lex, the group represented those willing to end what he considered the world's Dark Ages—a civilization still dominated by fantasy, myths, superheroes, and dependence upon beings perceived as saviors.
For Lex, the existence of Superman and the Justice League represented the greatest obstacle to this future. Their continued presence allowed humanity to remain dependent on heroes rather than developing its own technological and intellectual potential. The Enlightened therefore developed a comprehensive plan to eliminate the Justice League, destroy not only its members but the ideals they represented, and demonstrate that humanity no longer needed champions to protect it.
S eeking to undermine the Justice League and its efforts, Lex announced to the four corners of the world the arrival of the Legion of Good, a group of do-gooders who would work alongside world governments to set the world right—something these so-called heroes had never set out to do.