Luthor redirects here. For other uses, see Luther (disambiguation).Alexander Joseph "Lex" Luthor is a fictional character, a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Luthor is the archenemy of Superman, though given his high status as a supervillain, he has also come into conflict with Batman and other superheroes in the DC Universe. Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the character first appeared in Action Comics #23 (April 1940). Luthor is a wealthy, power-mad business magnate of high intelligence and incredible technological prowess. Luthor's goals typically center on killing Superman, the foremost obstacle to achieving the villain's megalomaniacal goals. Despite periodically wearing a powered exoskeleton, Luthor has traditionally lacked superpowers or a dual identity. Lex Luthor has carefully crafted his public persona however, in order to avoid arrest. He is well known for his philanthropy; donating millions of dollars to Metropolis over the years, funding parks, foundations and medical charities. Lex Luthor typically appears in comic books and other media as a bald business magnate with immense wealth and corporate power. However, Luthor was originally depicted as a mad scientist who, in the vein of pulp novels, wreaks havoc on the world with his futuristic weaponry. The character was later remodeled as a magnate and industrialist. In his earliest appearances, Luthor is shown with a full head of red hair. Despite this, the character later became hairless as the result of an artist's mistake. A 1960 story by Jerry Siegel expanded upon Luthor's origin and motivations, revealing him to be a childhood friend of Superman's who lost his hair when a fire destroyed his laboratory, a fire which Luthor blamed on Superboy, who was attempting to save Luthor from a lifeform Luthor had created in vitro that was threatening to kill Luthor.Following the 1985 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths, the character was re-imagined as a Machiavellian industrialist and white-collar criminal, even briefly serving as President of the United States. In recent years, various writers have revived Luthor's mad scientist persona from the 1940s. The character was ranked 4th on IGN's list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time and as the 8th Greatest Villain by Wizard on its 100 Greatest Villains of All Time list. Luthor is also described as a "megavillain" by comic book critic Peter Sanderson, one of a few genre-crossing villains whose adventures take place "in a world in which the ordinary laws of nature are slightly suspended".
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