Lex Luthor's status as a DC icon is undeniable. The villain has battled Superman for decades, following the Man of Steel to different forms of media. He's one of the most recognizable supervillains in pop culture, despite being an antagonist who has grown and changed through the years. There are plenty of evil super-scientists or corrupt businessman, but there is only one Lex Luthor.
DC has hired creators who have done wonders with Lex Luthor over the years. Like the best villains, Lex has weathered the shifting tastes of fans by changing with the times. This has allowed Lex to remain as a DC Comics icon, as he's constantly improving as a character.
10 The Heroic Lex Of DC Rebirth Was A Breath Of Fresh Air
Lex Luthor joined the Justice League at the tail end of the New 52 after saving the day in Forever Evil. When DC Rebirth rolled around, he doubled down on his heroism and changed his armor design to homage the fallen New 52 Superman. Heroic Lex worked alongside the returned pre-Flashpoint Superman, proving that his heroism was more than a ploy.
It was intriguing to see Lex as a hero with no tricks involved. He was just trying to make up for his past. This status quo wasn't meant to last forever, but it was definitely an interesting take on the character. Readers were shown a new side of Luthor, proving his versatility as a character.
9 The Luthor-Brainiac Team-Ups Are So Much Fun
Silver Age DC can get silly, especially the Superman comics. A fun legacy of that time is the Lex Luthor-Brainiac team-ups. The two of them are Superman's greatest foes, so working together makes sense, but they usually betray each other. The old Silver Age team-ups are as silly as can be, with antics that are often missing from today's comics.
Luthor and Brainiac's modern team-ups are more serious but they keep a bit of that energy. The two super-intelligent, amoral beings work together but one always stabs the other in the back. It's always a blast when they team up, even when played straight.
8 His Relationship With The Joker Is More Interesting Than It Has Any Right To Be
Luthor's relationship with DC's villains has always been different from what one would expect and the best of them is with the Joker. While Luthor and Brainiac are in a constant contest to prove who is smarter, Lex and the Joker have a strangely friendly relationship. While they've been at each other's throats many times, they've mostly been friends.
There's a grudging respect between the Joker and Lex that no one ever would have expected. They work rather well together, and Lex is somehow able to corral Joker and get him to work with others. It's yet another wonderful facet of Luthor's character that he's able to work with Joker this way.
7 Apex Lex Was Another Wonderful Mutation Of The Character
The power levels of villains can fluctuate wildly. Sometimes, their levels decline. Others, however, grow much more powerful. This is what happened when Lex joined up with Perpetua during Scott Snyder's run writing Justice League. Snyder introduced a relationship between Luthor and Martian Manhunter as children, which made it all the more chilling when Luthor used his childhood friend's body to become Apex Lex.
With the help of Perpetua, Apex Lex gained enough superpowers to battle against Superman unaided. It made him into a new threat, one with the brains and the brawn to support himself. It was a great evolution of Lex, and a welcome change from what came before.
6 His Backstory With His Father Adds Nuance To The Character
Lex Luthor can be a monster, but he can be quite misunderstood. Lex Luthor was raised by Lionel Luthor, a genius with a reliance on alcohol. Lionel treated his children harshly, but the main source of his ire was Lex, who was abused physically and emotionally by his father. This caused Lex immeasurable pain, which fueled so much of who he would become.
To an extent, Lex ended up becoming his father. The abuse he suffered drove him to prove to the world that he was the best at everything. Instead of becoming something better, he became just as much of a monster as his father was. This backstory adds nuance to Lex's character.
5 Giving Lex His Armor Changed The Way He Operated
For years, Lex Luthor was an evil super-scientist who used his brains to challenge Superman's might. However, 1983's Action Comics #544, by writer Cary Bates and artist Curt Swan, introduced Lex Luthor's warsuit. This was an iconic part of his arsenal that would change the way Lex operated in the future. The armor allowed him to fight Superman on even ground for the first time.
The warsuit is also one of the best suits of armor in comics, with an iconic design that has needed very little modification over the years. It started a new era in the Superman/Luthor rivalry and is a huge part of the villain's iconography.
4 Lex Is Also One Of The Justice League's Greatest Foes
For most villains, being Superman's arch-enemy would be enough, but Lex is a bit of an overachiever. Whether it be on his own or with the Legion of Doom/Injustice League/Injustice Gang, Lex is an iconic Justice League villain. Lex hates Superman the most, but the rest of the metahuman community are also targets for his ire. Destroying the League means destroying Superman.
Other villains target the Justice League, but few have done it with the type of gusto that Lex has. His hatred for them and what they represent is enough for him to target them, using whoever and whatever he can get his hands on to win.
3 Businessman Lex Was Another Winning Evolution Of The Character
Writer/artist John Byrne's Man Of Steel revitalized Superman for a new era. While there are some definite problems with his interpretation of Superman and his mythos, Byrne did make some great changes, the best of which was smarmy businessman Lex. No longer a super-scientist, he had become a new kind of villain for a new era.
This incarnation of Luthor would become his default for years to come. He was still the super-intelligent villain of yesteryear, just taken in a completely different direction. Businessman Lex survives to this day as the character's default.
2 President Lex Luthor Was An Amazing Era For Luthor
Lex has always been an expert manipulator, something that was underscored by his presidential win in the year 2000. The best part of this era was that Lex didn't do what everyone thought; he didn't jump right into outlawing superheroes. He worked behind the scenes as much as possible, presenting a pleasant face to the public while moving against his foes.
Lex even made some heroic decisions during the battle against Imperiex in the "Our Worlds At War" crossover event. It wouldn't last, of course, but it was completely different from what anyone expected. This change showed just how well Lex could work in any situation.
1 Making Him Superman's Arch-Nemesis Made It All Possible
Lex Luthor is DC's most important villain, but it wasn't always that way. Lex is Superman's greatest enemy, but back in the Golden Age, that was a very different villain. Back then, it was the Ultra-Humanite, a body switching scientist mostly known in the modern day for possessing an albino gorilla's body.
Golden Age Lex would resonate with fans more than Ultra-Humanite and eventually became Superman's greatest foe. This was the most important development of Lex, the one that allowed him to become one of the most well known villains of the modern age.