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.

Less than a year later, however, an artistic goof resulted in Luthor being depicted as completely bald in a newspaper strip.

In gratitude Superboy builds Luthor a laboratory, where weeks later he manages to create an artificial life-form, which Luthor loved as if his own child.

A concise biography for Luthor, later outlined in Action Comics # 850, first appeared in the 2007 limited series Countdown to Final Crisis.

Libra later figures out Luthor had been the mole in the Society of Super Villains.

Luthor later manages to use Brainiac's connection to his ship to kill the soldiers assigned to watch him.

The two are later shown to have entered into an alliance, with Brainiac promising Luthor the Earth when he is done with it.

It is later revealed that Lex Luthor was the secret caller named " Icarus " that was giving secret information on Glen Glenmorgan to Clark Kent.

Lex Luthor himself later marries Ardora of the planet Lexor and, in Action Comics # 544 ( June, 1983 ), first learns of his infant son by Ardora, Lex Luthor, Jr. A short time later, Lexor is destroyed and both Ardora and Lex, Jr. die as a direct result.

The Contessa later escapes to an island mansion, but upon being elected President, Luthor targets her home with a barrage of missiles and destroys it.

Luthor later escapes after a whole year in prison, through an elaborate plot involving clones: first using a clone of the President to grant him a pardon, then kidnapping the real Lois and replacing her with a clone just before her wedding to Clark.

Seven years later in a flash-forward sequence, it's revealed that Luthor is the President of the United States and has donned his white suit and black glove.

The widow dies shortly after Superman's return to Earth, and Luthor immediately sets out to avenge himself, first by ransacking the Fortress of Solitude, and later through the abduction of Lois Lane and her son Jason.

Lex Luthor later combines one of the crystals with Kryptonite and shoots it into the ocean, creating what he calls " New Krypton ".

The character is later given the civilized name of ' Clark ' by Lois Lane, and is captured along with his friends, and used for profit by Lex Luthor, who is also eventually slain.

Conner Kent was a clone made by Cadmus in case Superman turned or was ever defeated ; it was later learned that his DNA is half-human ( with Lex Luthor as his human father ).

It is later revealed that Ra's al Ghul and Luthor are plotting together to have the diplomats saved by Mercy Graves from the assassins and have them make a weapons deal with Luther in order to assist the Light ( Project Cadmus ' Board of Directors ).

Superman later destroys the Fortress after it has been breached by Luthor and the Phantom Zone criminals, but then goes back in time, where it remains normal.

Burton's own script included Brainiac's intellect bonding with Lex Luthor, as would later happen in Justice League Unlimited ( and which had previously been seen in the comic book story Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?

The long-anticipated wedding was put off to coincide with the characters ' marriage in the comics, which led to many storylines designed to delay and interrupt the wedding on the TV series Another controversy erupted when ABC announced that the wedding would actually take place Valentine's Day weekend, even sending out heart-shaped " wedding invitations " to ABC News staff, only to present viewers with a bogus wedding in which Clark unwittingly married a clone of Lois, developed by a mad scientist whose creations were required to ingest frogs periodically which started a main thrilling climax of a special five-part story with Lois being kidnapped by Lex Luthor who had put the clone in her place and later after a sharp hit on the head had amnesia and needed to regain her memory.

As Catwoman, she assists Batman against Lex Luthor in the reconstruction of the city.

Later in the film, when the need to change is more urgent ( as he believes the city is about to be poisoned by Lex Luthor ), he simply jumps out a window of the Daily Planet offices, changing at super-speed as he falls ( the film merely shows the falling Kent blurring into a falling Superman ) and flies off.

In the final season, Clark Kent marries Lois Lane ( a few years after her almost-marriage to his arch-enemy Lex Luthor, whom she refused at the altar ), finding love, happiness, and completeness in this relationship which does not jeopardize his Superman persona.

DC Comics produces material featuring a large number of well-known characters, including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Aquaman, Hawkman, Green Arrow, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern and the Flash, along with superhero teams Justice Society, the Justice League, the Teen Titans, and the Doom Patrol as well as antagonists such as Lex Luthor, the Joker, the Riddler, Mr. Freeze, Catwoman, Sinestro, the Penguin, Poison Ivy, Two-Face, General Zod, Brainiac and Darkseid .< ref > Benton, Mike.

His major subsequent films include The French Connection ( 1971 ), in which he played Jimmy " Popeye " Doyle ; The Poseidon Adventure ( 1972 ); The Conversation ( 1974 ); Superman ( 1978 ), in which he played arch-villain Lex Luthor ; Hoosiers ( 1986 ); Mississippi Burning ( 1987 ); Unforgiven ( 1992 ); The Firm ( 1993 ); Crimson Tide ( 1995 ); Get Shorty ( 1995 ); The Birdcage ( 1996 ); Enemy of the State ( 1998 ); and The Royal Tenenbaums ( 2001 ).

Hackman showed a talent for both comedy and the " slow burn " as criminal mastermind Lex Luthor in Superman: The Movie ( 1978 ), as he would in its 1980 and 1987 sequels.

In 2006, Spacey played Lex Luthor in the Bryan Singer – directed superhero film, Superman Returns.

Metallo was soon kidnapped and his power source forcibly removed by Lex Luthor who, after discovering its debilitating effects on Kryptonians, created a ring with a kryptonite gem to keep Superman at bay.

Superman first ' sees ' Luthor in a cave which Lupo has gone into to contact him.

Superman goes in and tries to make Lupo tell him who Luthor is, but the face reappears and a green ray slices the stricken General in half.

Luthor attempts to kill Superman after threatening to kill Lois, but despite being weakened by his destruction ray, Superman is able to destroy it.

At the end of the story, Luthor was apparently killed when Superman caused the dirigible to crash.

Despite Superman destroying his base, Luthor apparently escapes, with Superman destroying the machine and the scientist who made it committing suicide to prevent its reinvention.

Luthor apparently dies here after being attacked by his monsters, after which Superman breaks the city's glass cover, causing the ocean to destroy it.

However, Luthor returns in Superman # 5 with a plan to place hypnotic gas in the offices of influential people, intending to throw the nation into a depression with the help of corrupt financier Moseley.

One theory is that Novak mistook Luthor for the Ultra-Humanite, a frequent foe of Superman who, in his Golden Age incarnation, resembled a balding, elderly man.

This revised origin makes Luthor's fight with Superman a personal one, and suggests that if events had unfolded differently, Luthor might have been a more noble person.

It also leads to years of Superman, Luthor, and Supergirl concealing the truth from Luthor's sister, Lena Thorul.

Luthor observes Superman in action, and once the gunmen are dispatched, hands the hero a personal check in an attempt to hire him.

When Luthor admits that he had not only anticipated the attack, but had arranged for it to occur in order to lure Superman out, the Mayor deputizes Superman to arrest Luthor for reckless endangerment.

In Birthright, Luthor remains a wealthy corporate magnate ; in contrast to Byrne's characterization, however, LexCorp is founded upon Luthor's study of extraterrestrial life, thereby providing a link between himself and Superman.