The son of working class parents, Lex Luthor decided to not follow in their impoverished footsteps. At an early age he made considerable contacts with members of organized crime, but never took a direct hand in anything illegal himself. As a teenager he arranged for his parents to have an automobile accident for which he would be the sole recipient of a sizable insurance settlement.
Using his small fortune he attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). An aggressive student he graduated in record time and turned his genius toward patenting new inventions, which made him quite wealthy. The de facto mayor of Metropolis, he was considered by many to be the most powerful man in the city, if not the world, until the arrival of Superman.
Testing the Man of Steel's abilities, Luthor arranged a terrorist attack at a party upon his yacht. Impressed, he offered to hire Superman, but instead the hero revealed Luthor's part in the staged attack and he was arrested for reckless endangerment. Embarrassed by his incarceration, Luthor resolved to get revenge.
Villain:
Lex Luthor
Equipment:
Apokolips Battle Armor
Orange Lantern
Associates:
Mercy Graves
Hope
Presidential Cabinet
