Lex Luthor (DC Extended Universe)

"The greatest gladiator match in the history of the world: Son of Krypton versus Bat of Gotham!"

- Lex describing the battle between Batman and Superman as a legendary gladiator match

Alexander "Lex" Joseph Luthor Jr., better known as Lex Luthor, is the main antagonist of the 2016 superhero movie Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the second installment of the DC Extended Universe and the sequel of 2013's Man of Steel.

Luthor is a megalomaniacal multi-billionaire and C.E.O. of the company LexCorp. Although he is one of the smartest people on the planet he has developed an unhealthy fixation with Superman, whom he views not as a hero but as an alien and intruder. Thinking of himself as the superior one, he is fixated on defeating and killing Superman through any means neccessary.

He is portrayed by Jesse Eisenberg in his first villain portrayal of his cinematic career.

Early Life
Lex had a close bond with his father who is an East German mengiate and they shared their obsession of kryptonium until his father's death left him to become CEO of his company.

Starting his manipulation
Luthor is first seen at LexCorp, being visited by Senator Finch. Lex reveals to her that he used a small fragment of kryptonium on the corpse of General Zod, leading to rapid decomposition. He asks for her permission to import a larger chunk of kryptonite for further testing. After the meeting, Luthor asks for access to the wreckage of the Kryptonian ship and Zod's corpse for further testing, which is granted. With this permission, Luthor enters the military facility in which the ship is stored. Secretly, he cuts off a finger of Zod with a kryptonite fragment which has been shaped into a blade.

Luthor later has a business dinner with Senator Finch, who tells him that she is denying him permission to import the kryptonite, claiming that she knows that Luthor is not planning to import it merely for testing purposes.

Bruce Wayne finds out that a Russian gang leader, Anatoli Knyazev, has contact to Luthor. He decides to investigate Luthor and, conveniently, is told by Alfred that he has received an invitation to a charitable function Lex holds at his villa. Bruce joins the gala and briefly listens to Luthor's speech in which Luthor talks about gods. He then heads away from the public to plant a bug in Luthor's server room. Meanwhile, Luthor has a sociopathic fit onstage and ends his speech before he can do harm to his image. This seems to be ignored by the crowd, who greet Luthor's speech with applause. During the gala, it comes to a heated conversation between Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne. Luthor intervenes, jovially introducing both men and claiming how he loves to bring people together. After brief small talk with Wayne, Luthor invites Wayne to meet with him some point, claiming that they could work together. Luthor is then told by his assistant Mercy Graves that the governor is waiting and he leaves the two.

Bombing the Capitol
"Do you know the oldest lie in America, Senator? That power can be innocent"

- Luthor to Senator Finch, shortly before the explosion Luthor later pays the bail for Wallace Keefe, a Wayne Enterprises worker that was rendered paraplegic during the destruction Zod's and Superman's fight caused. After bringing Keefe out of jail, Luthor provides him with a wheelchair. Animated by Luthor, Keefe meets with Senator Finch and convinces her to invite Superman to the hearing at Capitol Hill to meet those he has harmed in the fight against Zod. From the information from Luthor's server, Bruce Wayne finds out that Luthor is smuggling the kryptonite rock to Metropolis on board the ship White Portuguese. Wayne decides to steal the rock from Luthor to form it into a weapon against Superman, ironically the same plan Luthor has for it. While pursuing Luthor's men, Batman is stopped by Superman. With Batman prevented from taking it, the kryptonite is delivered to Luthor.

Shortly before the hearing, Luthor sends Graves in to hold him a seat. He then approaches Senator Finch, coldly remembering her how she stopped his plans to build a weapon against Superman because she was weak. Senator Finch storms off after being told that Superman has indeed arrived for the hearing and before she is gone, Luthor tells her that the oldest lie in America is that power can be innocent. Despite sending Mercy in for the hearing, Luthor doesn't enter himself, rather leaving the building while Superman enters it. Although Graves is perplexed, she remains seated. Moments later, the hidden explosives Luthor planted inside Keefe's chair go off, killing Finch, Graves and everyone else inside the building except Superman. This leaves Superman blamed by the public, sending him into exile. When Luthor returns to LexCorp, he finds that the kryptonite has been stolen and that a Batarang has been left in its place. The same night, Lex enters the kryptonian ship again, accidentally activating it and thus gaining access to its database.

With help from the ship's database, Luthor analyzes the genetic material of Zod. He then cuts himself in the hand, dripping the blood onto Zod's corpse. Although the ship's A.I. warns Luthor that the High Council of Krypton has forbidden the creation of the creature Luthor is about to produce, Luthor overrides this security measure by stating that the High Council had been destroyed. The ship then morphs Zod's and Luthor's DNA, resulting in the creation of Doomsday.

Batman versus Superman
Luthor sends his men to kidnap Martha Kent and has his henchman Anatoli Knyazev capture Lois Lane. He has Knyazev bring Lane to the roof of LexCorp, where Luthor is waiting. Lois, who has been able to prove Luthor's involvement in Nairobi, is thrown off the roof by Luthor but caught mid-air by Superman who has returned to the city. Unbeknownst to both, this was exactly what Luthor had expected. After ensuring Lois' safety Superman flies back up to the roof to face Luthor. Superman tells Luthor that he will bring him in, but Luthor, ranting about how Superman stands above everything like a god, reveals that he knows Superman's identity and that he wants for the world to see Superman as the fraud he is. Pointing at the bat-signal shining in the sky in the distant Gotham City, Luthor reveals that he expects for Superman to fight Batman to the death. Superman asks if Luthor really expects Superman to fight for him and Luthor confirms it, revealing that Martha would die should he refuse.

Shocked, Superman falls to the ground in front of Luthor, but immediately demands to know where Martha is. Luthor states that he has forbidden his henchmen from telling him but assures Superman that his mother would die should he attack Luthor or try to fly off, his only chance of saving Martha being to kill Batman and to bring Luthor his head. Luthor gives Superman one hour and then flies off in his helicopter. Luthor's continuous manipulation of Batman and Superman eventually leads to the titular battle between the two. However, before Batman can impale Superman with a kryptonite spear, Lois Lane arrives to clear up the confusion and to reveal Luthor's manipulation. Teaming up with Superman to save Martha and defeat Luthor, Batman locates Knyazev's mobile phone in a warehouse and takes out his men and the Russian himself, saving Martha Kent.

Releasing Doomsday
Meanwhile, Superman enters the kryptonian ship where Luthor is awaiting his return. Upon seeing that Superman comes without a corpse, he calls Knyazev's phone but reaches Batman. Superman tells Luthor that he has lost but Luthor disagrees. He claims that if man doesn't kill Superman, the devil will do it. He then shows Superman that he has been creating a beast only born to kill Superman. Stating that God is as good as dead, he releases Doomsday and the beast starts fighting Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, resulting in a battle through the entire city.

After Doomsday is defeated, Luthor is arrested for the terrorist attack on the Capitol and the havoc wreaked by Doomsday. His head is shaved before he is imprisoned. In his cell, he seems to have a complete breakdown.

Deleted Scene
In the end of the movie, Luthor is seen screaming in his cell about an upcoming threat. Although it is yet unknown what he means or how he obtained the knowledge, a deleted scene which is set shortly before Luthor's arrest by a Metropolis SWAT team shows Luthor inside the kryptonian ship in front of a mysterious figure holding three cubes in his hands. Although the figure is most likely not present and created by the kryptonian tech, thus isn't physically present, it might give reason to Luthor's rants while imprisoned and might be a character or threat from an upcoming movie.

The three boxes held by the person are most likely Mother Boxes, mostly associated with Darkseid.

Trivia

 * This is the seventh live action iteration of the character.
 * This version of Lex Luthor is inspired by the Lex of Adventure Comics #271, real life Silicon Valley CEOs, and Max Landis.
 * Lex is the youngest person ever to be both named Fortune’s Businessperson of the Year and included on the magazine’s list of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders.
 * Lex is similar to Ichiro Yashida from The Wolverine: They are tech magnates who are fascinated with metahuman individuals, yet they wish to kill one in particular (Lex: Superman, Yashida: Wolverine).
 * He is also similar to Grings Kodai: They are wealthy businessmen who are willing to manipulate and blackmail others to get what they want and have access to advanced technology. They also wind up being arrested and sent to jail for their crimes.
 * He is also similar to Chris D'Amico aka the Motherfucker from Kick-Ass series, both of them are childish and nerdy and also ruthless killers and monsters. Both of them are obsessed about killing their arch rivals. They were also neglected by their fathers and took over the company after their fathers died, although they were arguably worse than their fathers.
 * He is very similar to Controller X from Godzilla Final Wars: They are youthful, mentally unstable and have powerful monsters under their control and send them to destroy the good guys. They are also Comedic Complete Monsters who wish to control everything.
 * Lex is 31 in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, four years younger than Superman, when in most forms of media, he is either slightly or much older than Superman.
 * Before Eisenberg was cast, Mark Strong, Bryan Cranston, Billy Zane and Joaquin Phoenix were all rumored to being considered for the part.