Lex Luthor (full name: Alexander Joseph ''Lex'' Luthor) is a fictional supervillain from the comic books published by DC Comics. He is the main enemy of Superman. He is also an enemy of Batman and other superheroes in the DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster. He first appeared in Action Comics #23 (April 1940).

The character is one of the most dangerously intelligent men in the world. He is a super-villain, a brilliant scientist, a billionaire industrialist and Superman's greatest enemy. This combination makes him an extremely powerful and formidable opponent; he is ruthless, efficient and creative. In addition to his personal vendetta against the man who thwarts his every scheme, he despises the alien Man of Steel from an ideological standpoint for contradicting his human achievements.

He has always been a controversial figure in the public eye due to LexCorp's corrupt business dealings, but he has also maintained political popularity. He has been a member of the Injustice Gang, the Injustice League, the Legion of Doom, Secret Six, the Secret Society of Super-Villains, the Justice League, and Project 7734.

He has been adapted into movies, tv shows and video games as well. Several actors have played Lex Luthor in motion pictures as well as in TV shows such as Lyle Talbot, Gene Hackman, Clancy Brown, Michael Rosenbaum, Kevin Spacey, Jesse Eisenberg, Jon Cryer, and Nicholas Hoult.

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