LexCorp - Fictional History

Fictional History

Unlike his earliest appearances where he was portrayed as a warlord and a would be dictator, most of Lex Luthor's post golden age appearances portrayed him as a mere thief who would use his genius to rob banks. Writers like Marv Wolfman, who along with John Byrne created the post-Crisis Luthor, have questioned this asking "if he could afford all those labs and giant robots he wouldn't need to rob banks." However, the idea that mere money was Luthor's chief motivation for crime was undermined as early as 1961. After robbing the United States Bullion Depository at Fort Knox and defeating Superman in the process, Luthor and his men celebrate. When they learn that the Superman they defeated was a robot standing in for the real Man of Steel who was on a space mission, Luthor ordered his men to return the gold. He does this because he does not steal for money's sake; anything he might steal is a mere symbol of a victory over Superman. Having defeated a mere robot, the gold he stole was worthless. (Action Comics #277)

Later writers such Elliot S. Maggin refined this idea. In his in-continuity novel Superman: Last Son of Krypton Luthor is revealed to secretly own the Thunder Corporation, a very large and powerful company that he uses as a front to finance his criminal organization. The Chairman of the Board and principal stockholder of Thunder Corporation was a non-existent billionaire playboy named Lucius D. Tommytown. Luthor would occasionally hire an actor to portray Tommytown in order to continue the illusion and would even write fanciful reports about the playboy's activities and having them sent to a magazine under the alias Brian Wallingford. The headquarters for the Thunder Corporation legitimate operations and, unbeknownst to all, headquarters for Lex Luthor's criminal empire and location of his penthouse suite was the Zephrymore Building. Luthor went through an elaborate ruse because he thought himself too honest to pretend to be anything but a criminal.

Maggin speculated that Luthor, whom he characterized as not being completely evil would eventually reform and, retiring from crime, become a legitimate business man. In Superman #416, it is shown that his company Lex Corp, would go on to be tremendously successful. A future Superman is pleased to learn that his old friend's holographic devices are standard equipment for reporters.

In the wake of the Crisis, John Bryne and the aforementioned Marv Wolfman greatly popularized the idea of Luthor as an evil businessman and established their version of the character as having always been a ruthless capitalist. Originally organized as an aerospace engineering firm, LexCorp has become one of the world's largest, most diversified multinational corporations. Under the astute - some would say, ruthless - management of its founder, Lex Luthor, LexCorp grew and prospered, absorbing scores of smaller businesses.

While still in its original offices on the top floor of Metropolis' famed Daily Planet building, LexCorp made its first acquisitions of two then-struggling airlines, Inter-Continental Airlines and Atlantic Coast Air Systems (since renamed LexAir). As LexCorp subsidiaries, the airlines began to prosper and when rising profits were threatened by fuel shortages, LexCorp bought out Southwestern Petroleum, now known as LexOil.

For a brief period, the Daily Planet itself came under the ownership of LexCorp, but Luthor quickly became disenchanted with what he considered the low profit margins of the newspaper business. He moved LexCorp's offices into a new high-rise building and began buying up downtown properties in preparation for the day when LexCorp would build its own corporate headquarters. LexCorp soon bought out a Metropolis television station and acquired a satellite transmission company, linking both under the corporation's new LexCom subsidiary as SuperStation WLEX. With a potentially worldwide electronic communications outlet under the LexCorp umbrella, Luthor soon sold the Planet, building and all, to TransNational Enterprises.

In time, LexCorp gained controlling interest in no fewer than three banks - the Metropolis Mercantile Bank, Commerce Bank of Metropolis, and First Metro Security - and moved into all the major financial markets, absorbing new holdings worldwide.

By the timeframe of the Alliance Invasion, LexCorp dominated the commerce of the city - and, indeed, of much of the world - from the 96-story L-shaped building which towered above the Metropolis skyline from the eastern tip of the borough of New Troy. It was estimated that LexCorp at its height, either directly or indirectly, employed nearly two-thirds of the city's 11 million people. A majority of local businesses were wholly or partially owned subsidiaries of LexCorp. Among those many subsidiaries are such diverse businesses as Advanced Research Laboratories, Secur-Corp Armored Car Service, North American Robotics, Hell's Gate Disposal Services, and the Good Foods Group, owners of Ralli's Family Restaurants and the Koul-Brau Breweries.

In addition to its many properties in the greater Metropolis area, LexCorp has domestic holdings in Los Angeles, Denver, Houston, New Orleans, Chicago, Gotham City, and Boston. LexCorp currently maintains financial institutions, research facilities, refineries, and/or manufacturing plants in a score of countries, including Australia, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Switzerland, France, the Union of South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Singapore, and the free market of Hong Kong. When CEO Lex Luthor was elected President of the United States, Talia al Ghul took over the company. Following his dismissal as president, he unofficially fired her and took back his place, unaware that she kept a portion of stock from him.

Competitors include Wayne Enterprises, Kord Enterprises, Queen Industries and S.T.A.R. Labs.