Who he is: Lex Luthor, a.k.a. Alexander Luthor Jr., a.k.a. Prisoner AC231940
His power: Lex Luthor has no superpowers, but he is ruthless and unimaginably wealthy and possesses one of the most powerful minds on planet Earth.
His story: Lex Luthor arrives in Batman V. Superman: Dawn Of Justice with his hatred of the “demon from the sky,” Superman, fully formed. Besides keeping tabs on a number of other DC heroes, including Cyborg and The Flash, Luthor quickly sets in motion a plan to manipulate Superman and Gotham City’s Batman into fighting each other, taunting Bruce Wayne with propaganda about the deaths that occurred during General Zod’s rampage in Metropolis. Meanwhile, he arranges a number of efforts to discredit Superman in the public eye, organizing armed uprisings in Africa and detonating a bomb in the U.S. Capitol building, which kills hundreds of people, including outspoken Senator June Finch. The stage set, Lex kidnaps both Lois Lane and Martha Kent, using them to force Clark Kent to fight the Bat. He also organizes a backup plan, using his political connections to gain access to Zod’s ship and body, which he transforms (using some of his own blood) into the monstrous Doomsday. His plans ultimately fail, however, when Kent and Wayne reconcile, defeating the mutated Zod with Wonder Woman’s assistance, and at the cost of Superman’s life. In the end, Luthor is imprisoned and found mentally unfit to stand trial, finally ranting to Batman about the hostile extraterrestrial forces he contacted while in control of Zod’s ship. “He’s hungry,” he taunts Wayne. “He’s found us. And he’s coming.”
Played by: Jesse Eisenberg
Currently, Lex Luthor is: On his way to Arkham Asylum, courtesy of a vengeful Bat.
Where will we see him next? Eisenberg has obliquely suggested that he’ll probably make an appearance in Justice League.