Batman V Superman viral marketing reveals new Lex Luthor backstory details

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Fortune has posted a faux interview with Lex Luthor that reveals some intriguing new details on Jesse Eisenberg's BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE character. The profile piece describes Alexander Joseph Luthor Jr. as a "31-year-old wunderkind" and "jeans-wearing genius" who is "equally at ease rappelling the climbing wall in his employee 'inspiration station' and coding in 'the crucible': the cutting-edge R & D lab where the baby-faced billionaire verbally extemporizes computer code like Miles Davis improvising a trumpet solo."

Luthor on the evolution of LexCorp:

Dad named the company after himself ten years before I made my unexpected entrance into his life. But investors seemed to respond to the idea of an adoring father building a legacy for his precious son. He used that to his advantage. It was a good shtick and, whatever else he was, he was a good businessman.

According to the article, Lex Luthor Jr. took over the company after his dad, an "East German émigré," passed away unexpectedly in 2000. He says Luthor Sr. was "a complicated guy" and that “He came from a country where the government, in the guise of protector, had absolute control over the citizens. That drove him. I get it. Heck, I’d hate to see that sort of thing happen over here.” Luthor reportedly said that while passing "a tasteful display of his world-famous collection of meteorite crystals."

Luthor Jr. changed the direction of LexCorp from oil and heavy machinery to tech after his father died, and the company "has quickly become the second largest emerging technology corporation in the world next to Wayne Enterprises." LexCorp is one of the top three charitable corporations in America, behind Wayne Enterprises and Kord Industries (Ted Kord/Blue Beetle's multinational firm), and while Wayne's company has "shied away from military contracts in the last decade," Luthor believes we need to be properly prepared for an attack.

It’s a necessity. We live in the most dangerous point of time in all of human history. Statistically speaking, it’s a near certainty that another world-changing crisis is hurtling toward us like a speeding bullet. We have to be ready to defend ourselves. No civilization was ever conquered by having a strong military.

Luthor went on to tease that LexCorp is "on the cusp of unveiling a technology that will change the world forever.”

It’s about safety. This is a product that will protect you, and everyone, from threats you don’t even know about yet. I don’t want to scare anybody… much. But there are a lot of threats out there, and they’re here today.

Luthor also now has his very own Twitter, and it'll be interesting to see what he shares on his account. What are your thoughts on this interview with Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor?

BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE will be in theaters on March 25, 2016.