I enjoy creative writing challenges with known characters, and there’s now something like a strong tradition of merging previous versions of Lex into a new one. So... why don’t we see how we’d each construct our own “perfect” Lex? I’m going to create a “format” for mine to use, but you don’t have to follow it.

Businessman, scientist, or both? Both, of course; it works too well to have a Lex who can build some powerful robot or design a clone to take on Superman, but also hang around as a supporting cast character challenging Suoerman’s impact on Metropolis as a businessman. Personally, I’d have him start as a genius inventor and oligarch, but a regular human one, who manage to elevate his intellect via a deal with Brainiac so he’s a full-fledged super-scientist, capable of analyzing and eventually understanding Coluan and Kryptonian technology as well as creating his own.

Personality style, type of evil? Lex isn’t a born sociopath or psychopath, and should have a more fanatical personality philosophy driving his evil; he made a choice a long time ago that he was “right” to be ruthlessly amoral, and is in denial about how wrong he is, which is what causes his occasional psychotic breaks and famous obsessions. When calm, he’s actually very rational, sharp, and disturbingly charming and charismatic in a seemingly mellow way. But... inevitably, something happens that triggers his obsessions or denials.

Close Associates and Family? Lex is almost always accompanied by his bodyguards, the cybernetically enhanced Mercy Graves and the exiled Amazon Hope; they’re genuinely able to slow down Superman and give him a run for his money if given back-up or tools to fight him specifically with. He was primarily raised by his grandfather Lionel in Smallville, who “mysteriously” passed away when Lex reached maturity. Lex also *does* have his daughter Lena, at least for a while, who he does love at first ... but exchanges with Brainiac for his upgrade in the ultimate horrifying display of how screwed up he is.

Backstory and relationship to Clark/Superman? Lex *was* young Clark’s friend back in Smallville, and Clark was young Lex’s only friend. Lex’s parents were abhsive, and died in a fire in Metroplois that Lex didn’t wake them to escape from... but his grandfather Lionel was worse in his own ways, trying to mold Lex into his “perfect” successor. Young Lex was still in concert enough to try running away at one point, and wound up at the Kent’s for a while as he considered turning on his grandfather and entering some kind of foster good, possibly with the Knets themselves... but his pride made the pity they expressed unbearable, and he convinced himself to return to Lionel and prove him “all too right.”

Lex then engineered his grandfather’s death, liquidated the family’s business holdings into his seed money for LexCorp... and brutally climbed his way to dominating Metropolis with it, taking every horrific shortcut and backstabbing route he could. His dominance was only challnabed by Superman, and what quietly sets off Lex is how altruistic and virtuous Superman is, because while he could roll with a demigod being as cruel and pragmatic as he is, seeing him be a hero forces Lex to confront his own denial, and he turns that into jealousy and hatred. His backstory with Clark, though, is why he refrains from treating him like he would any other inconvenient journalist - his pride and knowledge of his envy of the Kents would mean he would “lose” if he killed Clark and didn’t prove to himself he made the right choice.

Business suit, armor, or costume? All three; he usually wears a suit or some kind of regular clothing, but when getting particualrly paranoid, wears a version of his “Justice” costume, which enables teleportation and intangibility so he can be “untouchable” to Superman, and his classic power armor for when he wants to fight.