On the portrayals of Lex Luthor

[llozymandias]

    Luthor was created as an evil super-villain.  Yes, he can have heroic qualities.  But , he should never be depicted as a mis-guided-good-guy.  Everyone has a good side.  As i see it: to loyal subordinates, friends. & family; Lex is the best friend they could ever have.  But, to enemies he is the worst enemy they could ever have.  Basically fantastic friend & horrific enemy.  Luthor knows that Superman being an alien does not make him a threat to humanity.  Superman is the main (if not only) thing keeping Lex in check.  That is the only reason Lex needs to hate Superman. 

[BBally81]

When you think about it Luthor's portrayal differed from era to era

Golden Age/Earth 2 Alexander Luthor was for lack of a better word, a cold harden criminal with a brilliant yet sick and twisted mind

Silver Age Lex was the evil scientist who ton of elaborate and at times over the top schemes to defeat Superman

Bronze Age Lex and my personal favorite, was a criminal but he had factors of a tragic character who could've done a lot of good if not for his hatred of Superman, there were times you still felt sorry for him particuly in stories written by Elliot S! Maggin.

Post Crisis Lex my second favorite Lex was sort of combination of the previous three while having his own quality about him. He was a business tycoon (which was IMO was a good change) as well as a scientific genius who already has Metropolis in the palm of his hand until Superman came into the picture. Once it became obvious that he couldn't be bought he decided to put the Man Of Steel "in his place", which later became an obsession that would lead to his downfall. Like Bronze Age Lex there were times where there might've been some good to him but like Golden Age the guy was a cold hearted monster with a huge ego.

What made Paul Cornell's run on Action so enjoyable was the he gave Luthor some sort of anti-hero qualities.

The NuDC/Post Flashpoint Lex is too early to leave an impression but he comes across as a man with good intentions but who would go to extremes to achieve his goal.