Lex Luthor is one of DC's most iconic and well-known villains. He first appeared in Action Comics #23 in 1940 and was imagined by Superman-creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Luthor has been a threat to Superman ever since and has found a myriad of different ways to torment the Man of Steel.
Despite this, there are versions of Lex Luthor that have actually existed on the other side of good and evil. They've sought to create some good in their world even at the risk of their own safety and even lives. Not all versions of Lex Luthor need to be evil; some actually want to make a better tomorrow.
8 World's Finest #167 Showed Lex Luthor As Superman
World's Finest is a DC series that teams up Superman and Batman. Its earlier issues came from a time when DC didn't have really any continuity and a very loose shared universe, and World's Finest often explored alternate versions of Superman and Batman. One such alternate Superman was Lex Luthor himself, and it was introduced in World's Finest #167 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
This version of Lex Luthor performed a chemical experiment that gave him the powers of Superman in high school, and he eventually moved to Metropolis to become its protector. He eventually met Batman, who turned out to be Clark Kent minus the superpowers. It's revealed that Kal-El lost his powers in an accident in this world. Supergirl also arrived on this Earth, but she got to keep her superpowers.
7 Lex Luthor Of Earth-44 Is Just A Lowly Shoe Salesman
Lex Luthor: Year of the Villain #1 by Jason Latour and Bryan Hitch followed the Lex Luthor of Prime Earth (the Earth of the mainstream DC Universe) as he explored the Multiverse and looked for other Lex Luthors. His fixation on being the "Apex Lex" led him to kill and maim countless Lex Luthors.
One that he found particularly interesting, but still killed, was a cobbler Luthor from an Earth with no Superman. Without the Man of Steel, this Luthor never had the drive and obsession. He accepts his own death without much of a care. While this Luthor isn't explicitly a superhero, he still added something positive to his world by being a happy and humble shoemaker.
6 Lex Luthor Is The Batman Of Earth-32
Another Lex Luthor that Apex Lex discovered in Latour and Hitch's Lex Luthor: Year of the Villain #1 is a Batman Lex Luthor. On this Earth, Bruce Wayne disappeared on a space adventure, and Lex Luthor took up the mantle of Caped Crusader alongside his partner, Super-Martian.
The two were able to avoid being killed by the Apex Lex Luthor of Prime Earth and even pitied him to an extent. As far as anyone knows, Batman Luthor and Super-Martian are still hiding out on Earth-32 to this day.
5 Bizarro Lex Luthor Is The Foe Of Bizarro Superman
On Bizarro-Earth, everything is inverted. The people speak backwards, the evil are good, and the good are evil. Everyone is also fairly dumb as a baseline, especially Bizarro Superman, who is also quite evil but in more of a reckless and fun way as opposed to being focused and malicious.
It seems that everyone on the modern Bizarro-Earth is evil, including Lex Luthor. However, the Silver Age Bizarro Lex Luthor, created by Jerry Siegel and John Forte, is good in oppose to Bizarro Superman's evil. In one instance, he even blackmails Bizarro Superman into doing good deeds to avoid trouble with Bizarro-Earth law enforcement.
4 Injustice Lex Luthor Was Never A Criminal And Even Friends With Superman
The Lex Luthor from the Injustice: Gods Among Us series of games (designated to be on Earth-22) was a good friend to the Superman and Lois Lane of that world. He never took up a life of crime. When Superman snapped and took over Earth with his Regime, Lex Luthor fought against it.
This Lex Luthor built a super-powered war suit and joined Batman's Insurgency to try and free the world from the totalitarian boot of Superman. He tried to bring Superman down with Kryptonite, but he was ambushed by Shazam and killed by Superman himself.
3 Alex Luthor Jr. Of Earth-3 Did One Act Of Genuine Heroism
Alex Luthor Jr., son of Alexander Luthor of Earth-3, is mostly known these days for his villainous part in Infinite Crisis by Geoff Johns and George Perez. However, Alex Luthor actually did some good for the Multiverse before joining up with Superboy-Prime for his villainous scheme.
Back in Crisis on Infinite Earths by George Perez and Marv Wolfman, young Alex Luthor of Earth-3 was a pivotal part of saving Earth-1 from the Anti-Monitor. He led the heroes of the Multiverse against the Anti-Monitor and was even used his own body to fire Darkseid's Omega Beams at the Anti-Monitor to weaken him so that the other heroes could finally bring the Anti-Monitor down.
2 Alexander Luthor Is The Only Known Superhero Of Earth-3
Alexander Luthor of Earth-3 is the father of Alex Luthor Jr. and the husband of Lois Lane of Earth-3. On this world, the Justice League never existed. Instead, the heroes who would make up the Justice League are the villains of the Crime Syndicate, a cruel and dictatorial regime of super-beings who rule Earth-3. Alexander Luthor is one of this world's only heroes and stands up against the Crime Syndicate. However, Alexander died when his world was destroyed in the first issue of Crisis on Infinite Earths.
There is another version of Lex Luthor like the Alexander Luthor of Earth-3 on Antimatter Earth. This Lex Luthor resembles the Lex Luthor of Prime Earth, and he has fought against the Crime Syndicate for years and is the only hero that Antimatter Earth has.
1 The Lex Luthor Of Prime Earth Has Done A Lot Of Good Actually
Despite all the evil and villainy performed by the Lex Luthor of Prime Earth, he still has tried to do some good over the years. He joined in the coalition of heroes and villains against the Anti-Monitor in Crisis on Infinite Earths. He would later help spring the villains from the cruel otherworldly penal colony of Amanda Waller in Salvation Run by Bill Willingham, Lilah Sturges, and Sean Chen.
More recently, Lex Luthor and his Injustice Gang overthrew the Crime Syndicate when they invaded Prime Earth in Forever Evil by Geoff Johns and David Finch. After this, Luthor actually joined the Justice League for a time and was a valuable asset to the team. After the death of the New 52 Superman, Luthor crafted a new battlesuit in Superman's honor and became a new champion for Metropolis. Although Luthor turned evil again and became the god Perpetua's Apex Predator, he still joined in the final fight against the Darkest Knight in Dark Nights: Death Metal by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo.