Lex Luthor, son of the wealthy Lionel Luthor. His father's fortune ranked among the ten largest in the entire country. One would think having a father like that would make Lex very happy.
But the truth was, Lex wasn't happy. By anyone's standards, his father was utterly, pathologically twisted. The first thing Lionel taught him was never to trust friendship. All friendships were false; the only things that were real were power and family ties.
Yet Lionel, who spoke so highly of family ties, treated his son like a subordinate, a slave—or, more precisely, an enemy.
In the words of those literary types, Lionel was a pathological tyrant and dictator. Lex's feelings toward his father were a mixture of love and hate. He longed for Lionel's love, for genuine care from the heart, and for the kind of easy joking and conversation shared by ordinary fathers and sons.
But to Lionel, all of that was weakness. Whenever he noticed Lex leaning that way, he would stop at nothing to humiliate and oppress him, making him believe his thoughts were wrong and weak, and that the only right thing to do was accept and carry on Lionel's twisted way of thinking.
Whenever Lex saw other families happy and harmonious, enjoying each other's company, he often felt both envy and longing. He had gained the money and power most people in the world could only dream of, yet he could never obtain the family affection, friendship, and love he wanted most.
Lex had lived for twenty-one years and learned that nearly everyone who approached him wanted something: his money, his power, or his downfall. He had met far too many people like that over the years. So many that he'd despaired and wanted to give up on everything he pursued. But from