Acting Assignment: Luthor Jr.

This semester had the particularity of being the most diverse when it came to assignments. Traditional Animation had assignments involving lipsync, so it became a voice acting and acting class where you had to come up with your own designs, Storyboard asked for more layout elements and character designs, Layout had a strong element of cinematography, which meant learning film appreciation and composition, the Toon Boom class was a short film production, Life Drawing focused on colors and Acting had a character development assignment.
We had to chose an animated series (existing or defunct) and come up with a character that would fit the tone of said series, while not being against the story structure of the series. It had to be a secondary character.
Our series of choice was Young Justice. A series about legacies, rebellion and breaking from the mold of our parents and mentors. What we proposed was the dark mirror to the protagonists: A group of younger villains, trying to show they’re better than the ones who preceded them.
With that in mind, I offered my take on what would be the younger mirror of one of DC Universe’s most famous villains, Lex Luthor.

Alexander Luthor II’s stat sheet:

He presents himself as Lex Jr., a younger, more laid back leader and more approachable than his dad. He wants to show that it’s time for a new wave of villains, because he feels the old ones are out of touch with the realities of the new century. He’s all that his dad was never able to be or have. He’s handsome, admired, loved by the press, stronger, smarter and thanks to some genetic modifications, he has flowing red hair. More Richard Branson than the Wall Street tycoon that Lex Luthor is portrayed as in the modern interpretations.
He wants the heroes dead and out of the picture, and the world to know it was his idea and his methods that led to their demise. Villains are the new heroes. Villains can be popular. Greed is good and all the moral codes are a thing of the past.
However, deep insecurities lie deep under his mind. Is he just being a young version of his dad? Are the “improvements” added to his genes what makes him great? Is he just being used by his dad?

The final look of Lex Jr.:

I played with the colors of the older incarnation of Lex Luthor, back when he was a mad scientist wearing robotic suits. And making the face as smug and punchable as possible. The red hair was another element from the old comics that amused me, so I threw it in.

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