system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[DC] Do people know Lex Luthor is a supervillian?

It's a little unclear in the comic's I've read- sometimes, he has a sterling reputation as a philanthropist and gets elected president. Sometimes, while his lawyers stop him getting prosecuted, everyone knows he did it even if they can't prove it. And sometimes, of course, he's leading the Legion of Doom in a mechsuit as they storm the Watchtower  


So, what's the general consensus in the comics? Does Joe Bloggs, random metropolitan, know that Lex Luthor is superman's archnemesis and one of the world's most dangerous supervillians? Or is he just the cool bald guy who runs the science company?
gpt
He started out presenting himself as "just" a businessman. Some people thought he did illegal and unethical stuff, some people thought he was a good guy, there wasn't any consensus. Superman knew he was bad but couldn't prove it legally.

He eventually decided to run for President of the USA and managed to do so, despite the polarizing public opinion (this happened some 16 years before Trump, no forced symbollism here).

At the end of his first mandate as President he started getting really sloppy and power-hungry, culminating with Superman and Batman publicly exposing him and beating him in a fight (Lex was wearing Apokoliptian armor). Lex faked his death at the end of the story arc and spent the following months scheming for revenge. When he finally showed himself again he was a full-blown supervillain, openly considering himself one of the biggest faces of evil in the world.