Erica Alexandra del Portenza (New Earth)

Erica Alexandra del Portenza
Mainstream Universe‎, 1986‎-2011‎
Gallery
Real Name	Erica Alexandra del Portenza
Other Aliases	Director Beta
Relatives	Lex Luthor (husband) Lena Luthor (daughter)
Affiliation	The Agenda, LexCorp
Base Of Operations	Metropolis
Status
Alignment	Bad
Identity	Secret Identity
Citizenship	Italian
Marital Status	Married
Occupation	Administrator for the Agenda · former CEO of Lexcorp
Characteristics
Gender	Female
Height	5' 10"
Weight	135 lbs (61 kg)
Eyes	Brown
Hair	Brown
Origin
Universe	New Earth
Creators	Roger Stern · Tom Grummett
First Appearance	Superman: The Man of Tomorrow #1 (June, 1995)
Appearance of Death	President Luthor Secret Files and Origins #1 (March, 2001)

History

Contessa Erica Alexanda Del Portenza, or 'The Contessa' as she was better known, appeared in Metropolis after the public discrediting of Lex Luthor, after which, she assumed leadership of LexCorp and won a controlling stake in the International LexCorp. One of her first actions was to dismiss Team Luthor and create a new security force: The Centurions, who had worked with Alpha Centurion. The Contessa was the patron of Dimitri Potempkin, considered dead for many years, who gave up his career for love of the Contessa.

Although it was known that she knew Lex Luthor about 20 years, she still looked young, they married secretly, and the Contessa became pregnant. She donated the tissue needed for a new containment suit for Superman, created by Professor Hamilton and Kitty Faulkner for him to survive when he became an energy being. After the birth of their daughter Lena, Luthor sedated the Contessa and kept her in a hospital, but she emerged from the coma and escaped when there was a big fire in the building, in which the outside world thought she had perished. She teamed up with Dabney Donovan to kidnap her daughter from Lex. Although Lex recovered the child, the Contessa waited in the shadows, content to know that Luthor knew she was alive.

Later, she was forced to go into hiding when it was discovered that the Contessa and her lineage can, in fact, live many years. However, her son Luca (from a previous marriage) turned into a killing machine, willing to bring death to those he considered unworthy of life. Although the Contessa took steps to stop her son, he was stopped due to the intervention of Superman and a combination of magic that involves Lena Luthor and the Contessa. Again, Lena returned to the arms of her father and the Contessa went into hiding. During his efforts to become the U.S. President, Luthor decided to tie up loose ends, organizing the death of the Contessa with a barrage of missiles on her island mansion.

Powers and Abilities

Abilities

• Business Management

Related

• 52 Appearances of Erica Alexandra del Portenza (New Earth)
• 2 Images featuring Erica Alexandra del Portenza (New Earth)
• 1 Quotations by or about Erica Alexandra del Portenza (New Earth)
• Character Gallery: Erica Alexandra del Portenza (New Earth)

Footnotes

Superman Villain(s) This character has been primarily an enemy of Superman in any of his various incarnations, or members of the Superman Family. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Superman Villains category."