Smallville/Characters/Luthor Corp

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Lex Luthor / Lx-0 (Michael Rosenbaum)

"I am the villain of the story."

The son of multi-billionaire Lionel Luthor, Lex befriends Clark after the latter saves him from drowning following a plunge off a bridge in the pilot episode. He is initially Clark's best friend and goes out of his way to protect him, eventually deposing his father and seizing control of LuthorCorp. However, Clark's refusal to trust him -- combined with Lex's inability to overcome his own upbringing and their rivalry over both Lana and how to best protect Smallville -- cause Lex to slide into villainy, ending in a Face Heel Turn of epic proportions when he murders his reformed father and attempts to do the same to Clark in the Season 7 finale.

Lex returns in Season 8 and despite being reduced to an Evil Cripple, manages blow up the LuthorCorp Board of Directors, nearly nuke half the city with a kryptonite bomb, and ruin Clark and Lana's future together before apparently being killed by Oliver Queen. Doctor Fate confirmed Lex was alive in Season 9's "Absolute Justice", and in the Season 10 finale, he finally makes his triumphant return, having been restored to life by harvesting organs from clones and a pact between Earth-2 Lionel Luthor and Darkseid sealing the deal.

Defined by his obsessions and need for control, Lex can be vengeful, spiteful and, at times, downright petty, but also has flashes of pure Machiavellian brilliance. He is a fitting Arch Enemy for a Superman.

It has repeatedly been suggested that he will seek the U.S. Presidency at some point in the future. And he succeeds in the future of the Grand Finale, though since he had his memories erased, there was no telling if he was good or bad.

Victoria: "It was just business."
Lex: *without missing a beat* "If you call sleeping with me 'business,' then I'd hate to think what that makes you."

Lex: "Come on, Clark! This is Smallville! Meteor freaks, alien ships, cryptic symbols... somebody HAD to take control to ensure people's safety!"

    • It doesn't last; by Seasons 7 and 8, he no longer cares about anyone but himself.
  • Wicked Cultured
  • Would Hit a Girl
  • Wrath: The boy has anger management problems to say the least.
  • Xanatos Gambit: His Sadistic Choice in Season 8. Either Lana absorbs the Kryptonite radiation and can't go near Clark again, or they let the bomb go off, thus proving they aren't the heroes they claim to be. One could also add the very creation of the Prometheus skin graft here: either he puts it on, recovers and uses it to kill Clark, or Lana puts it on and the above plan goes into action.
  • Xanatos Roulette: Unbeknownst to Clark and his friends, the entire first half of Season 8 was slowly turning out to be a Xanatos Roulette set up by Lex (who is crippled, and presumed dead, but still alive and Dangerously Genre Savvy) to manipulate them all into being his unwitting pawns and facilitating his revenge. It culminates in the situation with the Prometheus suit described above: either A: Clark and Lana don't discover, and Lex dons it himself and uses it to murder Clark, or B: Lana steals it, puts it on, and Lex forces her to chooses between letting the city blow up or absorbing the kryptonite and never being able to be with Clark again). Like we said, Lex is truly a Manipulative Bastard.

Lionel Luthor (John Glover)

"If you're going to take me on, son, you're going to have to bring your game up to a whole different level."

Lex's father and the founder of LuthorCorp, Lionel rose from poverty to become one of the wealthiest men in the world. Claiming to be descended from Scottish nobility, he raised his son with little warmth and less love, believing that such things only bred weakness. He is the chief culprit behind his son's shattered psyche and need for approval, and is the main antagonist in Seasons 1-3.

Imprisoned at the end of Season 3 when Lex and Chloe reveal that he murdered his parents, Lionel is freed by Genevieve Teague and undergoes the beginnings of a Heel Face Turn. Failing to re-connect with Lex despite his best efforts, Lionel grows closer to Clark, eventually learning his secret and becoming his ally, while at the same time serving as the host body for Jor-El (and nursing an enormous crush on Clark's mother Martha). He's killed by Lex in Season 7's "Descent" when he refuses to reveal Clark's secret to him.

Affable, sarcastic and always capable of coming out on top, Lionel is one of the few agreed upon examples of a Magnificent Bastard.

For his Earth-2 counterpart, see Earth-2.

Victoria Hardwick (Kelly Brook)

The daughter of one of Lionel's business rivals, she attempts to play Lionel and Lex against one another.


  • Love Interest: For Lex in Season 1.
  • Out-Gambitted: By Lionel and Lex.
  • Rich Bitch: Particularly in her treatment of Lex's staff members. This ended up coming back to bite her when one of them turned out to be psychotically obsessed with Lex, and decided to try and remove Victoria from the mansion. Victoria survived, thanks to Clark.
  • Riches to Rags: It's heavily implied that this is going to happen to her and her father after they are Out-Gambitted by Lex and Lionel. The last episode of their story arc ends with them apparently losing their fortune in a terrible stock deal over Cadmus Labs (they were tricked into this by Lex in retaliation for Victoria trying to trick him into helping the Hardwicks take over Luthor Corp). The last we see of them, they are sitting dejected and in utter shock, and Lex informs them that he and Lionel will be buying away their company and absorbing it into Luthor Corp the following morning.
  • The Vamp: Tries to play both of the Luthor men against each other. It doesn't end well for her.

Lucas Luthor (Paul Wesley)

A description of the character goes here.

Lillian Luthor (Alisen Down)

The deceased wife of Lionel, and the mother of Lex and Julian (also deceased). It is eventually revealed in Season 3's "Memoria" that she smothered baby Julian in his crib, creating the beginnings of the Lex/Lionel feud that persists throughout the show.

Regan Matthews (Ari Cohen)

Lex's right-hand man, before and after the events of "Arctic". He initially takes over the company after Lex's disappearance, only to be replaced by Tess Mercer. He then vanishes off the radar so that he can serve Lex in a personal capacity, running the Prometheus project for him. He eventually tries to kill Tess for betraying Lex, and is killed by her in turn.

Tess Mercer / Lutessa Lena Luthor (Cassidy Freeman)

Lex's protégé and his successor as CEO of LuthorCorp, Tess has a complicated history with Oliver Queen. Domineering, calculating and extremely broken, Tess is a force to be reckoned with, though whether it's for good or evil is often up in the air.

First appearing in Season 8, Tess is a secondary antagonist throughout, trying to uncover the truth about Lex's disappearance, discover Clark's secret and eliminate both Doomsday and his host body Davis Bloome. At the Orb's instruction, Tess releases the Kandorians at the end of Season 8 and spends most of Season 9 alternately allying with and opposing Zod's designs. She is apparently killed at the end of Season 9, but is resurrected by Granny Goodness and pulls a Heel Face Turn, becoming Watchtower II. She is eventually revealed to be Lutessa Lena Luthor, the illegitimate daughter of Lionel Luthor and Pamela Jenkins, as well as a candidate Female Fury. In the Grand Finale she kills Earth-2 Lionel Luthor (who was attempting to cut out her heart at the time) and is subsequently murdered by the resurrected Lex. In the process, she exposes him to a neurotoxin, wiping his memory, and finally achieving redemption.

For her Earth-2 counterpart, see Earth-2

Tess: "Clark already did that."

Injustice League -- Bette Sans Souci / Plastique (Jessica Parker Kennedy), Rudy Jones / Parasite (Brendan Fletcher), Eva Greer (Anna Williams/Allison Mack), Leslie Willis / Livewire (Anna Mae Routledge), Neutron (Jae Lee)

A team of super-powered operatives assembled by Tess in Season 8 to track down Doomsday. After the deaths of Livewire, Neutron and Eva, Parasite and Plastique turn on Tess, but are stopped by Clark.

For more on Plastique, see "Suicide Squad".

Alexander Luthor / Lx-15 (Jakob Davies, Connor Stanhope, Lucas Grabeel)

"I'm the last Lex Luthor. After I die, there is no coming back."

A clone of Lex created sometime after Season 7, Alexander was part of the mad billionaire's plan to save himself from the injuries he sustained at the end of "Arctic" following his face-off with Clark at the Fortress of Solitude. He is released from Cadmus Labs by Tess in the Season 10 opening, and at first appears to be a relatively normal child. However, his accelerated aging and possession of Lex's memories eventually drive him to begin imitating his namesake, to the point of abandoning Tess and declaring himself to be the real Lex.

Tess has Alexander locked away, but he escapes and hides out in Suicide Slums. He attempts to assassinate Martha Kent to draw out Clark, but fails and is found by Earth-2 Lionel, who begins grooming Alexander to be his heir. However, Alexander turns on Lionel as well and tries to kill both Lionel and Martha by burning down the Luthor Mansion with them inside (Clark saves them both, don't worry). He gets ready to kill Clark until Tess talks him down and takes him in again. Tess tries to put Alexander out of his misery, only to find that he is now invulnerable. He also begins to lose his memories, leading to the creation of a new persona...

The tropes below pertain to him as "Alexander". For his post-amnesia persona of "Conner" see The Kents:

Lx-3 (Mackenzie Gray)

"There can only be one Lex Luthor!"

Another one of Lex's clones, this one degenerated to the point where he resembles a much older, rather cadaverous-looking man. He is accidentally released by Tess in the Season 10 opening and goes on a killing spree that starts with the other clones, progresses through the entire staff at Cadmus Labs, and ends with separate attempts on Lois and the people of Metropolis. Utterly insane, he possesses all of Lex's memories and brains, but none of his suave demeanor.