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* [[Affably Evil]] --> [[Faux Affably Evil]]: Lex always appears to be a pleasant young man, but how real that is fades with time. By the end of the show, it's nothing more than a facade.
* [[Alliterative Name]]
* [[Alternate Universe]]: In Clark's [[ItsIt's a Wonderful Plot]] episode "Apocalypse", we meet [[President Evil]] Lex who, as usual, is a [[Man in White]] with a [[Red Right Hand]], but adds [[Social Darwinist]] and [[Omnicidal Maniac]] to his resume, via a plan to [[Nuke 'Em]] all and re-build the world in his own image.
* [[Antagonistic Offspring]]: To Lionel, following the latter's [[Heel Face Turn]] and his own subsequent [[Face Heel Turn]].
* [[Anti -Hero]] --> [[Anti -Villain]]: Lex started the series as a [[Sliding Scale of Anti -Heroes|Type-IV Anti-Hero]]. His methods were badly flawed, but he was genuinely out to stop his [[Archnemesis Dad|father]] [[Big Bad|Lionel]], and be a better person and a good friend to Clark. By Seasons 4 and 5, he was in [[Anti -Villain]] territory, becoming antagonistic but remaining sympathetic, before finally [[Face Heel Turn|diving into full-on villainy]].
* [[Arch Enemy]]: Well on his way to being Clark's.
* [[Asshole Victim]]: In the later seasons.
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** [[Badass Longcoat]]: Lex's trenchcoat is every bit as iconic as his [[Badass in A Nice Suit|nice]] [[Man of Wealth and Taste|suit]].
** [[Badass Normal]]: Both physically and mentally.
** {{spoiler|[[Handicapped Badass]]: Season 8, in both the literal and metaphorical sense. Bereft of his [[Corrupt Corporate Executive|company]], [[Screw the Rules, I Have Money|money]], [[Screw the Rules, I Have Connections|connections]] and his very mobility, a quadrapalegic Lex keeps the superhero community quaking in their boots (even the mere mention of his name terrifies them) and proves that, even trapped in the back of a truck on life support and breathing through a respirator, he's still one of the most dangerous villains out there}}.
* [[Bad Boss]]: After his [[Face Heel Turn|turn to villainy]].
* [[Bad Future]]: Is [[President Evil]] in many of them.
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** [[Big Bad Wannabe]]: Spends much of Seasons 5 & 7 trying to be [[The Big Bad]], but gets upstaged by Brainiac.
* [[Big Brother Mentor]]: He often had a tendency to slip into this trope during the first two seasons with Clark.
* [[Broken Ace]]: Very much so. He's rich, successful, handsome, self-loathing and caught up in a [["Well Done, Son" Guy|desire for parental approval]] all at the same time.
* [[Byronic Hero]]: A villainous example.
* {{spoiler|[[Card -Carrying Villain]]: Announces his intention to become one of these in the [[Grand Finale]]. Tess' mind-wipe may have forestalled this.}}
* {{spoiler|[[Cain and Abel]]: With Clark (whom he viewed as a brother) and later with Tess, resulting in the latter's death and his own memory loss}}.
* [[The Chessmaster]]
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* [[Hypocrite]]: Keeping secrets is bad Clark, but don't ask Lex about the army of skeletons in ''his'' closet.
* [[Inferiority Superiority Complex]]
* [[ItsIt's All About Me]]: Even early on, Lex had trouble seeing beyond his own needs. By the end of the show, he's completely obsessed with himself, suffers from bad cases of [[Lack of Empathy]] and [[Never My Fault]], and more or less believes that the universe revolves around him.
* [[Joker Immunity]]: How many times has Lex been killed only to suddenly return with no explanation?
* [[Karma Houdini]]: He avoids punishment for all of his crimes, and at the end of the series {{spoiler|is resurrected and ready to become the [[President Evil]] we always knew he could be.}}
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* [[Large Ham]]
* [[Lonely Rich Kid]]
* [[Mad Dictators Handsome Son]] --> [[Overlord, Jr.]]: He never loses his hatred for his father, but he gets a whole lot more evil himself; rather than seeking to stop his father, he now wants to [[Klingon Promotion|replace him]].
* [[Made of Iron]]: Courtesy of his low-level [[Healing Factor]].
* [[Manipulative Bastard]]
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* [[Narcissist]]: From the start of the show, Lex has difficulty seeing others problems. This only gets worse as time goes by; by Season 7 he's essentially become a [[The Sociopath|sociopath]].
* [[Never My Fault]]: Lex blames his father, Clark, Lana and anyone else he can set his sights on for his problems. You've got a [[Freudian Excuse]], Lex, but it doesn't mean you don't have to take responsibility sometimes.
* [[Nuke 'Em]]: In "Apocalypse"'s [[Bad Future]], [[President Evil]] Lex has conspired with [[Complete Monster|Brainiac]] to [[Omnicidal Maniac|wipe out the world in a nuclear war]], so that he can unite the survivors under his rule and create a new [[Social Darwinist|Social Darwinistic]] paradise.
* {{spoiler|[[The Other Darrin]]: In Season 8, a body double is portraying him, with his face obscured so that the door is still open for Michael Rosenbaum to possibly return.}}
* [[President Evil]]: In several [[Bad Future|Bad Futures]]. He's elected {{spoiler|for real in 2018 during the [[Distant Finale]]}}.
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* {{spoiler|[[Revenge]]: Season 8.}}
* [[Sadistic Choice]]: {{spoiler|Gives Clark and Lana the option of staying together and watching thousands die, or sacrificing their love in order to save Metropolis. They pick the latter.}}
* [[Screw the Rules, I Have Money]]
* {{spoiler|[[Self Made Orphan]]: "Descent". Seen by many as his [[Moral Event Horizon]].}}
* [[Shipper On Deck]]: During the early seasons for Clark and Lana. All the while developing feelings for Lana himself.
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* [[Used to Be A Sweet Kid]]: As the flashbacks reveal, he really did.
* {{spoiler|[[Vader Breath]]: Season 8.}}
* [["Well Done, Son" Guy]]: Lionel withheld affection from Lex so much that not only does he desperately seek Lionel's approval in the early seasons, but also the approval of ''Clark's'' dad!
* [[Well -Intentioned Extremist]]: Begins his slide into villainy this way, as he himself states in "Descent":
{{quote| '''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.
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{{quote| ''"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 [["Well Done, Son" Guy|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 {{spoiler|murdered his parents}}, Lionel is freed by [[Evil Matriarch|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). {{spoiler|He's killed by Lex in Season 7's "Descent" when he refuses to reveal Clark's secret to him.}}
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* [[Affably Evil]]: Definitely. If you weren't in his way or [[Archnemesis Dad|related to him]], Lionel could be a downright pleasant guy, even before his [[Heel Face Turn]].
* [[Alliterative Name]]
* [[Anti -Villain]] --> [[Anti -Hero]]: In the later seasons. He ends up as a [[Sliding Scale of Anti -Heroes|Type IV]] [[Anti -Hero]], right at around the same time that Lex becomes the full-on [[Big Bad]].
* [[Archnemesis Dad]]: To Lex, remaining so even after his [[Heel Face Turn]].
* [[Ascended Extra]]: A recurring villain in Season 1, he received his [[Promotion to Opening Titles]] in Season 2.
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* [[Grand Theft Me]]: Pulls it on Clark early in Season 4 and later receives it courtesy of Jor-El.
* [[The Heavy]]: Seasons 1-3. Overlaps with his time as [[The Big Bad]].
* [[Heel Face Turn]]: Slowly. He shifts from [[Big Bad]] (Seasons 1-3) to [[Anti -Villain]] (Seasons 4 and 5) to a [[Sliding Scale of Anti -Heroes|Type III or IV]] [[Anti -Hero]] (Seasons 6 and 7).
* [[Important Haircut]]: At the end of Season 3, when he goes to prison. He grows it back, but keeps it short. It's worth noting that the longer and greasier Lionel's hair is, the more evil he is. In Season 3, when he's at his worst, it hangs down past his shoulders.
* [[Inferiority Superiority Complex]]: Lionel's entire life is built upon running away from his past in Metropolis' Suicide Slum.
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** Horribly and cruelly subverted in his treatment of {{spoiler|Tess. He abandoned her at Granny Goodness' orphanage. The moment is even more heartbreaking when a poor, confused young Tess cries "Daddy, I love you!" at Lionel, who heartlessly walks away to his limo without responding and drives off. Later, we learn that Earth-2 Lionel, while apparently still interacting with Earth-2 Tess during her adult years, treats her like garbage, and shows no love for her whatsoever.}}
* [[Parental Substitute]]: Tries hard to be one for Clark.
* [[Pride]]: Unlike his [[Green -Eyed Monster|envious]], [[Wrath|angry]] son, Lionel favors the root of all sin. He's arrogant, [[Narcissist|grandiose]], and utterly convinced of his own superiority. In a show filled of people with superpowers, Lionel still managed to feel like the most powerful person around.
* [[Prophet Eyes]]: When possessed by Jor-El.
* [[Rags to Riches]]: In the [[Backstory]].
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* [[Redemption Equals Death]]
* [[Reformed but Rejected]]: For most of Seasons 4 & 5.
* [[Screw the Rules, I Have Money]]
* [[Secret Keeper]]: For Clark after Season 5.
* [[Self -Made Man]]: One of the rare evil ones.
* [[Self Made Orphan]]: He and Morgan Edge conspired to kill his alcoholic parents, Lachlan and Eliza.
* [[So Proud of You]]: Leaves a message like this for Clark to listen to following his death. [[Tear Jerker|Sniff...]]
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* [[The Reveal]]: In Season 10's "Abandoned", she's revealed {{spoiler|to actually be a Luthor}}.
* [[Rich Bitch]]
* [[Screw the Rules, I Have Money]]
* [[Shoot the Dog]]: Goes out of her way to try and force Clark to kill Davis in Season 8.
* [[The Smart Guy]]: She and Emil split this role after her [[Heel Face Turn]], Emil as [[The Medic]] and [[Gadgeteer Genius]], and Tess as [[The Cracker]], [[Manipulative Bastard]], and [[Screw the Rules, I Have Money|financial backer]].
* [[Suspiciously Similar Substitute]]: She's pretty much Lex in drag, at least initially. She later develops her own personality.
** Which kinda makes sense since {{spoiler|it's recently been revealed that she's Lex's half-sister.}}
* [[Villainous Crush]]: Sometimes appears to manifest one on Clark.
* [[Well -Intentioned Extremist]]
 
== Injustice League -- Bette Sans Souci / Plastique (Jessica Parker Kennedy), Rudy Jones / Parasite (Brendan Fletcher), Eva Greer (Anna Williams/{{spoiler|Allison Mack}}), Leslie Willis / Livewire (Anna Mae Routledge), Neutron (Jae Lee) ==
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* [[Energy Absorption]]: Parasite
* [[Flying Brick]]: Parasite when he steals Clark's powers. Luckily, he also steals his [[Kryptonite Factor]].
* [[Hell -Bent for Leather]]: All four of them.
* [[I Love Nuclear Power]]: Presumably Neutron.
* [[Killed Off for Real]]: Eva and Neutron.
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* [[Parental Issues]]: With [[Parental Substitute|Tess]], [[Abusive Dad|Earth-2 Lionel]], and anyone else who tries to offer him guidance.
* {{spoiler|[[Psychotic Smirk]]: Sports a beautiful copy of Lex's.}}
* {{spoiler|[["The Reason You Suck" Speech]]: Ruthlessly deconstructs Tess' desire to help him, claiming that she's only trying to exorcise her own internal demons.}}
* [[Revenge]]: Previously expressed a desire to {{spoiler|payback Clark for "his" death.}}
* [[Revolvers Are Just Better]]: Because you can load them with Kryptonite bullets.
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* [[Pointy Ears]]: Slightly.
* [[Pride]]: Claims it's Clark's [[Fatal Flaw]]; one could argue that it's his.
* [["The Reason You Suck" Speech]]: Gives one to Clark in which he claims that [[Pride]] is his [[Fatal Flaw]].
* [[Revenge]]: His motivation for attacking Clark.
** [[Revenge By Proxy]]: The reason he attacks Lois. He believes her death will utterly shatter Clark.
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