History Characters / ArrowverseLuthorFamilyAndAssociates

* AgeLift: Creator/ValeriePerrine was in her mid-thirties when she played the role in Creator/RichardDonner's first ''Film/{{Superman}}'' movie. This version of Eve is played by Creator/AndreaBrooks who was in her late twenties at the time. And even if VagueAge is at play, the Earth-96 version is clearly in her late 20s in both cases.

* AdaptationalBadass: In addition of having a [[AdaptationalIntelligence genius-level intellect]], Eve possesses rather impressive fighting prowess and a MesACrowd power, thanks to Lex.

* AgeLift: Creator/ValeriePerrine was in her mid-thirties when she played the role in Creator/RichardDonner's first ''Film/{{Superman}}'' movie, while Creator/AndreaBrooks was in her late twenties when she started to play this version of the character. And even if VagueAge is at play, the Earth-96 version is clearly in her late 20s in both cases.
* AlmightyJanitor: Studied Nuclear Physics at Yale, yet she seems perfectly content working as a personal assistant at [=CatCo=]. She's eventually poached by Lena for work more befitting her education. Considering she's actually working for Lex, this deception was quite intentional.

* WidowWoman: She and Lena talk about Lionel in past tense.

'''The Multiverse:''' [[Characters/ArrowverseOtherEarths Other Earths]] | [[Characters/ArrowverseEarth2 Earth-2]] ([[Characters/ArrowverseHunterZolomon Hunter Zolomon / Zoom]]) | [[Characters/ArrowverseEarth38 Earth-38]] | [[Characters/ArrowverseEarth90 Earth-90]] | [[Characters/ArrowverseEarthX Earth-X]] | [[Characters/ArrowverseBizarroWorld Bizarro World]]]]-]]]

'''[[Series/TheFlash2014 Central City]]:''' [[Characters/ArrowverseWestAllenFamily West-Allen Family]] ([[Characters/ArrowverseBarryAllen Barry Allen]] / [[Characters/ArrowverseIrisWestAllen Iris West-Allen]]) | [[Characters/ArrowverseTeamFlash Team Flash]] ([[Characters/ArrowverseCaitlinSnowAndKillerFrost Caitlin Snow & (Killer) Frost]]) | [[Characters/ArrowverseCentralCityCitizens Citizens]] | [[Characters/ArrowverseCentralCityCriminalGroups Criminal Groups]] ([[Characters/ArrowverseTheRogues Rogues]]) | [[Characters/ArrowverseCentralCityIndependentCriminals Independent Criminals]]\\

'''Miscellaneous''': [[Characters/ArrowverseOtherLocales Other Locales]] | [[Characters/ArrowverseMetahumans Metahumans]] ([[Characters/ArrowverseFirestorm Firestorm]] / [[Characters/ArrowverseTheHawks The Hawks]]) | [[Characters/ArrowverseAliens Aliens]] | [[Characters/ArrowverseMystics Mystics]] | [[Characters/ArrowverseOtherEntities Other Entities]]\\
'''The Multiverse (Pre-Crisis):''' [[Characters/ArrowverseOtherEarths Other Earths]] | [[Characters/ArrowverseEarth2 Earth-2]] ([[Characters/ArrowverseHunterZolomon Hunter Zolomon]]) | [[Characters/ArrowverseEarth38 Earth-38]] | [[Characters/ArrowverseEarth90 Earth-90]] | [[Characters/ArrowverseEarthX Earth-X]]]]-]]]

* OverarchingVillain: In a way, she is the closest thing ''Series/Supergirl2015'' has to one. Aside from season 1, she shows up in every season, making her the most frequently appearing villain of the show. Additionally, her parental abuse is something that deeply affects Lena throughout the series, and it's largely responsible for the villainy of Lex Luthor, who serves as the BigBad of seasons 4 and 5.

-> see Characters/DCEUSupermanRogues page for the character in an undesignated Earth who bears his surname and background

-> see Characters/DCEUSupermanRogues page for the character in an undesignated Earth who bears her name and background

-> see Characters/DCEULexCorp page for the character in an undesignated Earth who bears his surname and background

-> see Characters/DCEULexCorp page for the character in an undesignated Earth who bears her name and background

!!! '''Portrayed By''': Ian Butcher

'''[[Characters/Supergirl2015 National City]]:''' [[Characters/ArrowverseNationalCityCitizens Citizens]] ([[Characters/ArrowverseKaraZorEl Kara Zor-El]]) | '''Luthor Family & Associates''' ([[Characters/ArrowverseLenaLuthor Lena Luthor]]) | [[Characters/ArrowverseNationalCityCriminals Criminals]]\\

!![[ComicBook/LexLuthor Alexander Joseph "Lex" Luthor]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lex_4.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"Humanity needs a firm hand to guide it. To lead it. And not some arrogant alien. It needs to be human."'']]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lexosuit_lex.png]]
!!! '''Species:''' Human [[note]]Enhanced via Harun-El from March to May 2019, briefly empowered via Book of Destiny in January 2020[[/note]]
!!! '''Known Aliases:''' "Alex", The Paragon of Truth
!!! '''Portrayed By''': Creator/JonCryer, Aidan Fink (young, Season 2), Koby Holvik (young, Season 5)

!!! '''Appearances:''' ''Series/{{Supergirl|2015}}'' | ''Series/{{Crisis on Infinite Earths|2019}}''[[note]](''Series/{{Batwoman|2019}}'' | ''Series/{{The Flash|2014}}'' | ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' | ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'')[[/note]]

->''"You'll see. Everyone will see. And then, they're gonna thank me."''

Previous head of [=LuthorCorp=] and Superman's renowned ArchEnemy.

-> see Characters/Titans2018Villains for info about the Earth-9 character who bears his name and background
-> see Characters/ArrowverseOtherEarths for info about his Earth-75 counterpart.
-> see Characters/SupermanFilmSeries for more info about two Earth-96 characters; one who bears his name and background, and Lenny Luthor who bears his physical likeness
-> see Characters/SmallvilleLexLuthor for the Earth-167 character who bears his name and background
-> see Characters/SmallvilleEarth2 for the MirrorUniverse of the Earth-167 character who bears his name and background
-> see Characters/DCEULexLuthor page for the character in an undesignated Earth who bears his name and background

* AdaptationDyeJob: Lex is usually depicted as a redhead before losing his hair. Here, he is [[RavenHairIvorySkin raven-haired]].
* AdaptationalBadass: Season 4 alone depicts him as one of the most terrifyingly competent depictions of the character yet. Even after being exposed as a villain and imprisoned, he successfully schemes his way out of it all, only being stopped by his (temporary) death.
* AdaptationalWimp: Downplayed. He's not entirely weak physically, able to hold his own in combat, but isn't quite as physically capable or intimidating as other versions of Lex Luthor.
* AllAccordingToPlan: Despite his mother's attempts to dissuade him, Lex manipulates events throughout the second half of Season 5 to ensure that Lena and Supergirl remain enemies. After he succeeds in "Deus Lex Machina", he gets a call from Lillian and tells her this trope word for word.
-->'''Lex:''' Mother! Hate to say I told you so, but it all went according to plan.
* AlliterativeName: Another contender for being the most prominent person with the '''L'''.'''L'''. initials in the entire Superman mythos, being the Man of Steel's ArchEnemy.
* AllYourPowersCombined: In the first episode of season 6, Lex gains the combined powers of all the Leviathan members (except for Gamemnae, as Brainy didn't manage to shrink her into his capsule).
** During the fight against the Superfriends, Lex is able to create [[BarrierWarrior a powerful force-field]] to protect himself from their attacks.
** Much like Rama Khan, he has some control over earth, as seen when he lifts and crushes [[DishingOutDirt a huge rock]] with his mind.
** One of the powers he obtained is [[{{Flight}} the ability to fly]].
** His powers include [[MindOverMatter telekinesis]], as seen when he draws the Phantom Zone projector to himself from a distance.
** Lex can generate [[ShockAndAwe lightning bolts]] from his hands, similar to Sela.
** The first thing he does after finishing absorbing Leviathan's powers is to [[SuperStrength punch steel]] with enough force to bend it.
* ArchEnemy:
** For Superman. Lex's hatred and envy for the Man of Steel drives virtually everything he does. In ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'', this extends to ''every'' Superman in TheMultiverse and he goes on a killing spree to eradicate them using the Book of Destiny. He later seems to transfer part of his hatred to his cousin Kara/Supergirl.
** He's also this to his [[CainAndAbel half-sister Lena]], who just so happens to be a friend of Kara/Supergirl. As with Clark/Superman, they initially started out on good terms and still absolutely respect each other's intellect, but now want each other dead due to their polar-opposite moral compasses. Whether they are actually willing to kill each other or demonstrate genuine EvenEvilHasLovedOnes seems to constantly vary depending on the situation.
** Supergirl detests him for corrupting Lena Luthor, for all his previous actions and for having killed Earth-96 Superman during ''Crisis on Infinite Earths''.
* ArmCannon: His [[PoweredArmor Lexosuits]] can shoot green energy beams from the gauntlets. Sometimes, Lex uses the gauntlets without the rest of the suit.
* BackFromTheDead: He's killed by Lena in the Season 4 finale, but Mar Novu resurrects him just in time for the following year's CrisisCrossover.
* BadassBeard: Has an impressive beard that distinguishes him from other versions.
* BadBoss: He is perfectly willing to kill his own men, best demonstrated when he tests the powers of his Lexosuit's gauntlets by disintegrating one of his guards in the Season 4 finale.
* TheBadGuyWins: Downplayed in the Season 6 premiere. While his main plan was foiled, he still succeeded in sending Supergirl to the Phantom Zone, prompting him to claim victory.
-->'''Lex:''' I won.
* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals:
** According to Lena, he used to set ants on fire when he was a kid.
** When experimenting with Q-waves during Season 5, he uses two mice as test subjects and disintegrates one of them, much to Eve Teschmacher's horror.
* BaldOfEvil: While he has a full head of hair in his youth, snide comments from other characters during ThePresentDay reveal that he no longer has hair by the time he's a renowned criminal. It's confirmed when we meet him in Season 4.
* BeamOWar:
** During their final fight at the end of season 4, Lex shoots at Supergirl with the energy beams from his gauntlets while she uses her heat vision to counter it. In the end, Supergirl manages to overpower Lex's attack thanks to having absorbed the Red Daughter's energy just before.
** Happens again when he uses his light powers against Supergirl's EyeBeams during their fight in Hour Four of ''Crisis On Infinite Earths''.
* BeardOfEvil: One of the rare versions of Lex Luthor to have a beard, but he's just as evil as the others, if not moreso.
* BeatThemAtTheirOwnGame: In Season 5, Lex tells Brainy he needs Toyman's codes to become immortal so that he can beat Leviathan at their own game.
* BerserkButton: He's usually quite calm and collected, but even mild attacks on his ego can knock him off-balance and cause his temper to explode. Point out flaws in his plans, or make him feel inferior to anyone else in any way, and he'll ''immediately'' start screaming in anger.
* BigBad:
** He's the ''true'' villain of ''Supergirl'' Season 4, having masterminded everything behind the scenes, including bringing Ben Lockwood into power, as well as manipulating Red Daughter. He even gets appointed the new Director of Alien Affairs for a brief time.
** In Season 5, his revealing of Supergirl's identity to Lena causes her to become a major antagonist in the first half of the season, and once he's resurrected in the second half he manipulates both her and Leviathan so that he can steal the latter's powers and become the next Anti-Monitor.
* BigBadDuumvirate: [[spoiler:Lex tricks Gamemnae into bringing him into Leviathan, though he successfully betrays them.]]
* BigBadEnsemble:
** He seems to be part of this in Season 4 after J'onn kills Manchester Black. In truth, he's been the BigBad all along and Lockwood is just his oblivious pawn.
** After his resurrection in Season 5, he is still obviously up to no good, but he opposes Leviathan, playing all sides.
* BigBrotherBully: To Lena, of course. Although they had a better relationship when they were younger, he could already be hard on her. According to her, he mocked her relentlessly for enjoying the movie ''Film/Titanic1997''.
* BlasphemousPraise: In "The Bodyguard", Lex praises Lena for using Non Nocere to do what {{God}} "couldn't"—that is, suppress the violent impulses of an otherwise vicious animal.
* BrainyBrunette: He is described as having a brilliant mind by other characters and is a brunette in his youth.
* BreakoutVillain: He's resurrected after his demise at the end of Season 4, plays a pivotal role in ''Series/{{Crisis on Infinite Earths|2019}}'' and returns to Season 5 as the new boss of the DEO.
* BroughtDownToNormal:
** Lena de-powers him shortly before killing him.
** He no longer has HardLight after the multiverse is recreated.
** After he absorbed Leviathan's powers, the Superfriends use Jarhanpurium to depower him in the Season 6 premiere.
* CainAndAbel: He's the EvilCounterpart (the Cain) to his half-sister Lena (the Abel). Ironically, even though he's the more evil of the two, Lena is the one who ends up killing him (at least temporarily)
* CardCarryingVillain: Like most versions of the character, Luthor usually deludes himself into thinking he's doing good, but his reaction to Ryan Choi stopping him from manipulating Mar Novu is to complain that he foiled "a perfectly good bad guy scheme".
* CastingGag: This isn't the first time Creator/JonCryer has played [[Film/SupermanIVTheQuestForPeace a member of the Luthor family]]. In fact, he specifically said he took this role to ''atone'' for Lenny Luthor.
* CatchAndReturn: During the attack of Kaznia at the end of season 4, Lex catches one of their missiles and sends it back to the aircraft carrier from which it was fired.
* TheChessmaster: He wouldn't be Lex Luthor if he wasn't this. It's revealed that, despite being in prison for four years, Lex has been slowly biding his time until opportunity knocks so he can get his revenge. When that opportunity comes in the form of Red Daughter, he deliberately sets up patsies in the east and west (Kaznia and Lockwood, respectively), manipulates Red Daughter, and even poisons himself with radiation, all to achieve his goals. Bonus points for the episode [[Recap/Supergirl2015S4E16TheHouseOfL where all this is revealed]] having Lex play multiple chess games at once and checkmating all at the same time.
* CollapsibleHelmet: The [[PoweredArmor Lexosuit]]'s helmet can fully retract into the suit.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Lex is a consummate backstabber who'd screw over just about anyone to get his way. By the end of Season Five of ''Supergirl'', Lena, Lillian, Eve, Red Daughter, Brainy, and Leviathan can all attest to that.
-->'''Supergirl''': Mar Novu, do ''not'' trust this man! Give him a knife to cut his food, and no matter how much he thanks you for the dinner, he ''will'' stab you in the back with it.\\
'''Lex''': Or the front. I'm not choosy.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Head of [=LuthorCorp=] and uses his company's money to fund his shenanigans, at least until he's imprisoned for life.
* TheCorrupter: Under Lex's influence, Eve went from a mere LoonyFan to accessory to treason and murder, while Red Daughter became a living weapon for Kaznia and a pawn for Lex's plots for world domination. He also managed to corrupt Lena by revealing the truth about Supergirl and manipulate her.
* CrazyPrepared: He made several bunkers around the world, all of which contain weapons and tools (''both man-made and intergalactic'') to combat Superman.
* DarkerAndEdgier: One of the darkest iterations of the character ever seen.
* DarkIsEvil: His [[PoweredArmor Lexosuits]] are darkly colored and scary-looking.
* DarkLordOnLifeSupport: In Season 4, he is [[EvilCripple wheelchair-bound]], dependent on respiratory equipment, and constantly [[IncurableCoughOfDeath coughing up]] [[BloodFromTheMouth blood]] as a result of his Kryptonite poisoning, which is slowly killing him. He later uses the Harun-El serum to cure himself. Then it turns out it wasn't Kryptonite poisoning; he ''gave himself'' cancer by exposing himself to radiation in order to manipulate Lena.
* DarkMessiah: Lex is a raging narcissist with a messiah complex, obsessed with proving himself the superior to {{Messianic Archetype}}s like Superman and Supergirl. Even in his more well-meaning moments (few and far between as they are), he uses cruel and underhanded methods and always has an ulterior, self-serving motive.
* DeadpanSnarker: He generally has a darkly witty demeanor and often makes droll remarks.
* DefiantToTheEnd:
** Lena mentions that he gave the authorities a hard time arresting him despite being bloodied and beaten.
** This is also how he dies. With his last breath, he gloats that Lena is now exactly like him and also reveals that Kara is Supergirl, meaning that her closest friends have been lying to her all along.
* DeliberateInjuryGambit: The radiation poisoning that Lex is suffering from and is slowly killing him? It's not from overexposure to Kryptonite; Lex poisoned himself with radiation so that he could play on Lena's sympathies and inject himself with the Harun-El in order to heal a dying Red Daughter with his blood.
* DidYouActuallyBelieve: When Supergirl offers to surrender to him in exchange for a way to disable his satellites in the Season 6 premiere, Lex goes to meet her with the satellites' remote controller but rather than give it to her he tries to kill her and says this:
-->'''Lex:''' You didn't actually think I was gonna give you the real key codes, did you?
* DiesWideOpen: After being shot by Lena in the Season 4 finale, he doesn't close his eyes when he finally expires. He still has them open when the Monitor comes to find his corpse a few moments later.
* DisappearedDad: His mother and sister talk about Lionel in past tense.
* DisneyVillainDeath: Subverted. At the end of Season 4, Lex's PoweredArmor malfunctions while he's in the air and he falls a long way to the ground. However, it later turns out that he survived by teleporting himself to his hideout before the impact. And then he's shot to death by Lena.
* DoNotTauntCthulhu: He gets painfully electrocuted by a very angry Gamemnae for killing her fellow Leviathan member Margot in "Deus Lex Machina".
* DrunkOnTheDarkSide: He truly enjoys doing evil. A good example is when he destroys Kaznia's forces while singing and laughing hysterically.
* EmpoweredBadassNormal: Gains superpowers after the Harun-El injection. He also gives himself superpowers after rewriting the Book of Destiny and naming himself a Paragon. And it happens again when he absorbs the powers of Leviathan.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes:
** His sister is his MoralityPet, as was the case in the comics. Strangely enough, he later hires the ruthless international assassin John Corben to kill her after she takes over [=LuthorCorp=] and tries to reform it, but in Season 4, he seems to be back at genuinely caring for her, despite manipulating her. He also made a deal with the Monitor after his resurrection to allow Lena to retain her Pre-Crisis memories and personality in return for doing what he asked.
** He also speaks fondly of Lena's mother, who was there for him more than his actual mother.
** Lillian, since she's a MamaBear and MamaDidntRaiseNoCriminal. {{Subverted|Trope}}, as it's revealed that Lex actually despises his mother for her abusive treatment. He's even perfectly willing to kill her just to tie up loose ends. However, in the Season 4 finale, it gets DoubleSubverted, as he indeed seems to cherish her somewhat, not even being willing to kill her after she tries to poison him.
** To the surprise of everyone, not least himself, he does eventually fall in love. [[spoiler:Unfortunately for everyone else, it's with [[UnholyMatrimony the mad fifth-dimensional imp Nyxlygsptlnz]], the only being he's ever found to be his equal in both intelligence and ruthless ambition. Having returned from a future where her plans for revenge and conquest ended in her death, he is determined to ensure that she succeeds.]]
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: Lex Luthor lives and breathes this trope, for example:
** Sending Red Daughter to learn about America almost backfired on him, as she started to see that the people there weren't as bad as she had been told.
** In "The Quest for Peace", he firmly believes that the truth is meaningless, and that using "spin" to manipulate the people will gain him their everlasting trust. For added karma, he gives this speech while a montage of people reading an article that exposes his crimes and ruins his plans is shown to the audience.
** In ''Series/{{Crisis On Infinite Earths|2019}}'', Lex is utterly dumbfounded to discover [[Series/{{Smallville}} Earth-167 Superman]] gave up his powers to raise his family as a normal man. The idea of giving up all that power to be happy is impossible for Lex to comprehend. He also assumes that ''only'' Earth-167 Clark is Superman, refusing to believe it's the same for his Clark Kent.
** In "Deus Lex Machina", he genuinely didn't consider that arranging for the death of Jeremiah Danvers would cause Lena to have sympathy for Kara, and lead her to try and mend fences.
** In "The Missing Link", he believed the failure of Lena's project would convince her that taking over the world would be the only sane option. He turned out to be ''very'' wrong on that.
* EvilerThanThou:
** It’s saying something when an extremely despicable xenophobe like Lockwood [[EvenEvilHasStandards doesn’t want anything to do with you]]. Needless to say, Lockwood is livid when he finds out that Luthor has been manipulating him all along.
** When she realizes how cruel Lex truly is, Post-Crisis Eve Teschmacher accuses him of being even worse than Leviathan.
* EvilFormerFriend: It's not specified if he's this for Clark, for his superhero identity, or for both, but it is confirmed through dialogues that they were once the best of friends.
* EvilIsHammy: He can become rather dramatic when provoked.
* EvilIsPetty: Oooh, boy! "Petty" barely begins to describe Lex Luthor:
** The reason he became a domestic terrorist at all was to kill one man just for being ''more popular than him''.
** In a flashback to his days of supervillain glory, he has police helicopters shot down just because they interrupted his EvilGloating to Lena. He also poisoned the entire courtroom after his sentence was passed.
** Exposing Kara's secret to Lena as he lies dying is nothing but an act of raw spite towards his killer; with his last breaths, Lex sneers that Lena will be alone in the world after he's gone.
** This is taken further in ''Series/{{Crisis on Infinite Earths|2019}}''. What does he view as his first priority, knowing that there is a multiversal threat out there, killing billions of people? He steals the Book of Destiny and scours TheMultiverse, trying to kill off all possible versions of Superman, [[ForTheEvulz just because he can]]. He then one-ups that by [[RealityWarper rewriting reality]] so he becomes the the Paragon of Truth, killing Earth-96 Superman in the process.
** And then, post-crisis, he not only manipulates Eve, who has just been forced to be an assassin by Leviathan, to help him manipulate everyone else in his favour, he also has her kill Jeremiah Danvers, lying to her about him being her father's killer, then later gloats to her about it in her face while also holding her mother hostage. And he did all that as payback for her manipulating him in the previous timeline (which she now never did).
* EvilMentor: To Red Daughter, manipulating her into hating the United States in general and Supergirl in particular and becoming his loyal lackey.
* EvilPlan: Turns out all of his schemes were to abduct aliens to power a KillSat to destroy Argo City and kill his ArchEnemy Superman once and for all.
* EvilVersusOblivion: Lex serves as the evil when he finally decides to help the heroes against the oblivion that is the Anti-Monitor in ''Crisis On Infinite Earths''.
* FakeUltimateHero:
** He is hailed as a hero at the end of season 4 for having defeated the Kaznian army and the evil Supergirl, but in reality it was he who manipulated them into attacking the United States.
** Post-Crisis, Lex is considered one of the greatest heroes on Earth, despite the fact that he is still as evil as ever.
* FakingTheDead: At the end of season 4, Lex's PoweredArmor malfunctions, so he teleports to his hideout while it crashes to the ground, leaving everyone to assume that he died in the crash. However, this doesn't last long as Lena is waiting for him in the hideout with a loaded gun.
* FalseFriend: To Red Daughter; he pretends to be her friend "Alex" and teaches her his own philosophy in order to gain his coveted pet Kryptonian.
** Also to Eve Teschmacher Post Crisis. He claims to want to help her escape Leviathan and avenge her father's death, but in reality he is just manipulating her for his own purposes.
* FantasticRacism: He is infamous for his anti-alien stance, which is most likely the reason for his beef with Superman. He got it from his mother.
* FatalFlaw: He has two.
** {{Pride}}: He's convinced he's the smartest man in the world, and deserves to be worshipped as such. Not only did this lead to his vendetta against Kryptonians over Superman upstaging him, it also blinded him to the fact that Leviathan was manipulating him in the pre-Crisis universe. His insistence on doing things his own way also drives to ignore sound advice from others, simply because he believes he's already thought of everything.
** {{Wrath}}: His hatred for anyone who crosses him, especially Kryptonians, drives him to unnecessary extremes which often backfire on him. He ended up in jail when he nearly destroyed the world in an attempt to make the sun red. In the post-Crisis world, despite Lillian's advice to the contrary, he just couldn't let go of his hatred for Kryptonians. He tricked Eve into killing Jeremiah Danvers to spite Supergirl, which almost caused Lena to reconcile with Kara.
* FauxAffablyEvil: Most of the time, Lex sounds calm, rational, and even philosophical. Even ignoring his many crimes and InsufferableGenius tendencies, all it takes is someone paying Superman a minor compliment for Lex to go completely berserk.
* FlyingFirepower:
** When wearing his [[PoweredArmor Lexosuit]], he can fly and fire energy beams.
** After absorbing the Leviathan's powers, he becomes capable of flying on his own and shooting lightning with his hands.
* FreudianExcuse: Was taught that LoveIsAWeakness by his mother from a very young age. As an explicit example, Lex recounts how Lillian forced him to go on a business trip with his father when his beloved pet dog Ignatius had to be put down.
* TheGhost: He doesn't appear in the flesh until ''Supergirl'''s fourth season, with him only appearing as a child in a Season 2 flashback.
* GivingThemTheStrip: At the end of season 4, Kara grabs him by the arm in an attempt to save him when his Lexosuit malfunctions while he's in the air, but he unhooks his gauntlet and lets himself fall as he refuses to be saved by a Kryptonian.
* GlassCannon: Even when he comes into possession of extremely powerful weaponry or magic, like the Book of Destiny, it’s still remarkably easy for any BadassNormal to incapacitate him or knock him out.
* AGodAmI: He claims to be a god after absorbing Leviathan's powers.
* GottaKillThemAll: During ''Series/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', Lex uses the Book of Destiny to try to kill every alternate version of Superman.
* GotVolunteered: In Hour Four of ''Crisis''. When the Paragons build a device that could possibly get them out of the Vanishing Point, Supergirl insists that Lex be the one to test it, thanking him for "volunteering".
* GreenAndMean: Similar to the comics, his PoweredArmor is mostly colored in dark green.
* GreenEyedMonster: The reason he hates Superman so much. If Metropolis were a high school, Lex would be the ex-BigManOnCampus dethroned by Superman.
* HardLight: He has light powers during his stance with the other Paragons, since he rewrote the Book of Destiny to have such powers.
* HateSink: Lex is a smug, ruthless and egotistical villain is easy to hate due to his constant treacherous, sociopathy and megalomaniacal demeanor. He cements this trope after it is revealed he manipulated Eve into killing Jeremiah Danvers.
* HeadsUpDisplay: Every [[PoweredArmor Lexosuit]] is controlled by a a HUD.
* HeartLight: All the [[PoweredArmor Lexosuits]] have three glowing pentagons forming some kind of triangle on their chestplate.
* HeroKiller: In ''Series/{{Crisis On Infinite Earths|2019}}'', he steals the Book of Destiny and uses it to travel TheMultiverse, killing the Superman on each Earth, until he comes across [[Series/{{Smallville}} Earth-167 Superman]] who had given up his powers.
** He also causes the deaths of Red Daughter and Jeremiah Danvers.
** He actually manages to kill Kara herself in the Season 6 premiere, though she's revived shortly after.
* HijackedByGanon: Near the end of season 4, it was revealed that Lex was behind all the villains of the season. He does this again Post-Crisis in season 5, gradually taking prominence over Lena and Leviathian before emerging as the story arcs FinalBoss in the season 6 premiere.[[note]]Which would have been the season 5 finale if the COVID-19 Pandemic hand't cut production of the previous season short.[[/note]]
* {{Hypocrite}}:
** Lex talks a big game about how Superman's very existence detracts from humanity, yet by James' testimony, he tried to recruit the Man of Steel as an ally early in their rivalry.
** Lex invalidates his own humanist rhetoric with such speed that it's almost funny; during his trial, after giving a speech about his noble goals in defending humanity from aliens like Superman, he poisons the entire courtroom out of spite over the guilty verdict, showing how little human life really means to him.
** In his childhood diary, Lex derided Lena as "pathetic" for seeking his approval. Yet as an adult, his entire motivation is to be approved as a "hero" by the entire world.
** In "The Quest for Peace", he claims to be hurt that Lena thinks so little of him, despite the fact that he thinks even less of her.
** He uses (what he thinks are) his last words to call Lena a fool for not realizing Kara is Supergirl. When ''Crisis'' rolls around, it turns out he has an even ''worse'' blindspot when it comes to Clark and Superman: Even after learning they're the same person on [[Series/{{Smallville}} Earth-167]], he assumes that can't possibly be true where he comes from, or he would have figured it out by now.
** In Hour Four of ''Crisis'', he claims that Kryptonians always take things so personally. His reason for hating Kryptonians is entirely personal, being based on his outrage at being overshadowed by Superman.
* IconicSequelCharacter: Doesn't appear in the show until its fourth season (and in the Series/{{Arrowverse}} until the seventh year).
* IDidWhatIHadToDo: When Kara accuses him of being the same as Leviathan (and what he believes her and her cousin are) in his attempts to subjugate humanity to his will in the season 6 premiere, he retorts that he is doing what is necessary for the common good.
-->'''Kara:''' You're a man with alien DNA coursing through him, thinking he knows what's best for this world. Sound familiar?\\
'''Lex:''' Sounds like someone willing to do whatever it takes to save humanity.
* IfIWantedYouDead: After inviting Lena and Lillian to the White House at the end of Season 4, he tries to reassure them that they have nothing to fear from him by saying this trope.
-->'''Lex:''' I mean, look. We all know if I wanted you two dead, you wouldn't be treading on the presidential seal having a tea party.
* ILied: He does this all the time. He promises Kaznia to help them take over the United States, but he betrays them. He promises Eve Teschmacher to help her find her father's killer, but he betrays her. He promises Leviathan to help them subjugate humanity, but he betrays them. You'd think people would stop trusting him by now...
* ImprobablyPredictable: At least, Lena seems to think so.
** At the end of Season 4, Lena guesses that Lex is going to fake his death and take refuge in his hideout, so she waits for him there and takes away his powers as soon as he arrives, accusing him of being predictable.
--->'''Lena:''' What can I say, Lex? You've become predictable.
** During the exchange in the Season 6 premiere, Supergirl knows that Lex is planning to betray her and use Kryptonite to kill her, so she and Lena take a few precautions.
--->'''Supergirl:''' You're predictable. You can thank your sister for proving that.
* InformedAttribute: Justified. He is only the Paragon of Truth due to stealing that role from Earth-96 Clark, which he did through serious deception and manipulation.
* InstantArmor: His [[PoweredArmor Lexosuits]] can assemble around his body in an instant, coming seemingly out of nowhere.
* {{Irony}}: He became the Paragon of Truth through a cheap trick and a lie.
* ItsAllAboutMe: As always, nothing means more to Lex Luthor than Lex Luthor. His hatred for Superman is driven by Lex's own feelings of inferiority towards the Man of Steel, and everything he does in "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" is part of an elaborate gambit to cure his cancer. During ''[[Series/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths2019 Crisis on Infinite Earths]]'', he steals the Book of Destiny just to murder alternate versions of Superman, writes himself as the Paragon of Truth in Earth-96 Superman's place and attempts to get all versions of Superman RetGone.
* ItsPersonal: In a letter he leaves for Lena after chloroforming her during his debut episode, he admits that his actions against her were very much personal, since she testified against him during his trial.
-->'''Lex:''' Dear Lena, I wish I could say it wasn't personal -planting a spy, stealing your research- but it is. What'd you expect? You betrayed me first.
* {{Jerkass}}: Almost without fail, Lex is an arrogant, self-righteous, insufferable, power-hungry and condescending prick who can't resist any opportunity to put other people down or praise his own bloated ego.
-->'''Ryan Choi:''' "Narcissist", "sociopath", "evil genius"...there are a lot of ways to describe Lex Luthor. But I find "douchebag" to be the most descriptive.
* JerkassHasAPoint: During Crisis, Lex points out to Kara that he did what she never bothered to do: be honest with Lena about Supergirl's identity. For all of Lex's villainy and Kara's rage at him, he's not wrong.
* JokerImmunity: Just like in the comics, there's simply no way to get rid of Lex Luthor permanently. This guy will always make it through whatever he has to endure, whether it's prison, cancer, or even death, as proven when he gets murdered by Lena and is resurrected by the Monitor shortly after.
* KarmaHoudini:
** At the end of season 4, Lex's plans are ruined and he is murdered by Lena, but the Monitor arrives and resurrects him to be of service during Crisis, allowing Lex to cheat the reaper.
** Thanks to making himself a Paragon Lex is able to survive the Crisis and in the Post-Crisis world he gains a new life, one where his crimes are unexposed, L-Corp has turned back into Lex Corp, and the world sees him as a hero.
** Season 5 ends with Lex still free and clear, even if he's lost his partnership with Lena. This is a case of RealLifeWritesThePlot, as the coronavirus pandemic forced production of the show to halt before the finale could be filmed.
** [[spoiler:Despite losing the powers he gained from absorbing the abilities of Leviathan and having his crimes exposed to the public by Eve in the Season 6 premiere, Lex uses Eve and Lena's involvement in his schemes to discredit them during his trial and is exonerated by the next episode.]]
* LackOfEmpathy: Human life means nothing at all to Lex; in the space of two episodes and a flashback, he endangers millions of lives just to hurt Superman, kills over a dozen people in person, and has James shot so Lex can callously manipulate his own sister in order to save himself from dying.
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: [[spoiler:In the Season 6 premiere Lena uses Myriad to remove Lex's knowledge of Supergirl's identity from his mind once he's in jail in order to keep Kara save.]]
* {{Leitmotif}}: ''Music/MyWay''.
* TheManBehindTheMan:
** He's the "consult" to Kaznia on how to train and condition Red Daughter. In short, he's the brains of the program and the Defense Minister does everything he recommends.
** To Ben Lockwood and the Children of Liberty. Lex wanted a patsy, specially one who was charismatic and would stir up trouble. Otis showed Lex one of Ben's brochures, then Lex ordered Otis and Mercy to provide Ben with the resources to take the movement off.
* ManipulativeBastard: Quite an impressive one at that; over the course of Season 4, Lex manages to manipulate Lena, the police, Eve, the Kaznian and American governments; Lockwood and the Children of Liberty; and especially Red Daughter, to further his goals.
* MadScientist: Brilliant? Yes. Unhinged and driven by his desire to kill Superman? Double yes!
* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident:
** When Red Daughter attacks an American ship against his orders, Lex goes to help her and says he'll try to make it look like an accident, sabotage or friendly fire.
** When he sends Eve to kill Jeremiah Danvers in season 5, he tells her not to shoot him but to use a untraceable poison instead to pass it off as an accident.
* MasterOfDisguise: Lex is surprisingly good when it comes to disguise. Despite being a pretty well-known figure, he manages to use a disguise to walk around National City alongside Red Daughter without anyone noticing, and to pass himself off as a bartender to manipulate Richard Bates in Season 5.
* MightAsWellNotBeInPrisonAtAll: When he was incarcerated at Stryker's Island Penitentiary, he pretty much ran the place, having the warden in his pocket and being able to leave for at least three days at frequent intervals without anyone noticing.
* MonsterProtectionRacket: Throughout season 4, he manipulates the Red Daughter and Kaznia's army into attacking the United States so that he can defeat them himself and win the trust of the American people.
* MoralMyopia: He's convinced that the world will one day thank him for his actions, actions that include mass destruction and the murder of innocents.
* {{Narcissist}}: In "Back From the Future - Part 1", he is annoyed that no-one is buying his action figure, stating that he expected it to be "a collector's item".
* ANaziByAnyOtherName: As if his genocidal plans against aliens weren't enough indication, during the Season 4 finale, he actually quotes Hitler.
* NeverMyFault: Just before being sentenced for his crimes, he had the nerve to claim "Superman made me do it".
* NoodleIncident: Currently imprisoned for causing a massive earthquake, as in [[Film/SupermanTheMovie the first Superman movie]]. During Episode 15 of Season 4, we get a glimpse of it. He also somehow caused the sun to turn red.
* NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist: Lex claims to be a humanist, freeing humanity from the false god that is Superman. It takes all of seven words from Lena for Lex to start raving, revealing his true motives to be nothing more than [[FantasticRacism racism]], [[DrivenByEnvy envy]], and [[{{Narcissist}} narcissism]].
-->'''Lena:''' ''[about Superman]'' At least ''he'' was a good man.\\
'''Lex:''' [[SuddenlyShouting HE IS]] ''[[SuddenlyShouting NOT]]'' [[SuddenlyShouting A MAN!]] ''I'' WAS THE MAN OF TOMORROW! NOT HIM! ''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis NOT!]]'' ''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis HIM!]]''
* NothingCanStopMeNow:
** He declares this in the finale of season 4 when he thinks that Supergirl is dead and he has total control of the United States.
--->'''Lex:''' I am the leader of this nation now, and nothing can stop me.
** He boasts about being invincible when he faces the Superfriends while possessing the powers of Leviathan during the season 6 premiere.
--->'''Lex:''' You still think you can beat me? I'm invincible!\\
'''Dreamer:''' [[ShutUpHannibal Not if we have anything to say about it.]]
* NothingPersonal: During his fight with Kara in Hour Four of ''Crisis'', he tells her not to take personally the fact that he revealed her secret identity to Lena.
-->'''Lex:''' All I did was tell her the truth, something you never had the courage to do! Don't take it personally.
* NotMeThisTime: In "Alex In Wonderland", William suspects that Lex is responsible for the Obsidian users being trapped in the VR, but it's actually the Leviathan's doing. Subverted, as the following episode reveals that Lex was indeed behind it.
* OffhandBackhand: When he reveals to Red Daughter that he betrayed Kaznia at the end of season 4, he casually blows a Kaznian jet out of the sky without even turning to look.
* OffscreenVillainy: All his asshole credentials are exclusive to his confrontations with Superman, at least until Season 4, where he racks up an impressively long list of onscreen villainy.
* OhCrap: Lex has his reaction during ''Crisis On Infinite Earths'' when his piece of Kryptonite has no effect on Earth-167 Clark Kent.
* OmnicidalManiac: In the season 6 premiere, Lex plans to kill everyone on Earth aside from his brainwashed followers, and then do the same to every planet in the universe.
* {{Omniglot}}: Lex was taught at a young age to speak several languages fluently, including English, Russian, [[SmartPeopleKnowLatin Latin]] and Kaznian. He's also one of the few human beings capable of understanding Kryptonese.
* OneManArmy:
** Lex manages to single-handedly defeat the entire Kaznian forces at the end of season 4 with the help of his [[PoweredArmor Lexosuit]].
** The light powers he gave himself via the Book of Destiny allow him to slay a large number of enemies during the battle against the Anti-Monitor's army in Hour Four of ''Crisis On Infinite Earths''.
** After absorbing the powers of Leviathan in the season 6 premiere, Lex becomes so powerful that he is able to overcome Supergirl, J'onn J'onzz, Dreamer, Miss Martian and Alex combined, and would have have gotten rid of them for good if Alex hadn't managed to depower him.
* OneSteveLimit: Averted. The fact that he has a similar first name as main character Alex Danvers is what allows him to manipulate Red Daughter in the first place.
* OutOfFocus: [[spoiler: Becomes this in season 6 after being BroughtDownToNormal, exonerated for his crimes, and back to running L-Corp once Lena abdicates her position. He's still presumably in the background running the company, but the main focus of the heroes is on getting Kara back from the Phantom Zone and then stopping Nyxly]].
* PlayingBothSides:
** In Season 4, Lex pretends to support both the Kaznians and the President of the United States.
** In Season 5. Brainy, Eve, Lena, Supergirl and Leviathan are all his pawns.
* PoweredArmor: He still uses his Lexosuit, even after gaining powers.
* PragmaticVillainy: At the end of season 5, Gamemnae wants to kill all the Obsidian VR users before Supergirl can convince them to return to reality, but Lex talks her out of it because they haven't reached at least 50% saturation yet, so the remaining human population might turn against them, plus her boss won't be happy.
* PresentAbsence:
** Lex doesn't appear in the flesh until Season 4 of ''Supergirl'', but his influence is very evident, particularly where Lena is concerned.
** Despite being the season's BigBad, Lex only appears directly in two mid-season episodes, then disappears for several subsequent episodes. Despite this, he still manages to dominate the plot as the heroes struggle to decipher and dismantle his plans.
* PunchCatch:
** Lex manages to do this to Kara in their first encounter, showing how strong the Harun-El has made him.
** He's on the receiving hand of this trope when he tries to fight Earth-167 Clark Kent during ''Crisis On Infinite Earths''.
* RavenHairIvorySkin: Flashbacks reveal that, unlike his typically redheaded counterpart in the comics, this version of Lex has very dark brown hair and pale skin, just like his biological half-sister Lena.
* RealAwardFictionalCharacter: After the new Earth is rebuilt Post-Crisis, one of the first things Lex does is to go receive a Nobel Peace Prize.
* RoguesGalleryTransplant: In-universe, he was a Superman villain before becoming a Supergirl villain.
* SanitySlippage: Lena flat-out says that he went insane. Lillian, on the other hand, firmly believes that he's just [[DrivenToVillainy "the victim of the situation he was in"]].
* SarcasticClapping: When he shows up in the Fortress of Solitude while Kara is recording her VideoWills in the season 6 premiere, he claps his hands before starting to taunt her.
* SayMyName: Much like his counterpart from the Richard Donner's films (or Cat Grant for that matter), he has the habit of angrily yelling "'''Miss Teschmacher'''" whenever he needs Eve to do something.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: After Supergirl wins their BeamOWar during the final battle of Season 4, Lex promptly puts on his Lexosuit and tries to escape by flying away. However, he doesn't get very far due to his suit being damaged.
* SelectiveObliviousness: While he deduces Supergirl's identity with ease, Lex is hilariously oblivious to Superman's; even meeting a Clark Kent from [[Series/{{Smallville}} another world]] who was Superman, Lex doesn't believe for a second that the Clark Kent he knows (despite the fact that they've known each other for years and were once friends) could ever be Superman.
* ShameIfSomethingHappened: When captured by the Superfriends in the Season 6 premiere, he threatens to reveal Supergirl's secret identity if they send him to jail and reminds them that she has enemies that could go after her family and friends.
-->'''Lex:''' It would be tragic if Mama Danvers or your lovely Kelly Olsen were to become the target of one of... [''gets punched by Lena'']
* ShoutOut: The way he uses his [[PoweredArmor Lexosuits]] is very reminiscent of [[Characters/MCUIronMan the MCU version of Iron Man]].
* SiblingYinYang: He is positively malevolent; his sister is much more benevolent.
* SmartPeopleKnowLatin: When he was a kid, Lex's tutor punished him by forcing him to repeat "I don't like myself" in Latin[[note]]"Ego me non placebo"[[/note]].
* SmartPeoplePlayChess: Lex is one of the smartest person on Earth and he naturally has a fondness for playing chess. He was taught to play as a child by a Russian chess grandmaster named Anatoly Karpov, and he often played chess with Lena when they were younger. During his time in prison, he even taught some of his fellow inmates how to play so he could compete with several of them at the same time.
* TheSociopath: Lex is infamously known for being a cruel, manipulative and egotistical megalomaniac that's so ruthless, he'll poison almost anyone in the courtroom after he's been arrested.
* SoProudOfYou:
** In his first appearance, he tells Lena that he's proud of her for having succeeded in creating synthetic Kryptonite, something that even he has never been able to do. While he was manipulating her at the time and trying to gain her sympathy, it's possible that he was actually being sincere about this.
** He also tells Lena that her big brother is proud of her after she conned Andrea to obtain her technology in season 5.
* SuddenlyShouting: He's prone to this if his BerserkButton is pushed. He's normally fairly soft-spoken... until he isn't. The switch between normal conversing tone and angry screaming is always sudden and with no build-up whatsoever.
* SuperStrength:
** He's able to catch a punch from Supergirl and pick up the giant ''Daily Planet'' statue after injecting himself with the Harun-El.
** He becomes strong enough to bend steel with one punch after absorbing Leviathan's powers.
* SureLetsGoWithThat: When he meets the Red Daughter for the first time and introduces himself as Lex, she asks him if he's "Alex", the only person whose name she remembers. He goes along with it, seeing this as an opportunity to manipulate her more easily.
-->'''Lex:''' My name is Lex.\\
'''Red Daughter:''' Alex?\\
'''Lex:''' ...Sure. Alex.
* TaintedVeins: Large veins become visible on his body after he uses the Harun-El to become super strong.
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: During Crisis, Lex is part of the group of champions assembled by the Monitor. No one, not even Novu himself, is happy to have him around, and both Kara and Kate show active hostility towards him.
* ThisCannotBe:
** He can hardly believe his eyes when he sees that Supergirl has survived her fight with Red Daughter at the end of season 4.
--->'''Lex:''' How are you alive? How did you do it?
** In the Season 6 premiere, Lex is dumbfounded when Supergirl, who was poisoned by Kryptonite moments ago, turns out to still be alive, and the other heroes have managed to foil his plan by destroying his satellites. All he can do is utter a little "How?".
* TimeShiftedActor: He was portrayed by a different actor when he was a kid in the flashback scenes of season 2.
* TokenEvilTeammate: He serves as this for the Crisis team assembled by Mar Novu, and for the Paragons after replacing Superman of Earth-96. Exactly no one, not even the Monitor himself, is pleased with his presence.
* {{Troll}}: During a talk with Kara in "Back From the Future - Part 1". Lex smugly says "Kara Danvers is Supergirl" directly into Kara's recorder, driving her to crush it seconds later.
* TheUnfavorite: Whereas Lena was this for Lillian, Lex was apparently this for Lionel, who was much closer to Lena and treated her a lot better than him.
* TheUnfettered: After losing his freedom, company, and reputation, Lex only cares about getting revenge on Superman or [[RevengeByProxy whatever Kryptotian he can reach]] and literally nothing else. He even gave himself cancer just to get a working Harun-El serum so he could cure Red Daughter.
* TheUnfought: He is already in jail by Season 2. Before that, his fights are mostly with Superman. {{Averted}} in Season 4 where he goes toe-to-toe with Supergirl.
* UnseenNoMore: He and his past crimes are referenced frequently, and some of his weapons (including his PoweredArmor) and even one of his security houses are used by his family, but, aside from some childhood flashbacks, he doesn't appear properly until Season 4 as the BigBad.
* UsedToBeASweetKid: In the flashbacks, he seems quite far from the world-renowned criminal he becomes in the modern day. However, even back then, he [[KidsAreCruel wasn't quite right in the head]] as he, according to Lena, would often carefully build an elaborate anthill, lure the ants into it with a false sense of security, and incinerate them on an open flame.
* VillainHasAPoint:
** In "The Quest for Peace". While mocking Red Daughter for naively trusting him, he points out that she could have found out everything about him via a quick search on the Internet, if she had only thought to do so.
** When Supergirl protests Lex joining her and Ryan on the mission to keep Mar Novu from travelling to the dawn of time, Lex points out that she wouldn't want him out of her sight for even a millisecond. He proves this statement right moments after they arrive on Maltus, attacking Supergirl and attempting to enact his [[WorldDomination own plans]].
* VillainOfAnotherStory: His confrontations are mostly with Superman off-screen, though he did eventually square-off against Kara.
* VillainRevealsTheSecret: He's the one who reveals to Lena that Kara Danvers is Supergirl at the end of Season 4. While he's dying, no less.
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: While he was an infamous terrorist Pre-Crisis, the Post-Crisis Earth resets things so that his villainy is in the dark to those not aware of events from the original multiverse.
* VillainousLegacy: Although he's defeated in the Season 4 finale, his actions leave a profound impact on the following season. His DyingCurse to Lena is the reveal that Supergirl and Kara are one and the same and have been playing her this whole time which, combined with the act of [[GainingTheWillToKill her shooting him to begin with]], ultimately spurs her path to villainy in Season 5. She also continues to make use of his notes and technology on her villainous path.
* VillainousValor: Whatever else can be said about him, Lex is a normal man who puts himself up against {{Physical God}}s like Superman, Supergirl, and Leviathan's leadership. He's even willing to endure great pain and suffering to see his plans through. What Lex lacks in morality, he clearly makes up for in raw nerve.
* VillainSong:
** He sings "My Way" by Frank Sinatra while fighting Kaznian's forces at the end of season 4.
** He also sings "We are the Champion" by Queen when stealing weapons from the Fortress of Solitude in the season 6 premiere
* WeUsedToBeFriends: Both Lillian and James mention that he and Clark/Superman were best friends once, likely a MythologyGag to ''Series/{{Smallville}}''.
* WhatIsOneMansLifeInComparison: When Red Daughter endangers their work by attacking an American ship to avenge the death of Mikhail, Lex berates her by saying this trope.
-->'''Lex:''' You could have compromised all of our work!\\
'''Red Daughter:''' They killed Mikhail!\\
'''Lex:''' What is one life? One life is nothing next to the world!
* WhyWontYouDie: Lex angrily asks Kara how she can still be alive after her fight with Red Daughter at the end of Season 4, and then complains about the fact that Superman and her always finds a way to survive his assassination attempts.
-->'''Lex:''' How are you alive? How did you do it?\\
'''Supergirl:''' [[IronicEcho How do you think I did it? I'm Supergirl!]]\\
'''Lex:''' Just like your cousin. No matter how many times I stamp you out, you miraculously resurface with your glossy cape and your perfect hair.
* WickedCultured: Lex is a highly educated sociopath, quoting philosophers to illustrate the depths of his loathing for Superman.
* WorldsSmartestMan: As per the norm with Lex, he is typically considered the smartest man in the world, or at the very least on Earth-38/Prime.
* WouldHarmASenior: He's not above killing old people, as shown in Season 5 when he kills [[EvilOldFolks Margot Morrison, the old woman working for Leviathan]].
* WouldHitAGirl: Obviously, he has no problem with killing women, having tried to kill Supergirl countless times. He also killed Red Daughter, and tried to kill other women such as Alex, and even Lena on occasions.
* WouldHurtAChild: Ordered Otis to murder Mikhail, a young Kaznian boy with whom Red Daughter is close, in order to fuel her hatred against America.
* WouldRatherSuffer: When Supergirl tries to save him in the season 4 finale, he tells her that he would rather die than be saved by a Kryptonian.
* YouAreNotReady: When Red Daughter asks to go to America in "The House of L", Lex tells her she's not ready for that yet.
* YouAreTooLate:
** At the end of "The House of L", Lena realizes that Lex was manipulating her all along to get the Harun-El so she tells him that she'll never let him have it. However, Lex then reveals that he already had someone give it to him ten minutes ago...
** During the Season 6 premiere, Lex goes to the Fortress of Solitude and poisons Supergirl with Kryptonite before leaving her for dead. When J'onn J'onzz shows up shortly after, he tells her that he arrived too late since his friend is already dead.
--->'''Lex:''' Well, if you're here to save the Girl of Steel, you're one glam rock hit too late.
* YouCantMakeAnOmelette: Says this to Brainiac in Season 5 when trying to convince him that they should allow Leviathan to kill Supergirl and the other heroes.
-->'''Lex:''' I don't want your friends to die either, but sometimes, for the greater good, you have to break a few super-eggs.
* YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe: His reaction when he realizes that Earth-167 Clark Kent has given up his powers in order to become a family man.
-->'''Lex:''' You're kidding me...
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: He's quick to eliminate those who are no longer necessary to his plans.
* YoungerThanTheyLook: The years have certainly not been kind to him, as he looks far older than a man in his thirties [[note]]Creator/JonCryer is in his fifties and actually just five years younger than Creator/BrendaStrong, the actress who plays his mom[[/note]]. This is later actually brought up, as Lillian tells him that cancer aged him prematurely, despite the fact that he already looked that way before the cancer.
* YouSeeImDying: After giving himself cancer, he contacts Lena to inform her that he is dying from Kryptonite poisoning and needs her help. Apparently, he mentioned the fact that he's dying at least twice in all of his phone call for six weeks.
* YouWillBeSpared: In the Season 6 premiere, Lex's plan is to brainwash half the world's population into loving him and kill the other half, but he tells his mother that he made sure she would be safe from either of those two outcomes. On the other hand, he has no intention of doing the same for his sister, until Lillian insists that he change his mind.
* YouWontFeelAThing: Says this to an alien prisoner before putting him in a draining battery on Shelley Island.
-->'''Lex:''' Don't worry, it won't hurt.
-->''(The prisoner screams in pain)''
-->'''Lex:''' Guess I was wrong.
* YouWouldntShootMe: When Lena pulls a gun on him at the end of season 4, Lex scoffs at her and says that she'll never actually shoot him. She proves him wrong.
-->'''Lex:''' Come on, Lena. This is no time for teatrics. We both know, no matter how much you despise me, you're not ruthless enough to pull that trigger.

[[folder:Lionel Luthor]]
!!Lionel Luthor
!!! '''Species:''' Human
!!! '''Portrayed By''': Ian Butcher
!!! '''First Appearance:''' "[[Recap/Supergirl2015S2E12Luthors Luthors]]" (''Supergirl'' 2x12)
!!! '''Appearances:''' ''Series/{{Supergirl|2015}}''

Father of ComicBook/{{Lex|Luthor}} and Lena Luthor and Lex's predecessor as [[AccidentalPun head]] of [=LuthorCorp=].

-> see Characters/Titans2018OtherCharacters for the Earth-9 character who bears his name and background
-> see Characters/SupermanFilmSeries for Mr Luthor, the Earth-96 character who bears his last name and background
-> see Characters/SmallvilleLuthorCorp for the Earth-167 character who bears his name and background
-> see Characters/SmallvilleEarth2 for an AlternateUniverse Earth-167 character who bears his name and background
-> see Characters/DCEULexCorp page for the character in an undesignated Earth who bears his surname and background

* AdaptationalNiceGuy: He is usually depicted as an AbusiveParent in the comics and most adaptations. Here, he's AmbiguouslyEvil, but Lena thinks very highly of him. That said, Lex's comments from "The House Of L" paint him in a darker light (with Lex saying his staying with his family was worse than his leaving) and he apparently was a drunk, so perhaps he wasn't so nice after all.
* TheAlcoholic: In "The House of L", Lex mentions that his father was an alcoholic, a claim that Lena doesn't dispute.
* AlliterativeName: '''L'''ionel '''L'''uthor.
* AmbiguouslyEvil: While Lena certainly thinks that he's a good man, Lillian disputes it. However, it may well just be bitterness on Lillian's part due to him [[WomanScorned cheating on her]]. Lex also doesn't seem to have many fond memories of him, but then again it is [[CardCarryingVillain Lex]], so who knows. Maybe he [[ParentalFavouritism just liked Lena]].
* BlackAndGrayMorality: He is AmbiguouslyEvil, but his wife [[CardCarryingVillain certainly isn't]].
* HereditaryHairstyle: Or lack thereof, as both he and his son are bald.
* MythologyGag: The first names of both him and his wife are directly taken from their counterparts on ''Series/{{Smallville}}''.
* ThePatriarch: Of the Luthor family, at least until he died.
* PosthumousCharacter: Lillian and Lena talk about him in past tense.
[[/folder]]

----

* MenAreTheExpendableGender: Lionel is a PosthumousCharacter while Lex was killed in the Season 4 finale. [[spoiler:Lex comes BackFromTheDead the following season, though]].

* OutlivingOnesOffspring: [[spoiler: Her son Lex is killed at the end of the fourth season, albeit not for long.]]

** In "Exodus", she also claims that Alex must be lying when she says that she has planted mines in her base and threatens to detonate them. [[spoiler:She's not]].

** [[spoiler:In Season 5, his revealing of Supergirl's identity to Lena causes her to become a major antagonist in the first half of the season, and once he's resurrected in the second half he manipulates both her and Leviathan so that he can steal the latter's powers and become the next Anti-Monitor.]]

** [[spoiler:After his resurrection in Season 5, he is still obviously up to no good, but he opposes Leviathan, playing all sides.]]

* CainAndAbel: He's the EvilCounterpart (the Cain) to his half-sister Lena (the Abel). [[spoiler:Ironically, even though he's the more evil of the two, Lena is the one who ends up killing him (at least temporarily).]]

* DisneyVillainDeath: Subverted. At the end of Season 4, Lex's PoweredArmor malfunctions while he's in the air and he falls a long way to the ground. However, it later turns out that he survived by teleporting himself to his hideout before the impact. [[spoiler: And then he's shot to death by Lena.]]

** In "Deus Lex Machina", [[spoiler:he genuinely didn't consider that arranging for the death of Jeremiah Danvers would cause Lena to have sympathy for Kara, and lead her to try and mend fences]].
** In "The Missing Link", [[spoiler:he believed the failure of Lena's project would convince her that taking over the world would be the only sane option. He turned out to be ''very'' wrong on that]].

** And then, post-crisis, he [[spoiler: not only manipulates Eve, who has just been forced to be an assassin by Leviathan, to help him manipulate everyone else in his favour, he also has her kill Jeremiah Danvers, lying to her about him being her father's killer, then later gloats to her about it in her face while also holding her mother hostage. And he did all that as payback for her manipulating him in the previous timeline (which she now never did)]].

** {{Wrath}}: His hatred for anyone who crosses him, especially Kryptonians, drives him to unnecessary extremes which often backfire on him. He ended up in jail when he nearly destroyed the world in an attempt to make the sun red. In the post-Crisis world, despite Lillian's advice to the contrary, he just couldn't let go of his hatred for Kryptonians. [[spoiler:He tricked Eve into killing Jeremiah Danvers to spite Supergirl, which almost caused Lena to reconcile with Kara.]]

* HateSink: Lex is a smug, ruthless and egotistical villain is easy to hate due to his constant treacherous, sociopathy and megalomaniacal demeanor. [[spoiler: He cements this trope after it is revealed he manipulated Eve into killing Jeremiah Danvers.]]

** He also causes the deaths of Red Daughter and [[spoiler: Jeremiah Danvers]].

* ItsAllAboutMe: As always, nothing means more to Lex Luthor than Lex Luthor. His hatred for Superman is driven by Lex's own feelings of inferiority towards the Man of Steel, and everything he does in "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" is part of an elaborate gambit to cure his cancer. During ''[[Series/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths2019 Crisis on Infinite Earths]]'', he steals the Book of Destiny just to murder alternate versions of Superman, [[spoiler:writes himself as the Paragon of Truth in Earth-96 Superman's place and attempts to get all versions of Superman RetGone]].

** [[spoiler:Season 5 ends with Lex still free and clear, even if he's lost his partnership with Lena. This is a case of RealLifeWritesThePlot, as the coronavirus pandemic forced production of the show to halt before the finale could be filmed.]]

** When he sends Eve to kill [[spoiler: Jeremiah Danvers]] in season 5, he tells her not to shoot him but to use a untraceable poison instead to pass it off as an accident.

* NotMeThisTime: In "Alex In Wonderland", William suspects that Lex is responsible for the Obsidian users being trapped in the VR, but it's actually the Leviathan's doing. [[spoiler: Subverted, as the following episode reveals that Lex was indeed behind it.]]

** In season 4, Lex pretends to support both the Kaznians and the President of the United States.
** [[spoiler: In Season 5. Brainy, Eve, Lena, Supergirl and Leviathan are all his pawns.]]

* VillainousLegacy: Although he's defeated in the Season 4 finale, his actions leave a profound impact on the following season. [[spoiler: His DyingCurse to Lena is the reveal that Supergirl and Kara are one and the same and have been playing her this whole time which, combined with the act of [[GainingTheWillToKill her shooting him to begin with]], ultimately spurs her path to villainy in Season 5. She also continues to make use of his notes and technology on her villainous path.]]

* WorldsSmartestMan: As per the norm with Lex, he is typically considered the smartest man in the world, or at the very least on Earth-38. Post-Crisis he’s this for Earth-Prime.

* YouWouldntShootMe: When Lena pulls a gun on him at the end of season 4, Lex scoffs at her and says that she'll never actually shoot him. [[spoiler: She proves him wrong.]]

* {{Brainwashed}}: [[spoiler:In Season 5, Lena has Hope purge all negative emotions from her brain and amplify her loyalty.]]

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: She used a sample of Harun-El to cure her cousin's terminal cancer. Post Earth mergers, her motivation for working with Lex and Leviathan is [[spoiler:to keep Lex from harming her mom.]]

** [[spoiler: Then again in Season 5. Lex promises to free her from Leviathan's grip....only to manipulated her into being ''his'' unwilling assassin. He tricks her into killing Jeremiah Danvers, lying to her about him being her father's killer and then confronts her with the fact that she killed Supergirl's father, as well as with holding her mother hostage.]]
* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler:Post-Crisis, Eve is seemingly rescued from service to Leviathan by Lex, only to find that he's been using her as a weapon against the heroes and Leviathan alike to both advance his goals and get some deeply petty vengeance on Eve for her pre-Crisis treachery.]]

!!! [[spoiler:'''Portrayed By:''' Creator/AndreaBrooks]]

* AdaptationalSpeciesChange: She is possibly based on the main DCU character Hope Taya, an Amazon bodyguard for Lex Luthor. This version is an artificial intelligence, and thus not even really human, or an organism at all. [[spoiler:At first, anyway]].

* TakingTheHeat: [[spoiler:Inside Eve, she confesses to be responsible for using Myriad so she gets arrested and Lena, the real culprit, doesn't]].
* WetwareBody: [[spoiler:After she takes over Eve's body at Lena's command]].
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: [[spoiler: Her fate post-crisis is unclear, as Eve is back in control of her body. She might not even have existed in the new timeline.]]

'''[[Characters/LegendsOfTomorrow The Legends]]:''' [[Characters/ArrowverseTheLegends The Team]] | [[Characters/ArrowverseLegendsCurrentMembers Current Members]] ([[Characters/ArrowverseSaraLance Sara Lance]] / [[Characters/ArrowverseMickRory Mick Rory]]) | [[Characters/ArrowverseLegendsFormerMembers Former Members]] ([[Characters/ArrowverseLeonardSnart Leonard Snart]])\\

* SmartPeoplePlayChess: She's shown playing chess with her son during flashbacks.

* BeamOWar: During their final fight at the end of season 4, Lex shoots at Supergirl with the energy beams from his gauntlets while she uses her heat vision to counter it. In the end, Supergirl manages to overpower Lex's attack thanks to having absorbed the Red Daughter's energy just before.

* HeartLight: All the [[PoweredArmor Lexosuits]] have three glowing pentagons forming sone kind of triangle on their chestplate.

* IfIWantedYouDead: After inviting Lena and Lillian to the White House at the end of Season 4, he tries to reassure them that they have nothing to fear from him by telling them this trope.

** During the exchange in the Season 6 premiere, Supergirl knows that Lex is planning to betray her and use Kryptonite to kill her, so she and Lena takes a few precautions.

* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: When Red Daughter attacks an American ship against his orders, Lex goes to help her and says he'll try to make it look like an accident, sabotage or friendly fire.

** She plays a huge part in the defeat of the Daxamite invaders in the finale of season 2.

* IWarnedYou: When she goes to the heroes to offer her help during the Daxamite invasion at the end of season 2, she doesn't resist to rub it in their faces that she had always warned of the danger posed by aliens.
-->'''Lillian''': Everything I warned against has come to pass. The alien invaders have come to destroy our way of life and claim our planet, just as I said they would.
'''Winn''': You can just say, "I told you so."

* LaseGuidedAmnesia: In the Season 6 premiere Lena uses Myriad to remove Lillian's knowledge of Supergirl's identity from her mind alongside Lex's in order to keep Kara safe.

* GivingThemTheStrip: At the end of season 4, Kara tries to save Lex when his Lexosuit malfunctions while he's in the air by grabbing him by the arm, but he unhooks his gauntlet and lets himself fall as he refuses to be saved by a Kryptonian.

* BeardOfEvil: One of the rare versions of Lex Luthor to have a beard, but hes just as evil as the others, if not moreso.

* JokerImmunity: Just like in the comics, there's simply no way to get rid of Lex Luthor. This guy will always make it through whatever he has to endure, whether it's prison, cancer, or even death, as proven when he gets murdered by Lena and is resurrected by the Monitor right after.

* YouSeeImDying: After giving himself cancer, he contacts Lena to inform her that he is dying from Kryptonite poisoning and needs her help. Apparently, he mentionned the fact that he's dying at least twice in all of his phone call for six weeks.