| 1 | [[WMG:[[center:[-'''[[Characters/{{Smallville}} Main Character Index]]'''\ |
| 2 | [[Characters/SmallvilleKents The Kents]] | [[Characters/SmallvilleHigh Smallville High Alumni]] | '''[=LuthorCorp=]''' | [[Characters/SmallvilleKryptonians Kryptonians]] | [[Characters/SmallvilleLanes The Lanes]] | [[Characters/SmallvilleDailyPlanet Daily Planet Staff]] | [[Characters/SmallvilleClarksAllies Clark's Allies]] | [[Characters/SmallvilleMeteorFreaks Meteor Freaks]] | [[Characters/SmallvillePhantomZone Phantom Zone Escapees]] | [[Characters/SmallvilleGovernment Government Agents and Rogues]] | [[Characters/SmallvilleApokiliptians Apokiliptians]] | [[Characters/SmallvilleOtherMajorVillains Other Major Villains]] | [[Characters/SmallvilleEarth2 Earth-2]]-]]]]] |
| 3 | |
| 4 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 5 | |
| 6 | ![=LuthorCorp=] [=CEOs=] |
| 7 | |
| 8 | [[folder:Lex Luthor]] |
| 9 | !!ComicBook/LexLuthor |
| 10 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lex_luthor_8.jpg]] |
| 11 | !!! '''Species:''' Human |
| 12 | !!! '''Played by:''' Creator/MichaelRosenbaum | Creator/MatthewMunn (young) |
| 13 | |
| 14 | ->''"I am the villain of the story."'' |
| 15 | |
| 16 | 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 [[LoveTriangle their rivalry over both Lana]] and how to best protect Smallville, cause Lex to slide into villainy, ending in a FaceHeelTurn of epic proportions. |
| 17 | |
| 18 | Defined by his obsessions and [[ControlFreak need for control]], Lex can be vengeful, spiteful and, at times, downright [[EvilIsPetty petty]], but also has flashes of pure Machiavellian brilliance. He is a fitting ArchEnemy for a ComicBook/{{Superman}}. |
| 19 | |
| 20 | Halfway through Season 8, Lex, who spent most of the season on life support due to injuries suffered after pulling the Fortress of Solitude on top of himself and Clark at the end of Season 7, was murdered by Oliver Queen. However, like any good [[TheChessmaster chessmaster]], he had backup plans put into motion. Namely, various clones, designed to essentially resurrect him. After failed models either went AxCrazy or rebelled against his memories, his final clone was born in the GrandFinale with the heart of the Lionel Luthor from another Earth, properly bringing Lex back to life. After this resurrection, and one final confrontation with his eternal enemy Clark, Lex's memories are wiped thanks to a neural gel given to him via tight slap at the hands of his half-sister Tess, whom he was in the process of murdering at the time. This led to Season 11, where he becomes the primary BigBad, hating Superman, but having no idea why. By the time of the final episode's time jump in 2018, he has become President of the United States. |
| 21 | ---- |
| 22 | * AdaptationalAngstUpgrade: This show's version of Lex Luthor has by far the most dysfunctional and miserable relationship with his father of all of his portrayals. Also, while most versions of Lex are either a CardCarryingVillain or a man assured of his own righteousness, this version of Lex is greatly tortured by his capacity for evil... initially, at least. |
| 23 | * AdaptationalAttractiveness: Michael Rosenbaum is much more conventionally handsome than most depictions of the character, even with the bald head. |
| 24 | * AdaptationalBadass: How physically dangerous Comics!Luthor is can vary DependingOnTheWriter, but ''Smallville'''s portrayal of him as an exceptionally capable BadassNormal with the ability to fight ComicBook/GreenArrow to a draw outdoes all other portrayals in this regard. |
| 25 | ** If one takes Cassandra's vision in [[Recap/SmallvilleS01E06Hourglass Hourglass]] as evidence, this version of Lex is destined to one day kill Batman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter and Green Lantern. |
| 26 | * AffablyEvil: Has this vibe even back when he's a good guy, with an inimitable talent for making even the most harmless of good deeds sound vaguely evil, in a cool, polite, [[DeadpanSnarker and often snarky sort of way]]. In between bouts of EvilIsPetty and KickTheDog, he evolves into this in full in his descent into villainy, giving Clark what is actually an astoundingly good motivational speech in the finale, saying that every villain is only as good as their hero - and, arguably, giving Clark the push he needs to become Superman. |
| 27 | * AgentMulder: His belief in, and curiosity for, the paranormal is what starts his descent into villainy. |
| 28 | * AlliterativeName: '''L'''ex '''L'''uthor. |
| 29 | * AlternateSelf: Has four, one on [[Series/Supergirl2015 Earth-Prime]], one on [[Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice Earth]][[Film/JusticeLeague2017 -]][[Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague 1]], one on [[Series/Titans2018 Earth-9]], one on [[Film/SupermanTheMovie Earth]]-[[Film/SupermanII 9]][[Film/SupermanReturns 6]], and one on [[Series/SupermanAndLois an undesignated Earth]]. |
| 30 | * AlternateUniverse: In Clark's ItsAWonderfulPlot episode "Apocalypse," we meet PresidentEvil Lex who, as usual, is a VillainInAWhiteSuit with a RedRightHand, but adds TheSocialDarwinist and OmnicidalManiac to his resume via a plan to NukeEm all and re-build the world in his own image. |
| 31 | * AlternateUniverseReedRichardsIsAwesome: Whether or not he's still evil, Lex is far more successful than the [[Series/Supergirl2015 Lex Luthor of Earth-Prime]], what with being President of the United States and all. Clark's reaction to Prime-Lex is just a casual "You're not Lex." (WordOfSaintPaul from Creator/JonCryer is he considers Rosenbaum's Lex his favorite take on the character and [[WhatCouldHaveBeen wishes he'd had the opportunity]] to have met this version and, probably, beat him.) |
| 32 | * AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Pretty much his defining trait. Despite having pretty much everything going for him, he has felt jealous and inferior to Clark since day one, something that remains long after the two stop being friends. |
| 33 | * AntagonisticOffspring: To Lionel, following the latter's HeelFaceTurn and his own subsequent FaceHeelTurn. |
| 34 | * AntiHero: Lex started the series as a PragmaticHero. His methods were badly flawed, but he was genuinely out to stop his [[ArchnemesisDad father]] [[BigBad Lionel]], and be a better person and a good friend to Clark. By Seasons 4 and 5, he was in AntiVillain territory, becoming antagonistic but remaining sympathetic, before finally [[FaceHeelTurn diving into full-on villainy]]. |
| 35 | * ArchEnemy: Well on his way to being Clark's, with the entire show building up to their finally confronting one another. |
| 36 | * BackFromTheDead: |
| 37 | ** Thanks to Chloe's healing powers in Season 7's "Fracture." |
| 38 | ** And again in "[[GrandFinale Finale]]" by way of a cloned body and Earth-2 Lionel's [[DealWithTheDevil deal with Darkseid]]. |
| 39 | %%* BadassBoast: The section quote above. |
| 40 | * BadassBookworm: He's very well-read and likes to quote great philosophers and relate it to himself. |
| 41 | * BadassInANiceSuit: Especially in the {{Bad Future}}s where he's a ''very'' intimidating VillainInAWhiteSuit. |
| 42 | * BadassLongcoat: Lex's trenchcoat is every bit as iconic as his [[BadassInANiceSuit nice]] [[ManOfWealthAndTaste suit]]. |
| 43 | * BadassNormal: Both physically and mentally. |
| 44 | * BadBoss: After his [[FaceHeelTurn turn to villainy]]. |
| 45 | * BadFuture: Is PresidentEvil in many of them. |
| 46 | * BaldOfEvil: Courtesy of his FaceHeelTurn. |
| 47 | * BecameTheirOwnAntithesis: Lex has stated once or twice that he doesn't want to become like his father. Sadly, that's what he ends up doing by Season 5. |
| 48 | * BigBad: [[BigBadEnsemble Competes]] with ComicBook/{{Brainiac}} for the title in Season 7. Considered by some to have held it since Season 6. |
| 49 | * BigBadSlippage: One for the series overall as he starts out as a friend to Clark only to become a villain in Seasons 4 and 5 before becoming the BigBad of Seasons 6 and 7. |
| 50 | * BigBadWannabe: Spends much of Seasons 5 and 7 trying to be the BigBad, but gets upstaged by Brainiac. |
| 51 | * BigBrotherInstinct: Towards Clark. |
| 52 | * BigBrotherMentor: He often had a tendency to slip into this trope during the first two seasons with Clark. |
| 53 | * BrilliantButLazy: He's possibly one of the smartest men in the world but is pretty unmotivated to do anything in the early seasons. |
| 54 | * BrokenAce: Very much so. He's rich, successful, brilliant, charming, handsome, self-loathing and caught up in a [[WellDoneSonGuy desire for parental approval]] all at the same time. |
| 55 | * BodyHorror: What's left of him in season eight. After having the Fortress dropped on him, he's permanently scarred and bloodied, his face completely covered with some sort of breathing apparatus, and tubes sticking out of him all over. |
| 56 | %%* ByronicHero: In the early seasons. |
| 57 | * CainAndAbel: With Clark (whom he viewed as a brother) and later with Tess, resulting in the latter's death and his own memory loss. |
| 58 | * CardCarryingVillain: While he is usually a VillainWithGoodPublicity, when he is split into good and evil sides, evil Lex utters the classic line: |
| 59 | -->'''Lex:''' I am the villain of the story. |
| 60 | ** Lex announces his intention to become one of these in the GrandFinale. Tess' mind-wipe may have forestalled this. |
| 61 | --->'''Lex:''' You and I... We will both be great men. Because of each other, we have a destiny together, Clark... [[ArchEnemy only on different sides]].\ |
| 62 | '''Clark:''' I'll always be there to stop you. Always.\ |
| 63 | '''Lex:''' Oh, I'm counting on it. Our story hasn't been written yet, Kal-El. And every villain is only as great as his hero. |
| 64 | * TheCasanova: Almost all of his girlfriends or love interests are stunningly beautiful women. This is mostly due to Lex's good looks (even with the baldness) and his witty personality. Not to mention the fact that he is obscenely wealthy and cultured. |
| 65 | %%* TheCharmer: When he wants to be. |
| 66 | * TheChessmaster: Graduates into one, learning from his father how to manipulate and plot with the best of them. |
| 67 | * ChickMagnet: Attracts a bevy of women over the course of the show. |
| 68 | * ClassicVillain: Displays the [[SevenDeadlySins sins]] of {{Pride}}, [[GreenEyedMonster Envy]] and [[{{Revenge}} Wrath]]. |
| 69 | * CloningBodyParts: This is how Lex returned back to normal in the ''Finale'', harvesting the body parts and organs of the clones he made of himself in Cadmus Labs after the destruction of the Fortress left him badly injured. The only parts he couldn't successfully regenerate was one hand, which he covers with a glove, and a heart, which Earth-2 Lionel and Darkseid provide. |
| 70 | * CombatPragmatist: Often prefers to use simple defense moves and guns rather than engage in long battles. |
| 71 | * ControlFreak: Lex's need to control everyone and everything around him is the chief cause of his downfall. He came to the conclusion that the only way he could secure a happy existence for himself is if the people in his life are completely under his control (he himself would probably view it as "guidance," but that's a case of BelievingTheirOwnLies). He, like Lana, wants to know Clark's secret and is willing to go to life-threatening lengths to obtain it: sending super-powered murderers to hold Clark's family hostage in an attempt to force him to reveal any superpowers he may have (this ends up being what breaks his and Clark's friendship). He's willing to let his dad stick around, but only as long as he's subordinate to Lex. He also misses his deceased brother and clones him so that he can have him back...but gets insanely angry when the clone no longer wants to follow the script that Lex wants him to live by. Terrifyingly, it is implied that Lex has the clone killed, viewing him as a failed experiment. And, of course, there's the horrifying twist of late Season 6 where we learn that Lex chemically manipulated Lana's body with hormones to simulate a pregnancy in order to help push her into marrying him, and then letting her believe that she had miscarried afterwards, causing her to fall into a deep depression. Through it all, Lex maintains that this is all okay because he views it as simply carving out his world and the people in it to be the way he wants them to be, and he [[BelievingTheirOwnLies tells himself that it's for their own good anyway]]. |
| 72 | ** Lex's beliefs that influence his behavior this way are possibly best summed up at the end of Season 5's Christmas episode "Lexmas" where, after considering it all episode, he decides to use dirty tricks to try and win the election he's in, saying: |
| 73 | --->'''Lex:''' What I want more than anything is to live {{happily ever after}}. And do you know what the secret to living happily ever after is? ''[[[{{Beat}} pause]]]'' ''Power''. Money and power. See, once you have those two things, you can secure everything else. And ''keep'' it that way. I want to be Senator. ''I want it all.'' |
| 74 | * CorruptCorporateExecutive: After he turns evil. |
| 75 | * CorruptTheCutie: Lionel was determined to teach Lex to be ruthless and Machiavellian...even when Lex was still just a ''child''. For one of his birthdays when Lex was young, Lionel bought a replica of the Battle of Troy and used it to try to teach Lex about ruthless strategy. It's also been mentioned that Lionel once gave Lex a copy of Sun Tzu's ''Literature/{{The Art of War|SunTzu}}'' on another childhood birthday. Arguably, this trope can also be used to describe how Lex affected Lana's personality after they got together, although to be fair, she wasn't exactly a saint beforehand, either. |
| 76 | * DarkLordOnLifeSupport: In Season 8 when his injuries render him completely immobile, and leave him on an IV and a ventilator. |
| 77 | * DeadpanSnarker: Ahh, who forgets his witty comeback to Victoria when he finds out that she was bedding him just to get close enough to spy on him for her father's corporation: |
| 78 | -->'''Victoria:''' It was just business.\ |
| 79 | '''Lex:''' ''[without missing a beat]'' You call sleeping with me "business"? I hate to think what that makes you. |
| 80 | ** Or this gem when he has [[ComicBook/TheFlash Impulse]] imprisoned: |
| 81 | --->'''Impulse:''' I want a lawyer.\ |
| 82 | '''Lex:''' And I want a ponytail. Disappointment abounds. |
| 83 | * DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Of the whole idea of supervillains and how they are made, especially his own comics counterpart. |
| 84 | * {{Determinator}}: Lex never lets anything stop him, whether financial setbacks, political failures, or the near total destruction of his physical body. |
| 85 | * DeusAngstMachina: After losing his hair and being horribly bullied at school, Lex takes the blame for his mother murdering his infant brother, condemning himself to a future of abuse and hatred from his dad, whom he knows would kill her if he found out. |
| 86 | * {{Deuteragonist}}: From seasons 1 through 7. The story of Smallville focuses on how Lex became a villain almost as much as it is about how Clark Kent became a hero. |
| 87 | * DiscOneFinalBoss: Season 8. His return is a much anticipated and feared thing, to the point where one expects him to take over as the BigBad...only for him to be blown up and replaced by [[PersonOfMassDestruction Doomsday]]. |
| 88 | * TheDreaded: As of Season 8. He drove Oliver to violate ThouShaltNotKill, other characters treat him as though he were a HeroKiller (even though he's really not) and the possibility of his return is always spoken of as though it were a prophecy regarding TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. Not bad for a BadassNormal who hasn't appeared for two-and-a-half seasons. |
| 89 | * DrivenByEnvy: Outdoing Clark eventually becomes Lex's primary motivation. He's actually relieved when he finds out Clark is an alien and that the competition was never fair. |
| 90 | * EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: It may be hard to believe but Lex genuienly cares for Clark, even admitting that he loves him like a brother in the season 7 finale while he's in the process of destroying the fortress and potentially killing them both. |
| 91 | * EvilCounterpart: To Oliver Queen. Both are the sons of wealthy billionaires who strike an unusual friendship with Clark Kent and frequently struggle with their flaws. But while Oliver ultimately overcomes his inner demons, Lex succumbs to them. They were even both stranded on a remote island, the difference is that Oliver returned stronger, and Lex's descent into villainy only accelerated. |
| 92 | * EvilCripple: In Season 8. He's paraplegic, on a respirator and barely able to breathe...and more dangerous than ever, now that he's got the element of surprise on his side. |
| 93 | * EvilFeelsGood: Decides this around Season 5. |
| 94 | * EvilGenius: Very smart and ''very'' nasty. |
| 95 | * EvilHasGoodTaste: Lex is well read and has a taste for fine dining. |
| 96 | * EvilIsPetty: His incredibly petty and vicious plan in Season 8 revolves around breaking up Clark and Lana through [[SadisticChoice the nastiest way possible]]. |
| 97 | %%* EvilSoundsDeep: Season 8, complete with VaderBreath. |
| 98 | * EvilWearsBlack: Lex's attire includes lots of dark clothing, black included. |
| 99 | * EyepatchOfPower: Season 8, as part of his EvilCripple status. |
| 100 | * FaceHeelTurn: Pretty much a ForegoneConclusion. From Season 5-7 he was always tittering the line between the last amount of loyalty he has to his friends, and the monster he was destined to become, with the very final minutes of Season 7 securing his place as a villain. |
| 101 | -->'''Lex:''' ''[cradling a weakened Clark, while the Fortress of Solitude crumbles around them]'' I love you like a brother Clark, but it has to end like this. ''I'm sorry...'' |
| 102 | * {{Foil}}: To Clark, with his journey to narcissistic monster progressing in time with Clark's journey to MessianicArchetype and TheCape. |
| 103 | %%* FreudianExcuse: He has ''several''. Lionel's abusive parenting, his mother murdering his infant brother in a bout of mental illness, for which he took the blame, the trauma of losing his hair in the meteor shower, and the relentless bullying that defined his adolescence as a result. |
| 104 | %%* FriendlyEnemy: Until the events of "Arctic." |
| 105 | %%** Is this in the Finale as well. His conversation with Clark is unfailingly cordial, even as he's describing how they're destined to be each other's greatest enemy. |
| 106 | * FromNobodyToNightmare: He might have stayed a spoiled, lonely rich kid forever had it not been for that trip to Kansas. |
| 107 | * GambitRoulette: Unbeknownst to Clark and his friends, the entire first half of Season 8 was slowly turning out to be set up by Lex (who is crippled and presumed dead, but still alive and scheming) to manipulate them all into being his {{Unwitting Pawn}}s and facilitating his revenge. It culminates in the situation with the Prometheus suit described above: either '''A:''' Clark and Lana don't discover it, and Lex dons it himself and uses it to murder Clark, or '''B:''' Lana steals it, puts it on, and Lex forces her to choose 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 ManipulativeBastard. |
| 108 | %%* GeniusCripple: Season 8. |
| 109 | * TheGhost: Never actually appears during the ''Series/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths2019'', since Rosenbaum turned the CW down. In-universe, Clark seems skeptical that he would have any reason to come back to Smallville. |
| 110 | * GoodCounterpart: Even at his worst, Lex wasn't ever nearly the CardCarryingVillain Earth-Prime Lex is. He still isn't, as evidenced by the fact that Clark gave up his powers and yet he and his family are alive and seem to be perfectly safe. |
| 111 | * GreenEyedMonster: He envies Clark, whose life and later powers Lex desperately wants. He had everything Lex ever wanted, a loving family, Lana, a close-knit group of friends, and super powers, the last one being a particularly sore spot for him after he finds out. When him and Clark meet up for their showdown in the Finale, Lex incredulously calls him out for "taking his powers for granted" by wanting to lead a normal life. |
| 112 | %%* GuileHero: Pre-FaceHeelTurn. |
| 113 | * GunsAkimbo: Against Green Arrow and Black Canary in "Siren." Complete with GunKata. |
| 114 | * HandicappedBadass: Season 8, in both the literal and metaphorical sense. Bereft of his [[CorruptCorporateExecutive company]], [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney money]], [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections connections]] and his very mobility, a paraplegic Lex keeps the superhero community quaking in their boots (even the [[TheDreaded 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. |
| 115 | * HardHead: Held ''Series/{{Smallville}}'''s record for being knocked unconscious. |
| 116 | * HasAType: Has a habit of hooking up with hot brunettes because they remind him of his mother. |
| 117 | * TheHeavy: Seasons 6 and 7. |
| 118 | * HeroicSacrifice: Took the blame for his mother murdering his brother, leading to his father's cold(er) treatment of him. |
| 119 | * HeterosexualLifePartners: In the first few seasons, he and Clark exemplified this trope, even if Lex seemed more enthusiastic about it. This was likely due to Clark probably being Lex's first real friend and one of the few who didn't judge him before knowing him. |
| 120 | * HotBlooded: The guy has anger management problems, to say the least. |
| 121 | * HumiliationConga: He's had more than his fair share. He'd be really sympathetic if he weren't such an asshole. |
| 122 | * {{Hypocrite}}: He constantly bitches about Clark keeping his secret from him, while simultaneously keeping an army of skeletons (all of them far, far darker than Clark's) in his own closet. |
| 123 | * IJustWantToBeLoved: It's painfully clear, especially in early seasons, that Lex is just starved for someone to care for him the way Lionel never did. It's why he's so keen on being friends with Clark and why he wants to be a part of the Kent family--they represent what he never had. In later seasons, he still wants love, but his [[{{Pride}} ego]] and [[{{Narcissist}} narcissism]] makes it impossible for him to accept anything less than total control over anyone who gets close to him. |
| 124 | * IJustWantToBeSpecial: Big time. No matter how brilliant or successful Lex is, it's not enough and he believes that he, not Clark, should be the one to save humanity. Clark, to him, serves as a reminder that Lex is still just a man. |
| 125 | ** IJustWantToBeNormal: Despite what is said above, he also has major shades of this. For all his ambition, it's made very clear that he's extremely envious of Clark's quiet, normal life on the farm, and when he's temporarily forced to stay with the Kents, he genuinely enjoys doing farm chores, because it lets him feel like a normal person. |
| 126 | * InferioritySuperiorityComplex: Lex's drive to be better than everyone is fueled by his [[WellDoneSonGuy desire for approval from his father]] as well as his jealousy of Clark (whom he subconsciously regards as his superior). |
| 127 | * ItsAllAboutMe: 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 LackOfEmpathy and NeverMyFault, and more or less believes that the universe revolves around him. |
| 128 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: In the early seasons. He was a pleasant, friendly guy, but he acted like a jerk to anyone he disliked, such as his father or Dominic. |
| 129 | %%* {{Jerkass}}: After his FaceHeelTurn. |
| 130 | * KarmaHoudini: He avoids punishment for all of his crimes, and at the end of the series, is resurrected and ready to become the PresidentEvil we always knew he could be. |
| 131 | * KlingonPromotion: In order to truly become the BigBad, Lex has to kill off his father, whose presence in-universe more or less handicapped him. |
| 132 | * LackOfEmpathy: Has a severe and developing case of it. By Season 7 or so, it's all-consuming. |
| 133 | * LargeHam: Gets increasingly hammy as he becomes [[EvilIsHammy more evil]]. |
| 134 | * LaserGuidedAmnesia: His fate in the GrandFinale. Season 11 has a Lex who hates Superman, and has no idea why. |
| 135 | * LonelyRichKid: ''Oh yes''. After losing his hair in the meteor shower, he became a social outcast and the target for relentless bullying, having exactly ''one'' friend as a teenager. This is best shown in a flashback to an extravagant birthday party he had... where literally ''nobody'' came, and he sits alone, crying. |
| 136 | * LoveMakesYouEvil: In the ItsAWonderfulPlot storyline when he decided to become good, Dream!Lana dies. |
| 137 | * MadeOfIron: Courtesy of his low-level HealingFactor. |
| 138 | ** Most impressively, he survived having the Fortress of Solitude, a mountain-sized structure, fall apart on him. Granted, he was rendered paraplegic and reliant on life support, and would've died sooner rather than later if it weren't for his massive wealth. |
| 139 | * ManipulativeBastard: A master manipulator of others' emotions. |
| 140 | * TheManBehindTheMan: To [[TheBaroness Tess]] and [[MadBomber Winslow Schott]] in Season 8. |
| 141 | * ManOfWealthAndTaste: In the later seasons, and the {{Bad Future}}s. |
| 142 | * MeaningfulName: ''Alexander'' means "defender/leader of mankind." Quite fitting for a guy who thinks he's protecting humanity from hostile aliens and meteor freaks, and believes that the best way to do so is for everyone to follow his lead (naturally). |
| 143 | * MoralityPet: Clark is his, while he's capable of doing devious acts, his friendship with Clark Kent usually keeps him from going too far. It's when an enraged Clark denounces his friendship with Lex, that Lex begins to slide down from a good-natured man with a dark side, to an evil maniacal villain. |
| 144 | * MrFanservice: Just ask the fangirls. |
| 145 | * MoralMyopia: No one may do unto Lex as he does unto them. It wouldn't be right. |
| 146 | * MotiveRant: Delivers one to Clark in the GrandFinale, explaining ''why'' [[IJustWantToBeSpecial he has been who he was]], before explaining [[CardCarryingVillain what he plans to be instead]]. |
| 147 | -->'''Lex:''' No matter how meticulously I prepared, no matter how strategic I was... [[VillainousUnderdog If only I'd known I never stood a chance.]]\ |
| 148 | '''Clark:''' [[HumbleHero It wasn't a competition.]]\ |
| 149 | '''Lex:''' [[RightForTheWrongReasons Of course it wasn't.]] You were born to be {{the chosen one}}. You're simply better than us.\ |
| 150 | '''Clark:''' And that always killed you.\ |
| 151 | '''Lex:''' No. No, what killed me is that you didn't even ''[[ReluctantHero want]]'' it. You fought it. You ... you hid from it! I would have taken it and relished it, embraced it. |
| 152 | * {{Narcissist}}: From the start of the show, Lex has difficulty seeing others' problems and this only gets worse as time goes by. His narcissism becomes more and more pronounced and increasingly malignant until by Season 7, he's essentially become a [[TheSociopath sociopath]]. |
| 153 | * NeverMyFault: Lex blames his father, Clark, Lana and anyone else he can set his sights on for his problems. You've got a FreudianExcuse, Lex, but it doesn't mean you don't have to take responsibility sometimes. To be fair, sometimes it really ''isn't'' his fault, but he gets blamed anyway. |
| 154 | * NiceGuy: 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 [[BitchInSheepsClothing a facade]]. |
| 155 | * NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Things rarely go well for him when he honestly tries to do the right thing. |
| 156 | * NukeEm: In the BadFuture shown in "Apocalypse," PresidentEvil Lex has conspired with Brainiac to [[OmnicidalManiac wipe out the world in a nuclear war]] so that he can unite the survivors under his rule and create a new [[TheSocialDarwinist Social Darwinistic]] paradise. |
| 157 | * OurPresidentsAreDifferent: We don't really know anything about his personality after the MindWipe in the GrandFinale, but it's still Lex, meaning he's at least got to be President Scheming, President Iron and President Geek. It's ambiguous whether he's PresidentEvil, though Clark's relative unconcern over the fact that he is President makes it unlikely. |
| 158 | * PresidentEvil: In several {{Bad Future}}s. He's elected for real in 2018 during the DistantFinale. |
| 159 | * PsychopathicManchild: Immeasurably brilliant, wealthy and powerful. He is also extremely [[EvilIsPetty petty]], [[ItsAllAboutMe incredibly self-involved]] and [[NeverMyFault incapable of accepting responsibility or blame]]. |
| 160 | * PutOnABus: Yes & No. Michael Rosenbaum departed at the end of Season 7. Lex, through a mix of recycled footage, audio, and body doubles remained until the end of Season 8. |
| 161 | * ReallyGetsAround: More implied for the first few seasons than actually seen, except for Victoria where she slept with him for business, but seen in "Bound," he apparently has had many one-night stands with women where he gave them diamond earrings as a "thank you" gift, something he picked up from his father. |
| 162 | * RedheadsAreUncool: In the pilot, nine-year-old Lex is being chastised by his father for being scared and keeping his eyes closed while on the helicopter ride. Once he opens them, he gets more scared and needs to use his inhaler because he has an asthma attack. That day, the meteor shower caused him to lose all his red hair. |
| 163 | * RedRightHand: In every one of the BadFuture episodes, PresidentEvil Lex is shown as a VillainInAWhiteSuit with a single black-gloved hand. Bad!Lex also sports this look during Clark's [[JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind trip inside his head]] in "Fracture." It finally happens for real following his resurrection in the GrandFinale. One of his hands is mangled, prompting him to don the trademark glove. Might be a ShoutOut to the comics where constantly wearing a Kryptonite ring caused Luthor to develop cancer in one of his hands and have it replaced with a mechanical one. |
| 164 | %%* {{Revenge}}: Season 8. |
| 165 | * SadisticChoice: 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. |
| 166 | * ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: Increasingly comes to see this as the way the world should work. |
| 167 | * SelfMadeOrphan: He murders his ArchnemesisDad Lionel as his [[MoralEventHorizon final step]] into true villainy. Lionel himself was revealed to be one of these earlier in series, having had his friend Morgan Edge kill his [[TheAlcoholic Alcoholic]] AbusiveParents in a gas fire. One can only wonder what Lex's children will do, should he have any... |
| 168 | * ShipperOnDeck: During the early seasons for Clark and Lana. All the while developing feelings for Lana himself... |
| 169 | * SicklyChildGrewUpStrong: In the pilot, Lex as a small boy is seen using an asthma inhaler and terrified of heights in his father's helicopter. In present day he's a BadassNormal. |
| 170 | * SkywardScream: Does one at the end of "Persona" after having an assassin kill off Grant Gabriel, a clone of his dead younger brother Julian. |
| 171 | * TheSocialDarwinist: Picks up many tenets of his father's philosophy as his life goes on. The PresidentEvil Lex seen in "Apocalypse"'s BadFuture actually intends to end the world in nuclear holocaust so that he can rule over the survivors (whom he believes will be the strongest that humanity has to offer). |
| 172 | * TheSociopath: Lex doesn't start out this way, but as the show progresses, his narcissism slowly swallows up the rest of his personality until all that's left is a [[ControlFreak drive to control everybody around him]] and a [[ItsAllAboutMe belief that his needs come before those of everyone else]]. By Season 7, all that's left is a bitter, vengeful psychopath driven by the need to be superior to the rest of the world. |
| 173 | * SuperVillain: The opposite of Clark, who becomes a SuperHero. |
| 174 | * ThenLetMeBeEvil: Originally, he was a genuinely good guy with good intentions, though [[AntiHero with questionable methods at times]]. However, his growing jealousy of Clark (for having good parents and friends, and Lana's love), combined with his resentment towards the world at large, fuel his growing selfishness until he dives into it outright. |
| 175 | * TragicVillain: Lex wasn't always destined for villainy. He had a nature of being a chessmaster, and his father certainly pushed that narrative for him, but he also desired to do good, and being friends with Clark brought out a better side of himself. Unfortunately, due to his desire for control, love and a growing fear of not getting either, Lex gradually became worse and worse. Eventually allowing his Envy, Pride and Greed to turn him into The Villain. |
| 176 | * TraumaCongaLine: He may be a sociopathic bastard, but damn has Lex suffered in life. |
| 177 | * TheUnfavourite: Subverted. Lex thinks he's this, but given Lionel's treatment of [[BastardBastard Lucas]] and [[ParentalAbandonment Tess]], it's clear that he's actually the favorite. It's just that this is [[AbusiveParents Lionel]] we're talking about, so it doesn't really matter. |
| 178 | * UnwittingPawn: Of [[TheChessmaster Brainiac]]. ''Twice''. But by Season 8, he's become so cunning that it's unlikely this will be happening again, and indeed ''all the other characters'' turn out to be unwitting pawns of Lex in Season 8. |
| 179 | * UsedToBeASweetKid: As the flashbacks reveal, he really did. It's even present in the first four seasons at times. |
| 180 | %%* VaderBreath: Season 8. |
| 181 | * VillainInAWhiteSuit: In the various {{Bad Future}}s where he's PresidentEvil. During Clark's [[JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind trip inside Lex's head]] in Season 7's "Fracture," bad!Lex wears the same suit. He dons it in real life during the 2018 DistantFinale, after he's elected President. |
| 182 | * WellDoneSonGuy: 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! |
| 183 | * WellIntentionedExtremist: Begins his slide into villainy this way, as he himself states in "Descent": |
| 184 | -->'''Lex:''' This is Smallville! Meteor freaks, alien ships, cryptic symbols...somebody HAD to take control to ensure people's safety! |
| 185 | :: It doesn't last; by Seasons 7 and 8, he no longer cares about anyone but himself. |
| 186 | * WeUsedToBeFriends: One of the premises of the show was asking the question "What if Clark Kent and Lex Luthor were best friends before becoming mortal enemies?" |
| 187 | * WickedCultured: Loves to quote great literature and is as bad as they come. |
| 188 | * XanatosGambit: His SadisticChoice 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 ''A.'' he puts it on, recovers and uses it to kill Clark and attain absolute power for himself ([[NightmareFuel just imagine the sociopathic Lex of the later seasons armed with ALL of Clark's powers]]), or ''B.'' Lana puts it on and the above plan goes into action. |
| 189 | * YoungerThanTheyLook: Not that Michael Rosenbaum looks particularly old, but very few people would peg Lex as just ''twenty-one'' at the start of Season 1. |
| 190 | [[/folder]] |
| 191 | |
| 192 | [[folder:Lionel Luthor]] |
| 193 | !!Lionel Luthor |
| 194 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lionel_luthor.jpg]] |
| 195 | !!! '''Species''': Human |
| 196 | !!! '''Played by''': Creator/JohnGlover |
| 197 | |
| 198 | ->''"If you're going to take me on, son, you're going to have to bring your game up to a whole different level."'' |
| 199 | |
| 200 | Lex's father and the founder of [=LuthorCorp=], Lionel [[RagsToRiches 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 [[VirtueIsWeakness such things only bred weakness]]. He is the chief culprit behind his son's shattered psyche and [[WellDoneSonGuy need for approval]], and is the [[BigBad main antagonist]] in Seasons 1-3. |
| 201 | |
| 202 | Imprisoned at the end of Season 3 when Lex and Chloe reveal that he murdered his parents, Lionel is freed by [[EvilMatriarch Genevieve Teague]] and undergoes the beginnings of a HeelFaceTurn. Failing to re-connect with Lex despite his best efforts, he 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). |
| 203 | |
| 204 | For his Earth-2 counterpart, see [[Characters/SmallvilleEarth2 Earth-2]]. |
| 205 | ---- |
| 206 | * AbusiveParents: Though more sympathetic than most television examples, Lionel is ''very'' abusive towards Lex. Season 3 implies that he had one himself, meaning that the cycle of abuse is in full swing. It's also worth noting that Lionel's parents were abusive in the opposite way, keeping him down in poverty with them. Lionel, in turn, is trying to be the opposite, believing that pushing his son to succeed is what's best. Though, as Lex points out many times, Lionel doesn't have his best interest in mind, and only cares for himself. For example: having Lex's memory wiped so he can't tell anyone that Lionel killed his own parents. And worse, when Lionel attempts to murder Lex ''twice''. |
| 207 | ** He pressured Lex into success, and left his younger, illegitimate children to suffer in what amount to social experiments of what his children could become. [[TheSociopath Lucas]] was sent with his mother to a poor neighborhood with no help. [[WellIntentionedExtremist Tess]] was sent first to an OrphanageOfFear and then to adoptive parents who physically abused her. |
| 208 | * AdaptationNameChange: Pre-Crisis, his name is Jules, Post-Crisis: he's mostly nameless. |
| 209 | * AdaptationalBadass: Depending on who was writing at the time, the comics have portrayed Lex's father as a petty criminal, an alcoholic loser, or even, during UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|of Comic Books}}, a decent, normal man who wants nothing to do with his supervillain son. Lionel is, to date, the only version to be every bit as dangerous as Lex himself. |
| 210 | * AdaptationalVillainy: Comics!Lionel has varied from a normal man to an alcoholic brute, but no other version has ever been a full-blown supervillain the way that ''Smallville'''s version was. |
| 211 | * AffablyEvil: Definitely. If you weren't in his way or [[ArchnemesisDad related to him]], Lionel could be a downright pleasant guy, even before his HeelFaceTurn. |
| 212 | * AlliterativeName: '''L'''ionel '''L'''uthor. |
| 213 | * AnimalMotifs: ''Lionel'' is proud, [[KingOfBeasts dominant]], sports a rather glorious mane, and has a rivalry with his own ambitious son. |
| 214 | * AntiHero: In the later seasons, he is still homicidal and manipulative, but has sought to protect Clark. |
| 215 | * AntiVillain: In the early seasons. |
| 216 | * {{Archenemy}}: Of Jonathan Kent. From Lionel's first appearance on the show until Jonathan's Season 5 death, the two are engaged in a metaphorical, and at times, physical, war for their sons' souls. He'd also place an impressive third on Clark's enemy list, right behind Lex and Zod. |
| 217 | * ArchnemesisDad: To Lex, remaining so even after his HeelFaceTurn. |
| 218 | * AscendedExtra: A recurring villain in Season 1, with PromotionToOpeningTitles in Season 2. |
| 219 | * BadassInANiceSuit: He dresses immaculately in suits. |
| 220 | * BadassLongcoat: Frequently. |
| 221 | * BadassNormal: In a show populated with obscenely powerful aliens and supervillains, Lionel still reigns supreme. |
| 222 | * BeardOfEvil: In the early seasons. No longer applicable following his HeelFaceTurn. |
| 223 | * BigBad: Seasons 1-3, and the start of Season 4. |
| 224 | * BreakoutVillain: Lionel was originally intended to appear a few times in Season 1 and be killed in the finale. He survived, became the BigBad in Season 2 and 3, a {{Mentor|Archetype}} to Clark from Season 4 onwards and, following his Season 7 death, his EvilTwin from Earth-2 was brought in to be TheHeavy of Season 10, which was suffering from a lack of physical presence on the part of BigBad {{ComicBook/Darkseid}}. To many, many people, he is [[BreakoutVillain the definitive]] ''[[BreakoutVillain Smallville]]'' [[BreakoutVillain villain]]. |
| 225 | * BrokenAce: A villainous example. Lionel's obsession with wealth, power and material success cover up a great deal of self-hatred, an inability to identify with other people, and a [[AbusiveParents childhood]] he's still running away from. |
| 226 | * CanonImmigrant: Introduced to the comics after he was introduced in the show. Lex had always had an occasionally-mentioned father (who was either never shown, or if he was, varied in characterization, appearance, and name each time he appeared in flashbacks), but after Smallville's Lionel Luthor was so well-received, DC Comics started consistently portraying Lex's father in flashbacks as Lionel Luthor (the name Lionel Luthor itself originated on ''Smallville'') and have drawn him as resembling actor John Glover ever since. |
| 227 | * CharacterDeath: In Season 7's "Descent." |
| 228 | * TheChessmaster: Lionel is the king of this trope. At least until Lex outclasses him later on, to his (and everyone else's) horror. |
| 229 | * TheCityNarrows: Suicide Slum has its moniker for a reason. Lionel grew up there and, despite his best efforts, it has indelibly marked him. |
| 230 | * CoolOldGuy: A villainous example. |
| 231 | * CorruptCorporateExecutive: [=LuthorCorp=] is built on the insurance money that Lionel got from killing his parents, and that's without getting into all the people he's used, experimented on, or murdered since. |
| 232 | * CulturedBadass: Quotes great literature, listens to opera, and will beat the tar out of anybody who crosses him. |
| 233 | * DeadpanSnarker: Where do you think Lex got it from? |
| 234 | * DestinationDefenestration: In Season 7's "Descent," courtesy of Lex. {{Downplayed|Trope}} in that Lex first shoots out the window Lionel's standing in front of, THEN sends Lionel plummeting to his death. |
| 235 | * DiscOneFinalBoss: In the first half of Season 4, he does his utmost to hurt Lex, Clark and Chloe from behind bars. Following his release and subsequent possession by Jor-El, however, he begins trying to turn over a new leaf, and BigBad duties are assumed by his [[EvilCounterpart Evil]] DistaffCounterpart, [[EvilMatriarch Genevieve]] [[RichBitch Teague]]. |
| 236 | * EvenEvilHasStandards: |
| 237 | ** Lionel's no SerialKiller and can usually be counted on to take a dim view of those who cause chaos for its own sake. |
| 238 | ** This was revealed in his antiheroic phase, but he is not fond of human cloning. |
| 239 | * ExBigBad: He gets demoted from the big bad role and his eventual transformation into an anti-hero establishes this. |
| 240 | * {{Expy}}: In the first few seasons, Lionel was an expy of Comics!Lex, his role being partly to foreshadow what Lex would grow up to be and partly to push him towards this fate. In Season 3, Lionel even gets the John Byrne-era backstory (growing up in Suicide Slums and becoming a SelfMadeOrphan in order to reap his parent's insurance money to start his company) that was still canonical for Comics!Lex during the time period that the early seasons were airing. |
| 241 | * {{Foil}}: To Jonathan Kent. Everything from their histories to their parenting styles are diametrically opposed. |
| 242 | * EvilIsPetty: A definining characteristic of his. For example, when Chloe refuses to provide him with any more information on the Kents, he personally fires and then blacklists her father, a loyal Luthorcorp employee as "punishment". |
| 243 | ** In what is probably the pettiest of all petty moves, it's implied that Lionel started growing his hair long as a way to further antagonize Lex, given his baldness, and the insecurity that came along with it. |
| 244 | * FreakyFridayFlip: With Clark in Season 4's "Transference." He comes onto Lana, Chloe and [[{{Squick}} Martha]] in rapid succession, and more or less goes out of his way to make Clark look like as big a bastard as possible. However, his discovery of Clark's superpowers marks the beginning of his HeelFaceTurn. Props to Creator/JohnGlover and Tom Welling for doing a ''very'' good impression of one another's mannerisms and speaking styles. |
| 245 | * FreudianExcuse: His parents were abusive and alcoholic. |
| 246 | ** His treatment of Lex in large part stems from the belief that Lex murdered Julian. |
| 247 | * TheFriendNobodyLikes: After redeeming himself, Clark and Chloe are dismissive of him, because he still is a manipulative man. |
| 248 | * FromNobodyToNightmare: Lionel was once just a dirt-poor kid from Suicide Slums with abusive, alcoholic parents who wanted to keep him down with them. |
| 249 | * AGodAmI: Lionel views himself as being literally above any moral judgment or accountability in the early seasons; absolutely revels in comparing himself to Roman emperors and viewing [=LuthorCorp=] and the business world at large as his empire; and in general is a colossal megalomaniac, as he views himself as the dark overlord of Metropolis. Lionel even continues to have these delusions ''after'' his HeelFaceTurn, only now he views himself as some sort of prophet and savior. |
| 250 | * GrandTheftMe: Receives it courtesy of Jor-El in Season 5. |
| 251 | * TheHeavy: Seasons 1-3. Overlaps with his time as the BigBad. |
| 252 | * HeelFaceTurn: It starts in Season 4 and culminates in Seasons 5 and 6, following his possession by Jor-El. |
| 253 | * ImportantHaircut: 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. |
| 254 | * InferioritySuperiorityComplex: Lionel's entire life is built upon running away from his past in Metropolis' Suicide Slum. |
| 255 | * IntergenerationalFriendship: Eventually forms a not-so-solid friendship with the young Clark and Chloe. |
| 256 | * ItsAllAboutMe: While he was never quite as selfish as Lex, Lionel was pretty much defined by this in the early seasons. He was completely obsessed with controlling Lex and molding him into the son he wanted, had no problem with betraying his son when needed, and was even willing to have people killed when they made the grievous mistake of accidentally offending him by backing out of deals. Lionel believed himself to be above any form of moral judgment or accountability. It's really not hard to see where Lex got his attitude from. |
| 257 | * {{Jerkass}}: True, he was an AffablyEvil MagnificentBastard, but in all fairness, Lionel could be a legitimate asshole at times, especially in the early seasons. In "Jitters," he verbally harasses Lex for something he had no control over and [[NeverMyFault refuses to accept any blame for anything that's happened]]. In "Tempest," he thwarts an attempt by Lex to keep the [=LuthorCorp=] plant open after he closes it to force Lex back to Metropolis and then visits Lex just to rub it in his face. In "Nocturne," he verbally bullies Lex for not doing enough to find him a suitable personal assistant, hires Martha himself after Lex wasted time interviewing candidates, and mocks Lex's affection for the Kents, even comparing him to a Greek god who wanted to live among mortals. And those are just a few examples. |
| 258 | * KnightTemplarParent: He's determined to raise his son to be as strong as possible. Oh, and if you happen to hurt Lex ''or'' Clark after Season 4, Lionel will come down on you like the wrath of God. |
| 259 | * LargeHam: Everything Lionel did was grandiose. |
| 260 | * LikeASonToMe: In regards to Clark, in the later seasons. |
| 261 | * ManipulativeBastard: ''The'' definitive manipulator on the show. |
| 262 | * MadOracle: His possession by Jor-El leads to several breaks from reality, during which he merely sits in a corner and sketches Kryptonian symbols. He's not actually insane, but he certainly looks this way from the outside. |
| 263 | * ManOfWealthAndTaste: Rich, cultured, well-dressed, and a son-of-a-bitch. |
| 264 | * MessyHair: And the longer it gets, the messier (and greasier) it is. |
| 265 | * MightAsWellNotBeInPrisonAtAll: During the first half of Season 4 where he's able to send an assassin after Chloe, [[GrandTheftMe body-jack Clark]] and launch several other plots against the main cast from behind bars. It's not an extreme example--he's certainly inconvenienced by doing hard time, but he is still very, very dangerous. |
| 266 | * {{Narcissist}}: Particularly during Seasons 1-3, wherein he has a great deal of trouble seeing his family and company as anything more than extensions of himself. Possession by Jor-El rids him of the worst of these traits in Season 4 though he remains grandiose and manipulative, viewing himself as a prophet and savior. |
| 267 | * ObfuscatingDisability: In the beginning of Season 2, a life-saving surgery leaves him temporarily blind. He eventually regained his sight, but neglected to mention it and faked being blind for a few more weeks because people let their guard down around someone they thought couldn't see. |
| 268 | * PapaWolf: Starts showing this trait towards Lex and then Clark after Season 4. Horribly and cruelly subverted in his treatment of 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. |
| 269 | * ParentalSubstitute: Tries hard to be one for Clark. |
| 270 | * {{Pride}}: Unlike his [[GreenEyedMonster envious]] and [[{{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 with people with superpowers, Lionel still managed to feel like the most powerful person around. |
| 271 | * ProphetEyes: When possessed by Jor-El. |
| 272 | * RagsToRiches: In his {{Backstory}}. |
| 273 | * ReallyGetsAround: He's had affairs with other women in the past, resulting in two illegitimate children, Lucas and Tess. Also, he's had many one-night stands with women where he gave them diamond earrings as a "thank you" gift. |
| 274 | * RedemptionEqualsDeath: Lionel's turn-around ultimately sees him killed by Lex. |
| 275 | * ReformedButRejected: For most of Seasons 4 and 5, and in Season 7. |
| 276 | * ReformedButNotTamed: He has become more heroic but is still a manipulative, suspicious man as shown when he forces Lana to marry Lex. |
| 277 | * RetCanon: Thanks to his popularity and impact, subsequent Superman adaptations name Lex Luthor's father after him. |
| 278 | * ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: Thinks his wealth entitles him to do whatever he wants to whoever he wants. |
| 279 | * SecretKeeper: For Clark after Season 5. |
| 280 | * SelfMadeMan: One of the rare evil ones. Unlike most examples, he's not proud of it and does everything he can to hide the fact that he hasn't always been rich. |
| 281 | * SelfMadeOrphan: He and Morgan Edge conspired to kill his alcoholic parents Lachlan and Eliza. |
| 282 | * TheSocialDarwinist: Lionel expresses these sentiments on occasion, though not nearly to the extremes of his Earth-2 counterpart. |
| 283 | * SoProudOfYou: Leaves a message like this for Clark to listen to following his death. |
| 284 | * {{Supervillain}}: A prototypical one, foreshadowing what his son will become. |
| 285 | * TroubledAbuser: Lex's life would have been very different if his grandparents hadn't beaten Lionel for trying to be better than they were, and especially if Lex hadn't taken the blame for his mother killing Julian, which permanently shattered any hope for Lex and Lionel to have a stable relationship. |
| 286 | * UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: He is, to a great extent, responsible for Lex turning out as rotten as he did. |
| 287 | * VillainousCrush: On Martha Kent. He never really acts on it, though. |
| 288 | * VirtueIsWeakness: Something he's been trying to teach Lex his whole life. |
| 289 | * WickedCultured: Has high-class taste and low morals. |
| 290 | * XanatosSpeedChess: A master of it. |
| 291 | * YouAreWhatYouHate: He despised his abusive parents, unaware that he was one to Lex. He also expresses distaste for the poor, showing just how ashamed of his past he is. |
| 292 | * ZenSurvivor: A badly burned-out one. |
| 293 | [[/folder]] |
| 294 | |
| 295 | [[folder:Tess Mercer]] |
| 296 | !!Lutessa Lena Luthor / Red Tornado |
| 297 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tess_mercer.jpg]] |
| 298 | [[quoteright:350:[[labelnote:Click here to see her in the comic]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/flash_bart_allen_sv_s11_smallville_season_11_40_1364566178666.jpg[[/labelnote]]]] |
| 299 | [[quoteright:350:[[labelnote:Click here to see her as Red Tornado]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/red_tornado_tess.jpg[[/labelnote]]]] |
| 300 | |
| 301 | !!! '''Species''': Techno-Organic Cyborg[[note]]Previously human.[[/note]] |
| 302 | !!! '''Played by''': Creator/CassidyFreeman |
| 303 | |
| 304 | ->''"Trust never was the golden rule for the kids in this clubhouse."'' |
| 305 | |
| 306 | The illegitimate daughter of Lionel Luthor & Lex's nanny Pamela Jenkins, Lex's protégé and his successor as CEO of [=LuthorCorp=], Tess has a complicated history with Oliver Queen and a difficult relationship with Clark Kent, whom she alternately idolizes and fears. [[TheBaroness Domineering]], [[ManipulativeBitch calculating]] and extremely [[BrokenBird broken]], Tess is a force to be reckoned with, though whether it's for good or evil is often up in the air. |
| 307 | |
| 308 | 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 alter ego 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 in the name of creating a better future for humanity. |
| 309 | |
| 310 | In the GrandFinale, Tess is murdered by Lex in an attempt to "make sure she doesn't become him". She in turn introduces a neural gel that wipes his memories, allowing Clark's secrets to remain safe and in the process allow her redemption for her crimes. However, the DNA contact allowed Tess's consciousness to enter Lex's brain, allowing her to appear to him as a hallucination. Eventually, the Justice League managed to extract her consciousness and upload it to the Watchtower computers, allowing her to appear as a VirtualGhost; she later transferred her consciousness into an self-created cyborg body. At the end of Season 11, she was grafted a synthetic skin, allowing her to regain her original appearance and became Red Tornado. |
| 311 | |
| 312 | For her Earth-2 counterpart, see [[Characters/SmallvilleEarth2 Earth-2]]. |
| 313 | ---- |
| 314 | * AbusiveParents: Her adoptive father broke her arm and damaged her eardrums. The AlternateUniverse version of her biological father wasn't much better, given the fact that he routinely put her down and treated her horribly, eventually trying to ''[[OffingTheOffspring cut out her heart]]'' so that he could use it to [[HeirClubForMen bring his son back to life]]. Yikes, if that isn't an extreme example of ParentalFavoritism, then what is? |
| 315 | * AffablyEvil: Tess is always pleasant even when she's threatening to ruin your life. |
| 316 | * AlliterativeName: Lutessa Lena Luthor. |
| 317 | * TheAtoner: In Season 10. |
| 318 | * BackFromTheDead: In the Season 11 comic, it's revealed that the gel she used to wipe Lex's memory during her dying moments transferred her mind into Lex's subconscious, allowing her to survive her apparent death; once Clark and Ollie get wind of this, they mount an awe-inspiring rescue and manage to transfer Tess out of Lex's head and into the Watchtower computers, where she now takes on a VirtualGhost appearance. |
| 319 | * BadassNormal: She's proficient at hand-to-hand combat, being shown practicing Kickboxing and Aikido. |
| 320 | * TheBaroness: An interesting mix of the two versions--she's very attractive (like the Sexpot type), but her cold and [[MisanthropeSupreme bitter]] personality is closer to the Rosa Klebb variant. |
| 321 | * BastardBastard: She's Lionel's bastard daughter. |
| 322 | * BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: In Season 8, Chloe calls Tess a "Luthor wannabe," an accusation which doesn't seem to be too far off the mark. By Season 10, when Tess finds out that she ''is'' a Luthor, she most definitely doesn't see it as a good thing anymore. |
| 323 | * BecauseDestinySaysSo: Is like this towards Clark. She's determined to make sure he turns into the Traveler that the prophecies have promised her, no matter how many times she has to manipulate, sabotage or betray him. |
| 324 | * BerserkButton: Once she cares about someone, it is a ''bad idea'' to endanger or threaten them in Tess's presence. Particularly Emil, it would seem, as she flips out at least ''twice'' in Season 11 because of him, once getting so angry that she's able to slap Lex across the face despite the fact that she's a ''hallucination''. |
| 325 | * BigBad: One could make a case for her being Season 8's. While [[SerialKiller Doom]][[PersonOfMassDestruction sday]] is the FinalBoss, he spends most of the show trying to stay undercover, while Tess' manipulations drive the plot forwards and provide most of the season's conflict. |
| 326 | * BrainUploading: In the Season 11 comic, it's revealed that the memory gel she used on Lex as she died transferred her consciousness into him, so she survives deep inside his head as a hallucination only he can see. Once she manages to communicate her situation to her friends, they manage to upload her into Watchtower and save her. |
| 327 | * BrokenAce: Along much the same lines as Lionel and Lex. She's rich, attractive, powerful, has [[MisanthropeSupreme no faith in humanity]] or herself, and is desperately searching for a [[MessianicArchetype Messiah-figure]]. |
| 328 | * BrokenBird: Life in general, and her interactions with the Luthors in particular, have left her very, very damaged. This shows more and more with each season after her introduction. |
| 329 | * CainAndAbel: Despite [[BigBad first impressions]], Tess ends up being the Abel of this trope to big brother Lex's Cain. |
| 330 | * CharacterDevelopment: She turns out to be one of the most complex characters on the show. |
| 331 | * TheChessmaster: Not quite to the level of Lex or Lionel but definitely one of these. |
| 332 | * CombatPragmatist: Three words: ''kryptonite. brass. knuckles.'' |
| 333 | * CompositeCharacter: [[Film/SupermanTheMovie Eve Teschmacher]] and [[WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries Mercy Graves]], and Big Barda, and Lena Luthor, and possibly Contessa Erica del Portenza, Luthor's eighth wife in the comics. And in the season 11 comics, ComicBook/RedTornado. Let's be real, Tess Mercer may just be the Queen of this trope. |
| 334 | * CorruptCorporateExecutive: Although in a different way from most, and whether she still qualifies after her HeelFaceTurn is arguable. Even before her HeelFaceTurn, she reorganizes [=LuthorCorp=] around the goal of saving the Earth... it's just that her version of "saving the Earth" is not exactly the same definition that Clark and the JLA have. And plus she's willing to use ruthless means to get there. |
| 335 | * TheCracker: Put her skills at this to work for Clark post-HeelFaceTurn. |
| 336 | * CuteBruiser: Pretty girl. Will beat your face in without the need for WaifFu, thanks all the same. And oh yeah—[[CombatPragmatist she cheats]]. |
| 337 | * DamselOutOfDistress: Kidnapping Tess is a great way to wind up dead. |
| 338 | * DarkActionGirl: She loses some of the evil in later seasons, but none of the edge. |
| 339 | * DesignatedGirlFight: Against Lana, Lois, Chloe and Mad Harriet. |
| 340 | * DeadpanSnarker: Gets into a lot of SnarkToSnarkCombat with Lois. And the more we find out about her, the more it seems like she might be a StepfordSnarker. |
| 341 | * DistaffCounterpart: To Lex. |
| 342 | * DyingMomentOfAwesome: As she lies dying from the knife wound Lex just gave her, she exposes Lex to a toxin that wipes his memory of everything that's happened since he came to Smallville, thus limiting the threat he'll be to Clark in the future. She is revived in Season 11. |
| 343 | * EnemyMine: Her occasional team-ups with the good guys pre HeelFaceTurn fall into this. |
| 344 | * ElectronicEyes: Implanted by Lex. It's revealed that [[SeeingThroughAnothersEyes he is actually spying on her through them, which prompts her Heel-Face Turn]]. |
| 345 | * EvilGenius: One of the smarter cast members and decidedly nasty. |
| 346 | * EvilRedhead: Lovely red hair, deeply damaged soul. |
| 347 | * EvilSoundsDeep: Has the deepest voice in the female cast and, what a shocker, is one of the bad guys until her HeelFaceTurn in Season 10. |
| 348 | * TheFatalist: When it comes to Clark. She fully believes that he [[YouCantFightFate cannot fight fate]]. |
| 349 | * FieryRedhead: Tess has a notable temper to go with her red hair. |
| 350 | * GoodIsNotNice: Has shades of this post-HeelFaceTurn. She's considerably nicer (note the obvious change in her attitude toward Lois), particularly toward the other Justice League members, but she hasn't lost any of the DarkActionGirl edge, and she can still be a jerk, even if some of it is just keeping up appearances so that nobody notices that she's suddenly friends with two of her employees. |
| 351 | * GoodOldFisticuffs: More likely to punch you in the face then dance around you. Against Zod, she resorts to kryptonite brass knuckles. |
| 352 | * HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: For three seasons, finally settling on Face. |
| 353 | * HomePornMovie: Filmed one with [[TheSmartGuy Emil]]. |
| 354 | * InterplayOfSexAndViolence: When Oliver interrupts one of her KingpinInHisGym sessions, they get into an aggressive sparring match that [[SexWithTheEx ends up with them in bed.]] She also slept with Zod shortly after they both tried to kill each other. |
| 355 | * KilledOffForReal: In [[GrandFinale "Finale"]] by a revived Lex, ironically enough. Though she takes his memories with her. Subverted in Season 11, where she is brought back. |
| 356 | * KingpinInHisGym: Has a lot of scenes with her practicing or training to show off he physical prowess. Some scenes crossing over with WorkoutFanservice. |
| 357 | * KissingUnderTheInfluence: With Emil in "Fortune." |
| 358 | * LongLostSibling: It is revealed that Tess is the paternal half-sister to Lex. They share the same father, Lionel. |
| 359 | * MamaBear: Hurt Alexander and expect to have the Luthor wrath come down on you. |
| 360 | * ManipulativeBitch: Near as talented as Lionel and Lex in this regard. |
| 361 | * MercyKill: As she lies dying, Lex tries to justify it as this, saying that he's saving her from becoming like him. |
| 362 | -->'''Tess:''' Clark already did that. |
| 363 | * MisanthropeSupreme: She sides with the cloned Kryptonians over humanity, believing that they will be better stewards of the planet than humans. In the alternate future, she even becomes Zod's [[TheDragon Dragon]]. However, in her dying moment, she admits she made a terrible mistake and she was desperately trying to save the world. |
| 364 | * MissionControl: Becomes Watchtower II in Season 10, due to Chloe's absence. Takes up the position again in Season 11 as an AI. |
| 365 | * MistreatmentInducedBetrayal: She turns against Lex after Lana reveals to her how he never trusted her. |
| 366 | * MsFanservice: She's extremely attractive and knows it. |
| 367 | * NeverBeHurtAgain: A large part of her character motivation before her HeelFaceTurn. Tess has suffered a lifetime of abuse and suffering, and [[TookALevelInBadass took several levels in badass]] and climbs her way into becoming a CorruptCorporateExecutive. It seems her demeanor and scheming comes mostly from the desire to never be made to feel helpless or be at anyone's mercy again. |
| 368 | * OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Very few things truly get to her, or, if they do, she rarely lets anyone see it. In Season Ten, however, she's visibly nervous and shaken whenever she has to deal with her father's Earth-2 doppelganger. Perfectly reasonable, as his Earth-167 version abandoned her to an orphanage and the Earth-2 version is even worse. |
| 369 | * PairTheSmartOnes: With the equally bright (if in a [[GadgeteerGenius different]] [[OmnidisciplinaryScientist sort]] of [[TheSmartGuy way]]) Emil. |
| 370 | * ParentalAbandonment: Given up for adoption by Lionel. |
| 371 | * ParentalFavoritism: Her biological father Lionel Luthor dumps her at an orphanage and then, at another distant home, utterly ignoring young Tess' heartbreaking cries of "I love you, Daddy!" Even worse, the Earth-2 version of him explicitly tells her that she isn't as special as her brother, and actually ''tries to kill her to use her heart to bring him back''. |
| 372 | * PetTheDog: For all her [[WellIntentionedExtremist evil]], she never revealed Clark's secret even before her HeelFaceTurn despite her allegiances to groups like the Kandorians and Checkmate, who both ''really'' wanted to know. Zod even threatened to kill her if she didn't reveal what she knew about The Blur to him. She still refused, and while much of her decision was probably based on the [[ManipulativeBastard games]] she was playing, she still gets some credit for protecting Clark when he and the rest of his team actively found her completely untrustworthy. |
| 373 | * PragmaticHero: Believes herself to be one, even before she becomes TheAtoner. She's more of a Pragmatic ''Anti''Hero. |
| 374 | * PromotionToParent: Seemed to be going this route with Alexander Luthor prior to his FaceHeelTurn. |
| 375 | * ReallyGetsAround: {{Implied|Trope}}, but never really shown. She sleeps with a grand total of three people over the course of her three seasons on the show, [[SexWithTheEx one an ex-boyfriend]] and another while under the influence of [[KissingUnderTheInfluence magically-spiked alcohol]]. |
| 376 | * RedemptionEqualsDeath: Arguably, twice. When she first pulls a HeelFaceTurn against Zod, he burns her so badly that she dies in the hospital (but is saved in the S10 premiere by Cadmus Labs). Then, after a full season on the [[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor Face]] side, she makes one final effort for Clark against her family and is killed by Lex for her trouble. |
| 377 | %%* RelationshipUpgrade: With Emil at the end of Season 11 |
| 378 | * TheReveal: In Season 10's "Abandoned," she's revealed to actually be a Luthor. |
| 379 | * ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: Tess feels her position and wealth entitle her to break the rules. |
| 380 | * SecretKeeper: She figures out Clark's deal pretty quickly, though it takes until season nine for him to actually admit it to her. To her genuine credit, she ''never'' reveals his secret to anyone, even under threat of death like the situation with the Kandorians, despite the fact that she was one of the bad guys at the time. |
| 381 | * SelfMadeOrphan: Technically.Tess kills Lionel, though it's his AlternateUniverse counterpart. Regardless, he is still considered her father even by Tess herself, and she kills him [[OffingTheOffspring in self-defense]]. |
| 382 | * SexGoddess: Was able to impress a fully powered Zod with her sexual prowess, who claims she was able to "spar with him on an equal footing" and her ex Oliver comments on her being very passionate. |
| 383 | * ShamelessFanserviceGirl: In "Persuasion" Tess is having a [[BathtubScene relaxing bubble bath]] when Major Zod [[InterruptedBath invades her bathroom]] to catch her in a moment of weakness. She turns the tables on him by acting unperturbed and nonchalantly climbs out of the tub in front of him without an ounce of shame. |
| 384 | * ShipTease: With Emil Hamilton. Becomes a RelationshipUpgrade at the end of Season 11. |
| 385 | * ShootTheDog: Goes out of her way to try and force Clark to kill Davis in Season 8. |
| 386 | * SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: Despite his relationship with Lois, Tess harbors an unreciprocated attraction to Clark, who is one of the few [[NiceGuy genuinely good-hearted]] men in her life. |
| 387 | * TheSmartGuy: She and Emil split this role after her HeelFaceTurn, Emil as TheMedic and GadgeteerGenius, and Tess as TheCracker, ManipulativeBastard and [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney financial backer]]. |
| 388 | * SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: She's pretty much Lex in drag, at least initially. She later develops her own personality. |
| 389 | * TheTeamBenefactor: She and Oliver provide most of the team's money after her HeelFaceTurn. |
| 390 | * TookALevelInBadass: As a VirtualGhost in the Season 11 comics, repeatedly taking control of various robot bodies to kick some ass with. |
| 391 | * TheUnfavourite: Her adoptive father was physically abusive to her and injured her on more than one occasion. And the trope also applies to the way she was treated by her biological father Lionel Luthor, who preferred her brother Lex on both Earth-1 and Earth-2. The Earth-2 version was even more extreme: he explicitly tells her that she's just not as special as Lex, and he tries to murder her to use her heart to resurrect Lex. ''Ouch''. |
| 392 | * UsedToBeASweetKid: Compare the {{flashback}}s from "Toxic" to how she behaves in the present-day timeline. |
| 393 | * TheVamp: Tess will use her sexuality to get what she wants from men. |
| 394 | * VillainousCrush: Often appears to manifest one on Clark and flirts with him many times (he doesn't reciprocate). She also seemingly manifests one for Lois as well and is often just as flirtatious with her as with Clark, a fact that was actually noted by Creator/CassidyFreeman and Creator/EricaDurance. The writers have confirmed that a Clark/Tess romance was initially planned and toyed with, but the CW waited until the last minute to tell them whether they were renewed for a Season 9 or not, so during the latter half of Season 8, the writers had to be prepared to make Clark/Lois a formal couple just in case, thus forcing them to put off the plans for doing Clark/Tess first. By the time Season 9 started, the writers felt that the time a Clark/Tess romance would have been plausible had passed and focused on continuing Clois' forward momentum instead. |
| 395 | * VillainousLineage: Her being Lionel's daughter explains both her [[ManipulativeBastard manipulative nature]] and her HeelFaceRevolvingDoor. |
| 396 | * VirtualGhost: In the comics of Season 11, she's an ArtificialIntelligence reborn by the Justice League, and acts as the primary MissionControl. |
| 397 | * WellIntentionedExtremist: Even at her worst, she always has mankind's best interests at heart. |
| 398 | [[/folder]] |
| 399 | |
| 400 | ![=LuthorCorp=] Employers and Associates |
| 401 | |
| 402 | [[folder:Victoria Hardwick]] |
| 403 | !!Victoria Hardwick |
| 404 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/victoria_hardwick.png]] |
| 405 | !!! '''Species''': Human |
| 406 | !!! '''Played by''': Creator/KellyBrook |
| 407 | |
| 408 | The daughter of one of Lionel's business rivals, she attempts to play Lionel and Lex against one another in Season 1. |
| 409 | ---- |
| 410 | * BreakTheHaughty: [[RichesToRags Her ultimate fate]], along with her equally-haughty father. |
| 411 | * TheChessmaster: Unfortunately for her, Lex is an even craftier Chessmaster. And Lionel was better than them both, of course. |
| 412 | * DaddysGirl: She played Lex ultimately to get her father's approval. |
| 413 | * DistaffCounterpart: To Lex, with the caveat that Victoria is loyal to her father. |
| 414 | * GoldDigger: Already extremely wealthy, but she and her father want to get even richer and plot to have her infiltrate [=LuthorCorp=] by seducing Lex. |
| 415 | -->'''[[DeadpanSnarker Lex]]:''' You call sleeping with me "business?" I'd hate to think what that makes you. |
| 416 | * HoneyTrap: Was one to Lex on behalf of her father. |
| 417 | * {{Hypocrite}}: Was horrified at Lex for taking over her father's company when they were scheming to do the same to [=LuthorCorp=]. |
| 418 | * LoveInterests: For Lex in Season 1. |
| 419 | * MsFanservice: Wears several flattering and fancy clothes and even gets a BathtubScene in "Shimmer". |
| 420 | %%* OutGambitted: By Lionel and Lex. |
| 421 | * RichBitch: Particularly in her treatment of Lex's staff members. This ended up coming back to bite her when one of them decided to try and ''remove'' Victoria from the mansion. Victoria survived, thanks to Clark. |
| 422 | * RichesToRags: It's heavily implied that this is going to happen to her and her father after they are OutGambitted 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 [=LuthorCorp=]). 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 [=LuthorCorp=] the following morning. |
| 423 | * UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Her actions end up with Lex acquiring ''Cadmus Labs''. |
| 424 | * TheVamp: Tries to play both of the Luthor men against each other, sleeping with both Lex ''and'' Lionel. It doesn't end well for her. |
| 425 | [[/folder]] |
| 426 | |
| 427 | [[folder:Lucas Luthor]] |
| 428 | !!Lucas Luthor |
| 429 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lucas_luthor.jpg]] |
| 430 | !!! '''Species''': Human |
| 431 | !!! '''Played by''': Creator/PaulWesley |
| 432 | |
| 433 | One of Lionel's illegitimate children, Lucas was born from an affair that Lionel had with Rachel Dunleavy. |
| 434 | ---- |
| 435 | * AlliterativeName: '''L'''ucas '''L'''uthor. |
| 436 | %%* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: To Lex. |
| 437 | %%* BadBoss: After becoming owner of the Talon. |
| 438 | * BastardBastard: Lucas is not a pleasant person to say the least. |
| 439 | * ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Appeared in just one episode where he had a major role, and it was implied would continue to have a major role in the [[DysfunctionJunction Luthor family dynamic]]. Was PutOnABus at the end of the episode and was never seen or heard from again. |
| 440 | %%* DeadpanSnarker: He is a Luthor, after all. |
| 441 | %%* LongLostSibling: To Lex. |
| 442 | * ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: "I'm a Luthor. I can do what I want." |
| 443 | * TheSociopath: At least according to Lionel. |
| 444 | [[/folder]] |
| 445 | |
| 446 | [[folder:Lillian Luthor]] |
| 447 | !!Lillian Luthor |
| 448 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lilian_luthor.png]] |
| 449 | !!! '''Species''': Human |
| 450 | !!! '''Played by''': Creator/AlisenDown |
| 451 | |
| 452 | The deceased wife of Lionel, and the mother of Lex and Julian (also deceased). It is eventually revealed that she helped create the beginnings of the Lex/Lionel feud that persists throughout the show. |
| 453 | ---- |
| 454 | * AbusiveParents: Murdered her second son. She wasn't all that great to Lex either, especially considering she let him take the blame for the above mentioned murder. |
| 455 | * AdaptationNameChange: Pre-Crisis: her name is Arlene, Post-Crisis: she's mostly nameless. |
| 456 | * AdaptationPersonalityChange: In the Silver Age comics, she's mostly a kind mother; Post-Crisis, she's either neglectful or unseen altogether. |
| 457 | * AlliterativeName: '''L'''illian '''L'''uthor. |
| 458 | * KickTheDog: Only towards Lex, which arguably had an even bigger impact on him than Lionel did. |
| 459 | ** She does nothing to comfort Lex after being physically abused by Lionel into revealing that she was going through her things, and openly blamed him after Lionel turned the abuse on her. This is likely a big reason why Lex would later lie for her. |
| 460 | ** After killing Julian, she apparently let Lionel believe that Lex was responsible, never revealing the truth despite the impact it had on Lex. [[{{Gaslighting}} It got to the point that Lex genuinely believed he murdered Julian.]] |
| 461 | * MercyKill: Lillian smothered her newborn son Julian to spare him from Lionel's abusive way of parenting. |
| 462 | * MissingMom: She died when Lex was a teenager. |
| 463 | %%* OffingTheOffspring: Julian. |
| 464 | * PosthumousCharacter: She died before the series began. |
| 465 | * SpiritAdvisor: Her spirit appears to Lex when he's experiencing an alternate, good life for himself while comatose in Season 5's "Lexmas" and again in "Void" where she blasts Lex for ignoring her advice. |
| 466 | * UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Her MercyKill of Julian is what led to Lex and Lionel's acrimonious relationship. |
| 467 | %%* WouldHurtAChild: Poor Julian. |
| 468 | [[/folder]] |
| 469 | |
| 470 | [[folder:Gina]] |
| 471 | !!Gina |
| 472 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gina_smallville.jpg]] |
| 473 | !!! '''Species''': Human |
| 474 | !!! '''Played by''': Creator/AnnaGalvin |
| 475 | ---- |
| 476 | * TheDragon: To Lex during Season 7. |
| 477 | * {{Expy}}: Reverse example; Tess Mercer is this to her. Tess filled much the same position as Gina once she arrived. |
| 478 | * HeKnowsTooMuch: She finds out that Clark is the Traveler. [[DeathBySecretIdentity Five minutes later]], her murderer is staging the scene in order to MakeItLookLikeAnAccident. |
| 479 | %%* IgnoredEnamoredUnderling: Also to Lex. |
| 480 | %%* KilledOffForReal: By Edward Teague. |
| 481 | * UndyingLoyalty: When she discovers that Lex murdered his father, she goes from comforting him about the loss to explaining why he had to do it ''in seconds''. |
| 482 | * WellIntentionedExtremist: Shares Lex's desire to stop the Traveler, and will shoot people and lock them in freezers in order to bring about her goals. |
| 483 | * WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Subverted; she shoots Lois while holding Lois and Jimmy hostage because she "[wasn't] cooperating." |
| 484 | [[/folder]] |
| 485 | |
| 486 | [[folder:Regan Matthews]] |
| 487 | !!Regan Matthews |
| 488 | [[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/reganmatthews_6410.jpg]] |
| 489 | !!! '''Species''': Human |
| 490 | !!! '''Played by''': Creator/AriCohen |
| 491 | |
| 492 | 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. |
| 493 | ---- |
| 494 | * CorruptCorporateExecutive: Near as crooked as his boss. |
| 495 | * TheDragon: To Lex. He may well be the man's one competent employee. |
| 496 | * GreenEyedMonster: Towards Tess in Season 8 after she unexpectedly takes over the company, having been named by Lex in his will as his successor. You almost feel sorry for Regan when he finds out; he shows nothing but UndyingLoyalty towards Lex and doesn't understand why Lex named "an obscure regional VP" as his heir. When he's informed about Tess being Lex's heir, there's even a look of visible hurt and confusion on the man's face. He then spends the rest of his time on the show trying to prove that he's a better minion than Tess. |
| 497 | * MyMasterRightOrWrong: He firmly believed that Lex's plans in "Quest" and "Arctic" were nuts. This doesn't prevent him from staying loyal, before and after. |
| 498 | %%* ObstructiveBureaucrat: To Tess. |
| 499 | * PlayingWithSyringes: Uses a drug derived from Chloe's mother's spinal fluid to mind-control first Chloe and then ComicBook/GreenArrow. |
| 500 | * ProperlyParanoid: As it turns out, his suspicions about Tess' loyalty were right; she jumps ship as soon as she finds out how badly Lex has violated her trust. |
| 501 | %%* TheReliableOne: To Lex. |
| 502 | * SmugSnake: Condescending and just generally unpleasant. |
| 503 | * UndyingLoyalty: To Lex. May be somewhat surprising, seeing this trope in a Luthor exec, but then again it's implied that he genuinely believes Lex's delusions about the Traveller being the vanguard of a Kryptonian invasion, and that he views Lex as humanity's best chance at thwarting this. |
| 504 | [[/folder]] |
| 505 | |
| 506 | [[folder:Injustice League]] |
| 507 | !!Injustice League |
| 508 | !!! '''Species''': Enhanced Humans |
| 509 | !!! '''Played by''': Creator/JessicaParkerKennedy (Bette Sans Souci / Plastique), Creator/BrendanFletcher (Rudy Jones / Parasite), Creator/AnnaWilliam (Eva Greer), Creator/AnnaMaeRoutledge (Leslie Willis / Livewire), Creator/JaeLee (Nathaniel Tryon / Neutron) |
| 510 | |
| 511 | 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. |
| 512 | |
| 513 | For more on Plastique, see ''Characters/SmallvilleGovernment''. |
| 514 | ---- |
| 515 | %%* AxCrazy: Parasite |
| 516 | * BroughtDownToNormal: Parasite does this to Livewire. |
| 517 | %%* EnergyAbsorption: Parasite |
| 518 | %%* FlyingBrick: Parasite when he steals Clark's powers. Luckily, he also steals his KryptoniteFactor. |
| 519 | %%* HellBentForLeather: All four of them. |
| 520 | %%* KilledOffForReal: Eva and Neutron. |
| 521 | %%* MadBomber: Plastique |
| 522 | %%* PsychoElectro: Livewire and then Parasite. |
| 523 | %%* ShapeShifting: Eva |
| 524 | %%* ShockAndAwe: Livewire |
| 525 | * VampiricDraining: Parasite's power drains both your powers and some of your LifeEnergy. |
| 526 | * WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Plastique shows back up later with the Suicide Squad, but mysteriously vanishes by their next appearance. |
| 527 | * WhyAmITicking: The chip in their heads that keeps them loyal doubles as a bomb. |
| 528 | %%* YouHaveFailedMe: Tess does this to Livewire and Eva. |
| 529 | [[/folder]] |
| 530 | |
| 531 | [[folder:Alexander Luthor/Lx-15]] |
| 532 | !!Alexander Luthor / Lx-15 (Creator/JakobDavies, Creator/ConnorStanhope, Creator/LucasGrabeel) |
| 533 | |
| 534 | |
| 535 | [[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screenshot_20200814_013211_video_player.jpg https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screenshot_20200814_020143_video_player.jpg https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screenshot_20200815_015248_video_player.jpg]] |
| 536 | |
| 537 | ->''"I'm the last Lex Luthor. After I die, there is no coming back."'' |
| 538 | |
| 539 | 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." He is released from Cadmus Labs by Tess in the Season 10 opening, and at first appears to be a relatively normal child. |
| 540 | |
| 541 | The tropes below pertain to him as "Alexander". For his post-amnesia persona, see [[Characters/SmallvilleKents The Kents]], though be warned, that folder is filled with spoilers. |
| 542 | ---- |
| 543 | %%* BaldOfEvil: As of the end of "Harvest". But his hair grows back. |
| 544 | * BigBadWannabe: He talks a good game, but is far too shattered mentally to fill Lex's shoes. |
| 545 | * BoringButPractical: His plan to kill Clark involves firing kryptonite bullets at people he cares about, assuming that Clark will blur in front of the shots. Compared to Lex's complicated schemes, it's definitely this. |
| 546 | * CanonCharacterAllAlong: As shown in The Kents, he becomes the show's version of Connor Kent. |
| 547 | %%* CheerfulChild: At least, at first. |
| 548 | * DoNotCallMePaul: "My name is Lex!" |
| 549 | * EnfantTerrible: Given that he has Lex's mind in a child's body, this should surprise no one. He's creepy, manipulative and downright abusive towards Tess. And then there's his murderous agenda regarding Clark. "Born bad" is putting it mildly. |
| 550 | %%* EvilOrphan: Despite Tess' best efforts. |
| 551 | %%* FaceHeelTurn: In "Harvest." See Conner's entry for how that turns out. |
| 552 | * ImportantHaircut: Shaved himself in imitation of Lex in "Harvest". It grew back pretty quick. |
| 553 | * KillItWithFire: Burned down the Luthor mansion. What is it with Lex's clones and [[PyroManiac pyromania]]? |
| 554 | * TheLastDance: He's fully aware of his aging problem. It's not doing healthy things to his mental stability. |
| 555 | * LastOfHisKind: The last of the Lex clones. |
| 556 | %%* ManOfWealthAndTaste: As of his FaceHeelTurn. |
| 557 | %%* NighInvulnerability: Revealed at the very end of "Beacon." |
| 558 | * ParentalIssues: With [[ParentalSubstitute Tess]], [[AbusiveParents Earth-2 Lionel]] and anyone else who tries to offer him guidance. |
| 559 | * PsychoticSmirk: Sports a beautiful copy of Lex's. |
| 560 | * TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Ruthlessly deconstructs Tess' desire to help him, claiming that she's only trying to exorcise her own internal demons. |
| 561 | * {{Revenge}}: Previously expressed a desire to pay back Clark for "his" death. |
| 562 | * RevolversAreJustBetter: Because you can load them with kryptonite bullets. |
| 563 | * SanitySlippage: Gets a whole lot crazier with every year he ages. |
| 564 | * SelfMadeOrphan: He sure as hell tries to send Earth-2 Lionel the way of his Earth-1 counterpart. |
| 565 | %%* ShadowArchetype: To Lex, of course. |
| 566 | %%* SharpDressedMan: Well, boy really. |
| 567 | * UsedToBeASweetKid: Before Lex's memories screwed him up. |
| 568 | * WiseBeyondTheirYears: "He's just as smart as Lex was. Maybe even smarter." |
| 569 | * YouAreNumberSix: Lx-15 is his "actual" name and number. |
| 570 | * YoungerThanTheyLook: Not to the degree of Lx-3, but he's getting there. |
| 571 | [[/folder]] |
| 572 | |
| 573 | [[folder:Lx-3]] |
| 574 | !!Lx-3 |
| 575 | [[quoteright:251:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screenshot_20200814_012510_video_player.jpg]] |
| 576 | |
| 577 | !!! '''Species''': Human Clone |
| 578 | !!! '''Played by''': Creator/MackenzieGray |
| 579 | |
| 580 | ->''"There can only be one ComicBook/LexLuthor!"'' |
| 581 | |
| 582 | 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. |
| 583 | ---- |
| 584 | * AxCrazy: He's extremely brutal and sadistic and literally tries to kill everyone he meets. |
| 585 | * BaldOfEvil: He's completely bald, and he's such a bastard that even Lex is disgusted by him. |
| 586 | * BigBadWannabe: He's menacing and dangerous, and Clark and Tess both react as though he really were the real Lex, but thanks to his CloneDegeneration, he doesn't really have time to do all that much. |
| 587 | * CloneDegeneration: He's much older than the real Lex and he's dying. |
| 588 | * EvilGenius: Has more than enough time to demonstrate his high IQ before his cloning-induced issues kill him. |
| 589 | * EvilOldFolks: Old enough that he's only got a few days to live. |
| 590 | * {{Expy}}: Of previous villain Adrian Cross, who was cloned from Lex's deceased younger brother Julian. Both have aging problems, identity issues and a lust for {{revenge}}, as well as [[TheLastDance limited time to put their plans in motion]]. |
| 591 | * KillItWithFire: Does it to the other clones; tries to do it to Lois. |
| 592 | * KilledOffForReal: He dies from accelerated aging after giving Clark his SadisticChoice. |
| 593 | * TheLastDance: He's already dying when he gets loose. Trying to hurt Clark is just a final F-U before he goes. |
| 594 | * LooksLikeCesare: Rail skinny, with sunken, baggy eyes, a pale complexion and a sickly cast to his features. |
| 595 | * LooksLikeOrlok: He's not a vampire, but with the BaldOfEvil, vaguely PointyEars and jutting teeth, he does a remarkable impression. |
| 596 | * {{Pride}}: Claims it's Clark's FatalFlaw; one could argue that it's his. |
| 597 | * TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Gives one to Clark in which he claims that {{Pride}} is his FatalFlaw. |
| 598 | * RevengeByProxy: The reason he attacks Lois. He believes her death will utterly shatter Clark. |
| 599 | * SadisticChoice: Tries to force Clark to choose between saving Lois or the people of Metropolis. |
| 600 | * ShadowArchetype: To the real Lex. Lx-3 is what the real Luthor would by like if he lost the [[TheCharmer charisma]], and his few [[EvenEvilHasStandards remaining]] [[AffablyEvil scruples]], while turning up the AxCrazy a notch or eleven. That darkness inside him Lex was constantly being warned about? It's more or less this guy. |
| 601 | * SmugSnake: Has all of Lex's cunning and evil and all of his JerkAss qualities with none of the sympathy or [[invoked]][[MagnificentBastard Magnificence]]. |
| 602 | * TheSociopath: A rather low-functioning example. He has no empathy for anyone, will kill any person who crosses paths with him, has no impulse control whatsoever, and doesn't even bother to hide his malice. |
| 603 | * ThereCanBeOnlyOne: ComicBook/LexLuthor, that is. |
| 604 | * UnderestimatingBadassery: He presents Clark with a SadisticChoice between saving Lois from being burned to death and stopping the Daily Planet globe from falling into rush hour traffic. He never expected Clark to be fast enough to both save Lois and stop the globe from falling. |
| 605 | * VillainOfTheWeek: And what an impression he makes. |
| 606 | * WouldHitAGirl: The first thing he does after being freed is to brutally beat Tess. |
| 607 | * YouAreNumberSix: Lx-3 |
| 608 | * YoungerThanTheyLook: CloneDegeneration has left him with the body of a much older man. |
| 609 | [[/folder]] |
| 610 | |
| 611 | [[folder:Steven Hamilton]] |
| 612 | !!Steven Hamilton |
| 613 | !!!'''Species:''' Human |
| 614 | !!!'''Played By:''' Creator/JoeMorton |
| 615 | |
| 616 | A scientist obsessed with meteor rocks hired by Lex to investigate the 1989 meteor shower. |
| 617 | ---- |
| 618 | * InSpiteOfANail: Despite clearly living different lives from each other, he is a scientist like Silas Stone. |
| 619 | [[/folder]] |
| 620 | |
| 621 | [[folder:Donovan Jamison]] |
| 622 | !!Donovan Jamison |
| 623 | !!!'''Species:''' Human |
| 624 | !!!'''Played By:''' Creator/GerardPlunkett |
| 625 | |
| 626 | A scientist and the former CEO of [=NuCorp=] who serves as the primary antagonist of the ''Chloe Chronicles''. Lex later hires him as the doctor in charge of the 33.1 project. |
| 627 | ---- |
| 628 | [[/folder]] |
| 629 | |
| 630 | [[folder:Otis Berg]] |
| 631 | !!Otis Berg |
| 632 | !!!'''Species:''' Human |
| 633 | Only appearing in the Season 11 comics, Otis is the personal assistant to Lex Luthor. |
| 634 | ---- |
| 635 | * DeathByAdaptation: Unlike his film counterpart, Otis dies in the final story arc of the Season 11 comic. |
| 636 | * NamedByTheAdaptation: Is given the last name Berg, likely in reference to the scene from Film/SupermanTheMovie where he tried to convince Lex to have a city named after him called Otisburg. |
| 637 | [[/folder]] |
| 638 | |
| 639 | [[folder:Helen Bryce]] |
| 640 | !!Helen Bryce |
| 641 | !!!'''Species:''' Human |
| 642 | !!!'''Played By:''' Creator/EmmanuelleVaugier |
| 643 | [[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/helen_bryce.jpg]] |
| 644 | A physician at the Smallville Medical Center and the second wife of Lex Luthor. |
| 645 | ---- |
| 646 | * BitchInSheepsClothing: After being characterized her as a compassionate doctor and a counter to Lionel's corrupting influence on Lex in Season 2, Season 3 reveals Helen to be nothing more than a gold digger who was willing to kill her husband in order to get his money. Her own actress was just as surprised at this swerve as the audience, being unaware that she was supposed to be a villain all along until the third season premiere. |
| 647 | * BlackWidow: She tried to kill Lex on their honeymoon to get his money. Her attempt failed and Lex eventually realized what she had done after initially suspecting his father. |
| 648 | * EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: She claims that she didn't have the heart to shoot Lex the night of their honeymoon because she had genuinely fallen in love with him. Of course, that didn't stop her from pulling a gun on him after he reveals that he discovered her ruse. |
| 649 | * KarmaHoudini: Assuming that she survived her (implied) jump from the plane, she fails to kill Lex and get his money, but she still escapes justice for her crimes and is never seen again. |
| 650 | * SmallRoleBigImpact: |
| 651 | ** Helen only appears in nine episodes, but her betrayal and attempted murder of Lex have a noticeable effect on him in future and lead to him becoming more and more of a ControlFreak as the series progresses. |
| 652 | ** It's implied that the sample of Clark's blood that she extracted in "Fever" was used by Lex to create Conner. |
| 653 | * UncertainDoom: After Lex reveals her deception during their (second) honeymoon trip, she pulls a gun and they struggle over it, resulting in the pilot of their plane being shot dead; when Lex rushed to the cockpit to fly the plane and he turned around, Helen was gone, presumably having either jumped or parachuted away. While Lex organized search parties afterwards, it's not made clear whether she survived the jump or not, and she is never seen on the series again. The fact that Lex was able to marry Lana in Season Six (without being charged for bigamy) would suggest that Helen is (at least) legally deceased. |
| 654 | [[/folder]] |
| 655 | |
| 656 | [[folder:Pierce]] |
| 657 | !!Pierce |
| 658 | !!! '''Species''': Human |
| 659 | !!! '''Played by''': Creator/AaronDouglas |
| 660 | [[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/smallvillepierce.png]] |
| 661 | |
| 662 | ->''"The government wouldn't know what to do with you... [[ColdBloodedTorture but I do]]."'' |
| 663 | |
| 664 | The head of security for the secret [=LuthorCorp=] meta-prison 33.1 . After its shutdown, Lionel orders him to abduct Clark in a very ill-considered ploy to keep him safe. |
| 665 | ---- |
| 666 | * BadassNormal: He was able to ambush and capture a Kryptonian with a specialized team and the element of surprise. |
| 667 | * BodyguardBetrayal: He turns on Lionel when the elder Luthor tells him to stand down. |
| 668 | * ColdBloodedTorture: Relentlessly subjects Clark to kryptonite exposure in an attempt to cow him. When it doesn't work, he decides to just kill Clark, even if he's been given direct orders to keep him alive. |
| 669 | * {{Expy}}: To Lock-Up, a minor DC supervillain usually faced by ComicBook/{{Batman}}. Both are {{WellIntentionedExtremist}}s who dress mostly in black act as TheJailer and have issues with being the {{Sadist}}. |
| 670 | * ItIsDehumanizing: Refers to Clark as "it" after deciding to kill him. |
| 671 | * TheJailer: His job after capturing Clark is to keep Clark captured. He's very good at it, so much so that it takes the intervention of his both Lionel and Kara to save Clark. |
| 672 | * KilledOffForReal: Lionel shoves him through a window to his death to stop Pierce from killing Clark with kryptonite. Ironically, Lionel himself would later experience a similar death. |
| 673 | * KneelBeforeZod: He first starts torturing Clark when Clark refuses to follow his orders and seems to be trying to break Clark's will. When Clark refuses to be broken, Pierce decides to kill him. |
| 674 | * KnightTemplar: When he first talks with Clark he marvels incredulously at the 'death and destruction' the town of Smallville has experienced and his desire to keep Clark imprisoned (and later to kill him) is because of Clark's immense power and the threat he could pose to national security. |
| 675 | * KryptoniteIsEverywhere: Takes Clark down with Kryptonite tasers, keeps him imprisoned in a Kryptonite cage, and at the end tries to shoot him with a Kryptonite gun. |
| 676 | * OneShotCharacter: Only appears personally in Season 7's "Traveler", though the 33.1 facility he was in charge of is a location that features as early as Season 3. |
| 677 | * OrderIsNotGood: He's not a criminal in the usual sense of the word, but his zeal to keep meteor infectees under control pushes him into villainy. |
| 678 | * RichInDollarsPoorInSense: Considers Lionel and Patricia Swann to be this for wanting to set Clark free. As he tells Lionel, "Your money makes you stupid". |
| 679 | * {{Sadist}}: His FatalFlaw. Like his comics expy Lock-Up, Pierce feels that rebellious meteor freaks deserve to be tortured and clearly enjoys doing it. Lionel even calls him out on his 'appetite for cruelty'. |
| 680 | * SociopathicSoldier: His takedown of Clark shows that at the very least he has military training and he has no reservations about killing meteor infectees he judges as TooPowerfulToLive. |
| 681 | * VillainHasAPoint: Pierce is a {{Sadist}} through and through, but he's not wrong about all the death and destruction the so-called 'meteor freaks' inflicted on Smallville. |
| 682 | * VillainOfTheWeek: He's formidable enough to take Smallville's resident Magnificent Bastard Lionel Luthor by surprise. |
| 683 | * VillainRespect: He expresses respect for Lex Luthor and compares Lionel unfavorably to his son, telling him that Lex never put a meteor freak's interests above the safety of the world. |
| 684 | * WardensAreEvil: He was head of security for the secret [=LuthorCorp=] metahuman prison 33.1 before Lionel sends him after Clark. |
| 685 | * WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: He's willing to kill Clark because Clark isn't human. It's extreme and unwarranted, but technically he's not wrong. |
| 686 | * WouldHitAGirl: Knocks out Patricia Swann on Lionel's orders. |
| 687 | * YouLookFamiliar: His actor, Aaron Douglas, also portrayed Deputy Sheriff Michael Birdego in Season 1's "Obscura." |
| 688 | [[/folder]] |
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