Alexander Joseph Luthor is a supervillain in The CW's Arrowverse, based on the character of the same name created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Adapted for television in 2017 by Glen Winter and Greg Berlanti, he made his first appearance in the Supergirl episode "Luthors". Both Aidan Fink and Jon Cryer portrayed versions of the supervillain, with Fink portraying a young Lex Luthor and Cryer portraying Lex as an adult.
In the Arrowverse, Luthor is an independent businessman who runs a company called LuthorCorp, and is also the arch-nemesis of Superman. Formerly, Luthor and Superman were friends; their friendship ended when Superman refused to embrace Luthor's violent and chaotic ideology. Luthor then developed an obsession with Superman, resulting in his eventual imprisonment. Later, he perceives Supergirl as a threat and shifts his focus towards her.
Concept and creation Lex Luthor made his debut in Action Comics #23 in 1940. Since then, Luthor has become one of the most recognizable and prominent supervillain characters in DC Comics. According to IGN, he ranks fourth on a list of one hundred supervillains across media. The character has previously been portrayed in live-action TV shows, including Superboy, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, and Smallville. Scott James Wells and Sherman Howard portrayed him in Superboy, John Shea in Lois & Clark, and Michael Rosenbaum in Smallville. Luthor has also appeared in movies such as Atom Man vs. Superman, the classic Superman film series, Superman Returns, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Justice League. The character has been portrayed by Lyle Talbot, Gene Hackman, Kevin Spacey, and Jesse Eisenberg.
When a Supergirl-centric TV show was announced, speculation arose about whether Luthor would appear. The character made an appearance in the episode "Luthors" during Supergirl's second season, with Aidan Fink portraying a young Lex Luthor. Eventually, Jon Cryer appeared in season 4 as an adult Lex Luthor, in a recurring capacity as the "big bad" of the season. He later returned for season 5 and season 6 as a recurring character and the primary villain of those episodes. Luthor also played a crucial role in the Arrowverse crossover event titled "Crisis on Infinite Earths" in 2019 and 2020.
Casting Jon Cryer was cast as Lex Luthor in 2017. He was the first and only choice of producers Robert Rovner and Jessica Queller, who admitted to being his biggest fans. When asked about his portrayal, Cryer responded that it was a "lovely" experience, and he wanted to do justice to the character in the show. Cryer had previously portrayed Lenny Luthor, the nephew of Hackman's version of Lex Luthor, in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987). Cryer stated one reason for accepting the role in Supergirl was wanting to do justice to the Luthor name after the negative response to Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. Producer Jessica Queller expressed her satisfaction with Cryer's casting, stating, "I don't think we could have possibly done better in our casting, and I mean, we're just thrilled."
Characterization According to Jon Cryer, Lex Luthor is a sociopath with only one true link to reality, his sister Lena Luthor. He highlighted Luthor's intelligence and focus on science while acknowledging that his narcissism causes problems for everyone else. When asked what it is like to play a villain, Cryer said he was still getting used to the role and found it challenging.
Cryer also pointed out that Luthor displays manipulative behavior towards others in the series, viewing them as inferiors. Regarding his character's development in season 6, where Luthor falls in love with the character Nyxlygsptlnz, Cryer admitted he was initially scared about removing Luthor's "dark side." He questioned why Luthor would fall in love, considering his nature. However, he eventually embraced the storyline and enjoyed playing the character.
Cryer had a strong influence in the show's usage of the character. He was a strong advocate for Luthor eventually defeating Supergirl, and he pitched this idea numerous times to the show's producers. He also requested that Luthor be a part of "Crisis on Infinite Earths," despite the studio not initially planning to include him. Cryer believed that Luthor's role in Marv Wolfman's and George Pérez's 1985 original comic book storyline was important, and not having him in the event would be "humiliating."
Fictional character biography
Early life
Lex Luthor was born sometime after 1984 in Metropolis to billionaires Lionel and Lillian Luthor. From early childhood, he exhibited an extremely high intellect, as well as anti-social behavior. In 1997, the Luthor family adopted Lena, the illegitimate daughter of Lionel and Lex's half-sister, which angered him initially. However, over time, Lex and Lena became close friends.
During his teenage years, Lex showed signs of psychopathy. His father, Lionel, distanced himself from Lex, fueling Lex's resentment and hatred towards him. After Lionel's death, Lex inherited the family company, LuthorCorp. He also met Superman, and the two initially worked together to stop alien invasions. However, Lex's methods were too brutal for Superman's liking, leading to a falling out between them. Lex began to believe that Superman was responsible for the invasions, and his obsession with the superhero caused a fracture in his relationship with Lena.
Scheme to kill Supergirl
After years of encounters resulting in numerous fatalities, Luthor and Superman had a final confrontation in early 2016. Before the confrontation, Luthor turned Earth's yellow sun red in an attempt to depower Superman, causing destruction on a global scale. Luthor was found by the police but managed to escape, only to later be captured by Superman.
At his trial, Luthor killed the judge and jury. He was sentenced to thirty-one consecutive life terms and sent to Stryker's Island Penitentiary. While in prison, he hired an assassin, John Corben, to kill his sister Lena, who had taken over LuthorCorp (later renamed L-Corp). His plan failed when Superman and Supergirl intervened.
In 2018, the Minister of Defense of Kaznia informed Luthor about the existence of a copy of Supergirl. Luthor traveled with the minister to Kazakhstan to meet the duplicate and began her training. After months of training, he took her to National City to familiarize her with Supergirl's life. The Supergirl duplicate developed a sickness, and to save her, Luthor entered a radioactive chamber, giving him cancer. Luthor was granted a mercy furlough from prison and was transported to his mansion.
Luthor then orchestrated a plan in which his assassin and love interest, Eve Teschmacher, would shoot James Olsen and distract Lena. As Lena went to the hospital, Luthor cut the electricity, forcing her to inject James with an experimental vaccine to save his life, in the hope that it would also cure Luthor's cancer. The vaccine worked, curing Luthor and giving him superhuman powers. He battled Supergirl and later went to the White House to meet with the President, using his influence to arrange a Kaznian attack on the United States.
During the attack, Luthor manipulated the Supergirl duplicate, known as "Red Daughter," to kill Supergirl's mother. After the attack, Luthor seemingly killed Red Daughter and used her energy to power a special cell. He then supplied energy to the houses damaged by the Kaznian bombings, and, with the President's support, he became the Secretary of the United States Department of Alien Affairs, gaining control over America.
Luthor's ambitions extended further, and he invaded Argo City. A team led by Supergirl stopped his attack, and he battled Supergirl, ultimately losing. He went to a cabin where he and Lena had spent vacations, where Lena extracted the serum from his body, resulting in his death.
Joining the Crisis
At the beginning of the Anti-Monitor's invasion of the Multiverse, the Monitor brought Luthor back from the dead to assist the heroes. In return, Luthor asked him to ensure that Lena maintained her Pre-Crisis memories. The Monitor brought him to the Waverider, where he met a furious Kara Danvers and Kate Kane / Batwoman. He then found the Book of Destiny on the ship and left to kill as many versions of Superman as he could.
His first target was Earth-75's Superman, whom he killed. He then traveled to Earth-167 with the same intentions, but learned that Clark Kent had given up his powers. Next, Luthor went to Earth-96 and used the Book of Destiny to brainwash Clark Kent / Superman to fight the Superman from Luthor's universe. However, the Lois Lane from Luthor's universe intervened and knocked Luthor out, ending his control.
Luthor was locked up on the Waverider, but he managed to get the Book of Destiny again. He used it to save himself from the anti-matter wave that destroyed the Waverider and the whole Multiverse. By doing so, he became known as the Paragon of Truth and transported himself to the Vanishing Point.
At the Vanishing Point, Luthor attempted to open a portal to reality with the help of Ryan Choi, but failed. Barry Allen / The Flash later returned from the Speed Force, unable to find a way out of the point. Oliver Queen / Spectre appeared and helped Barry unlock his full potential, sending Luthor, Kara, and Ryan to the past, specifically to the planet Maltus, 10,000 years before the Monitor created the Anti-Monitor. There, Luthor tried to betray his team, but he failed to get the Monitor to side with him. The team was then transported to the Dawn of Time to fight the Anti-Monitor. Luthor and the other Paragons fought the Anti-Monitor's army, and Oliver sacrificed himself to recreate the Multiverse.
In the new Multiverse, Luthor's Earth merged with Earth-1 and Jefferson Pierce / Black Lightning's Earth. As a result, Luthor was seen by the public as a hero. In this new reality, he became the owner of LuthorCorp and the leader of the Department of Extranormal Operations, which was now a subsidiary of his company. Luthor also became a Nobel Peace Prize winner.
Manipulating Brainiac 5 and Obsidian Tech
At some point, Lex Luthor meets with his mother, Lillian, who is now the head of the Luthor Foundation, and they started scheming to destroy the Fortress of Solitude. To win Lena over, Lex used a truth-inducing organism on his arm to prove his honesty. At a "Man of Tomorrow" event held by the Luthor family, reporter William Dey privately talked to Kara, voicing his suspicion that the Luthors were involved in the disappearance of Russell Rogers after they bought out his company. Brainiac 5 later visited Luthor, expressing concern about Leviathan, and showed him a picture of a possible doppelganger that resembles Winn Schott.