The Many Faces Of… The House of Luthor

Since the very beginning, Lex Luthor has proven to be one of Superman’s most enduring foes. Though he does not have the superhuman abilities that some of Superman’s other enemies possess, the bald billionaire has provided a constant challenge to the man of steel through his misguided genius, his ruthlessness, and his never-ending quest for power. But what makes such a man? How did Lex Luthor turn out this way? Perhaps we can learn more about him by examining where he comes from. In this edition of “The Many Faces Of…” we will take a look at Lex Luthor’s family tree as it’s been portrayed on film and TV, and see what other members of the Luthor clan shaped Lex into the villain that we all know.

In 1987’s “Superman IV: The Quest For Peace,” Gene Hackman’s Lex Luthor was saddled with an accomplice in the form of his nephew, Lenny Luthor. Lenny breaks “Uncle Lex” out of prison near the start of the film, then assists him in stealing a lock of Superman’s hair from a museum in order to create the villainous Nuclear Man. Lex has little patience for his nephew, referring to the lad as “the Dutch Elm disease on my family tree.” Though the movie never states specifically how the two are related, the comic book adaptation of the film contains a line about Lex wishing his sister had become a nun, so apparently Lenny is intended to be the son of Lex’s sister. Speaking with an annoying valley accent, Lenny was played by Jon Cryer, popular at the time for his role as Duckie in the John Hughes film “Pretty in Pink.” Cryer is currently one of the stars of “Two and a Half Men.”

In a two-part episode of the “Superboy” TV series titled “Know Thine Enemy,” Superboy is able to live out part of Lex Luthor’s childhood via a virtual reality program. In so doing, he discovers that Lex was raised by an abusive father, and the only person who really cared for him was his sister, Lena. Lena is played by Jennifer Hawkins in the flashback scenes, and as an adult by Denise Gossett. Lex’s father is played by Edgar Allan Poe IV (apparently a descendant of the famed writer/poet), his mother by Kathy Gustafson-Hilton.

On “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,” Lois Lane finally lands her exclusive interview with John Shea’s Lex Luthor. He reveals that his parents died when he was in his early teens (in the pilot, Lois says he was 14, but in “Barbarians at the Planet” Lex himself says he was 13). Though the show does not spell it out, the comics at the time had recently revealed that Lex had his own parents murdered in order to collect their life insurance. It is possible that the show intended for their Lex to have the same backstory, but it is unclear whether or not this is the case.

The “Lois & Clark” Lex does have several other branches on the family tree by way of wives and children. Though he almost makes Lois Lane his bride at the end of season one, they do not actually marry, as the wedding is called off at the last second just before Lex is publicly revealed as a criminal. In the second season premiere “Madame Ex,” we learn that Lex has an ex-wife named Arianna Carlin. Arianna blames Lois and Superman for Lex’s apparent death (he jumped off the LexCorp building in the previous episode), and she concocts a revenge scheme that includes subliminal newspaper headlines, a double of Lois, and a kryptonite bullet. Carlin is played by Emma Samms, well known from “General Hospital” and “Dynasty.”

In the season three episode “Virtually Destroyed,” we learn that Lex had an illegitimate son named Jaxon Xavier. Lex had claimed that the son and his mother died in a car accident. A computer genius, Jaxon creates a virtual reality world that he hopes to use to obtain Lex’s computer access codes. We also learn in this episode that, if Lex and Lois had married and had children, their names would have been Alexis, Roxanne, Lynx, and Clark (Lex insisted all his children have an “x” in their names… “Clark” was Lois’s pick). The episode ends with Jaxon trapped in the virtual world. Jaxon is played by Andy Berman, who had played Chuck Coleman on “The Wonder Years.” He also appeared on “Blossom” and “Wings.”

In the show’s fourth season, a three-episode long story arc expanded Lex’s legacy even further. Over the course of “Faster Than A Speeding Vixen,” “Shadow Of A Doubt,” and “Voice From The Past,” we are introduced to Leslie Luckabee, an enterprising businessman who buys the Daily Planet. Working with a troll-like character who goes by “Mr. Smith,” Leslie intends to rebuild Lex’s empire, steal Lois Lane away from Clark Kent, and kill Superman. We are led to believe that Leslie is Lex Luthor’s son, but it eventually becomes clear that it is actually “Mr. Smith” who is, in fact, Lex Luthor Junior, and Leslie is merely a hired actor who provides Luthor Junior with a public face. The fact that Luthor Junior wants to marry Lois Lane, the same woman that his father almost married, is, admittedly, a bit disturbing. Leslie Luckabee is played by Patrick Cassidy, who would later appear on “Smallville” as Henry Small. Keith Brunsmann plays Mr. Smith/Lex Luthor Junior. Brunsmann would later appear on “The X Files,” “Charmed,” and “Buffy The Vampire Slayer,” to name a few more sci-fi shows.

The show that has delved the deepest into Lex Luthor’s familial roots is “Smallville.” Beginning with the pilot episode in 2001, we are introduced to Lex’s father, Lionel, played by John Glover. (Though we did see Lex’s father on the “Superboy” show, the character of Lionel originated with “Smallville,” despite what we may have led you to believe back on April Fool’s Day in 2005!)

Their initial visit to the town of Smallville in 1989 finds Lex and Lionel in the path of the infamous meteor shower that brings baby Kal-El to earth. The meteor exposure causes little Lex’s hair to fall out. Years later, Lionel “exiles” his son back to that same town to manage a failing fertilizer plant. Throughout the series, Lionel drives his son relentlessly, giving him many tests and trials that push him closer and closer to the edge of sanity. In the first few seasons alone we see Lionel close Lex’s factory and fire his entire work force (in the episode “Tempest”), plant listening devices in Lex’s office to thwart his business deals (“Insurgence”), pretend to be blind (most of season two), force Lex to undergo electroshock therapy (“Asylum”), and even have sex with Lex’s former girlfriend, Victoria Hardwick (“Leech”). One of their darkest moments comes at the end of the first season, when a tornado strikes the mansion, leaving Lionel pinned down under some wreckage and about to be impaled. Lex is forced to decide whether to save his father’s life or let him die… ultimately, he saves Lionel, but it is a difficult decision.

Lex’s mother, Lillian Luthor, died of a heart condition when Lex was 13. Though she is referenced often throughout the first two seasons of Smallville, we do not actually see her until the third season episode “Memoria,” in a flashback sequence. She appears again in “Lexmas,” “Void,” and “Fracture.” Throughout Lex’s childhood, Lillian tries to protect her son from Lionel’s influence. In “Lexmas” and “Void,” she appears to Lex to warn him about the path he is headed down, trying to prevent her son’s inevitable turn towards the dark side. Lillian is played by Alisen Down, who has also appeared on “Battlestar Galactica” and “Robson Arms.”

When Lex was 11, Lillian became pregnant again. She gave birth to another son, named Julian. Lillian, suffering from a mental illness and fearing that Lionel would raise their sons to become enemies, smothered the child to death in his crib on the morning of his baptism. Lex took the blame for the baby’s death to protect his mother, incurring Lionel’s wrath himself. Julian was first mentioned in the episode “Stray” in season one, but the full story of his death was not revealed until “Memoria.”

Lex also has a half-brother, named Lucas. While Lillian was sick, Lionel had an affair with one of her nurses, a woman named Rachel Dunleavy. First referenced in the episode “Lineage,” Lionel claims the child died before his first birthday. However, Lex manages to track down the still-living Lucas in the episode “Prodigal.” Lex and Lionel then proceed to use Lucas against each other for control of LuthorCorp. Ultimately, Lex and Lucas turn the tables on their father, and the episode ends with Lucas under Lex’s protection, though he has not been seen or referenced on the show since. Lucas is played by Paul Wasilewski, who has since changed his “stage name” to Paul Wesley. Wesley also starred in the “Fallen” mini-series on ABC Family.

Throughout the third season of “Smallville,” one of the ongoing subplots revolved around the true fate of Lex’s grandparents, Lachlan and Eliza Luthor, who had died in a tenement fire in the 1970’s. In a storyline that paralleled the origins of the comic book Lex Luthor, it was revealed that Lionel had arranged his parents’ murder in order to collect their life insurance. Lex eventually learns of this, and helps the FBI bring his father down, sending Lionel to jail. Lachlan appears in a flashback scene in the episode “Relic,” where he is played by Peter Benson.

Lex has been married three times on “Smallville.” His first marriage came in the second season episode “Heat,” in which Lex marries Desiree Atkins, a biology teacher at Smallville High who has the power to release love-inducing pheromones. By putting Lex under her love spell, Desiree gets the boy billionaire to do her bidding, which includes tying the knot. By the episode’s end, the truth is revealed and the marriage is annulled. Desiree is played by Krista Allen, who has since appeared on several episodes of “What About Brian.”

Lex’s second “Smallville” wife was Dr. Helen Bryce. The two had met in Metropolis years earlier, then cross paths again in Smallville at an anger management class. The two slowly fall in love and then marry at the end of the second season, but it was not meant to last… Helen tries to kill Lex right after the wedding in a staged plane crash. Lex, of course, survives his brush with death, then attempts to get Helen to confess by re-enacting the scene on another plane. Helen ends up parachuting out, her current status is unknown. Helen is played by Emmanuelle Vaugier, who went on to appear in “Saw II,” “Saw IV”, “Two and a Half Men,” an episode of “Supernatural,” the pilot episode of “Painkiller Jane,” “CSI: NY,” “One Tree Hill” and “40 Days and 40 Nights”… a pretty impressive resume!

Wife number three was none other than Lana Lang, much to the chagrin of Clark Kent. The marriage occurs in the sixth season episode “Promise.” Though she has reservations about going to the altar, Lana is coerced by Lionel, who threatens to kill Clark if Lana doesn’t marry Lex. At the time, Lana also believes she is pregnant with Lex’s child, though that eventually proves to be untrue (she was apparently never pregnant after all). The season ends with Lana faking her death to get out of the marriage. Lana is, of course, played by Kristin Kreuk.

The movie “Superman Returns” contains a brief reference to Lex’s father. Lex asks Kitty Kowalski what it was that his father told him when he was young. “You’re losing your hair?” she suggests. “Before that,” he replies. “Get out?” she asks. No, Lex explains. “You can print money, manufacture diamonds, and people are a dime a dozen, but they’ll always need land,” Lex says. “It’s the one thing they’re not making any more of.” This prompts Lex’s plan to create a new continent using a crystal from the Fortress of Solitude. This is also a throwback to the first Superman movie, in which Lex makes a similar reference to his father advising him on the value of land.

In the seventh season of “Smallville,” The Daily Planet gets a new editor, a young man named Grant Gabriel. At the end of the episode “Blue,” viewers are teased into believing that Grant is actually Julian Luthor, somehow still alive and all grown up. The following episode, “Gemini,” explains that Grant is not actually Julian, but a clone that Lex created of his late brother. When Grant learns his true origins, he turns against Lex and becomes close with Lionel, despite Lex’s warnings to stay away from his father. Lex then hires a hitman to kill Grant, making it look like a mugging. Grant dies in Lionel’s arms. Grant is played by Michael Cassidy, known for his roles on “The O.C.” and “Hidden Palms.”

Grant was not Lex’s first attempt at cloning Julian. A man named Adrian Cross was an early result of Lex’s “Project Gemini” program, but the imperfect process led to the clone aging too quickly. Lex shoots and kills Adrian in an attempt to cover up the truth. Adrian is played by Tim Guinee.

Over the course of season seven, Lex learns of Lionel’s involvement in a secret society called Veritas in the 1980’s, which was preparing for the arrival of a “Traveler” from another planet. The Traveler’s arrival was the real reason that Lex and Lionel were in Smallville the day of the meteor shower. Furious at his father’s constant lies and deception, Lex finally reaches his breaking point. In a final confrontation at LuthorCorp, Lex steals a locket from his father that he believes will help him discover the truth about the Traveler, then kills Lionel by pushing him out the window. “I was raised in your shadow,” Lex tells Lionel just before sending him to his fate. “Now you’re going to die in mine.”

These glimpses into Lex Luthor’s backstory help create a more complete picture of the classic villain. Lex, it seems, is at the center of a legacy of darkness. Across most these versions, he has struggled through a difficult childhood, whether at the hands of a physically abusive father in “Superboy” or the cruel manipulations of Lionel on “Smallville.” Some, like Lillian, have tried to redeem him, and prevent the dark turn that awaits his future, but tragedies like the death of Julian or the betrayal of Helen Bryce seem to keep driving him further into a downward spiral of desperation and despair. And, as “Lois & Clark” would suggest, Lex seems destined to pass on the legacy of evil to future generations, with children who follow in his misguided footsteps. Just as baby Kal-El was destined to become the world’s greatest hero and defend truth and justice as Superman, Lex Luthor is equally unable to escape his destiny… one of evil, greed, and the pursuit of power.

Note: The views of Russ Dimino don’t necessarily represent the thoughts and feelings of everyone at KryptonSite.