Lex Luthor (Arrowverse)

LuthorCorp
Company type	Private
Industry	Conglomerate / Technology
Founder	Lex Luthor (fictional)
Headquarters	Metropolis, United States (fictional)
Key people	Lex Luthor (CEO)
Products	Advanced technology, weapons, scientific research
Owner	Lex Luthor

Lex Luthor is a supervillain featured in The CW's Arrowverse, inspired by the character originally created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The television adaptation was developed in 2017 by Glen Winter and Greg Berlanti, with Luthor making his debut in the Supergirl episode titled "Luthors". The role has been portrayed by Aidan Fink, who played a younger version, and Jon Cryer, who assumed the adult incarnation.

Within the Arrowverse, Luthor operates as an autonomous entrepreneur heading LuthorCorp and serves as the primary arch-nemesis of Superman. Initially allies, their friendship dissolved when Superman rejected Luthor's aggressive philosophies. This rupture fueled Luthor’s fixation on Superman, eventually leading to his incarceration. Subsequently, Luthor perceives Supergirl as a significant threat, redirecting his antagonism toward her.

Concept and creation

Lex Luthor first appeared in Action Comics #23 in 1940 and has become one of the most renowned supervillains within DC Comics. According to rankings by IGN, he is positioned fourth among the top 100 supervillains across various media. The character has been depicted in numerous live-action television series such as Superboy, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, and Smallville, with portrayals by actors including Scott James Wells, Sherman Howard, John Shea, and Michael Rosenbaum. In cinema, Luthor has appeared in productions like Atom Man vs. Superman, the classic Superman franchise, Superman Returns, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Justice League, portrayed by performers such as Lyle Talbot, Gene Hackman, Kevin Spacey, and Jesse Eisenberg.

With the introduction of a television series centered on Supergirl, anticipation grew regarding Luthor’s involvement. He was introduced during the second season episode "Luthors", portrayed by Aidan Fink as a young Lex. Subsequently, in season 4, Jon Cryer joined the cast as the adult Lex Luthor, fulfilling the role of principal antagonist from seasons 4 through 6. Additionally, Luthor played a critical role in the 2019–2020 Arrowverse crossover event "Crisis on Infinite Earths."

Casting

The casting of Jon Cryer as Lex Luthor occurred in 2017; producers Robert Rovner and Jessica Queller selected him as their sole choice due to their longstanding admiration for his work. Cryer described embodying Lex as a "lovely" opportunity and sought to honor the character's legacy on Supergirl. Notably, Cryer had previously portrayed Lenny Luthor—Lex’s nephew—in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987), accepting this later role partly to redeem the family name after that film's unfavorable reception. Producer Jessica Queller expressed enthusiasm about Cryer’s casting, deeming it perfectly suited.

Characterization

Cryer depicted Lex Luthor as a sociopath whose only authentic emotional bond is with his sister Lena Luthor. He highlighted Lex’s brilliance and scientific expertise while acknowledging that his narcissistic tendencies generate conflict. Portraying such a villain presented both challenges and fulfillment for Cryer.

Luthor's behavior is manipulative; he regards others as inferior beings. During Supergirl season 6, an unexpected romantic subplot involving Nyxlygsptlnz initially caused Cryer concern due to Lex's nature but ultimately became an embraced aspect of his character development.

Cryer played an influential role in shaping Lex’s narrative arc, advocating for a storyline where Luthor triumphs over Supergirl and insisting on his inclusion in the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover event. He argued that omitting Lex from this landmark storyline would be "humiliating," considering the character’s pivotal presence in Marv Wolfman and George Pérez's original 1985 comic series.

Early life

Lex Luthor was born sometime after 1984 in Metropolis, the son of affluent parents Lionel and Lillian Luthor. From an early age, he demonstrated extraordinary intelligence coupled with antisocial tendencies. In 1997, his family adopted Lena, initially creating familial tension that later evolved into a close sibling relationship.

During adolescence, Lex exhibited psychopathic characteristics. His father distanced himself from him, exacerbating Lex’s bitterness. Following Lionel’s death, Lex assumed control of LuthorCorp. He encountered Superman, initially collaborating to thwart alien invasions; however, conflicting approaches caused their alliance to fracture. Lex developed an obsession with Superman, blaming him for these crises and straining ties with Lena.

Scheme to kill Supergirl

In early 2016, after several lethal confrontations, Luthor confronted Superman directly by altering Earth's yellow sun into a red sun to neutralize Superman’s powers, resulting in widespread destruction. Although apprehended initially, he escaped custody only to be recaptured later.

During his trial, Luthor murdered both judge and jury members, earning thirty-one consecutive life sentences at Stryker's Island Penitentiary. From prison, he commissioned assassin John Corben to assassinate Lena—now leading L-Corp—but their attempt was thwarted by Superman and Supergirl.

In 2018, upon learning from Kaznia's Minister of Defense about a Supergirl duplicate known as "Red Daughter," Luthor trained her in Kazakhstan before bringing her to National City. When she fell ill, Luthor exposed himself to radiation to save her but contracted cancer himself. Granted temporary release, he returned home.

Luthor devised a plan involving assassin and lover Eve Teschmacher shooting James Olsen to divert Lena’s attention. Disabling hospital power forced Lena to administer an experimental vaccine on James that also cured Lex’s cancer and endowed him with superhuman abilities. He battled Supergirl while leveraging political influence at the White House to instigate a Kaznian assault on the United States.

During this attack, Luthor manipulated Red Daughter into killing Supergirl’s mother. Subsequently, he appeared to kill Red Daughter herself and harnessed her energy to power a specialized containment cell. With presidential backing, he supplied energy relief to bomb-affected areas and assumed leadership of the United States Department of Alien Affairs.

Driven by ambition, Luthor attempted an incursion into Argo City, but Supergirl’s team thwarted him. After defeat in battle against Supergirl, he retreated to a cabin where Lena extracted the serum from his body—resulting in his death.

Joining the Crisis

At the onset of the Anti-Monitor's Multiverse invasion, the Monitor resurrected Luthor to assist heroes while ensuring Lena retained knowledge from before the Crisis. Onboard the Waverider time ship, he encountered Kara Danvers and Kate Kane before seizing the Book of Destiny to target various iterations of Superman across realities.

He eliminated Earth-75's Superman; found Earth-167's Clark Kent powerless; on Earth-96 manipulated Superman against his universe's counterpart until Lois Lane intervened to break control. Imprisoned aboard Waverider briefly, he reclaimed possession of the Book of Destiny and used it to survive an antimatter wave that obliterated both ship and Multiverse—earning him recognition as Paragon of Truth and relocation to Vanishing Point.

Attempts to open portals with Ryan Choi failed initially. Barry Allen returned from Speed Force entrapment but remained confined until Oliver Queen enabled his full potential—sending Luthor alongside Kara and Ryan 10,000 years into Maltus’ past. After failing at betrayal attempts there, they fought Anti-Monitor’s forces at Time’s Dawn; Oliver sacrificed himself restoring the Multiverse.

In this reconstructed Multiverse configuration, Luthor’s Earth merged with Earth-1 and Jefferson Pierce’s Earth. Publicly regarded as a hero now owning LuthorCorp and leading what became Department of Extranormal Operations’ subsidiary branch; he also received a Nobel Peace Prize.

Manipulating Brainiac 5 and Obsidian Tech

Working alongside his mother Lillian—the head of the Luthor Foundation—Lex plotted destruction of the Fortress of Solitude using truth-inducing organisms to gain Lena’s confidence. At a "Man of Tomorrow" event reporter William Dey suspected involvement of the Luther family following their acquisition of Russell Rogers' company. Brainiac 5 warned about Leviathan threats showing him an impostor resembling Winn Schott.

Lex convinced Gamemnae (Gemma Cooper) to broker cooperation between LuthorCorp and Obsidian Tech. Following Alex Danvers’ resignation as D.E.O Director, Brainiac 5 shared alternate Toyman's AI hacking data with Lex. From Earth-Prime's inception onward, Lex had exploited Eve Teschmacher as his Leviathan mole—tricking her into murdering Jeremiah Danvers.

While Supergirl confronted a Sun-Eater threatening solar stability, Lex freed individuals trapped within virtual reality but killed Margot Morrison during escape attempts. Gemma confronted him; he deflected blame onto Supergirl instead. Warning Eve that her protectors would desert her if she opposed him—and revealing footage implicating her in Jeremiah's death—he dismissed assertions that he was worse than Leviathan himself before using Lena’s transportation device to visit Fortress of Solitude.

At Stryker's Island Prison, Lex informed Lena her project was doomed—confirming Kara’s suspicions about him. After Gemma reported Rama Khan successfully obtained Kryptonite from D.E.O., Lex told Brainiac 5 they had accessed Leviathan’s ship; Gemma provided protective pins against ship defenses.

When Brainiac 5 activated containment protocols for Rama Khan, Tezumak, and Sela causing Gemma brief shutdowns; Lex pursued Brainiac aboard Leviathan ship finding him weakened. Claiming possession of their targets’ container bottle he escaped handing it over to Lillian for their next plot.

Final battle against Supergirl

Lex advanced plans by having Lillian transfer Leviathan members’ powers into him despite her warnings. During confrontation at the Fortress of Solitude, he trapped Supergirl using the Phantom Zone Projector before being arrested and tried. While incarcerated at National City Prison,Lillian reminded him of prior cautions; meanwhile Lena erased memories related to Supergirl’s identity through Myriad brainwashing technology.

At trial Lena revealed Lex manipulated jury members via this device but astonishingly he was acquitted.

Post-trial conflicts arose between Lex and Lena over control of LuthorCorp; Lex dispatched bodyguard Otis Graves to sabotage hospital children’s wing construction but Lena declined retaliation opting instead to leave company leadership.

Lex traveled forward in time forming a relationship with future version of Nyxly, merging science with magic arts. After Nyxly died due to Totem mishap Lex preserved her consciousness within an A.I.-enabled Lexosuit sent back to present-day Nyxly who rejected his advances despite Otis' counsel.

Attempting delivery of Love Totem ended with Nyxly disapproving its use; it ultimately reached Superfriends group instead.

Lex rescued Nyxly from captivity revealing future romance plans alongside efforts preventing her death via A.I.. Together they secured dream Totem aiding acquisition of remaining Totems culminating in final showdown where magical constructs resembling foes like Overgirl, Red Tornado, Metallo, dragons were summoned.

After defeat Lex opened Phantom Zone portal intending Phantoms release against Superfriends but hubris backfired attracting Phantoms themselves who dragged both Lex and Nyxly into Phantom Zone—a result enabled by Supergirl rallying National City citizens counteracting their arrogance.

Arrowverse

The young version of Lex first appeared during Supergirl season 2 episode "Luthors" (2017), enacted by Aidan Fink.
Jon Cryer debuted portraying adult Lex in Supergirl season 4 episode "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" (2019) before appearing across multiple Arrowverse shows including crossover event Crisis on Infinite Earths, plus Batwoman, The Flash, Arrow, and Legends of Tomorrow throughout 2019–2020.

Superman & Lois

An alternate iteration of Lex was referenced twice within Superman & Lois (2021), where John Henry Irons utilized an exosuit stolen from that reality's version of Luthor prior to its erasure during Crisis on Infinite Earths.

In season 3 Michael Cudlitz portrays this version revealing involvement in Boss Moxie Mannheim's death though confession was falsified by Mannheim’s wife resulting in eventual exoneration. Flashbacks depict manipulation over prison officials controlling inmate populations securing loyalty for accomplices facilitating early release.

Following Mannheim’s death and own release Lex confronts Lois Lane and Clark Kent demanding Lois retire threatening Superman while experimenting on mutated Bizarro transforming him into Doomsday-like creature aimed at Superman consolidation efforts including abductions/murders targeting Sam Lane.

Season 4 sees continued campaign near Smallville establishing base using Doomsday intimidation tactics targeting government officials attempting leverage over Superman's heart despite resistance culminating violent showdown forcing exile from town.

Returning Metropolis adopting "killer suit" pursuing public influence via media appearances arranged by Amanda McCoy escalating conflict mutating Doomsday further seeking revenge over Smallville defeat leads climactic battle resulting in imprisonment following Amanda's testimony.

Epilogue reveals repentant older Lex receiving forgiveness from Clark Kent's spirit posthumously.

Reception

Fans have compared Jon Cryer's portrayal favorably against that of Jesse Eisenberg, praising Cryer's nuanced manipulation aligning closer with comic accuracy though some critics noted lack of clear narrative direction for his character arc. The book Adapting Superman: Essays on the Transmedia Man of Steel includes analysis contrasting both portrayals reflecting societal xenophobia surrounding U.S.'s 2016 presidential election period while drawing parallels with Michael Rosenbaum's depiction in Smallville.

In interviews with CBR.com, Cryer disclosed that ending for Supergirl's sixth season intentionally remained open-ended permitting potential returns within Arrowverse or other DC adaptations. Critics at IGN lauded Cryer's performance as definitive emphasizing its significance during "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover event alongside season five developments.

Michael Cudlitz's portrayal in Superman & Lois earned acclaim with outlets like Screen Rant describing him as "the most terrifying villain seen yet" within DC television series landscape.

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2019	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Villain	Supergirl	Template:Won
2019	Saturn Awards	Best Guest Starring Role on Television		Template:Nom
2021	Saturn Awards	Best Guest Starring Role on Television		Template:Won

In other media

This incarnation appears in tie-in comic one-shot "Crisis on Infinite Earths Giant #1," where multiple versions join forces forming Council of Luthors aiming to eliminate all iterations of Superman alongside Council of Supermen though ultimately failing mission objectives.

References