Lex Luthor (Smallville)

Lex Luthor is a fictional character from the television series "Smallville". He has been a series regular since the pilot episode, being played continuously by Michael Rosenbaum, with various actors portraying Lex as a child throughout the series. The character, first created for comic books by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in 1940 as archnemesis of Superman, was adapted to television in 2001 by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar — this is only the third time the character has been adapted to a live action television series. The character has also appeared in various literature based on the "Smallville" television series, none of which directly continues from or into the television episodes.

In this 2001 series, Lex Luthor is sent to Smallville to run the local LuthorCorp fertilizer plant. After driving his car off a bridge, he is saved by Clark Kent and quickly develops a new friendship with the farm boy. As the series unfolds, Lex's curiosity about Clark and all things connected to Clark ultimately destroys their friendship. Lex's relationship with his father is tension filled from the start of the show, and eventually comes to an end when Lex murders his father in an effort to discover Clark's secret.

"Smallville"

Lex Luthor, the son of billionaire Lionel Luthor (John Glover), is sent to Smallville to run the local fertilizer plant. After Clark Kent (Tom Welling) saves his life, the two become quick friends.cite book|last=Simpson|first=Paul|title=Smallville: The Official Companion Season 1|year=2004|publisher=Titan Books|location=London|pages=20–23|isbn=1840237955] Lex tries to be a hero for much of the earlier seasons, but his motives are usually driven by curiosity for the unexplained, like the day Clark rescued him from drowning. As the series unfolds, Lex becomes involved with various women, all of which ends in disaster. He started a relationship with Victoria Hardwick (Kelly Brook), who was attempting to use him so that she and her father could buyout LuthorCorp. [cite episode|title=Leech|series=Smallville|credits=Timothy Schlattmann (writer) & Greg Beeman (director)|network=The WB|airdate=2002-02-12|season=1|number=12] Lex’s lifestyle of bedding women and then leaving them the next day would catch up to him when one of the women he had previously slept with attempts to kill him.cite episode|title=Bound|series=Smallville|credits=Luke Schelhaas (writer) & Terrence O'Hara (director)|network=The WB|airdate=2004-11-17|season=4|number=9] Since season two, Lex has been married three times. First, he married Desiree Atkins (Krista Allen), who used her meteor-created powers to seduce Lex into marriage so that she could steal his money.cite episode|title=Heat|series=Smallville|credits=Mark Verheiden (writer) & James Marshall (director)|network=The WB|airdate=2002-10-01|season=2|number=2|minutes=42] Later that season, Lex met and courted Dr. Helen Bryce (Emmanuelle Vaugier) who would try and kill him on their honeymoon for reasons unknown.cite episode|title=Phoenix|series=Smallville|credits=Kelly Souders, Brian Peterson (writers) & James Marshall (director)|network=The WB|airdate=2003-10-08|season=3|number=2] In season six, Lex married Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk) after deceiving her into believing that she was pregnant with his child. Upon learning the truth, Lana faked her own death and attempted to pin the murder on Lex.cite episode|title=Phantom|series=Smallville|credits=Todd Slavkin, Darren Swimmer (writers) & James Marshall (director)|network=The WB|airdate=2007-05-17|season=6|number=22]

Over the course of seven seasons—beginning on the day Clark rescued him from drowning—Lex has been trying to uncover the secrets that Clark keeps. In season one, Lex hires Roger Nixon (Tom O’Brien), a reporter for "The Inquisitor", to discover how he survived the automobile accident where Clark saved him from drowning.cite episode|title=X-Ray|series=Smallville|credits=Mark Verheiden (writer) & James Frawley (director)|network=The WB|airdate=2001-11-06|season=1|number=4] All the evidence points to Clark having been hit by Lex’s car, but Lex refuses to believe that is what happened so Nixon attempts to expose Clark to everyone.cite episode|title=Tempest|series=Smallville|credits=Philip Levens, Alfred Gough (writers) & Greg Beeman (director)|network=The WB|airdate=2002-05-21|season=1|number=21] Lex ultimately kills Nixon before the reporter can kill Jonathan Kent (John Schneider), who was protecting his son from Nixon. [cite episode|title=Vortex|series=Smallville|credits=Alfred Gough, Miles Millar (writer) & Greg Beeman (director)|network=The WB|airdate=2002-09-24|season=2|number=1] Lex also enlists the help of Dr. Hamilton (Joe Morton) around the same time he hires Nixon; Hamilton is commissioned to study the effects of the meteor rocks. Dr. Hamilton finds an octagonal disc, with unknown symbols imprinted on the disc’s surface that match those on Clark’s ship, while searching for traces of an alien ship that landed in Smallville in 1989. [cite episode|title=Obscura|series=Smallville|credits=Mark Verheiden, Michael Green (writers) & Terrence O'Hara (director)|network=The WB|airdate=2002-05-14|season=1|number=20] The disc is eventually stolen by Nixon, who is learns that it will open Clark’s ship.cite episode|title=Tempest|series=Smallville|credits=Philip Levens, Alfred Gough (writers) & Greg Beeman (director)|network=The WB|airdate=2002-05-21|season=1|number=21|minutes=42] When Clark discovers the Kawatche Caves, in season two, under a LuthorCorp construction site, Lex opts to become the curator of the caves to preserve them after he notices symbols on the cave walls that match the symbols on the disc, as well as an octagonal shape in the wall of the cave that would fit the disc perfectly. [cite episode|title=Skinwalker|series=Smallville|credits=Mark Warshaw, Brian Peterson, Kelly Souders (writers) and Marita Grabiak (director)|network=The WB|airdate=2002-11-26|season=2|number=10] His interest grows more and more when he finds Clark constantly in the caves, and later with a piece of paper that appears to indicate that Clark has deciphered the language on the cave walls – although, Clark denies being able to read the language.cite episode|title=Rosetta|series=Smallville|credits=Al Gough, Miles Millar (writers) & James Marshall (director)|network=The WB|airdate=2003-02-25|season=2|number=17|minutes=42] Lex’s company, LexCorp, eventually loses the Kawatche caves to his father Lionel, who has also developed an interest in the caves and the octagonal disc. cite episode|title=Accelerate|series=Smallville|credits=Todd Slavkin, Darren Swimmer (writers) & James Marshall (director)|network=The WB|airdate=2003-05-06|season=2|number=21] Lex’s curiosity into the symbols, and Clark, leads to a blowout between the two. When Lionel gives Clark a key to a room in the Luthor Mansion where Lex has been collecting information on Clark and his family, Clark informs Lex that their friendship "is over".cite episode|title=Covenant|series=Smallville|credits=Miles Millar, Alfred Gough (writers) & Greg Beeman (director)|network=The WB|airdate=2004-05-19|season=3|number=22]

Lex’s attention turns toward finding three ancient stones, which contain the same symbols as those in the cave and on the disc.cite episode|title=Crusade|series=Smallville|credits=Alfred Gough, Miles Millar (writers) & Greg Beeman (director)|network=The WB|airdate=2004-09-22|season=4|number=1|minutes=42] He fails to find all three stones, but suspects that Clark did, and used them to find the treasure of knowledge they were supposed to have led to.cite episode|title=Arrival|series=Smallville|credits=Todd Slavkin, Darren Swimmer(writers) & James Marshall (director)|network=The WB|airdate=2005-09-29|season=5|number=1|minutes=42] His curiosity into the symbols, which he believes to be alien in nature, results in him being possessed by the spirit of the Kryptonian criminal Zod for a short period.cite episode|title=Vessel|series=Smallville|credits=Brian Peterson, Kelly Souders (writers) & James Marshall (director)|network=The WB|airdate=2006-05-11|season=5|number=22] Eventually, Lex discovers that the symbols are connected to a secret organization, known as Veritas, which his father is a part of. The Veritas members learned than an alien visitor, "The Traveler", would arrive in Smallville during the meteor shower of 1989. He also discovers that the Veritas members knew of a means to control the Traveler, so Lex sets out to find the device.cite episode|title=Veritas|series=Smallville|credits=Kelly Souders, Brian Peters (writers) & James Marshall (director)|network=The CW|airdate=2008-02-13|season=7|number=15] The device, an orb he finds in the mantle above a fireplace in the Luthor Mansion, [cite episode|title=Quest|series=Smallville|credits=Holly Harold (writer) & Ken Biller (director)|network=The CW|airdate=2008-05-08|season=7|number=19] leads Lex to the Fortress of Solitude, where he is confronted by Clark. Lex uses the orb to bring down the Fortress around Clark and himself.cite episode|title=Arctic|series=Smallville|credits=Don Whitehead, Holly Henderson (writers) & Todd Slavkin (director)|network=The CW|airdate=2008-05-15|season=7|number=20]

Michael Rosenbaum

When crafting "Smallville"'s version of Lex Luthor, Gough and Millar decided that he would not be a precursor to the more comedic role performed by Gene Hackman; the pair wanted him to be likeable and vulnerable. The role was difficult to cast, as no one involved in the casting could agree on who they liked for the role. Gough and Millar wanted to cast a comedian for the series, on the belief that comedians always want to "please and be loved at the same time."Simpson, Paul, (Season 1 Companion) pp. 8–17] Michael Rosenbaum auditioned for Lex Luthor twice. Feeling he did not take his first audition seriously, Rosenbaum outlined a two-and-a-half-page scene, indicating all the places to be funny, charismatic, or menacing.Simpson, Paul, (Season 1 Companion), pp.120–123] His audition went so well that everyone agreed he was "the guy". Michael Rosenbaum is not the only actor to portray Lex on the show. There have been four other actors that have performed the role; Matthew Munn, Wayne Dalgish, Lucas Grabeel, and Connor Stanhope have all portrayed Lex Luthor as a child in various episodes throughout the series.

Rosenbaum relishes the opportunities he gets to show Lex's evil side, even if it is only for a few seconds in earlier seasons. Specifically, he delights in the chance to "go overboard", like he did in "Hug" where he pulls out a machine gun and shoots everything in sight. To the actor, this gives the audience a glimpse into who Lex will be.

Character development

toryline progression

Rosenbaum believes that Lex tries to be a hero in season one, but that his character shows signs of having to fight "ambiguity" and stay on the straight path.Simpson, Paul, (Season 1 Companion), pp.120-123] The tension filled relationship with his father, which is first established in the pilot episode, comes to a crossing in the season one finale, when Lex is left with the decision to either help his father remove the structural beam that has fallen on him, or let him die. Rosenbaum wants the audience to see that Lex was really contemplating what his life would be like if Lionel was no longer around. As Rosenbaum explains the moment:

"I think the thing that separates a murderer from a regular person who’s sane is that one moment of decision. Murderers can make the decision to commit that act and kill, which most people probably never have to face. You or I have never been pushed that far, and in comparison to Lex’s life, our lives haven’t been that traumatic. For that moment in the library, Les forgot who he was. That’s the way I played it, and that’s the way I wanted it to come across. And it’s those decisions that you make that make you realize that there’s such a fine line between rational and irrational. When you’re driving down the road, your day’s just gone to hell, and you’re really upset for a moment you just want to jerk the wheel off the road. Most people just think that for a second then let it go, but at the moment when you think it, are you really contemplating it? Would you really do that? Most people wouldn’t, but when he sees his father lying there, it’s one of those moments where Lex is like that driver."

Season two delved deeper into Lex’s darker moments, from the time he wavers to save his father’s life, to his outburst at Jonathan for what he feels is unfair treatment. These moments play into Lex’s psyche.cite book|author=Simpson, Paul|title=Smallville: The Official Companion Season 2|publisher=Titan Books|date=2005-03-01|page=124-127|isbn=18400239476] Season four began expanding on the series long story arc of Lex’s feelings for Lana. Though the seeds were planted in the second episode of the first season, it was not until season four that Lex began to show more of his true feelings. According to executive producer Al Gough, not only was Lex trying to protect Lana for Jason Teague (Jensen Ackles), Lana’s boyfriend who was also have the stones of knowledge, but he was also trying to get Jason out of the picture completely so he could have Lana for himself. Writer Darren Swimmer questions Lex’s motives from earlier seasons: "You have to ask yourself, in the words of Lex Luthor himself: Why would some billionaire want to be bailing out this girl and buying her a coffee house to begin with? What’s that all about?" Writer Todd Slavkin describes season five as "the darkening of Lex Luthor". By the time "Aqua" comes around, Lex has removed the gloves, as there is no friendship with Clark that he needs to worry about, and his dark side begins to show its face. Season five also saw Lex’s hunger for power begin to develop, as he campaigns for a Kansas senate seat. It was the events of "Lexmas" that drove Lex to continue his pursuit of ultimate power. In "Lexmas", Lex is shot and he gets a chance to live a life where he is married to Lana and he no longer on a quest for power. In this alternate reality, without all the power and money that he had originally had, Lex is unable to save Lana, who is on the verge of death after giving birth to a second child. It is here that Lex decided that he would always "go for the prize".

Characterization

One of Lex’s key characteristics is his curiosity for the unexplained. Lex’s primary motive for his "shady" actions is based around curiosity, specifically beginning from the moment he and Clark meet after Lex hits Clark with his Porsche. Clark always appearing when something stranger happens in Smallville does nothing but fuel Lex’s curiosity. Rosenbaum believes that Lex’s only sees two options: "For Lex, it’s either take a nice ride to Metropolis and work with his dad, or find out what’s going on with this strong, strange fellow, Clark Kent." Another characteristic of "Smallville"’s Lex Luthor—one that is being developed over the course of the series—is his evilness. Rosenbaum believes that what the audience sees in Lex’s dark side in the early seasons is merely a taste of what the character is truly capable of. In the season two premiere "Vortex", Rosenbaum requested Greg Beeman to shoot a close-up of him after he shoots Nixon, in an effort to open a window into Lex's darker side. Rosenbaum intended to leave the interpretation of whether Lex enjoyed killing Nixon open to the audience. As Beeman explains Rosenbaum's thoughts, "...either Lex is horrified and appalled, or he liked it, and it felt good to him".Simpson, Paul, (Season 1 Companion) pp.14–17] According to Rosenbaum, when Lex reaches that point where he uses all of his mind, and "really flips out", that is the point where the "world needs to hide".cite book|author=Simpson, Paul|title=Smallville: The Official Companion Season 3|publisher=Titan Books|date=2005-09-01|page=120-123|isbn=1840239522] Television reviewer Brian Byun felt that it was this struggle between good and evil inside Lex that not only made him an anti-hero, but also, given that the audience familiar with Lex's mythology and the knowledge that he will end up being Superman's greatest enemy, make "Smallville"'s Lex Luthor a "tragic figure [of] almost Shakespearean grandeur".

Taken a page out of Chazz Palminteri's "A Bronx Tale", Rosenbaum went off script during his final scene with Kristin Kreuk for the season six finale. As Lana is informing Lex that she is going to leave, Lex walks around her and closes the door to her exit. Rosenbaum was trying to invoke a moment of fright for the audience. To the actor, he wanted the audience to wonder what Lex was going to do to Lana; it was a moment meant to show just how unpredictable Lex can be. As the seasons progressed, and the character began to grow darker and more sinister, Rosenbaum sought more opportunities to bring humor to the scene, either with physical subtleties like little smiles at key moments, or "self-deprecating humor". One such instance, which became popular with audiences, was in "Justice", where Lex made a joke about wanting a ponytail. The producers were concerned over the piece of dialogue, but Rosenbaum convinced them that he could pull it off. To Rosenbaum, this quip by Lex makes him more credible as a person, because it is well known that Lex always wanted hair.cite book|author=Byrne, Craig|title=Smallville: The Official Companion Season 6|publisher=Titan Books|date=March 2008|page=120-123|location=London|isbn=1845766563] This moment reflects an earlier episode, where Lex reveals his feelings of meagerness when comparing himself to Clark. In Season five’s "Lockdown", Lex provides a window into his thoughts about his place in Smallville. As writer Steven S. DeKnight describes it, you get to see a moment where Lex shows how he still feels like an outsider, and that he views Clark as this "perfect person". DeKnight believes that, from how Clark sees it, Lex is driven by his desire to attain everything that Clark has, like his family and girlfriend.

Lex also develops a hunger for power, which begins expanding in season five. Al Gough believes that Lex’s political motivations are based on his lust for power. Rosenbaum echoes that opinion, believing that Lex can never get enough; "Lex is an insatiable character". Rosenbaum believes that nothing will satisfy Lex’s hunger, and that he will keep going until he is president of the United States. Even then, he will keep trying to make the majority of people like and believe in him.cite book|author=Byrne, Craig|title=Smallville: The Official Companion Season 5|publisher=Titan Books|date=November 2007|page=120-123|isbn=1845765427]

Relationships

Rosenbaum realizes that the friendship between Lex and Clark is destined to fail, but that Clark’s friendship truly is important to Lex early in the series. The actor also believes that if Clark could see the darkness that Lex is constantly fighting then he would understand more of Lex’s actions.cite book|author=Byrne, Craig|title=Smallville: The Official Companion Season 4|publisher=Titan Books|date=2007-09-04|page=120-123|isbn=1840239573] Reviewer Brian Byun expressed that the choice to explore the friendship between Clark and Lex, before they become sworn enemies, which was something that had been used in the past but never to the depth of what "Smallville" is doing, helped keep the show from becoming "Dawson's Creek" with superpowers".cite news|author=Brian Byun|url=http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/smallvilleseason1.php|title=Smallville season 1 review|publisher=DVD Verdict|date=2003-11-24|accessdate=2008-09-13]

Like Lana, who held emptiness inside her after the loss of her parents, which she tried to fill with the men in her life, Lex attempts to fill his own void, over the loss of his mother, with the women in his life. According to writer Holly Harold, Lex "needs and wants to be loved". Rosenbaum agrees, and feels that Lex is searching for that "unconditional love". The actor likens this feeling to one that everyone can relate to, but that Lex fails to achieve with not only the women he develops relationships with, but also with his own father. Rosenbaum and Annette O'Toole (Martha Kent) agree that the only person that could give Lex that love is his mother, who died when he was a child. Whenever they have scenes together, O’Toole and Rosenbaum try and hint around the idea that Martha wants to provide that love for Lex, because she recognizes that he needs it, and that Lex really wants her to provide it as well.

After various failed relationships, Lex finally believes he has what he wants when he begins a romantic relationship with Lana Lang. In "Hypnotic", in an effort to stop hurting Lana emotionally, Clark told her that he no longer loved her. This drives Lana into Lex’s arms. Writer Darren Swimmer explains that this was not something that just happened in the series, but something that had been hinted at for many seasons.Byrne, Craig, (Season 5 Companion) pp.116-119] Rosenbaum admits that Lex had a crush on Lana for many years, but contends that he tried to help Clark win Lana early on – he succeeded. When Clark and Lana’s relationship crumbled, because of Clark’s deceit, Lex was waiting. Rosenbaum believes that Lana was "tired of the boy and wanted a man around". By contrast, Swimmer believes that Lana started dating Lex as a way of making Clark mad, but the relationship "turned into much more". Kreuk contends that Lana went to Lex because "she knows she will never really love him." Kreuk believes that Lana’s relationship with the men in her life was originally motivated by a desire to fill a void in her life that was left after her parents were killed. This need to fill that emptiness was fulfilled in "Void", when Lana took a drug to induce death so that she could see her parents in the afterlife. Upon meeting her parents, Kreuk believes that Lana realized that she no longer needed someone else to fill that hole in her. Kreuk sees this filled void as the reason why Lana would gravitate toward Lex. Kreuk feels that if Lex had chosen a different path after the events of "Lexmas", then Lana would have been able to truly love him.

As Rosenbaum describes it, Lex views Lana as this beautiful, charming girl with a little naïveté. It is this naïveté that allows Lex to believe that he can trust and confide in Lana, and that she his one true love. Lex also knows that Lana will always love Clark, but he expects her to love him for who he is just the same. Rosenbaum does not believe that Lana gives that to Lex. Writer Holly Harold finds parallels between Lex’s relationship with Lana, and that of Lionel’s relationship with Martha. Both men believe that these two women will be their saving grace, and pull them back from the dark side. [Byrne, Craig, (Season 5 Companion) pg. 138] In Lex’s defense, Rosenbaum contends that Lex is not using Lana in an effort to hurt Clark, but that he really does love her. The actor believes that Lex’s problem lies in the fact that every time he has loved someone and opened up to them he has been hurt, or betrayed. Even though Lex loves Lana more than anyone else before her, he just cannot bring himself to open up completely for fear of repeating the past. Rosenbaum believes that the eventual dissolving of the marriage between Lex and Lana was a tragic moment in both character’s lives. It is a moment that solidifies Lex’s history of opening up to women and having them hurt him.

It is not just the women in his life that Lex has a difficult time maintaining a healthy relationship with, but his father as well. Rosenbaum characterizes the relationship between Lex and Lionel as a form of tug-of-war, and disagrees with John Glover’s assessment that Lionel is merely testing Lex for the life he is going to take over. For Rosenbaum, Lex is being pushed and pushed, and Lex is afraid that he will reach the point that he knows he will no longer be able to come back from. In "Vortex", Lex realizes that he forgot who he was in that moment that his father was trapped under the column, and he felt guilty over the situation. According to Rosenbaum, Lex realized that by letting his father die he would have been travelling down a dark path, and would have become all that his father was – evil.Simpson, Paul, (Season 2 Companion) pp.124-127] As Lex continues to live in his father’s shadow, and as time progresses, he learns more about the "monster" that Lionel truly is. The breaking point comes when Lex learns that his father killed Lex’s grandparents in a tenement fire. Rosenbaum sees this as the ultimate ethical dilemma—he likens it to parents learning that their child has murdered someone, and then having to decide if they should go to the authorities or not—and Lex, who can no longer take his father’s abuse, decides to turn Lionel over to the F.B.I.. According to Rosenbaum, the decision is justified to Lex, who sees that monster that Lionel really is from his actions – using electroshock therapy to erase Lex’s memories, drugging Lex, killing his own parents, and the way he treated Lex’s mother.

ee also

*Lex Luthor — The DC Comics version of the character

References

External links

* [http://smallville.wikia.com/wiki/Lex_Luthor Lex Luthor] at [http://smallville.wikia.com/wiki/Smallville_Wiki "Smallville" Wiki]