Luthor Family (Smallville)

The Luthors are one of the main antagonistic factions of the WB/CW series, Smallville.
 
They are a prominent family from Metropolis and one of the most influential individuals in the world.
 
==History ==
 
===Earth-1===
The Luthors were a family who hailed from Scotland. Lachlan Luthor was the first immigrant to America. However, he was notorious for his controlling and abusive nature. In 1961 he was a petty thief who was hired by deputy William Tate to kill a drifter, Jor-El after Billy grew jealous of seeing him with his best friend, Louise McCallum, a woman Billy was in love with. However, the plan backfired when the bullets bounced off Jor-El and into Joe's lover, Louise McCallum. This encounter would one day tie the fates of Lachlan's grandson Lex, Jor-El's son Clark Kent, and Louise's great-niece Lana.
 
Lachlan later married Eliza Meehan and they had a son together, Lionel. However, Lachlan was very abusive and controlling to Lionel and Eliza became an alcoholic., causing Lionel to join a rough crowd in Suicide Slum with Morgan Edge. The two conspired to murder Lachlan and Eliza. Lionel setting their apartment on fire, making it look at look like an accident. He used their life insurance money to find LuthorCorp.
 
Lionel married Lillian Luthor and has one son with her: Alexander in 1980. From 1981 to 1985, Lionel had multiple affairs. His first one was with Lex's nanny Pamela Jenkins, which resulted in the birth of their daughter, Lutessa Lena Luthor. However, he left her at an orphanage to either salvage his marriage or see what would happen to Lutessa if she was raised without his influence. She was left at St. Louise's orphanage, but Lionel eventually pulled her out and placed her with the Mercers to adopt her.
 
Later, Lionel had an affair with his wife's nurse, Rachel Dunleavy and forced her to give up their son, Lucas, up for adoption.
 
During their marriage, Lionel was emotionally and physically abusive to his wife and children. In 1989, he went to Smallville with a 9-year-old Lex. In 1991, when Lex was eleven, Lillian became pregnant again. However, she never wanted to have more children. After Julian Luthor was born, Lillian later murdered him to spare the child from his father's wrath. However, Lex took the blame, causing Lionel to hate him ever since. Both she and Lex feared that Lionel would one day pit Julian and Lex against each other.
 
In 2006 Lex forced Lana to marry him by taking a pregnancy. She was going to leave him and choose Clark; however, Lionel threatened to kill him if Lana didn't go through with it. The couple eventually divorced in 2007 after the pregnancy was exposed to be a sham.
 
In 2008, Lionel was killed by his own son, Lex, because he refused to give up the Traveler. Lex managed to Cover it up as a suicide; however, Clark suspected it to be a lie. Several months later, Lex himself would apparently meet his demise when he confronted Clark at the Fortress of Solitude. He used the Kryptonian Orb to make it resort back into the crystal of knowledge and was presumed dead until he re-emerged in 2009. However, he was eventually killed by Oliver Queen, who wanted retribution against Lex because his father Lionel was responsible for the death of his parents Laura and Robert.
 
===Earth-2===
The Luthors presumably had a similar lifestyle to their Earth-1 counterparts; however, in this timeline, Lionel and Lillian adopted baby Kal-El. 
 
==Members==
===Lachlan Luthor===
Lachlan Luthor was born in 1916 in Scotland. He eventually married a woman named Eliza and had a son Lionel where he grew up in the Suicide Slums of Metropolis.
 
In the 1960s, Lachlan tried to kill Jor-El on orders of Mayor William Tate, who also was in love with Louise McCallum; however, the bullet bounced off him and accidentally hit Louise. He got away with the murder and was later killed by Lionel Luthor, who started a fire that killed both Eliza and Lachlan.
 
In the comics, Lex's grandfather is named Wallace Luthor.
===Eliza Luthor===
Eliza Luthor (née Meehan) was the wife of Lachlan Luthor, mother of Lionel Luthor, mother-in-law of Lillian Luthor and grandmother of Lex Luthor, Julian Luthor, Lucas Luthor and Tess Mercer.
 
According to Morgan Edge, Eliza was an alcoholic because she always smelled of gin.
 
Eliza and Lachlan were abusive towards Lionel, who conspired with his old pal Morgan Edge into killing them. With their deaths, Lionel received his parents' life insurance and used that to start his own company. The truth was resurfaced by the couples' grandson, Lex Luthor, and his then-friend Chloe Sullivan, who used Eliza and Lachlan's murders to put Lionel behind bars.
===Lionel Luthor===
Lionel Luthor was the only son of Eliza and Lachlan, the husband of Lillian and father to Lex, Julian, Lucas and Tess. He was often a victim of abuse at the hands of his alcoholic mother and controlling father. As a kid, he joined the rough crowd within the Suicide Slum district of Metropolis, meeting Morgan Edge. Around the late 1970s, with Morgan's help, Lionel set off an explosion in his parents' apartment, killing them. After their deaths, Lionel used their life insurance money to find his own company, LuthorCorp. He gave half of the money to Edge, and their shady business with each other lasted long into adulthood.
 
During his marriage, Lionel was a part of a secret organization known as Veritas. After touching the Crystal of Water, Lionel learned about Clark's secret and entered a catatonic state for three weeks, becoming an emissary for Jor-El. He promised to keep the secret he had been desperately trying to solve the past four years to himself. He often found ways to, indirectly, help Clark. Lionel helped Martha when she was blackmailed about Clark's secret. The man made the problem "go away" by buying the disk from the blackmailer and promising to keep Clark's secret to himself.
 
When the teen finally learned about Lionel's last meeting with Jonathan the night he died, Clark angrily confronted him. When he was on the verge of killing him because "Jonathan's" spirit urged him to, Lionel convinced Clark not to go through with it because the real Jonathan wouldn't want his son to be a killer. Clark got into Brainiac's ruse, and Lionel told Clark about his connection to Jor-El, warning him about the coming of Zod. However, after forcing Lana into marrying Lex and Lionel abducting Clark for his protection, he broke trust from Chloe, Clark, and Lana. After refusing to tell Lex about his role in Veritas, Lex, in a fit of anger, shot Lionel and pushed him off LuthorCorp to his death. He trusted Chloe with his Veritas key so Lex wouldn't have it, left his Kryptonian library with Martha, and gave Clark a warning for him to follow.
 
=== Lillian Luthor ===
Lillian Luthor was the wife of Lionel Luthor and the mother of Lex and Julian Luthor, and the stepmother of Tess Mercer and Lucas Luthor.
 
On Earth Two, Lillian is the adoptive mother of Clark Luthor. From 1980 to 1986, Lillian was cheated on by Lionel at least three more times, including Lillian's best friend Pamela and her nurse Rachel Dunleavy. In 1991, when Lex was eleven, Lillian became pregnant again. However, she never wanted to have more children. After Julian Luthor was born, Lillian later murdered him to spare the child from his father's wrath. However, Lex took the blame, causing Lionel to hate him ever since. Both she and Lex feared that Lionel would one day pit Julian and Lex against each other. Lillian eventually died of cancer.
===Lex Luthor===
Alexander Luther is the first-born son of Lionel and Lillian, the grandson of Eliza and Lachlan, the brother of Julian and the half-brother of Tess and Lucas. In 2001, Lex became one of the best friends of Clark Kent after the latter saved his life. However, Lex evolved from a friend to the heroes to a bitter enemy as the story progressed. This includes Lex's own hatred towards his father and the fact that Clark had everything Lex didn't get. When his father was arrested for his grandparents' murder, Lex took control of LuthorCorp and became an enemy of Superman, Green Arrow, Aquaman, Mera, Black Canary, Cyborg, and Impulse.
 
He briefly married Lana Lang with a false pregnancy. He was killed by Oliver Queen in his belief that he was protecting his friends. Lex was later brought back to life by Earth 2 Lionel Luthor.
===Tess Mercer===
Tess Mercer was the daughter of Lionel Luther and Pamela Jenkins, the granddaughter of Lachlan and Eliza, and the half-sister of Lex, Julian, and Lucas Luthor. She is also one of Clark's enemies but ends up being one of his closest friends and allies.
 
Like her father Lionel, Tess sees the good Clark Kent does as the "Blur" and does questionable methods to protect Clark abs make sure he becomes the hero he is meant to be. However, after learning her mistakes from Doomsday and General Zod, Tess ultimately redeems herself and becomes a member of the Watchtower Network. She is seemingly like killed by Lex during the series finale. However, the Season 11 comic shows that Tess survived by moving her consciousness into her brother’s mind. She was able to send out a message to her friends, who we're able to rescue her and bring her back to life by uploading her consciousness into the Watchtower. Tess later began a romantic relationship with Emil Hamilton, who made an Android body for her. With this new form Tess decided to become a member of the Justice League, by becoming the second Red Tornado
===Lucas Luthor===
Lucas Luthor is the son of Lionel born from an affair with Rachel Dunleavy and the paternal half-brother of Lex and Julian Luthor and Tess Mercer. However, Lionel ordered Rachel to give the baby up for adoption to maintain his reputation and avoid scandal. Years later, Rachel initially believed Clark to be her long-lost son. However, she learned he wasn't when he survived getting fatally stabbed by an ax.
 
However, Lex Luthor found Lucas, and they confirmed to stage a hostile takeover for LuthorCorp from Lionel.
===Julian Luthor ===
Julian was the second son of Lionel and Lillian, the half-brother of Lucas and Lutessa "Tess" Mercer. When Lex was eleven, his mother became pregnant a second time. After his brother was born, Lex, for the first time in his life, felt like he was a part of the family. He highly suspected that Lionel thought Julian was his "second chance" as a father. However, Lillian was mentally unstable at the time of his birth because she didn't want any more children. On the morning of his baptism, Lillian killed Julian based on the belief he wouldn't handle being raised by Lionel and fearing he would pit their sons against each other. Lex took the blame for his brother's death to protect Lillian, causing Lionel to resent his eldest son.
===Conner Kent===
Lex and Clark's clone-turned adoptive brother, Tess's "brother" and surrogate sonClark: Well, technically, you are his sister.: "I-I'm like you." - Clark Kent
: "So, does this mean -- Oh, my God. Are -- Are you, like, my dad?" - Conner Kent
: "I prefer "brother"."; always afraid that his Luther side will take the better side of him Conner Kent is a human/Kryptonian clone of both Lex Luthor and Clark Kent. After Lex's clone was destroyed, Conner survived thanks to Tess Mercer, who later became his mother/sister figure. He later became Clark Kent's adoptive brother when he realized he didn't want to follow the path of Lex Luthor. Despite mending his relationship with Clark, Conner was unable to attend his brother's wedding to Lois.
 
After the series, Conner became the leader of the Teen Titans, a group comprised of teenagers who are the proteges of the Justice League. However, Conner fears that with this position, he will go down a power-hungry path just like Lex.
==Earth-Two members==
==== Lionel Luthor====
Lionel of Earth-2 is the CEO of LuthorCorp. He was the father of Lex and Lutessa and the Adoptive father of Kal-El/Clark Luthor. This version of Lionel was the one who found baby Kal-El in the fields of Smallville's crops instead of the Kents. After meeting his adoptive son's Earth-1 counterpart, Lionel escapes to this alternate reality. After learning his counterpart forsake the Clark of this timeline, Lionel made a deal with Darkseid his body and soul to resurrect his son's Earth-1 counterpart.
===Lex Luthor===
He was the son of Lionel and Lillian Luthor, the adoptive brother of Clark Luthor, and the paternal half-brother of Lutessa Luthor. Alongside his siblings, Lex was pitted against them and had an antagonistic relationship with Clark because their father favored him over his own biological son. Lex used to study meteor-infected individuals. However, it is implied that he never hurt them and it was with benevolent intentions and to oppose his father and adoptive brother.
 
In 2005, Earth 2 Lex branded the family seal onto Clark with gold kryptonite, causing Clark to murder his own brother with Lionel's consent. However, Earth 2 Lionel realized it was a mistake letting Clark kill his own brother so he decided to make amends by resurrecting Earth-1 Lex with help from Darkseid.
=== Tess Luthor===
Lutessa Lena Luthor is the illegitimate daughter of Lionel Luthor, The paternal half-sister of Lex Luthor and the adoptive sister/lover of Clark Luthor. Unlike her Earth 1 counterpart, Tess was raised by Lionel but was never treated as his daughter. She had a romantic relationship with her adoptive brother which didn't bother her because they weren't technically related. When the Clark Kent of Earth 1 came to Earth 2, Tess-2 tried to help him, but was caught and arrested by her father. After meeting Earth 2 Tess, Clark discovered that his native Tess must have been Lionel Luthor's daughter as well. Despite being upset by the revelation that Tess never told him about her lineage and keeping Conner a secret, the two friends reconciled.
===Clark Luthor===
Clark Luthor/Kal-El is the Adoptive son of Lionel and the Adoptive brother of Tess and Lex. He was the ruthless Earth-2 counterpart of Clark Kent who was adopted by the Luthors instead of the Kents. Raised underneath his father's shadow, Clark killed Lex and had a sexual relationship with his adoptive sister, Lutessa. He grew up to be the Kryptonian serial killer Ultraman. He wanted to escape from Lionel's control and take over Earth-1, literally a world away from his father's influence. He is the first ever live action incarnation of Ultraman from DC Comics.
 
== Erased Future ==
*Lana Lang Luthor - Wife to Lex, Mother to Alex and Lily and daughter-in-law to Lillian and Lionel in an alternate future 
*Lily Luthor - Lana and Lex's daughter and Alex's younger sister from an alternate future, never existed
*Alexander Luthor Jr. - Lana and Lex's son, Lily's older brother and Lionel and Lillian's grandson in an alternate future, never existed
 
==Relatives==
 
===Earth-1===
*Pamela Jenkins - Lutessa's biological mother and one of Lionel Luther's former lovers; used to be Lex's nanny
*Rachel Dunleavy - Lucas's biological mother and Lionel's former lover; used to be Lillian's nurse
*Lang family
**Lana Lang - Lex's ex-wife
**Laura Lang - Lex's ex mother-in-law and Lana's mother
**Lewis Lang - Lana's adoptive father and Lex's ex-father-in-la; was the maternal step grandfather of Alex and Lily Luthor in the erased future
**Henry Small - Lana's biological father and Lex's ex-father-in-law; was the biological maternal grandfather of Alex and Lily Luther in an erased future
**
*Kent family
**Martha Kent - senator of Kansas who lives in DC and acts as Conner's guardian when he is living with her
**Clark Kent - Half of Alexander/Conner's genetic template who later adopted Conner as his brother; also, former close family friend; Tess treats him like a brother, like Lex used to; regarded as a surrogate son to Lionel Luthor.
 
===Earth-Two===
 
*House of El - Clark Luthor's biological family
**Jor-El - Clark's father
 
==Gallery ==
File:Lionel and Lex 519 Mercy.jpg
File:Lex Luthor.png|Lex Luthor
File:Lillian Luthorsv.png|Lillian Luthor
File:Lucas luthor.png
File:Luthorsmemoria.png
File:Lachlan Luthor .png
 
==Comics==
In the original comics, on Earth One, Lex's parents’ names were Jules and Arlene Luthor. After he was exposed of being a criminal, Jules and Arlene changed their last name to Thorul and took their daughter, Lena. However, in this new continuity, Lex's father was renamed Lionel in honor of John Glover's character on Smallville. His mother's name in this continuity isn't Arlene or Lillian but rather Leticia. Instead, Lillian is the name of Lex and Lena's aunt.
 
Tess Mercer is, not only a version of Lena Luthor, but a mixture of Eve Teschmacher and Mercy Graves. She later becomes a version of the Red Tornado.
 
Regarding the Lexmas timeline, Lex has two children with Lana, Alex, and Lily. The original comics revealed that on Earth 3 Lex has a son Alexander, and on New Earth, he had a daughter named Lena (named after his sister).
 
In the prime Earth continuity, Lex is distantly related to Jimmy Olsen.
==Trivia ==
 
* Eliza is the only Luther who has never made a full appearance on the television series.
* It is ironic how most of the family members have committed patricide, the killing of one's parents.
** On Earth-1, Lachlan, and Eliza we're both killed by their son Lionel.
** On the same Earth, Lex killed his own father, Lionel. He also appeared to have killed Tess.
** On Earth-2, Clark Luther killed his own brother Lex on orders of Lionel.
* Both Earth-1 Tess and Lex are the only members to have died and come back to life. In Season 10 finale, Earth one Lex was brought back to life when Earth to Lionel offered his life up to Darkseid. Meanwhile, Tess was brought back to life as an AI when her consciousness was uploaded into his brain when she sprayed him with the Summerholdt neurotoxin that made him forget everything that had happened the past 10 years. Her friends saved her.
* Each of the Luthors have encountered or were influenced by the Kents and the House of El.
** Jor-El was shot at and nearly killed by Lachlan. He later chooses Lionel Luthor as his emissary
** Lionel has a history with Jonathan Kent, became a vessel for Jor-El, and became a different man.
**Lex tries being a better man because of Clark's friendship; however, they end up becoming better enemies.
** Tess changes her ways for the better.
* Earth-1 Tess, Lillian, and Lachlan are the only Luthors who didn't serve as a main antagonist of a full season. However, Lachlan terrorized Jor-El, Tess acts like a secondary antagonist in season 8 and 9.
* Like Lex, Tess tested to See if Clark has powers but like Lionel, wanted to help him embrace his destiny as Earth's champion 
* On Earth-2, Lachlan and Eliza would have been Clark Luther's adoptive grandparents and Lillian would have been his adoptive mother. However, they don't have Earth-2 counterparts who are confirmed to exist
==See Also ==
 
* The Langs
* Kent Family
* Lane Family
* Queen Family
* House of El
* Sullivan Family (Smallville)
 
==References==
Category:Smallville characters
Category:DC characters
Category:Families
Category:Character groups
Category:Live-action characters
Category:TV show characters
Category:Comics characters