Lionel Luthor and Martha Kent

## Characters

### Turning Point

Lionel providing Martha with money to help run her husband's senatorial campaign, thus earning her trust in "Fanatic"; amplified further when he helps Martha cover up Clark's secret

### Canon Status

Semi-Canon

**The relationship between Lionel Luthor and Martha Kent from *Smallville*.**

Highlights from their acquaintanceship, to professional relationship to eventual friendship.

## Description/Early History

### Lionel Luthor

Lionel is a billionaire who was the former CEO of LuthorCorp and the father of Lex Luthor. When he was younger, Lionel became childhood best friends with Morgan Edge, later became a crime boss, and they both killed Eliza and Lachlan Luthor for their life insurance money. He used it to find his company Luthor Corp and married Lillian Luthor, having two sons with her: Alexander and Julian. He later had multiple affairs with two different women and had two more children: a daughter named Tess and a son named Lucas.

### Martha Kent

Martha is a former organic farmer turned senator of Kansas and the adoptive mother of Clark Kent. Born in Metropolis to the wealthy Clark family, Martha left that life behind and married Jonathan Kent. During the 1989 meteor shower, Martha and Jonathan were frightened by the falling debris of Kryptonite. They were found by a then-3 year old Clark and Martha immediately wanted to keep him because she longed to have a child even though Martha was infertile.

## History

### Season 2

**2x05 Nocturn**

Martha shows up at the Luthor mansion with the weekly produce for Lex, where she sees Lionel growing frustrated with his speech assistant her used due to his blindness. She takes the position as Lionel's personal assistant, much to the dismay of Jonathan and Clark. However, Martha took the job for better finances and presumably to keep a closer eye on Lionel.

**2x06 Redux**

Martha fears her paychecks from being Lionel's assistant will not cover their payment for the farm.

**2x07 Lineage**

### Season 4

**4xO1 CRUSADE/4.02 GONE**

When Lois finds ways to get to see Lionel Luthor, the man responsible for her cousin Chloe's apparent death, she approaches Martha about Lionel. However, Martha tells the young woman to stay away from Lionel and not to get caught up in his web of lies. She also reveals that she didn't escape Lionel unscathed, further than playing that Martha is still maliciously affected by Lionel's influence on her family.

At the end of the next episode, Chloe testifies against him in court after Clark and Lois save her from the metahuman assassin trying to kill her. Jonathan and Martha saw Lionel was convicted of his crimes in the newspaper.

**4.06 TRANSFERENCE**

Clark and Lionel swap bodies, and suddenly, Martha notices Clark is acting strange. When he hugs her, Martha gets suspicious and visits Lionel in prison, unaware that he is Clark. Martha thinks "Lionel" is playing a sick, twisted game and decides to leave. However, "Lionel" convinces her that he is Clark when he tells Martha how Clark discovered he had super speed. Martha realizes Jonathan is in danger because Lionel is in her son's body.

At the end of the episode, Clark switches back. He tells his parents Lionel was diagnosed with liver cancer and has only months to live.

**4.09 BOUND**

Clark reveals to his parents that when he and Lionel swapped bodies, he learned that Lionel was no longer sick, much to Martha's shock. Lionel thought that it was a miracle, and she did as well.

## Traits

* Both Lionel and Martha were born and raised in Metropolis, coming from rich families. However, whole Lionel was born to a poor family, Martha was born into a rich one, having a successful lawyer as a father.
* Both Lionel and Martha had, at one point, lost a child. Prior to the series, Lionel lost his son Julian when his wife, Lillian, murdered him. In the season 2 finale, Martha suffered a miscarriage, losing her and Jonathan's unborn child.
* They are both widowed.
* Both Martha and Lionel care about Clark, acting as parental figures, and protect his secret from everyone else.

## Moments

**1x08 "JITTERS"**

**3x19 "Memoria"**

* Lionel offers her old job back if she ever wanted to come back to LuthorCorp. However, her looks signify she doesn't want to.

**4x06 TRANSFERENCE**

* Martha realizes "Clark" is acting strange.
* Lionel (in Clark's body) hugs her and (creepily) sniffs her hair. His heat vision activated implying he is attached to Martha, as sexual arousal makes heat vision happen.
* She confronted "Lionel" in prison but is convinced the two switched bodies when Clark tells her the accurate story of how he discovered his super speed.

**4x09 BOUND**

* Martha thinks it's a miracle that Lionel was cured of his terminal liver disease.

**5x15 CYBORG**

## Trivia

* At Thanksgiving 2006, Lionel and Martha nearly kissed but nothing happened.
* Even though he was an enemy at the beginning, Lionel became an ally of Martha and her son after becoming an emissary of Jor-El, Clark's biological father Jor-El in season 4/5

**Superman, Supergirl**
Movies
***DC Extended Universe:*** Darkseid
Live-Action TV
**Smallville:** Clark Kent, Chloe Sullivan, Lex Luthor, Lana Lang, Martha Kent, Jonathan Kent, Lionel Luthor
**Arrowverse:** Clark Kent/Superman, Kara Danvers, J'onn J'onzz, Oliver Queen/Green Arrow
**Superman & Lois:** Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Jonathan Kent, Jordan Kent, Tal-Rho
Relationships: Superman and Lois Lane, Clark and Lana (Overall, Smallville), Clark Kent and Lionel Luthor, Superman and Wonder Woman, Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne