This article contains mentions of death, violence, and abuse.
Smallville puts its Lex Luthor through a lot in order to send him down the path of evil. Over 7 seasons, he goes from victim to villain, committing some of the most heinous acts in the show’s history. Lex, wonderfully brought to life by Michael Rosenbaum, is a force of nature in Smallville, but he starts off his journey unsure of where his morals start and stop. This is largely due to the complicated relationship he has with his father, business magnate Lionel Luthor. Their dynamic is strained at best due to Lionel’s harsh parenting of Lex.
However, Lex dabbles in becoming a better person after being saved by the young Clark Kent. The two are fast friends, though their bond is tested by both their fathers’ feud and Lex’s growing fascination with Clark’s seemingly inhuman feats. While Clark becomes a hero, Lex just descends further and further. Unfortunately, these cracks in their friendship become their undoing, as Lex both falls victim to and causes tragedies. Here are some of Lex’s darkest moments throughout Smallville, ranked:
10 Lex Hesitates To Rescue Lionel
Season 1, Episode 21 “Tempest”
During Smallville season one, Lex is sent by Lionel to take over a LuthorCorp plant in the small town. The younger Luthor is unhappy with this assignment and views it as his father testing him. Eventually, Lex earns his respect and is offered an opportunity to move to Metropolis with his father, but by this point, he’s made friends in Smallville. As a result, he declines. In retaliation, Lionel conspires to close down the plant in order to force Lex to leave.
This leads to a chess match wherein Lex counters with an employee buyout followed by Lionel buying the bank to stop him. Before any resolution is reached, a tornado hits Smallville, and Lionel is injured. Lex has the choice of saving his father or letting him die. Though he ultimately makes the moral choice to save Lionel, but his dark side almost wins out. It’s an early example of Lex’s struggles with doing what is right versus what benefits him, way back in season one.
9 Lex Fights His Inner Child (Literally)
Season 7, Episode 16 “Descent”
Much later in Lex’s time on Smallville, Lex is critically injured in season 7, episode 12, “Fracture.” His phone reveals that he’s knows the locations of Lois Lane and Kara Zor-EL/Supergirl. Clark is forced to enter his mind in order to ascertain this information, and as a result, he has to relive parts of Lex’s childhood. During his trip through his former friend’s brain, Clark meets both sides of his personality: Lex, the villainous adult, and Alexander, the innocent child. The latter helps Clark find his friends, while the former attempts to stop Clark by showing him a memory of Lex and Lana together.
This visual representation of Lex’s good and bad sides demonstrates that he is choosing to be evil, and that is what makes him beyond redemption.
Just before he retreats from Lex’s brain to save Lois and Kara, Clark sees Lex choking Alexander and saves the young boy. Clark makes Alexander promise to not stop fighting, and the rest of season 7 makes good on this. Alexander shows up again as hallucinations the real Lex has about his increasingly evil deeds. These encounters are heavy, especially in episode 16, “Descent,” which shows Lex shoving Alexander into a lit fireplace. This visual representation of Lex’s good and bad sides demonstrates that he is choosing to be evil, and that is what makes him beyond redemption.
8 Lex Thinks Killing Clark Is His Birthright
Season 7, Episode 20 “Arctic”
Also in season 7, Lex becomes deeply entralled with Veritas, a secret society made up of Lionel, Virgil Swann, Robert Queen and others who all bought into the Traveller prophecy. The Traveller was said to be a powerful being from another world who would need to be protected until he came of age and saved the planet from destruction. Lex eventually connects the dots and realizes the Traveller is Clark. He is then manipulated by Brainiac under the guise of Kara to believe his destiny is to defeat the Traveller.
Lex ascertains the location of the Fortress of Solitude by pondering his orb, a Kryptonian device that was previously hidden within the Luthor Mansion. He and Clark have a climactic confrontation, and Lex’s god complex is on full display. The years of hurt from Clark lying to him combining with his lust for power make Lex fully cave in to his delusions of grandeur.
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Clark desperately pleads with Lex not to destroy the Fortress, but the latter replies, “You’ll never threaten the world again, Kal-El.“ This moment is as tense as it is tragic. Lex is all the more dangerous because he genuinely believes he is humanity’s savior, which becomes his undoing when the Fortress collapses.
7 Lex Kills Tess Mercer
Season 10, Episode 22 “Finale, Part 2”
After nearly three whole seasons off of the show, Rosenbaum’s Lex returned to Smallville for its finale. During the episode, he is reunited with Tess Mercer (Cassidy Freeman), his former employee who is actually his half-sister. Lex pulls Tess in for a hug and says, “I love you, sis,” as he stabs her. He then adds, “you know I’m actually saving you.” After asked what he’s saving her from, Lex replies, “from turning into me.”
It’s a sad moment, until Tess reaches to touch Lex’s face and says, “Clark already did that.” She doses Lex with a neurotoxin that erases his memories and dies, redeeming herself with her final action. With that, Tess is able to do what Lex never could. Even so, the scene ends on one of Smallville‘s coolest shots. Lex steps to look out the window of his office and the letters from the LuthorCorp sign fall away, making it read LexCorp.
6 Lex Forces Lana To Absorb Kryptonite
Season 8, Epsode 14 “Requiem”
In season 8, Lana Lang returns to Smallville. She left Clark at the end of the previous season because she knew her ex-husband, Lex, would never stop coming after her. She comes back for Chloe Sullivan’s wedding and ponders rekindling her romance with Clark. In an interesting twist, she gains superpowers after donning a suit made by LuthorCorp for Lex. Lana’s superpowers enable her and Clark to both have a more intense physical relationship and engage in heroics. However, a jealous Lex sets a trap for the lovers.
On top of the Daily Planet, Lex placed a kryptonite bomb capable of taking out half of Metropolis. He reveals that Lana’s suit is capable of absorbing the kryptonite to depower the bomb, but doing so would come at the cost of her relationship with Clark. Recognizing the greater good, Lana sacrifices her ability to be around Clark to save the city because of Lex’s trap. Undoubtedly, Lex’s jealous act is one of his most vindictive throughout the entirety of Smallville.
5 Lex Orders Julian’s Assassination
Season 7, Episode 10 “Persona”
Smallville season 7 introduces Grant Gabriel, a clone of Lex’s deceased brother, Julian. The death of his brother is one of the defining tragedies in Lex’s life as he took the blame for his mother smothering the infant. Lex installs him as the editor of the Daily Planet. Grant was implanted with memories to trick him into thinking he’d been given up for adoption. This backfires on Lex as Grant seeks out a relationship with Lionel, who was reformed by this point in the series. Not only does Lionel accept Gabriel, but he tells Lex, comparing the brothers.
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This deeply upsets Lex, who warns Gabriel to stay away from Lionel. Gabriel does not comply, and Lex orders a hit on him. After he gets a text confirming the deed is done, the older Luthor walks onto his balcony and screams into the night. His choice to take out a clone of his brother is especially poignant given his previous trauma and longing for Julian, making this one of Lex’s lowest points.
4 Lex Confronts Lionel About Julian And His Mother
Season 3, Episode 19 “Memoria”
One of the most moving and tragic scenes in Smallville occurs in season 3, episode 19. After losing his recent memories earlier in the season, Lex undergoes treatment to recover them at the Summerholt Institute. Instead of regaining the lost weeks, he remembered a long lost memory: that Lillian Luthor killed Julian instead of him. Lex spent his whole life not just feeling guilty but also being mistreated by his dad as a result of that tragedy. He confronts Lionel, and the resulting conversation is heartwrenching.
At first, Lionel refuses to believe Lillian would do such a thing, but Lex explains that it was a mercy killing and that he took the blame so his father would not kill her. John Glover, who plays Lionel, delivers some amazing facial acting as his character realizes Lex is being honest. Lionel says, “things would have been so, so different between us,” to which Lex responds, “yes, Dad, you might have actually loved me.” It’s a heavy, well-acted scene that further characterizes Lex’s trauma and the tragedy that surrounds him.
3 Lex Tricks Lana Into Thinking She’s Pregnant
Season 6, Episode 18 “Progeny”
Lex and Lana’s relationship is at times difficult to watch. He met her when she was a teenager and he was an adult. They became friends while she was still quite young. Initially, he is the biggest fan of Lana and Clark’s relationship, but as early as season 1, Smallville hints that he’s interested in her. Their romance doesn’t truly take off until season 5, when they investigate Brainiac’s ship together. He orchestrates Lana and Clark’s break-up and offers his shoulder for her to cry on. After some back and forth, the two begin a real relationship.
Lana moves in with Lex, and soon after, she discovers she’s pregnant. Lex proposes and Lana accepts, even after admitting she still loves Clark. Lana is told she suffered a miscarriage, but after she is hospitalized, she finds out she was never pregnant. Lex injected her with hormones and tricked her into thinking she was pregnant so he wouldn’t lose her. Lana leaves him afterward, with no chance of the two ever rekindling their love. Of all of Lex’s worst actions, this is his most blatantly abusive and invasive, showing his insecurity and inability to love.
2 Lex kills Lionel
Season 7, Episode 16 “Descent”
Season 7 was huge for Lex’s character development as a villain. Aside from confronting his inner good and trying to kill Clark, he also calls out Lionel for his actions with Veritas. After all, Lionel’s obsession hurt Lex both physically and emotionally throughout his childhood. Lex tries to get answers from his father about who the Traveler is, but Lionel, now on Clark’s side, pulls a Hail Mary and lies, telling Lex he is the Traveller. Naturally, the younger Luthor sees through this lie immediately.
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Further enraged by Lionel’s dishonesty, Lex brandishes his gun. As Lionel pleads with Lex to see reason and stop pursing the Traveller, his son threatens him for the location of the Orb. Lionel refuses and tells Lex that this path offers no redemption. The latter coolly replies, “I was raised in your shadow; Now you’re gonna die in mine,“ before pushing him out of a window. Lex murdering his father is the precise moment in Smallville when he became truly, truly evil.
1 Lex is institutionalized
Season 3, Episode 8 “Shattered”
In season 3, Lex discovers his father committed murder and insurance fraud with Morgan Edge. As a result, LuthorCorp is built on his crimes. In order to avoid criminal charges, Lionel infiltrates Lex’s staff, which enables him to drug his son and set up false scenarios to discredit him. Lex begins to hallucinate and behave erratically. Though Clark initially tries to protect him, he becomes increasingly concerned that Lex is actually insane after he accidentally hurts Lana.
Lex gets Edge’s location from Lionel and tracks him down, with Clark in hot pursuit. The ensuing showdown causes Clark to expose his powers by stopping a car from Lex. The young Superman has the option to save his friend from Lionel or protect himself. Clark chooses to use Lionel’s gaslighting as a cover-up.
Afterward, Lex is shown locked away in a straitjacket. Lionel watches him through a window and presses his hand to the glass as “Hurt” by Johnny Cash plays. Lex is utterly alone; his father did this to him, and his best friend abandoned him. This sequence of events severely damages Lex’s mental health, and it’s perhaps the most emotionally painful scene in Smallville.