Lex Luthor is a supervillain in The CW's Arrowverse, based on the character of the same name created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
[4] The character has previously been portrayed in live-action TV shows, including Superboy, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, and Smallville.
Scott James Wells and Sherman Howard portrayed him in Superboy, John Shea in Lois & Clark, and Michael Rosenbaum in Smallville.
Cryer stated one reason for accepting the role in Supergirl was wanting to do justice to the Luthor name after the negative response to Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.
He was a strong advocate for Luthor eventually defeating Supergirl, and he pitched this idea numerous times to the show's producers.
Cryer believed that Luthor's role in Marv Wolfman's and George Pérez's 1985 original comic book storyline was important, and not having him in the event would be "humiliating.
Lex began to believe that Superman was responsible for the invasions, and his obsession with the superhero caused a fracture in his relationship with Lena.
Before the confrontation, Luthor turned Earth's yellow sun red in an attempt to depower Superman, causing destruction on a global scale.
Luthor then orchestrated a plan in which his assassin and love interest, Eve Teschmacher, would shoot James Olsen and distract Lena.
He battled Supergirl and later went to the White House to meet with the President, using his influence to arrange a Kaznian attack on the United States.
He then supplied energy to the houses damaged by the Kaznian bombings, and, with the President's support, he became the Secretary of the United States Department of Alien Affairs, gaining control over America.
Oliver Queen / Spectre appeared and helped Barry unlock his full potential, sending Luthor, Kara, and Ryan to the past, specifically to the planet Maltus, 10,000 years before the Monitor created the Anti-Monitor.
Brainiac 5 later visited Luthor, expressing concern about Leviathan, and showed him a picture of a possible doppelganger that resembles Winn Schott.
While Supergirl is preventing a Sun-Eater from eating the Sun, Luthor goes to the scene where those who were trapped in virtual reality are being held and frees them, killing Margot Morrison.
After getting a call from Gemma that Rama Khan succeeded in his mission to obtain the Kryptonite from the D.E.O., Luthor informs Brainiac 5 that they now have access to Leviathan's ship.
Lex Luthor proceeds with the next phase of his plan, having Lillian copy the powers of the Leviathan members into him, despite her warning of the potential outcome.
Luthor and Nyxly create magical constructs resembling their enemies, such as Kara Danvers / Overgirl, Red Tornado, Metallo, and dragons.
This is made possible because Supergirl and her allies rallied the people of National City to have courage, which counteracts the hubris emitted by Luthor and Nyxly, making them prime targets for the Phantoms.
The John Henry Irons of an alternate Earth stole an exosuit from his reality's Luthor, which he used in the fight against his world's Superman and Tal-Rho.
[23] The episode "Too Close to Home" had Bruno Mannheim mentioning to John Henry Irons that Luthor was responsible for killing Boss Moxie.
After arranging for Judge Reagan to be killed offscreen, Luthor dispatches Otis and his female minion, Cheryl Kimble (under the name "Gretchen Kelley"), to abduct Sam Lane.
In season four, Lex Luthor moves into the hotel across from the Smallville Gazette and later meets with Amanda McCoy who hasn't located Elizabeth yet.
A disguised Jordan later confronts Lex Luthor during his and Amanda's meeting with Sebastian "Bash" Mallory demanding he return Superman's heart to no avail.
Lex is told by Amanda McCoy that they can use the Manning farm to set up their new base and that Sam Lane was responsible for Elizabeth's relocation.
Slowly losing control, Luthor's plans to purchase land in Smallville to build his new HQ are derailed by Mayor Lana Lang and the townspeople who start to rebel against him.
Abandoning his original plan, Luthor dons the suit despite Amanda's protests and confronts Doomsday in the mines, swaying him to his side once more by killing him with kryptonite bombs and mutating him further with the intention of unleashing him on Smallville as revenge for the town rebelling against him.
[24] In the book "Adapting Superman: Essays on the Transmedia Man of Steel," there is a chapter titled "Forging Kryptonite: Lex Luthor's Xenophobia as Societal Fracturing, from Batman v Superman to Supergirl," which analyzes both versions of Lex Luthor as part of a representation exploring the cultural effects of encroaching xenophobia from society to the family in the years around the 2016 United States presidential election.
[26] In an interview with the website CBR.com, Cryer claimed that the ending of Supergirl's season 6 was intentionally left open for a potential return of his character in another Arrowverse or another DC show in the future.
[27] IGN asserted Cryer's version was the definitive one and praised his performance, noting that it had a significant impact on the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover event and Supergirl's season 5.
[28] Michael Cudlitz's portrayal as Luthor in Superman & Lois has also been met with positive reviews, with Screen Rant referring to him as "the most terrifying villain the DC series has ever seen".