Clark and Lex
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"You're closer to me than any... blood-brother." –-Lex Luthor to Clark, Lucy
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[edit] Early Life
Clark and Lex's first encounter occurred the day Clark's ship crashed to Earth, during the meteor shower of 1989. Lex was in a nearby cornfield and was injured. Jonathan and Martha discovered Clark and decided to keep him and as they were driving away from the crash site with their new son, they encountered Lex's father, Lionel Luthor, who begged them to help his injured son. The five of them then made their way to safety.
Young Clark tried to bond with Lex on the way to Smallville Medical Center, but Lex was still in shock from his ordeal. After this, Lex blanked out his childhood, yet he always felt that his life had been deeply effected by the meteor shower and investigated it throughout his adult life, leading him closer to discovering the Traveler, not realizing that this was in fact Clark.
[edit] Clark's secret
I could have helped you become a hero.-- Lex Luthor, to Clark Kent, Arctic
Although Lex did not exactly know the entire story behind Clark's alien origins, he knew there was something odd about his friend from the moment that Clark saved him by pulling him from the Elbow River following a car accident. Lex was sure his car had hit Clark and was immediately doubtful of Clark's claim that he dove after him. Lex gave Clark the opportunity to share his secret on his own terms as their friendship grew, but often could not resist asking Clark prying questions. Clark used a temporary loss of his powers to "prove" his vulnerability. Nevertheless, Lex's curiosity was not that easily satisfied.
He financed Dr Steven Hamilton's excavation of Miller's Field, where Clark's ship had landed, and unearthed the key to the ship. Although Lex knew that this was of alien origin, he never connected it with Clark. Lex blackmailed Roger Nixon into investigating the car crash. However, when Nixon's investigation violated the Kents' privacy, Lex demonstrated that he was not ready to trade Nixon's secrets for the Kents' lives and shot and killed him. Nevertheless, Lex continued to research Clark and even stole a vial of Clark's blood from his fiance, Dr Helen Bryce. Lex also suspected a connection between Clark and the Kawatche Caves, causing Clark to continually deny that he could read the Kryptonian symbols.
Lex eventually witnessed Clark's super powers while in a drug-induced psychosis, confirming his beliefs. Nevertheless, the memory was lost after intense shock treatment. Not knowing what memories had been lost, Lex became desperate to recover them, which made Clark nervous.
Lionel showed Clark a secret room in the mansion that compiled all the information Lex had gathered on Clark. After this, Lex had the room cleared out and told Clark in 2004 that he was done obsessing over him and asked for his forgiveness. Lex kept his promise and did not investigate Clark for almost a year. However, he did question Clark's immunity to an airborne toxin and took advantage of Clark's temporary amnesia to ask him questions about the caves. He again "tested" Clark in 2005 and was confused that his suspicions were proved wrong when he saw a video of Clark getting burned by a security laser. Nevertheless, his suspicions were reawakened when Clark came back from the dead after being shot. Lex assumed that Clark was the fast-moving blur in a security camera photo when a LuthorCorp facility was attacked. However, Lionel prevented Lex from discovering the truth by giving Clark an alabi.
Their growing animosity towards each other made it unlikely that Clark would ever willingly tell Lex the truth, but also invited the possibility that Lex would do anything to discover it. After Clark was injured by meteor rocks and trapped in a cave-in with Lex, Lex confronted Clark about his suspected powers. Lex admitted that he had seen a chisel bend after he stabbed Clark with it. Having survived that, Lex was confused that Clark was now injured. Clark didn't answer.
After the sudden arrival of Clark's Kryptonian cousin, Kara Kent, Lex extended his curiosity towards her as well, intending to use her to reveal Clark's secret. Eventually, Brainiac disguised as Kara confirmed to Lex that she was an alien, insinuating that Clark was too. Lex recieved confirmation of this when he visited the Arctic. Having come across violent aliens in the past, Lex was convinced that Clark was on Earth to destroy it and, in order to save the world, he must kill Clark.
Lex's realization left him bitter and betrayed. He told Clark that they could have accomplished anything together, and that if Clark had trusted him, he could have helped him become a hero. Clark's fear of Lex discovering his secret proved justified, as Lex then depowered Clark and destroyed the Fortress of Solitude with the Orb.
He didn't tell anyone Clark's secret, not even his trusted employees such as Tess Mercer or Regan Matthews.
[edit] Season One
We have a new future, Clark, and I don't want anything to stand in the way of our friendship. -Lex Luthor, Pilot
Clark and Lex met again when Clark was 14 years old and Lex was 21, when Lex drove his car off of Loeb Bridge, hitting Clark and sending both of them into the Elbow River. Clark rescued Lex from drowning and in return Lex showered Clark with gifts and favors to show his gratitude. Despite Jonathan Kent's dislike of Lex and the rest of the Luthors, Clark wanted to see the best in Lex and they quickly built up a friendship.
Jaded by his father's upbringing, Lex seemingly saw Clark as the personification of everything a person should be and a direct contrast to his own destructive and self-serving youth. He also idolized Clark's relationship with his father Jonathan, seeing it as something he would love but would never obtain with his own father. Clark viewed Lex as worldly and informed; quickly misjudged and intriguingly out of place in the small country town.
Clark was impressed with Lex's experience and maturity. He frequently took advice from Lex, particularly concerning the troubles in his love life, as he lusted after Lana Lang, despite her dating Whitney Fordman. Lex tried to help by setting up a date for Clark and Lana and offered them tickets to a concert and a free ride in a limo. Lex treated Clark much like a younger brother, trying to use his influence to improve Clark's quality of life.
Despite the good-natured facade of their relationship, both kept some secrets from each other. While Clark kept his alien origins and superhuman powers a secret from him, Lex started an investigation into the Kents in secret, suspecting that Clark was far from normal.
[edit] Season Two
"Clark Kent and Lex Luthor. I like the sound of that" -- Clark Kent in Red
Despite Jonathan discovering that Lex was investigating Clark through Roger Nixon, Clark remained friends with Lex, after Lex proved his allegiance when he protected them from Nixon, killing him. Lex even invited Clark to his wedding to Desiree Atkins. However, Lex's new relationship with Desiree caused problems in his relationship as he was being manipulated by Desiree's meteor enhanced pheramones. Desiree had initially planned to use her meteor power to seduce Clark and make him kill Lex in a jealous rage, allowing her to inherit Lex's fortune. When Clark proved immune to Desiree's advances, she told Lex that Clark had come on to her and framed Clark for arson. Although Lex admitted that these actions were out of character for Clark, Lex was under Desiree's spell. Nevertheless, when Clark proved Desiree's guilt, his relationship with Lex was repaired.
Lex was led to believe that Clark was his stepbrother when his father's former mistress appeared in Smallville. Although Lex was skeptical and Clark knew that it wasn't true as he was an alien, both Clark and Lex admitted that it would be cool if they were brothers, indicating how close they felt to each other. Clark relied on Lex's help to preserve the Kawatche Caves, although Clark's trust in Lex over this was foolish, as Lex began to investigate their connection to Clark.
When Lex planned to marry for a second time, he chose Clark as his best man. Clark was pleased, although he prioritized dealing with the threats of his Kryptonian father, Jor-El, by destroying the ship, therefore, failing to make it to Lex's wedding.
[edit] Season Three
During Lex's honeymoon, his plane crashed and Lex was suspected to be dead. Despite being influenced by red kryptonite, Clark attended Lex's funeral, although stood in the distance. After Clark's red kryptonite ring was destroyed, Lex returned to Smallville unharmed, much to Clark's delight and relief. Clark and Lex maintained their strong friendship.
Clark and Lex discovered that Lionel killed his parents, which led Lionel to wiping his memories, despite Clark's efforts to stop him, making Clark feel guilty. Scared about what Lionel would do if Lex rediscovered the truth, Clark tried to stop Lex from investigating Lionel. When Lex discovered this, he was disappointed in Clark but, after Clark's insistence, Lex believed that Clark had Lex's wellbeing in mind.
When mythology from the Kawatche Caves started to come true, Clark learned that either Lex or Lionel would become his ultimate enemy, as the starblade dissolved at their touch after the prediction that this would happen when Naman's ultimate enemy touched it. While Clark continued to believe the best in Lex and concluded that Lionel must be his ultimate enemy, Martha warned Clark that it could be Lex. Clark only considered this to be a possibility after Lionel gave Clark a key to Lex's secret room, which contained the evidence of Lex investigating Clark's secret. This caused the breakdown of their friendship and Clark found it hard to trust Lex after this.
[edit] Season Four
Clark's perception of Lex changed somewhat when Clark discovered that Lex had been protecting Chloe Sullivan from Lionel prior to his trial. Lex tried to buy back Clark's friendship by providing the Smallville football team with new jerseys, after he found out that Clark had joined the team. When Clark was not impressed, Lex went further to repair their relationship by visiting the loft to hand over all of his research about Clark. As Lex arrived, Clark had been weakened by a kryptonite drink and then attacked by a jealous Jason Teague, who was under the influence of a love potion. Lex was concerned about Clark's injuries but, as the kryptonite wore off, Lex became suspicious of Clark's healing wounds. As Lex had scared off Clark's attacker, Clark agreed to listen to what Lex had to say and, after he was convinced that Lex had dropped the investigation into his life, they came to a tentative reconciliation.
Lex continued to try to completely win back Clark's friendship by giving him tickets to a Metropolis Sharks football game. Lex confided in Clark that he saw him as a brother [1] and became more open and honest with Clark by asking for his help with his investigation into a manuscript with Kryptonian symbols. This helped Clark trust Lex again and he started to confide in Lex and rely on him for help, particularly when he blew his university interview and needed Lex's help to build bridges. Clark also confided in Lex about how hard it was to see his old girlfriend with his football coach. However, Clark felt that this trust was betrayed when Lex subsequently reported this immoral relationship to the school board, damaging Clark's relationship with Lana. Clark questioned Lex's motives for this, making him realize that their relationship is not yet back to where it used to be.
Despite their ongoing problems, when circumstance called for it, Clark continued to come to Lex for help. [2] Clark also helped prove Lex's innocence when he was accused of murder. During this investigation, Clark discovered that Lex regularly had one night stands and then made them feel worthless by paying them off with diamond earrings. Clark was disappointed with Lex's treatment of these women and, when he confronted Lex about this, Lex admitted that he had treated them terribly but requested that Clark doesn't give up on him yet.
A series of controversial LuthorCorp experiments added to Clark's disappointment in Lex. Firstly, LuthorCorp accidentally released a dangerous toxin, which endangered the lives of many civilians and then Clark discovered a project that experimented on dogs. Clark saw Lex's obsessive nature reawaken, as he fiercely searched for the Stones of Power. Lex's fascination with unexplained phenomena ran concurrently but separately with his curiosity of Clark's background. Lex was willing to forgo parts of his investigations that directly involved Clark, but eventually, the two inevitably coincided.
Clark was reminded of Lex's potential for evil when black kryptonite split Lex in two, which caused the emergence of Lex's darker side. While he was divided into good an evil persona's, evil Lex committed murder, imprisoned his good side, discovered Clark's secret, hospitalised Jonathan Kent and attempted to coerce Clark into helping him rule the world. Although Clark was able to reverse the process and reunite the two sides of Lex, he remained concerned of Lex's true nature.
This concern was justified, as Lex took advantage of Clark's amnesia by trying to get Clark to reveal secrets about the caves. When Clark's memory was restored, he remained unaware of the occurances during his amnesia, although he was suspicious of Lex. After this, when Lex offered Clark and his parents a safe passage out of Smallville to be saved from the oncoming meteor shower, Clark refused.
[edit] Season Five
Lex still felt that Clark was not being honest with him and confronted Clark to find out if he had been in the caves during some strange goings-on just before the second meteor shower. When Clark continued to lie, Lex was visibly frustrated and disappointed that his friend still could not trsut him. As a result, Lex released three meteor freak criminals who held Clark's parents and Lana hostage in order to force Clark to reveal his superhuman powers. When Clark discovered that Lex was responsible, he angrily confronted Lex and viciously attacked him. This marked the end of their friendship.
Despite their new animosity towards each other, Clark continued to go to Lex for help when the need arose. Clark was clearly reluctant to do this, but there was often not much choice, which was the case when Lana was turned into a vampire by Buffy Sanders and Lex had the only cure. They remained civil to each other for a time, but without their friendship restraining him, Lex descended into cruelty and manipulation in order to get to the bottom of super-powered individuals, believing himself to be serving the greater good of humankind. Although Lex's attempts to torture and control Clark's new friends Arthur Curry and Victor Stone increased Clark's hostility towards him, Clark nevertheless refused to allow invisible hitman Graham Garrett to kill Lex, his high value for life overriding his dislike for Luthor.
Lex was clearly disappointed about the breakdown of his relationship with Clark, as he dreamed of a world where he was much closer to him again. He finally expressed his regret at the loss of his friendship with Clark when they were forced to work together to find Lionel and Martha when they were kidnapped by Lincoln Cole. Lex hoped that they would be able to find some common ground between them. However, when Lex witnessed a video feed of Lionel saying how "special" Clark is, Lex was reminded of Clark's constant secrets and lack of trust in him. Also jealous of the growing bond between his father and Clark, Lex wanted Clark's life more than ever, which led to him secretly pursuing a relationship with Lana.
When Clark received an expensive plasma TV, he suspected Lex was trying to get back into his good books but, as he arrived at the Luthor Mansion, Clark found Lex kissing Lana, thus ruining any chance of a reconciliation between Clark and Lex. After this, when Lex was in danger from Milton Fine, Clark made sure that he was safe, although he was unconcerned about any injuries that Lex sustained, marking a change in their relationship.
[edit] Season Six
"I don't know, Clark. you were the only real friend I ever had, but somewhere along the way you saw me as your nemesis and turned your back on me." --Lex Luthor, Nemesis
Lex became the Kryptonian vessel for a criminal from the Phantom Zone named General Zod and, while Clark briefly considered sacrificing Lex's life to defeat Zod, he ultimately decided that this was not an option, despite the breakdown of their friendship. After Lex was exorcised of Zod, he no longer welcomed Clark in his mansion. [3] Clark wasn't invited to Lex and Lana's engagement party but was invited to their wedding because Lex wanted him to see "what he had lost", indicating the level of resentment between the two.
Despite their growing dislike of each other, Clark saved Lex from Duncan Allenmeyer and a drugged up Oliver Queen. However, Clark showed more concern with Oliver's actions turning him into a killer rather than just concern about Lex's life. As matters got worse between them, due to Lex's growing relationship with Lana, Clark was less inclined to save Lex and, when he heard that Lex had disappeared, he prioritised catching an escapee from the Phantom Zone rather than saving Lex. When Moira Sullivan forced Chloe to confront Lex with a gun, Clark also hesitated in saving Lex.
Clark joined Oliver's Justice League to put a stop to Lex's 33.1 experiments. When Clark discovered that he had kidnapped Chloe to test her meteor abilities and later threatened her, Clark was furious with Lex and vowed to fight him.
They were forced to confront the breakdown of their relationship when they were trapped in an underground tunnel. As they discussed their relationship, Clark questioned if they were ever really friends. Lex insisted that Clark was the only true friend he ever had, causing Clark to wonder if he had given up on Lex too soon. After they found their way out, Clark confided in Martha that he felt responsible for Lex's descent into evil, as he had given up on Lex.
Their heart-to-heart was not enough to repair their relationship, as Lex continued to get involved with dangerous projects, including Project Ares, which resulted in the torture of Wes Keenan and unleashing a fully powered Bizarro.
[edit] Season Seven
"You'll never threaten this world again, Kal-El." -Lex Luthor, Arctic
Clark kept his distance from Lex for a while, although Lex continued to pry into Clark's life but this time tried to use Kara Kent to get information.
Curtis Knox tried to kill Lex but only managed to knock him unconcious before Clark sped in to save him. When Lex awoke in hospital he was surprised to see Clark there but Clark remained hostile, comparing Lex to the evil of Knox. Nevertheless, united in their desire to stop Knox from killing anyone else, Lex helped Clark track him down in order for Clark to defeat him. Clark resorted to asking for Lex's help again when someone was trying to kill an actress in the new Warrior Angel movie, since Clark knew that Lex was a fan of the Warrior Angel comics and the attacks seemed to be motivated by the differences between the comic and the movie. Lex helped Clark find the clues he needed to solve the mystery and defeat Ben Meyers, although Lex was still clearly motivated by uncovering the truth about Clark, as he went to question Ben when he suspected that he had uncovered Clark's secret.
When Clark was faced with the decision of who to save during a fight between Lex, Black Canary and Green Arrow, Clark was willing to let the Black Canary's daggers hit Lex, as he knew that it would not be fatal, but he destroyed Oliver's arrows and Lex's bullets.
Clark learned more about Lex's childhood when he was forced to go inside Lex's mind to uncover information about Kara's whereabouts. He saw Lionel and Lillian's fractured parenting had caused Lex to become the man he was today. Clark found Lex's innocent inner child and vowed to help the good in Lex, as he could see the evil side of Lex taking over. Clark confronted Lex about this and told him that he still cares about what he thinks and that he has seen that there is still good in him.
Nevertheless, shortly afterwards Lex started a dangerous relationship with an amnesiac Kara in order to uncover the truth about the Kent family. Lex mentioned to Kara about his former friendship with Clark, saying they stopped being friends because "he grew up". When this was proving unsuccessful, Lex tortured Pete Ross and only stopped when Clark intervened. This made Clark start to doubt his rekindled hope in the good in Lex, which was ultimately destroyed when Lex killed Lionel.
Clark immediately suspected Lex being responsible for his death and met with Lex after Chloe received evidence of the murder. In Lex's mind, his good side tried to get Lex to tell Clark the truth but instead Lex requested that Clark leave. When Clark refused, Lex revealed how jealous he had been of Clark's relationship with both Jonathan Kent and Lionel Luthor who both thought a lot of Clark. Clark retorted by insisting that Lex could have had the same thing if he tried and blamed Lex's inability to sustain a proper relationship. Clark insisted that even he had tried to be his friend but Lex had been corrupted by power and control and was so caught up in what's been going on in Smallville that he hasn't looked at the people around him. Lex maintained that after so many years to gain Lionel's affections, he focused on Clark instead and wondered why his own father would do that but Clark simply said that Lionel probably trusted him more than Lex.
By this point it was clear that there was no going back for the two former friends. Despite Lex insisting that nobody other than him was allowed to be at Lionel's funeral, Clark attended, believing that Lionel deserved better. When the two met at Lionel's grave, Lex walked away in disgust, as Clark's presence reminded him of his father's closeness to somebody elses son over his own flesh and blood.
With renewed concern over Lex's evil ways, Clark did everything he could to prevent him from discovering his secret. Nevertheless, Lex finally discovered the truth, having been manipulated by Brainiac, and used the orb to track down the Fortress of Solitude, where he confronted Clark. As Clark tried to reason with Lex, it became clear that Lex felt it was his destiny to defeat "The Traveler". Lex expressed disappointment that Clark had never trusted him with this secret, as he felt that he could have helped Clark become a hero, but Lex's actions had proved to Clark that he couldn't be trusted. Lex inserted the orb into the Fortress, which brought Clark to his knees as his powers were taken from him and the crystals of the Fortress began to fall apart around them. Lex admitted that he thought of Clark as a brother, but insisted that this was the way things had to end between them.
[edit] Season Eight
Four weeks later, Lex was presumed dead and Clark was found in Russia. Lex's true status remained unknown until the day of Chloe Sullivan's marriage to Jimmy Olsen. After tracking down some emails that Lex had been sending to his protege, Tess Mercer, Oliver Queen warned Clark about the dangers that Lex posed now that he knew Clark's secret. Nevertheless, Clark prioritised Chloe, which made Oliver suspect that Clark still saw the good in Lex, although Clark denied this.
Lex made sure he was able to keep an eye on Clark through nanotechnology unknowingly implanted into Tess Mercer's eyes, as well as recovering videotape from Chloe's wedding. Lex re-emerged when Lana stole his only chance of survival - the Prometheus suit. He relied on a kryptonite ring to protect him when he faced Clark while still on life support. Lex finally got his revenge on Clark by setting up a kryptonite bomb, being fully aware that Lana's prometheus suit would absorb all the kryptonite, thus preventing Clark from ever being able to be close to Lana again.
Furious with Lex, Clark tracked him down with the intention of killing him, but Lana stopped him and forced him to re-evaluate his morals. Realizing that he couldn't go through with it, Clark turned to leave his animosity with Lex in the past. However, Oliver Queen then set off a bomb, killing Lex. Clark showed no remorse that Lex was dead, although, once he discovered that Oliver was responsible, he voiced his disapproval. Remarkably, despite everything that Lex had put Clark through, Clark still considered that Lex's life was worth saving.
[edit] References
- ↑ Lucy
- ↑ He came to Lex for help when Lucy Lane came to Smallville in financial trouble in Lucy. Clark also asked for Lex's help when he found a baby that aged rapidly in Ageless
- ↑ Wither
