Why Lex Luthor Turned Into A Villain On Smallville

In many ways, the trajectory of Lex's life was set early in his upbringing. Lionel, an incredibly wealthy business mogul, raised his son after his own image. That included being tough and shrewd, as well as gaining and maintaining power whatever the cost or collateral damage. Believing his son to be a poor reflection of the Luthor name, Lionel spends much of Lex's childhood and early adulthood pushing and testing him in order to fashion his son into a proper namesake.

When Lex, in Season 3, discovers that his father killed his own parents in order to launch LuthorCorp, Lionel has his son drugged and committed to Belle Reve Sanitarium. However, the discovery of Lionel's familicide — and the subsequent attempt to silence his son — change Lex's perspective, as he realizes the true extent of his father's megalomania. Even the healthiest of psyches would have difficulty reconciling these events. For Lex, who was molded by his father and instilled with Lionel's "take no prisoners" mentality, the revelation is disconcertin,g and eventually leads Lex to become the Luthor his father envisioned.