Lena Luthor is the name of two fictional comic book characters in DC Comics. The first one, introduced in 1961, is the sister of Superman's nemesis Lex Luthor, while the second one, introduced in 2000, is Luthor's daughter, named after her aunt. On live-action television, the original Lena Luthor was portrayed by Denise Gossett in a 1991 episode of Superboy, Cassidy Freeman in three seasons (2008–2011) of Smallville, and by Katie McGrath in five seasons (2016–2021) of Supergirl.
Publication history Lena Luthor first appeared in Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #23 and was created by Jerry Siegel and Kurt Schaffenberger.
Fictional character biography
Lena Luthor I In Silver Age continuity, Lena is Lex Luthor's younger sister. After Lex began his villainous career, his family changed their last name in shame to the anagram Thorul and told Lena that Lex had been killed in a mountain-climbing accident. Soon after this, they were killed in an auto accident. As a result, Lena never knew she had an older brother, as Lex Luthor himself (with occasional help from Supergirl and Superman) worked to keep her from learning the truth. Lena appeared irregularly in DC Comics from 1961 to 1975. Lena had psychic/empathic abilities, gained from touching a Space Brain that Luthor was experimenting on before he became a villain. In 1981, Lena lost her powers after brain surgery, and the decision was made to tell her the truth about Luthor. After the initial shock, there were signs of reconciliation after Luthor discovered he had unwittingly aided another criminal's conspiracy against Lena, and he was deeply apologetic. In Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #3, Legionnaires Polar Boy, Wildfire, and Dawnstar travel to Smallville during the 20th century, when Superman was still a suburban legend. The three heroes arrive to the Luthor household, where they hear a young Lex arguing with his father about his mother and sister. In the pages of Superman: Secret Origin (2009), Lena Luthor cared about Lex even when he ran away after their mother died when she was young and their father died of a heart attack. In the 2009 revival of Adventure Comics, Lex covers up his Smallville history, which includes disavowing a connection to his sister. Lena is now paralyzed, living in Smallville with her daughter Lori Luthor. Lori becomes friends with Superboy, who is attracted to Lori's petty crimes when trying to take care of her mother. Both are shocked to find Lex Luthor on Lori's doorstep, intent on taking control of Superboy again and claiming he can cure Lena's condition. With Superboy's help, Luthor cures Lena, but he reverses it, claiming he only helped her to prove to Superboy that he could. He says that so long as Superman lives, he will never reveal how he did it. Lena is put under the care of Wayne Enterprises doctors. In 2011, "The New 52" rebooted the DC universe. Lena Luthor is paralyzed as a result of a childhood illness. Luthor initially claims to Bizarro that he never tried to save her because he was afraid of failure but admits privately later that his failed attempt left her paralyzed. He eventually treats her paralysis but delays the treatment as it involves technology he did not invent himself, leaving Lena enraged that he expected her to be forever under his shadow. In 2016, DC Comics relaunched its books with "DC Rebirth", which restored its continuity to a form much as it was prior to "The New 52". Lex desperately tries to use Doctor Omen's Super-Man technology to cure Lena. It worsens her paralysis, improves her intellect, and develops a psychic link to her Mother Box. Lex is unaware that Lena created several binary clones of herself and Superwoman of Earth-Three, one of whom becomes Bizarress. Lena later uses the Mother Box's power to merge with one of Lex Luthor's exo-armors to gain mobility. The Lana Lang version of Superwoman defeats Lena and returns her to LexCorp. Lex locks up Lena as he vows to find a way to help his sister.
Lena Luthor II
After Crisis on Infinite Earths, Lena Luthor is the daughter of Lex Luthor and Contessa Erica Del Portenza. She is named after Lex's foster sister of the same name, who was killed by their foster father, Casey Griggs. After Lena's birth, Lex takes advantage of Contessa Erica's wish to be unconscious at childbirth by keeping her permanently drugged and unconscious at his corporate headquarters, not wishing to share his daughter's love with anyone else. When Brainiac 13 arrives from the 64th century, the modern Brainiac possesses the infant Lena to escape being deleted by his future self. Even after Brainiac leaves Lena's body, Luthor trades her to Brainiac 13 for control of the future technology that has transformed Metropolis. Lena returns to visit Lex Luthor during the Our Worlds at War event, where she has apparently been aged to adolescence by Brainiac 13. Lena plays a sneaky role during the event, helping Luthor and his allies defeat Imperiex by feeding her father information, while secretly manipulating events to benefit Brainiac 13. She is ultimately convinced at the end to side with her father. At the end of the crossover, Brainiac 13 and Imperiex are both destroyed, and Lena is regressed to infanthood and returned to her father by Superman, who tells Luthor that he now has a second chance to try to be a man instead of a god. In the Superman's Metropolis miniseries, the artificial intelligence controlling the B-13 technology believes itself to be Lena Luthor. When it creates a human body (female, but bald) to pursue a romantic relationship with Jimmy Olsen, Superman confronts her with the real Lena Luthor, making her realize her personality is a computer simulation of Lena's.
Other versions
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