Lillian Luthor: Lex's mother at the head of Project Cadmus

Who is Lillian Luthor? Lex's mother in the Supergirl series

Lillian Luthor is a character from the TV series Supergirl. On the show, she is the wife, then the widow, of Lionel Luthor, the biological mother of Lex Luthor and the adoptive mother of Lena. Brenda Strong plays her from season 2 to season 6, in other words from 2016 to 2021. Depending on the source, she appears in 23 or 24 episodes. The role is recurring in seasons 2, 4 and 5, while she is only credited as a guest star in seasons 3 and 6.

If her name rings a bell, it may be thanks to Desperate Housewives (2004-2012), where Brenda Strong lends her voice to Mary Alice Young, the narrator. She also played Ann Ewing in Dallas, from 2012 to 2014. In the French dub, Lillian is voiced by Françoise Cadol. In the story, her place is clear-cut: she stands in the Luthor camp, opposite Supergirl, the show's heroine.

A nameless scientist, from Metallo to the “Crossfire” reveal

The series doesn't present Lillian as a Luthor right away. In 2x01, “The Adventures of Supergirl” (“Le Monde à ses pieds” in the French version), aired October 10, 2016, on The CW in the United States, she's just a Cadmus scientist with no name. She recovers a critically injured John Corben and turns him into Metallo using kryptonite. In France, this season arrived on Série Club starting November 1, 2017, then on CStar on March 3, 2018.

The new weapon goes into action the very next week. In 2x02, “The Last Children of Krypton,” aired October 17, 2016, in the United States, two Metallos go after Supergirl and Superman, played by Tyler Hoechlin. In between fights, Cadmus hacks the screens of National City to declare war on aliens.

You have to wait until the end of 2x05, “Crossfire” (“À armes inégales” in French), aired November 7, 2016, in the United States, to understand who she is: the head of Cadmus is Lena Luthor's mother. Her full name is spoken in front of Supergirl two episodes later, in 2x07.

Project Cadmus existed before Lillian Luthor

Lillian Luthor runs Cadmus, but she didn't found it. In the series, the lab is already mentioned in season 1, in 1x17 “Manhunter,” aired March 21, 2016, on CBS in the United States. At that point, it's an organization tied to the US government, where Jeremiah Danvers is being held prisoner.

Lillian joins it after Lex is convicted, takes charge of it and cuts its ties with the government. The lab becomes a terrorist organization aimed at aliens, against the backdrop of the Alien Amnesty Act, the law signed by President Olivia Marsdin. So remember the order of things: the lab first, Lillian second.

The name, on the other hand, comes from the comics. The comic-book Project Cadmus has existed since 1970, without any Lillian at its head. The series keeps the name, not the story: its Cadmus builds Metallo and brings Hank Henshaw back to life, two characters who, in the comics, don't owe their origin to it.

Why Lillian Luthor hates Superman

Where does all that rage come from? Lillian explains it to Supergirl, whom she's holding prisoner, in 2x07 “The Darkest Place” (“Au cœur de Cadmus” in the French version), aired November 21, 2016, in the United States. She blames Superman for her son's life sentence, handed down after Lex went after him, and sees every alien as a threat. Speaking to CBR, Brenda Strong describes a “Mama Bear,” a mother convinced she's saving the world. To lure Kara, Lillian had Mon-El captured. She then forces Supergirl to burn through her powers, slaps her and takes a sample of her blood.

When it comes to Superman, she works through others. Lillian has no superpowers: her weapons are her scientific and medical genius, kryptonite and, on occasion, a suit of armor. So she targets the hero from a distance, with the Metallos of 2x02, Lex's vault or the secrets of the Fortress. There's no known one-on-one fight between them on screen. Yet they do end up in the same room in 2x22: Lena brings Supergirl and Superman to L-Corp, where she and Lillian show them a device designed by Lex. It's a four-person meeting, not a showdown.

Cyborg Superman, Medusa and Exodus: the weapons of Cadmus

Episode 2x07 also reveals the muscle of Cadmus, Cyborg Superman. Beneath the metal hides the real Hank Henshaw, the former director of the DEO, whom Cadmus brought back to life. Watch out for the casting trap: David Harewood plays this Henshaw, but also J'onn J'onzz, the Martian who had taken on his appearance in season 1.

Kara's blood then allows Henshaw to get into the Fortress of Solitude and steal the data for the Medusa project, a biological weapon designed by Zor-El, Kara's father. In 2x08 “Medusa” (“L'Arme parfaite” in the French version), aired November 28, 2016, in the United States, Lillian wants to use it to kill the aliens of National City. Lena pretends to side with her, neutralizes the virus and has her arrested.

Cadmus strikes again with Operation Exodus, in 2x14 “Homecoming” and 2x15 “Exodus,” aired February 27 and March 6, 2017, in the United States. Thanks to Jeremiah Danvers, the lab gets hold of the alien registry kept by the DEO and plans to ship the aliens off into space. Supergirl stops the ship from jumping into hyperspace.

Lena, the adopted daughter, between betrayal and alliance

In Supergirl, Lena knows she was adopted, but she has no idea where she comes from. In 2x12 “Luthors” (“L'ADN des Luthor” in the French version), aired February 13, 2017, in the United States, Metallo breaks Lillian out during her trial. She then uses Lena's DNA to open one of Lex's vaults, filled with technology designed to fight Superman. It's also in this episode that she tells Lena she is Lionel's biological daughter, born from an extramarital affair. Lex is her son by blood; Lena isn't.

Their relationship stays murky. During the Daxamite invasion, in 2x21 “Resist” and 2x22 “Nevertheless, She Persisted,” aired May 15 and 22, 2017, in the United States, Lillian and Henshaw team up with Supergirl for a while to save Lena. They go through the Fortress's Phantom Zone projector, then try to betray Kara. In the end, Lillian helps Lena and Winn fine-tune Lex's device, which spreads lead through the atmosphere to drive out the Daxamites.

In 3x12 “For Good,” aired January 29, 2018, in the United States, she sets out to kill Morgan Edge, who poisoned Lena, and fights in a Lexosuit-style suit of armor before being arrested.

Facing adult Lex, then the Earth-Prime Lillian through the finale

In season 2, Lex only appears as a child, in flashbacks. As an adult, he doesn't show up until season 4, played by Jon Cryer, and the first scene bringing together the mother and her grown son dates from May 2019. Lillian is serving her sentence at that point and grows closer to Lena over games of chess. In 4x21 “Red Dawn,” aired May 12, 2019, in the United States, Lena gets her out of prison for a while to extract the Harun-El. In 4x22 “The Quest for Peace,” aired May 19, 2019, in the United States, Lex invites them to the White House to show them the Claymore satellite, meant to destroy Argo.

The Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover then reshuffles the deck. On the Earth-Prime of seasons 5 and 6, Lillian has never been to prison: she runs the Luthor Foundation and works alongside Lex against Leviathan, starting with 5x10 “The Bottle Episode,” aired January 19, 2020, in the United States. Cadmus is no longer part of her life.

Her end comes in the last two episodes, aired the same night in the United States, on November 9, 2021. In 6x19 “The Last Gauntlet,” Nyxly mortally wounds her while she is protecting Lex. In 6x20 “Kara,” the finale, she dies at Lena's side.

In the comics, Lillian Luthor is Lex's aunt

If you're looking for Lex's mother in the comics, you won't find a Lillian. In the Silver Age, on Earth-1, she's called Arlene Luthor and appears in Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #23 (February 1961 cover date, Jerry Siegel and Kurt Schaffenberger), first under the name Arlene Thorul. More recent stories call her Leticia, sometimes Letitia.

The comic-book Lillian Luthor is Lex's aunt, Lionel's sister, the one who took Lena in. She appears in a flashback in Phil Jimenez's Superwoman #6, cover-dated March 2017 and released on January 11, 2017, without the slightest connection to Cadmus.

The comic-book Project Cadmus has a completely different history. Jack Kirby created it under the name “DNA Project” in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #133, cover-dated October 1970 and released on August 25, 1970. In the 1990s comics, under Paul Westfield's leadership, it creates the clone Superboy, first made from Westfield's DNA, then tied, through a rewrite of his origin, to that of Superman and Lex Luthor. On the page, Lex builds his power through his industrial empire. Metallo, for his part, debuted in Action Comics #252 (May 1959 cover date), and Hank Henshaw became Cyborg Superman in The Adventures of Superman #500 (June 1993 cover date), written by Dan Jurgens.

Smallville and Superman & Lois: two more Lillians on screen

It's Smallville that first gives the name Lillian to Lex's mother. Created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar and played by Alisen Down, this Lillian Luthor first appears in “Memoria,” episode 3x19, aired April 28, 2004, in the United States. She's the mother of Smallville's Lex and the wife of Lionel. In the story, she died in 1993, and the series reveals that she smothered her baby, Julian, an act Lex had taken the blame for. She has no connection to the Cadmus labs that Lex buys in the series.

Superman & Lois shows yet another Lillian, played by Nesta Chapman in flashbacks in 4x05 “Break the Cycle,” aired October 28, 2024, in the United States. She's an abusive mother who, along with Lionel, mistreats young Lex, and she has nothing to do with Cadmus either. Only the Supergirl Lillian takes charge of Project Cadmus.

Conclusion

Lillian Luthor belongs first and foremost to the Supergirl series: a mother who can't forgive Superman for Lex's imprisonment, takes charge of a Cadmus she didn't found and sends Metallo, then Cyborg Superman, after Kara. She dies at Lena's side in the last episode.

Elsewhere, the same first name belongs to an aunt in the comics, a late mother in Smallville and an abusive mother in Superman & Lois. To place these stories, find all the Superman series in order, and for the daughter who ends up standing up to her, discover the story of Lena Luthor.