6 Times Supergirl Improved DC Mythology (& 4 Times It Failed)

5. Has Shown Just How Vicious Lex Luthor Can Be

Supergirl Lex Luthor
The CW

Before Supergirl, the last live-action incarnation of Lex Luthor seen by audiences was Jesse Eisenberg’s so-so take on the villain in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. And to label the reaction to Eisenberg’s Lex as so-so would be a massive understatement.

When Jon Cryer was cast as Supergirl’s Lex Luthor, a few eyebrows were raised at the prospect of the Two and a Half Men star playing Superman’s iconic nemesis. But when Cryer’s Lex got to go full Lex towards the end of Supergirl’s fourth season, the end result was gloriously sinister.

Audiences had been quietly waiting for Lena Luthor to embrace the dark side – something that has been fully flirted with during Supergirl’s ongoing fifth season – yet it was the appearance of Cryer’s scenery-devouring Lex that showed exactly why the Luthor name is one to be feared.

Michael Rosenbaum famously gave a fantastic, multi-layered Lex Luthor in Smallville, but that version of Lex was more about his journey to villaindom. In Supergirl, we have been spoiled with a Lex who is loud ‘n’ proud of his spot as one of the most deceptive and evil beings on the planet – to the extent that Jon Cryer’s Luthor made himself terminally ill, just so that he could toy with his sister.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.