Lionel Luthor
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Lionel Luthor is the name of Lex Luthor's father in the Smallville television series. Lex's father also made several appearances or mentions in the original Superman comics upon which the show is based, though his name there was never given as being "Lionel."
The comics
In the Silver Age era Superman comics, Lex's father Jules was a fairly nondescript individual who moved his family to Smallville, where his son Lex became friends with Superboy. However, after Lex turned to a life of crime, Lex's father disowned his son, moving with the rest of his family (which included his wife Arlene and Lex's young sister Lena) out of Smallville and, in shame, changing their last names to "Thorul," an anagram for "Luthor."
Following John Byrne's 1986 revamp of Superman's origins, Lex's parents' backstory was altered so that Lex's father and mother were killed in an automobile accident perpetrated by their son. Lex had taken out a large life insurance premium on the couple, which he used to launch his conglomerate LexCorp.
With the 2004 comic series Birthright, Lex's family history has been altered yet again, incorporating elements similar to the Smallville television show as well as Silver Age aspects and fusing them with the family story provided in Byrne's revamp. Now according to Superman canon, Lex killed his parents, but hired an actor to play his father, Lionel, when he moved to Smallville.
In Teen Titans (3rd series) #26, a flashback shows Lex Luthor naming the Superboy clone "Project Lionel", after his father. However, this scene takes place in Superboy's mind, so is not reliable, especially as Luthor is portrayed as the familiar bald figure, whereas at the time the flashback is set, he had shoulder-length hair and a beard (looking, in fact, not unlike Glover's Lionel).
Smallville
In the Smallville TV series, in which he is played by John Glover, Lionel Luthor is very different from his comic book counterparts, who were fairly quiet and low-key individuals. Lionel has some of the characteristics of the comic book Lex and was the one to have his parents (one of them named Lachlan Luthor) killed with the help of criminal Morgan Edge.
Lionel Luthor is a sociopath; lying and deceit are his most powerful weapons. He also uses his abundance of wealth and his twisted mind to devise numerous plans to obtain what he wants -- because what Lionel Luthor wants, Lionel Luthor gets.
This proves to be true most of the time, except when it comes to Clark Kent and the mystery of the Kawatche caves. Luthor does all he can to figure out who Clark Kent really is and, more importantly, where he came from. He, like most others in Smallville, hasn't had any luck deciphering either Kent or the caves.
It is of some debate whether or not Lionel knows about Clark's abilities. In an episode, Clark uses his superior strength in front of a supposedly blinded Lionel. It was later revealed that Lionel faked his blindness for some period of time after regaining his sight. More recently it has been revealed (Ep. 100, Reckoning) that Lionel does in fact know about Clark's secret abilities.
Clark Kent and the caves were Lionel's primary missions, along with other usually business-related schemes. Unfortunately, Lex is also a victim of Lionel, as Lionel frequently puts Lex in harm's way under the motive of "making Lex stronger." Though there are rare moments in which he wants to get even with Lex for his disloyalty and disobedience.
Lex has survived many attempts on his life and his business, no thanks to his father. All Lex really wants from Lionel are the things that Lionel finds foreign: kindness, respect, and love.
In several episodes he is shown to have a romantic affection to Martha Kent, who reminds Lionel of his late-wife Lillian.
Recently in Smallville, Lionel had a transformation into a good man...or so it appears. Lex doesn't believe the change is real, but Lionel tries to prove it to him with wise advice and genuine concern. He has given up his more recent mission to find stones that will give him copious knowledge, a mission that Lex is now bent upon.
As much as Lex tries to be his own person, there are signs that he will become what he has always fought against becoming: his father. Only time will tell if Lionel has truly changed into an honest citizen, and whether it is too late for Lex to make the same metamorphosis.
In the finale of season four, Lionel revealed his deceitful nature once again, blackmailing Lex to give him the stone owned by Lana Lang or else he would reveal Lana's killing of Genevieve Teague. Lex refuses. While Lex later tries to bargain with his father over the stones, the stone in Lionel's pocket gives off a massive force of energy, putting Lionel in a coma. Lex orders his men to place Lionel in an upstairs bedroom, fully expecting him to die in the upcoming meteor shower. Before departing, Lex tells Lionel that he is now the son Lionel raised him to be. However, Lionel is discovered to have survived the meteor shower, and is now instilled with all the knowledge of Krypton due to the stone in his pocket.
He later became a host for Jor-El, as he saved Clark's life and restored his powers. In episode 100, he instigated Jonathan Kent's heart attack when Lionel shows Jonathan a picture that will "destory their family" if it ever got out. In a recent episode, a woman bent on killing Lionel throws him from his penthouse office. Clark used his super-speed to catch Lionel and pull him back inside. At the end of the episode "Cyborg" Lionel makes a promise to himself that Clark's secret will stay with him, this might be due to the fact that Jonathan Kent's heart attack and subsequent death was due to his interference. Lionel's exact wording is "Your secret is safe with me...Kal-El". No time during the season(s) has any information been passed that Lionel would know Clarks Kryptonian name (Kal-El), so it is assumed Lionel still retains the Kryptonian knowledge that was passed to him through one of the stones or he is a vessel for Jor-El to use.
After Jonathan's death, his affection for Martha is growing. Right now, he is one of at least eight people so far to know at least part of Clark's secret.bs:Lionel Luthor