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A dark-haired, elegant woman with blood-red lips and jade eyes strode into the dimly lit parlor and primly sat in a worn armchair to prepare for her interview. As a mic was attached to her shirt, the interviewer, Cat Grant, asked with feigned sincerity, “Are you ready for this?”
“As I’ll ever be,” Lena replied with a raised eyebrow as she adjusted her position in an attempt to get comfortable. “This is the part of the story that nobody knows, and until now, no one has cared to ask. Even my therapist has only heard pieces of it. That needs to change. Everyone knows of the infamous Madman, the things he did, but at one time he was just Lex, my big brother.”
Lena Luthor (sister of Lex Luthor) grew up in the lavish Luthor manor. When she was adopted at the age of 4, Lena met her new family for the first time.
Lena offered a sad smile. “The day I met Lex was the day I learned how to play chess. It is a wonderful game, isn’t it? Lex was even a good sport about it when I beat him 3 games in a row. That day I truly thought I would fit into my new family and that they would grow to care for me. Lillian gave me the cold shoulder, and Lionel disappeared into his office, but Lex, he played with me for hours. I thought perhaps I’d been missing out not having a sibling before. I thought it would be good, that he would be good.”
Lena had no inkling that her new brother would later become the Madman of Metropolis, but there had been signs.
“I honestly thought it was normal boy stuff, you know? Maybe it’s normal for young boys to fry ants with a magnifying glass, but Lex was always extra. He didn’t stop at ants and butterflies. He loved to torture small animals as well. He moved on quickly from fish, I imagine because they didn’t scream or squeal. Squirrels, opossums, rabbits, cats, and armadillos were all fair game. He enjoyed tying them up or stuffing them in bags to throw around. He even built an elaborate demolition sequence in an effort to blow up the gophers at the southwest corner of the estate.” Lena shook her head. “I’m telling you; it’s not normal.”
Lionel and Lillian attempted to reign in their son’s behavior.
“It’s no secret that my father was an alcoholic. He spent the majority of his time in his office drinking scotch or meeting with investors and drinking scotch or smoking cigars and drinking scotch. If we did anything to disturb this routine, there was hell to pay. When Lex needed discipline for embarrassing the family by getting into fights at school, there was a set formula: switch or belt. Lex was to quickly choose a large, sturdy switch from one of the old willow trees on the manor grounds. If he was too slow or the switch was too weak, a belt with a special buckle that seemed to be designed to break skin would be used instead.”
“The first time I had to listen to Lex’s screams I cried. Lillian caught sight of my tears and snarled at me, ‘Stop blubbering you ungrateful brat. I’ll give you something to cry about.’ She ordered me to bend over the sofa and drop my pants. I wasn’t always given the option of a switch, and she didn’t stop with the belt until the dripping blood hit the back of my knees. When I tearfully asked what I did wrong, she stood to her full 6’1” height and glared at me as if I should know the answer. ‘Luthors don’t cry,’ she spat and stormed away.”
Lex endeavored to share his love of harming animals.
“There was a 5-year-old boy named Hunter who lived about half a mile down the road from us. Lex often helped himself to their shooting range, and one day Hunter joined him with a new rifle. He was so excited to show off his new toy even though the boy had never actually gone on one of his father’s many hunting trips. While they were shooting foam targets, a baby rabbit hopped onto the lawn nearby. Lex encouraged Hunter to take the shot. The boy began to cry saying he didn’t want to kill it, but Lex insisted that he be a man and live up to his name. After endless prodding, the boy finally shot the rabbit. He crumpled onto the lawn and was inconsolable for hours. Lex simply laughed with that evil twinkle in his eye.”
Lena soon discovered that anything less than perfect was unacceptable.
“One day, I came home from elementary school to find Lillian waiting for me. Apparently, the principal had called her the moment I had gotten a B on an exam. Lillian grabbed the phone off the wall and screamed that she had better never receive a call like that again, and she smacked me in the face with the head of the phone. When I fell to the tiled floor of the kitchen, Lillian began kicking me and screaming obscenities at me. She kicked me across the length of the kitchen telling me how stupid I was. She kicked me through the pantry yelling that I would never amount to anything. Once I hit the wall of the bathroom on the other side of the pantry, she continued to kick me into the wall with notes on how fat and disgusting I was. I did my best not to cry, but then she kicked one of my teeth out. She told me I wouldn’t be needing it anyway; I was to go to my room and stay there without supper. I didn’t get supper the next night either. That was the day I understood with certainty that Lillian hated me. I thought I must be a very bad daughter and resolved to be better, but I never could be good enough.”
Lex and Lena made a chilling discovery.
“Lex wasn’t always the villain. Sometimes, he could put aside his morbid obsessions to play chess or ride horses. I think I was 8 or 9 when we were out horseback riding. I wanted to practice my jumps, but Lex had other plans. He wanted to ride past the borders of the manor. Ever the dutiful sister, I followed. Once we came upon the old highway, I knew we were much further than allowed, but who would know?”
“We rode alongside the road for several miles until we came upon a large bunch of garbage in the roadside ditch. I dismounted and grabbed a stick. I ignored Lex’s giggling as I approached the mass. When I poked it with the stick, it rolled to the side to reveal the profile of a man with maggots crawling out of his mouth. I yipped, threw the stick, and quickly got back on my horse. I turned to go straight back home, telling Lex that we needed to call the police. Lex insisted that we weren’t calling the cops, because we’d get in trouble for being there in the first place. I knew he was right, and there was no arguing with Lex when he used that tone. We got home without incident and never spoke of it again. Sometimes I wonder if that was the beginning of everything with Lex, his first taste of human death.” Lena shrugged and sighed.
Lex began to take his aggression out on Lena.
“That same year, Lex took up the mantle of berating me for my weight and beating me up for my supposed insolence. Truthfully, I think he was just angry at the world, and someone needed to pay for it. I was available. I remember we had a snowstorm early that year before the pool had been drained, so the pool had frozen over. I was sitting with my legs dangling watching the cutest little sky blue tree frog hop across the ice. Lex came up behind me and, of course, noticed the frog. He gingerly sat down next to me and stomped on the ice a few times in an obvious attempt to drown the poor frog. The ice cracked a bit but didn’t break. Lex huffed in frustration and shoved me onto the frozen pool. The ice quickly gave way, and I was submerged in the freezing water. I scrambled for the ladder, but Lex stomped on my fingers as I attempted to climb out. I begged him to help me as my lips turned blue, but he just burst out laughing. That, at least, gave me the opportunity to crawl out of the pool. I wonder if it would have even bothered him if I’d died that day. He would’ve lost his primary punching bag, so perhaps in that regard.”
Lena found solace in books.
“During the particularly bad days, I would escape to the forest on the manor grounds. I’d climb one of several favorite trees and simply read for hours. The trees were my safe haven. From one of the taller pines, I could see for miles in every direction as the wind swayed the branches, and those were the only times I truly felt at peace. On one such day, I heard a hog squealing in the distance. I ignored it at first, but when it persisted I looked in the direction of the noise. There was Lex, torturing the pig by humping it, his buddy, Otis, laughing hysterically next to him. From that distance, I couldn’t actually tell if his pants were down or not, but regardless, that sick fucker had sunk to a new low. I vomited in response. Needless to say, that particular tree was ruined for me.”
Lionel bought Lena a puppy.
“That year, Lionel gave me a miniature schnauzer puppy for my birthday. I was elated!” Lena smiled widely at the memory, displaying her dimples. “I named her Silverbell, Silver for short, due to her silvery coat. It didn’t take long for me to realize that Lex was jealous of the gift. On a number of occasions, I found myself distracting Lex by getting him to focus his ire on me rather than my dog. I was determined to protect her with my life.”
“One day, I discovered Lex in the kitchen with Silver in one hand and a lighter in the other. I don’t know what he had planned, but I lunged for my dog and pulled her out of his arms. Lex grabbed a butcher knife and swatted it towards me. I truly didn’t believe he intended to cut me. I was still so naïve. I screamed at Lex to leave us alone, please. He swung the knife at me several more times. The knife was so sharp that it took me a moment to realize what had happened. Several slashes appeared on my forearms and began dripping blood all over the tiled floor. Lex’s eyes went impossibly wide. He was just as surprised as I was, evidently. That’s when Lillian appeared.”
“’I knew this dog would be nothing but a dirty hindrance! Look at this mess! You’re getting the entire kitchen filthy! Now I’ll have to pay the maid overtime to have it deep cleaned, you fat, worthless mooch!’ She screamed. Lex put the knife in the sink and calmly walked out of the kitchen with a smug grin. ‘Give me the dog,’ Lillian demanded. ‘What? No!’ I cried. ‘I said, give me the goddamn dog, Lena.’ I hugged Silver tighter and shrank away from Lillian in the corner. She pried the dog out of my arms as I sobbed. She turned, held the puppy by her neck, and hurled her against the far wall with a sickening thud and a yelp. ‘Lionel shouldn’t have ever brought that mutt home. You did nothing to deserve it.’ She turned back to me and pointed her finger at the bloodied mass, and she ordered me to clean it up. I buried her in the backyard and never asked for another pet.”
Lena turned to other methods of coping.
“The butcher knife was in some ways enlightening for me. I realized that physical pain could, at least temporarily, dull the loneliness and heartache I felt on a daily basis in the Luthor home. Lionel had become more withdrawn and gave up disciplining Lex. He ignored us all in favor of drinking, and Lillian’s rages became more frequent. I’m embarrassed to say that around age 10 was when I began cutting. I once even carved ‘I hate Lex’ onto my arm as if I were enacting some vengeful curse upon him. The arm cutting only lasted until Lillian noticed. I gave the excuse that I had run through some thorny brambles, but I doubt she bought it. The last thing I needed was for her to have a good excuse to send me away permanently. From then on, it was only my upper thighs.”
Lex’s depravity only grew as the children got older.
“I had grown breasts by the time I was eleven. At first, I didn’t realize what a curse they could be. Lex began bursting into my room right when he knew I had just gotten out of the shower. I begged Lionel to let me get locks for my doors, but he refused. ‘What are you hiding anyway?’ he’d asked.”
“The first night Lex came into my room, I didn’t realize it was him at first. I thought maybe I was being kidnapped and was temporarily relieved. That was short-lived. Lex sat on my bed in the shadows. I asked him what he wanted, and he didn’t say anything. Then he laid down next to me. I told him to get off me and let me sleep, but then he started touching me. I screamed at him to get out of my room, but he still didn’t say a word and continued as if I weren’t pushing and hitting him. As I screamed at him again, Lex jumped up and ran out through my bathroom, because we both had heard Lillian storming down the hallway.”
“She slammed my door open. ‘Why the fuck are you screaming in the middle of the night? Don’t tell me you’re having nightmares at your age!’ she bellowed. I began crying and told her that Lex was touching me in places. She sneered at me. ‘That’s just what boys do, you stupid slut! I’ll give you something to cry about!’ She marched over to my bookshelves and began picking up every decorative vase, music box, and knickknack she could get her hands on and hurtled them at me. She moved on to the books screaming at me for being a slut and a whore, tearing out pages and lobbing the books at my head. Then she opened my closet and began ripping apart my best dresses. When Lillian was satisfied that I had nothing nice to wear left, she moved to my dresser, grabbed a pair of my underwear and shoved them in my mouth to stifle my sobs. As she turned to leave, she said, ‘I don’t want to hear about this again.’”
“I never did make a sound over it again. While Lillian was throwing my things at me, I noticed one item was particularly painful. It was a solid sculpture of a sandcastle that Lionel had gotten on some Greek island. It had a hefty weight to it and was well-made. That was the first time I attempted to commit suicide. Being a child, I had no idea what I was doing. I pounded the sandcastle against my head until I blacked out. Waking up the next morning to a bloody head and tornado-ravaged room was a huge disappointment.”
Lena strikes back.
“With high school I became as busy as humanly possible. I only slept 2 or 3 hours at night as I was busy studying, and evenings were spent participating in various activities such as debate club, Key club, chess tournaments, and fencing. Since I was home less, I was slightly less miserable, but oh did I dread the summer. Lex had become obsessed with guns, swords, knives, and the history of said weapons. That’s when he began collecting them. I had become truly terrified of Lex and had no one to turn to.”
“That summer, we were fighting. I don’t even remember what we were fighting about, but I do remember laying on the floor curled up as Lex kicked me repeatedly. I heard two of my ribs crack. Lex must have heard it too, because he left the room briefly. I took the opportunity to call 9-1-1, certain that I was possibly about to be murdered when I saw Lex returning with a sword in one hand and a bat in the other. I quickly hung up the phone just as the operator answered. The operator called right back, and Lionel answered the phone. After assuring them that everything was fine, he hung up the call and went after Lex. Lionel clocked Lex hard across the jaw and sternly ordered him, ‘Don’t ever make me answer a call like that again,’ and he returned to his office, slamming the door.”
“Naturally, Lex was furious with me. He dropped the sword, clenched the bat, ran toward me, and hit a home run with my skull. For a few moments, I saw nothing but blackness. Then I saw red and went on the offensive. I marched upstairs, climbed to the top of my father’s closest, pulled out his revolver, made certain it was loaded, and returned to the parlor. I took aim at Lex. I made a point of taking the safety off, and Lex froze. It was the only time I had seen Lex truly afraid. I could tell he was yelling at me to put he gun down, but I couldn’t hear him. I had to protect myself, and he was never going to stop until I ended up dead. Lex finally got the hint and took his weapons back to his room. It took me hours to calm down.”
“To Lex’s many victims, to those who have suffered at his hands, I want to say that I am truly sorry for not taking the opportunity I had that day. I was only 14, but that moment remains my biggest regret in life.”
Lena went to college at the age of 17 and excelled away from the Luthor family.
“I got a full ride to MIT, and I suppose you already know about my academic career. I did well for myself and met my first love, Andrea, in my Junior year. That was the same year that Lex was arrested. He was found guilty of 24 counts of kidnapping and rape and 19 counts of murder in the first degree. It hasn’t escaped my notice that his victims looked eerily similar to me. They all had dark hair and light colored eyes. Andrea was horrified by what my brother had done and couldn’t stand to look at me. She behaved as if I had betrayed her by being related to him. I hope she sees this interview. Hopefully, she’ll understand that I was his victim too. Though I know I’m not responsible for this actions, I’m still haunted by them, and I carry with me an obscene amount of guilt for what I couldn’t prevent.”
Lex Luthor is serving 5 life sentences at the Colorado Federal Maximum Security Prison. Lena Luthor gets her happily ever after.
“I met the love of my life, Kara Danvers, following the dismantling of LuthorCorp. We’ve been married for 6 years now, have three beautiful children, and I couldn’t be happier. To my lovely wife, I just want to say thank you for supporting me during my ups and downs, and thank you for encouraging me to do this interview. You were right; it’s been cathartic. I love you now and always!” Lena blew a kiss at the camera with a small giggle.