Arrowverse producer Marc Guggenheim says Supergirl will continue to explore Lex Luthor’s future after Crisis on Infinite Earths. The CW’s massive DC TV crossover concluded this week, bringing the Arrowverse’s many superheroes together to coexist on the newly formed Earth-Prime. That means Kara Danvers (Melissa Benoist) and the rest of National City’s citizens now live on the same earth as The Flash, Black Lightning, Batwoman, the Legends of Tomorrow, and what’s left of Team Arrow. But it wasn’t all good news for the Girl of Steel.
Shortly after waking up in her apartment on Earth-Prime (following her and the other six Paragons’ battle with the Anti-Monitor at the dawn of time), Kara discovered Lex Luthor (Jon Cryer) had not only managed to wipe his slate clean, but is actually a Noble Prize winning do-gooder in this brave new world. As one of the few remaining people who know the truth about him (along with everyone else whose memory was restored by J’onn J’onzz), Kara finds herself in a very strange position. It also begs the question: what comes next for the diabolical Lex?
Speaking to Variety in a post-Crisis interview, Guggenheim admitted “That’s really a question for the ‘Supergirl’ showrunners. I went to them, I said we’re going to do a reboot, we’re going to combine the universes, anything you want to introduce to your shows, now is a really, really good time”. He went on to explain the idea of Lex being a respected citizen of National City on Earth-Prime (and owning the DEO through LexCorp, no less) was something Supergirl showrunners Robert Rovner and Jessica Queller came up with, adding “We were all really excited about it”.
After seasons of teasing his arrival, Lex was finally introduced to the Arrowverse in the latter half of Supergirl season 4. Fans were by and large impressed with Cryer’s performance as the charismatic megalomaniac, so his extended role in Crisis on Infinite Earths came as a welcome development when the crossover began last month. It appears he will continue to stir things up on the show moving forward, with the trailer for Supergirl season 5’s second half teasing Kara’s struggle to deal with her newly-appointed boss. She’s not the only one, either; as seen in the preview, Lena Luthor (Kate McGrath) is also shocked to wake up on Earth-Prime and find Lex alive and well, after having shot him at the end of season 4.
Since Lena remembers shooting Lex, that presumably means she remembers everything else that happened pre-Crisis, and will remain on the outs with Kara when Supergirl resumes. It would’ve been easy for the show to hit the reset button on the Kara-Lena storyline after Crisis, so it’s good to see that’s not happening. Instead, the Girl of Steel will have to juggle finding a way to repair her damaged relationship with her friend while trying to figure out what Lex is plotting to do now. That alone should keep her busy for the foreseeable future.
Supergirl continues with “The Bottle Episode” on Sunday, January 19.
Sorce: Variety
