Lionel Luthor quotes from Smallville

Lionel

What's going on? What the hell are you doing?

Seizing the moment, Dad. Just like you taught me. Now, what's your problem with me this time, old man?

Lionel

It was your offer to hold a fundraiser at LuthorCorp Plaza, then you go behind my back and cancel the whole thing. Why would you do that?

"Because helping those who refuse to help themselves is a waste of time and money, son!" Isn't that what the old Lionel Luthor used to say?

Lionel

I've changed. People change, Lex.

No, they don't. They just get soft. Like you.

Lex

Look, whatever I've done in the last few days...

Lionel

Please, no need for an apology. Quite the contrary. I must say, you finally proved yourself to be the son I've always wanted, and I thank you for showing me so clearly the error of my ways.

Lex

What are you talking about?

Lionel

I'm closing down the foundation immediately.

Lex

What? You can't. The charity is your life.

Lionel

Just a foolish dream. I'm awake now. A man can't deny his true nature, can he, Lex? No. We're Luthors.

Lionel

You know, there were other treasure seekers in China, Genevieve.

Genevieve

A farm boy, an ex-cheerleader, and Lex Luthor. Who do you think ended up with the prize?

Lionel

Well, my son hasn't been listening to me. What do you want me to do, give him a good spanking?

Lionel

Parenthood. It's an interesting phenomenon, isn't it? The lengths we go to... to protect our children. No limits.

Genevieve

[choking] What have you done to me?

Lionel

The wine you've just drunk will kill you in a matter of minutes. I'm told that the pain will be excruciating. How about a trade? You give me the stone that you stole from Bridgette Crosby, and I give you... the antidote. One more thing... you go near my son, and anything that happens to him happens to you. Is that understood?

Lionel

I know about Clark. Chloe Sullivan has supplied me with all the information I need: his true identity, the powers he possesses and uses. I know he's vulnerable to kryptonite. Accept my support, and I can guarantee you a seat in the senate.

Jonathan

And what happens if I don't accept?

Lionel

The truth about Clark will come out in any case. The only difference is how he'll be treated when we run the tests. He can either be a distinguished guest or strapped down, helpless like a lab rat. It's your choice.

Lex

Dr. Litvack told me the odds of survival I had going into surgery. Pretty reckless roll of the dice, don't you think?

Lionel

On the contrary, son. What I did may appear callous, but opting for my son to have surgery was a deliberate decision.

Lex

But it wasn't your decision to make, was it? You went against the doctors' advice not because you wanted to save me, but because you couldn't bear having a cripple for a son.

Lionel

You may hate me for taking the risk, but I had to make a choice. And you're alive, and you can walk. I had to give you that chance.

Lex

And what if I hadn't made it? How would you have justified your decision then? How dare you play God with my life.

Lionel

It must be humbling to pull all those strings and find out they're attached to nothing.

Lex

Especially when your father's the one holding the scissors.

Lionel

What good is having a family if they don't watch out for each other?

Lex

On the off chance that unshakable family loyalty fails, there's always those Luthor closets to rummage through.

Lionel

All right, let's skip the prologue, Lex. What ancient skeleton do you think you've dug up this time?

Lex

Well, it's not quite a skeleton yet. More like a freshly laid corpse... I wonder how Martha Kent would feel if she knew you had a secret meeting with her husband right before he died. Now, a transgression like that would test the virtues of even the most forgiving woman.

Lionel

It was you, Lex. I know it.

Lex

What?

Lionel

Disabling my limo in the path of an oncoming train. You know that kind of melodrama went out of style with silent movies.

Lex

I may not like you very much, Dad, but you're a valuable asset to LuthorCorp. Killing you would hurt the bottom line.

Lionel

Your concern is truly touching.

Hello, Lionel. How does it feel to be helpless?

Lionel

I'll let you know if it ever happens.

Lex

Lincoln Cole. That was the name of the man who did all this.

Lionel

You found him.

Lex

In a bar around the block. He was toasting your demise. Didn't care if he was caught, as long as you were dead. The authorities had to sedate him when he found out you weren't.

Lionel

Powerful men, son. We attract the occasional lunatic.

Lex

It wasn't insanity that drove him to that, Dad. It was you.

Lionel

We all make mistakes, son.

Lex

And yours almost cost Martha Kent her life.

Lionel

Well, I'm just thankful the elevator safety breaks slowed us down enough to survive the fall.

Lex

Yeah, you should be. Especially since Cole disabled them.

Lionel

That's enough to make a man believe in miracles. Isn't, son?

Lex

I don't suppose Clark had any thing to do with that divine intervention?

Lionel

I've been expecting you, Kal-El.

Clark

How long have you known?

Lionel

From the moment I held in my hand the crystal that helped to create your Fortress of Solitude.

Clark

The one that put you in a coma.

Lionel

Coma? I like to think of it as... a state of contemplative repose.

Clark

You've known my secret for almost a year.

Lionel

Yes.

Clark

Why haven't you done anything?

Lionel

What? Expose you to the world? A strange visitor from another planet? I've tried to tell you--I am not your enemy. To reveal your secret would change your destiny. And it would harm someone I care about very deeply.

Clark

You had a choice: To kill my mother or to kill yourself.

Lionel

I could never harm your mother. There was no choice.

Clark

Yeah. [pause] Unless you knew the gun wasn't loaded.

Lionel

You have no reason to believe anything I say. I realize that. I hope eventually you will come to trust me. I only want what's best for you and your mother, son.

Clark

[angrily] You don't call me that. Jonathan Kent was my father.

Lionel

No. I'm not trying to take his place.

Clark

You couldn't. My mother seems to think there may be some good in you, but I'm not so sure.

Lionel

It takes time, Clark. Maybe you will be.

Clark

Or maybe you'll just show your true colors. Secret or no secret, you stay away from my mother, or you'll wish I'd never saved your life.

Yeah, so go on, son, and avenge my death.

Lionel

Your father would never make you a murderer, Clark.

Kill him!

Clark

Jor-El wants me to kill the person who will be the vessel. Zod will possess a human form, destroy Earth just as he did Krypton. But I can't kill anyone. You of all people should know that.

Lionel

Clark, the real test of a hero is knowing when the greater good will be served by an evil act. To save the Earth, the cost of one life is the price that must be paid.

Clark

Even if that life is your son?