They say all great friendships last forever. Well, the friendship between Lena Luthor (Katie McGrath) and Supergirl a.k.a Kara Zor-El/Danvers (Melissa Benoist) is on shaky ground. And yes, Kryptonite played a role. Like all Super Family fans know, Kryptonite is a taboo topic amongst the characters of the famed superhero family.
Over the years, Kryptonite has bee seen to serve as a problem for Superman and other surviving Kryptonians. The often green gem-like rock can weaken and possibly kill any Kryptonian if one is subjected to it for too long. In Supergirl, Kara and her cousin Superman a.k.a Kal-El/Clark Kent (Tyler Hoechlin) have a real problem with Kryptonite.
Creating Kryptonite
It’s revealed in Season 3 of the show, the Mars alien J’onn J’onzz (David Harewood) had named the substance and had a falling out with Clark over it. During Season 3, Lena reveals to boyfriend James Olsen (Mechad Brooks) that she learned how to make Kryptonite. However, unlike her half-brother Lex, she claims to have a good reason for creating the substance from basically nothing.
When the Worldkiller Reign (Odette Annable) begins wrecking havoc in National City, Lena puts the pieces together and learns the Worldkiller is her friend, Samantha Arias. Sam doesn’t know she’s Reign but learns the truth after Lena does tests. Lena claims she created the Kryptonite to keep Reign at bay. She also says she wouldn’t use her Kryptonite to do evil the way Lex did.
Kara, because of her experience with Kryptonite, goes off the deep end. She tells Lena that Kryptonite could kill her. Lena calls Supergirl a hypocrite because of her views.
Friendship Is A Lie?
Season 3 dives into Lena learning her new friend Sam is a Worldkiller, but it doesn’t dive into Lena learning who her best friend (Kara) is. In Season 2, it was revealed that Lena’s stepmother, Lillian (Brenda Strong) knew who Kara was. When Kara asked why she hasn’t told Lena, Lillian responds Lena will learn the truth eventually. She does on to say when Lena does, she’ll hate Kara.
What’s more, Season 3 sees Lena dating Kara’s friend and former boyfriend, James Olsen. While Kara and James realised they would never work as a couple, Lena dating James isn’t really stabbing Kara in the back.
When Kara returns to her civilian persona, Lena bags out Supergirl in front of her. Without a doubt, that would have hurt Kara’s feelings. She wouldn’t have been allowed to show how she felt.
Upon the discovery of Argo City survived Krypton’s explosion, Kara goes to spend infinite time with her mother who is revealed to be alive. Despite her superhero persona’s misgivings with Lena, Kara says what she believes to be her goodbyes to her friends at CatCo. This includes giving Lena a goodbye hug.
It would have been torture for Kara to have to do this when she knew what Lena thought of her alter ego.
Could Lena Become The Next Lex?
Lex was a twisted dude. There’s no denying that. So was Lillian who is his mother. However, Lena doesn’t have a mean bone in her body. However, she’s a cunning actress who can fool anyone including her mother.
Because she’s a Luthor, everyone underestimates Lena and thinks she’s like her brother and mother. Despite not being an evil wack job like Lex, Lena is intelligent like him. She’s also strategic and doesn’t hesitate to do what she believes is the right thing. However, she feels guilty something doesn’t go the way she planned. Lex, on the other hand, will do whatever is necessary to get what he wants.
Lena might have Luthor genes, but it’s still possible she could follow her brother without realising what she’s doing.
What Comes After Reign?
Lena was the driving force behind separating Sam from Reign. She found out what was wrong while Alex (Chyler Leigh) couldn’t. This was due to the fact she had more advanced tech than the DEO.
We know Lena’s relationship with Kara’s Supergirl is still rocky. However, her relationship with James is going strong. While we don’t know where her storyline will go next season we do know one thing. She’s going to research the Harun-El, but without the knowledge of the DEO.
Conclusion
So, could Lena become Supergirl’s version of Lex? There’s a possibility given her past. However, Lena may not follow in her wicked brother and stepmother’s footsteps. Depending on what the writers of the show have in mind for the character, it’s only a matter of time if we see Lena become the Supergirl version of her brother.