50 Best Lillian Luthor Quotes

Lex: Whereas I am now seeing the value of unvarnished truth.
Lillian: Two words I thought I would never hear applied to a Luthor.

Lillian: I'm not used to being summoned.
Chet: I held up my end of the bargain. People are afraid of these weapons. You got what you wanted.
Lillian: And what is it you now want, Mr. Miner?
Chet: [showing her a copy of CatCo magazine with Lena on the cover] One last score.
Lillian: You wanna take on Lena Luthor?
Chet: She's holding an event. National City's wealthiest will all be there, decked out in their finest diamonds and gold. It'll be the mother lode. Plus, you'll get that public dazzle you're looking for.
Lillian: The Luthors are smart, and dangerous. You don't wanna go up against them.
Chet: I took down Supergirl. I'm not afraid of some spoiled, rich brat.
Lillian: It's a mistake to underestimate her. You wanna attack that fundraiser, you do it with what you have.
[as she turns to leave, he draws his gun on her]
Lillian: Your cause is pure greed, Mr. Miner. Which is fine. I don't hold it against you. My cause is something far nobler. I'm fighting for my children. My son, my daughter. Their lives depend on the successful attainment of my goal. To end alien influence over our planet. I'm trying to save the world from an alien apocalypse. Do you really think I'm afraid of you?
[he lowers his gun]
Lillian: Take on Lena Luthor, and you do it at your peril.

Lillian: If this is so important, why don't you stay and help me?
Lena: Because I've got to find Lex. You don't happen to know where he is, do you?
Lillian: When you find out your child was plotting matricide, it tends to cast a pall over the relationship.
Lena: [feigning sympathy] Oh, did he hurt your feelings?
Lillian: Couldn't you just waterboard me like a normal person?

Lillian: You followed my breadcrumbs. More quickly, I expect, than your brother would have. I'm impressed. Now come give your mother a hug.

Lex: Have you come to say I told you so?
Lillian: Of course.

Lillian: The disappearing bullets were an inspired breadcrumb, don't you think? Worked like a charm.
Lena: What are you doing here, mother?
Lillian: What do you think? A man has been trying to assassinate my daughter. I came back to kill him.
Lena: [sarcastic] Oh, how sweet.
[normally]
Lena: Now what are you really doing here?

Kara: Brainy, what's up?
Querl: Definitely not me. I was grounded by Director Danvers. But while I was chained to my desk, not literally, I stitched together various images from surveillance at Vose's lab and ran them. The images were rudimentary and brought up 754,231 potential suspects. I checked each image with known associates and narrowed identification down to two. Otis and Mercy Graves. A brother and sister team.
Kara: Do you have a location?
Querl: Negative. However, I was able to identify an ex-employer who might be able to help you with an address.
Kara: Who's that?
[cut to her arriving at Albatross Bay as Supergirl]
Supergirl: [surprised] Lena.
Lillian: Oh, dear. I hope I didn't have that same expression when you showed up this afternoon.
Lena: No, mother. Your face was a mask of enigma, as usual.

Supergirl: So, what am I doing here?
Lillian: I need something from you. I need you to be human for a little while. I know from your fight with Red Tornado when you expel enough of your heat vision, you deplete the solar radiation in your cells, leaving you as helpless as any mere mortal. I designed this helmet to absorb the radiation.
Supergirl: You want me to solar flare? That's never gonna happen.
Lillian: I can't hurt you. But I can hurt him.
[shoots Mon-El in his leg]
Supergirl: No! Mon-El!
Lillian: Now we've been studying your friend. He's powerful, but has a very bad lead allergy. Say you'll do it and I'll let him live. Or I could just put one in his heart right now.
Supergirl: No! Okay, okay! I'll do it! Stop!
Mon: Please, don't.
Supergirl: I'm not gonna let you die. Give me the helmet.

Lillian: You missed a perfectly fine en passant capture opportunity. You're distracted. What's wrong?
Lex: She... apologized to her.
Lillian: Be clear with your pronouns, dear.
Lex: Lena apologized to Kara. To Supergirl. For the death of Jeremiah.
Lillian: I thought you put that behind you.
Lex: I did! The assassination of Jeremiah Danvers was the perfect chess move, but for the fact that it *maddeningly* drove Lena back to Supergirl! And the worst part is that I didn't even see it as a possibility. So, yes, Mother, I missed the en passant. I'm missing a lot of things. I'm slipping.

Lena: You're not buying this, Mother?
Lillian: Of course not. I've already poisoned his tea. If he'd stopped running his mouth long enough to take a sip, he'd be dead by now.

Lillian: Why don't we have a cup of tea while Lex tells us why he summoned us here?
Lena: He summoned us here to gloat.
Lex: You think so little of me, Lena. It hurts. I'm a sentimental guy. I didn't do all of this for me, I did it for us. I mean, look, we all know if I wanted you two dead, you wouldn't be treading on the presidential seal having a tea party. Everything I've done has been strategic to lead up to this very moment. The Luthor name cleared. Our family poised to take its rightful place in history.
Lillian: And what exactly are we poised to do?
Lex: Revolutionize energy worldwide. I'm rounding up aliens and harnessing their power to be used and sold; sort of like supercharged disposable batteries.
Lena: That's vile!
Lex: Vile and viable. As another world leader once said, "I don't see why men shouldn't be as cruel as nature."
Lillian: Try not to quote Hitler in public, dear. It'll hurt the brand.

Lillian: They should be dead. All aliens should be dead. You. You switched out the isotope. You made the virus inert.
Lena: I did. And I called the police.

Lex: And now, a toast... to incinerating the Man of Steel.
[Lillian declines the offered glass]
Lex: I promise there's no Polonium-210 in it, like you put in my tea. Killing your own son with ionizing radiation, now that is on brand.
Lillian: Cancer may have aged you prematurely, but you're still as sharp as ever. So, what's stopping you from shooting me and your sister?
Lex: Call me crazy, but I'm partial to my relatives. I just can't bear killing you guys.

Lena: Eve's testimony was the backbone of this case. Now that Lex has completely damaged her credibility, all her evidence is tainted. It's fruit of the poisonous tree. If I don't speak to the brainwashing charges, then he might go free.
Lillian: So let him! Your brother nearly threw everything away and revealed his true colors to the world, but through cleverness and sheer force of will, he has convinced the jury that he's a good man framed by an evil woman. That perception is good for the entire family.
Lena: The truth is good for the family.
Lillian: The truth is you did nothing to stop Lex until it was nearly too late. If you take that stand, you'll have to accept your guilt for every single thing you did by his side. And then the world will not only think Lex is evil, but they'll think you are, too, and the Luthor name will be as good as worthless.
Lena: It's time for a Luthor to do some actual good instead of just pretending to. If I have to risk my name to make sure my brother stays behind bars forever, then I will.
Lillian: It's not a risk. It's a certainty. Lex won't hesitate to take you down with him. And he knows better than anyone how to get under your skin.
Lena: Oh, I'm counting on it.

Lillian: Why didn't you let me kill him?
Lena: I found another way.
Lillian: There's no other way. You're a Luthor. You should be proud of it.
[a drone appears and turns into an advanced exo-suit]
Lillian: You're three steps ahead? I'm four.
Supergirl: [landing next to Lena] Suit's a bit much, don't you think?
Lillian: Says the girl in the cape.

Lillian: You're as naive as your daughter.
Jeremiah: I'll take that as a compliment.

Lillian: I asked you here because I wanted to let you know that I forgive you. That I still love you.
Lena: Only time you tell me you love me is when you need something from me.

Lillian: I know chess with me is a good time, but the love of the game can't be the only reason I've seen you twice in as many days.
Lena: The truth? It's James and the looming indictment. It made me think about my life, how much of it I've spent living on an island. I wanna reconnect, rebuild the relationships that I've lost. And yes, that does include you. For better or for worse, you're still my mother. Things weren't always rosy, but there were some good times. Even with Lex.
Lillian: It made me sad when the two of you became enemies. If I were still vengeful, I'd blame Superman for tearing this family apart. Okay, I'm still vengeful.
Lena: I don't know if it was all Superman. In my opinion, it was his relationship with Bruno Mannheim that started him down the wrong path.
Lillian: That miscreant? They were business partners, sure, but Bruno was only in it for the money laundering. It's a shame how he used your brother's business and then dumped him.
Lena: I didn't know Bruno laundered money through LuthorCorp. Is there anything in my books I need to worry about, since you know where all the bodies are buried?
Lillian: I guess it's time I educated you.

Lillian: What happened to all the things you told me you wanted to accomplish at L-Corp? Your technology has the capacity to change the world, build the future. You gave all that up to buy a vanity business? Talking heads who regurgitate the news? I can't understand it. Why would you want to be Cat Grant when you could be Lena Luthor? Let me do this. I know you, Lena. You loathe this man and wanna kill him as much as I do.
Lena: Even if that were true, I'd never act on it.
Lillian: Which is why you need your mother. It'll be done by the end of the night. And then maybe, we can finally work together. Hmm? Please let me prove to you how much I love you.

Mon: [blasting fire at Lillian] I'm sorry, did that hit you?
Lillian: Guess he got over his allergy to lead.

Lillian: You know, you really hurt me, Lena. No matter how hard I try to show it, you still doubt my love for you. Do you know of any other mother who would kill for her daughter?
Lena: [sarcastic] No, I don't. It's probably a good thing for society.
Lillian: Speaking of society, I've risked everything to come back here, but it was worth it. That man has picked on the wrong family.
Lena: I don't need your help, mother. If I wanted him gone, I would just do it myself.
Lillian: Oh, I'm well aware. I'll never forget the time Cindy Ryan stole your boyfriend. Took you months of planning, but you exacted your revenge. You outed her diary, publicly humiliated her, ruined her life. It was fantastic.
Lena: It was also the fifth grade, mother.
Lillian: There you go again, devaluing yourself. You know, Lex was brilliant, but he was a hothead. You're equally as fiendish, but savvier. You have a cold-blooded talent. You can plot three moves ahead. Use your brain. When you finally own that, you'll be great.
Lena: Other than Edge's obsession with me, I am great.

Lillian: I want it on the record that I'm resisting the urge to say I told you your obsession with the Kryptonians would end like this.
Lex: [sarcastic] I'm glad you held your tongue, Mother.

Lillian: Twice in one day. It's almost like we have a real mother-daughter relationship.
Lena: The Medusa virus. That's why you sent your goon here. For Isotope 454. You're in charge of Cadmus.
Lillian: Is this the part where you lecture me, like you'd lecture Lex?
Lena: No. What you said before, there was truth in that. Ask me for your help and I'll give it to you.
Lillian: It's that easy?
Lena: It's that easy.
Lillian: I didn't think you believed in the cause.
Lena: Then it's time to get to know your daughter a little better.

Clark: [to Kara] Hey. You're never gonna guess who wants to see us.
[in costume, they arrive at Lena's office]
Lillian: Of course the two of you would make an entrance.
Lena: Unfortunately, this is her on her best behavior.

Lillian: [to Lena] If you choose to partner with Lex, you won't risk your emotions because you already know you could never trust him.

Supergirl: So, what did you want?
Lillian: My daughter has a way to save us.
[Lena and Lilian lead Supergirl and Superman inside]
Lena: [showing them the box Lilian gave her] It's a device my brother invented to keep humans safe while irradiating the atmosphere with kryptonite. It would have made the planet uninhabitable for both of you.
Supergirl: Well, lucky my cousin put him in jail before he could make it work.
Lillian: And lucky for you, I found it.
Lena: I've been studying it, and I think I can convert it to irradiate the atmosphere with lead rather than kryptonite.
Lillian: Just a trace amount. Harmless to humans, but the atmosphere would become toxic to Daxamites. The aliens would be forced to leave, or stay and die.
Superman: All of them?
Lillian: Mm-hmm.
Lena: And they could never return. Even Rhea's son.
Supergirl: [more to Superman] Mon-El would have to leave Earth.
Lena: Did you know he was dating Kara Danvers?
Supergirl: Start working.

Lex: How does my narrative suit our beloved family name now?
Lillian: Far better than your sister's.
Lex: Hmm. From mass murderer to vindicated martyr in one fell swoop, and all I needed was me.
[chuckling]
Lex: I wasted so much time trying to buy, threaten, or brainwash people into doing what I wanted. But apparently, people love a guy who tells it like it is.
Lillian: Hmm.
Lex: The key is, if you can get them to buy it long enough, they stop being able to discern whether you're telling it like it really is or how you want them to believe it is.

Lex: I knew that fixing this planet would require big moves that not everyone would appreciate. So I took the advantage of Lena's delivery system to make sure that everyone in VR would always appreciate me, no matter what I do.
Lillian: And what about the people who were not in VR? The ones unenlightened to the goodness that is my son?
Lex: The satellites I launched during the Obsidian world tour are armed with sonic weapons poised to obliterate the minds of anyone who didn't get the I Love Lexi upgrade. My satellites will be aligned to beam the kill frequency in about five hours.
Lillian: I assume I will be safe without being brainwashed to love you, since I already do.
Lex: 'Course, Mother. There's a special doohickey with your name on it.
Lillian: And your sister. You can't kill her, either.
Lex: Why not? She killed me first.
Lillian: If you hurt your sister in any way, I will turn on you. And no amount of brainwashing will stop me. You'll be all alone, save for the sycophants you detest. Think of how tragic your father's demise was. Is that how you want to end up?
[giving him a firm slap on the cheek]
Lillian: Save your sister.

Young: [won chess game] I really like this game.
Lillian: Maybe you are a Luthor after all.

Lillian: Lena, I wasn't expecting you. All the reports say you were knocked unconscious. You were always prone to migraines. Is your head okay?
Lena: Spare me the concerned mother act. Just tell me where Lex is.
Lillian: Do you have to be so emotional? It's disappointing. I know you're upset that Lex outsmarted you. He hurt your poor little heart.
Lena: Well, at least I have a heart.
Lillian: An overrated organ. Romanticized by poets and frivolous women. You're no better than simpering Eve Tessmacher chasing Lex like a lovesick puppy.
Lena: So Eve is in love with Lex.
Lillian: Your brother gave you every opportunity to work with him. To come back into the fold, and you turned him down.
Lena: I will never be on the same side as you and Lex.
Lillian: Of course not. The only side you'll ever be on is the side of your friends. The Danvers sisters, Jimmy Olsen. Oh, what those besties would think if they knew what you've really been up to. Ah. I can only imagine what went down. Weeks helping Lex. Re-crafting the drug you claimed would save humanity. To save him. The two of you working side by side. I can smell your fear, Lena. Doing everything in your power to make sure your friends never find our your complicity. They would hate you. And then you'd find yourself utterly alone. Again.
Lena: This is foolish. You don't know anything. Because Lex has deserted you.
Lillian: I may be in prison, but I'm not the one who's going to be deserted.

Lena: Let me guess, you're having the President tied up in the Treaty Room?
Lex: Puppets don't need to be tied up, Lena. You just hang them up by their strings.
Lena: Well, why don't you put a blond wig on the President, and you sell him and Eve as a matching set?
Lillian: Now, now. You two play nicely. This the first family gathering we've had in ages, and I'd like to enjoy myself.
Lena: Your murderous son has duped the world into thinking he's Earth's hero. This is hardly Thanksgiving dinner.

Lillian: Lex is incapable of loving anyone but himself.

Lillian: Where are you going?
Lena: To confront Ben Lockwood.
Lillian: If he's taken the Harun-El, you should wait until I finish.
Lena: Oh, are you worried about me?
Lillian: Of course. I love you.
[soffing, as she realizes what she just said]
Lillian: There. You have gotten me to say it.

Lex: Friendship and loyalty to Supergirl was what prompted Lena to kill me.
Lillian: Your obsession with Kryptonians led to your demise once. Let's not create a repeat performance, hmm? On this planet, the Luthors are cool-headed. We plan, we implement, and we rise, together. Show your sister you believe in her. Support her efforts. She'll gravitate toward you and away from the Kryptonian. The question is... can you give up your pet vendetta and stay focused?
Lex: Are you really querying my strength of will, Mother? I'm a Luthor.
Lillian: Good. Now go make Lena your ally.

Lillian: "The Overman shall be the meaning of the Earth. Remain faithful to the Earth, and do not believe those who speak to you of otherworldly hopes."
Jeremiah: Nietzsche.
Lillian: Who better? His Superman was about us humans believing in ourselves instead of looking up the gods. This time, you're the only Superman we need.

Lillian: That chess board's been in the Luthor family for generations.
Lena: Did you come here to yell at me for not treating the family heirlooms with respect or to blame me for what's happening outside?
Lillian: How could you let that woman deceive you? I taught you to be a scientist; to question everything.
Lena: No, what you taught me was to doubt myself, to look for validation elsewhere. So much that I was willing to take it from the first mentor that offered it to me.
Lillian: I'm sorry.
[Lena scoffs]
Lillian: I am, Lena. When you came to visit me in jail, I honestly wanted to be a better mother to you. And every time I've had the opportunity to choose you over something else, I've chosen something else.
Lena: Well, congratulations on saying the first honest thing in your life.

Lena: It's a baby Truth Seeker, and I need the truth.
Lillian: You mean I can't lie?
Lena: Nope. My middle school boyfriend, Taylor.
Lillian: I paid him $14,000 to never speak to you again.
Lena: I knew it. Don't worry, I'm not gonna ask you if you love me. I already know the answer.

Lillian: So, Lena showed the alien a little humanity. What's wrong with that?
Lex: It pushes the limit. First, it's an apology. Then it's coffee before work. Next thing you know, they're playing Pictionary. That cannot happen!
[chuckling as he calms down]
Lex: I know what to do. I'll set up Supergirl.
Lillian: You already have a plan in place with Leviathan.
Lex: I did, but this is better. Why use a nuke to create a catastrophe to draw Leviathan out, when I can use a Sun-Eater to turn Lena against Kara Danvers in one stroke?
Lillian: I asked you if you had the strength of will, and you said, "Yes, Mother!". This is a display of weakness.
Lex: Not weakness, Mother. Inspiration.
[moving a chess piece]
Lex: Checkmate.

Supergirl: What are you doing here?
Lena: Funny, I could ask you the same question.
Supergirl: [to Lillian] I need to find Mercy and Otis Graves. They worked for Lex. And then for you. Cadmus.
Lena: Mercy was Lex's head of security.
Supergirl: And then turned state's evidence on him, betrayed him. Put him behind bars.
Lillian: So you think I'd help you as some sort of revenge? I'm not vengeful anymore. My heart's grown several sizes in here.
Lena: Says the Grinch who stole Christmas.

Supergirl: I'm curious about something. You know my real identity. But you never told Lena. Why is that?
Lillian: Eventually, she'll find out on her own. Find out that you've been lying to her all this time. And when she does? She'll hate you for it.
Supergirl: Oh, it's good to know you're consistent.
Lillian: Oh, don't act so hurt. Right now our interest are aligned, but when this is over, we go back to being enemies.
Supergirl: I look forward to it.

Lex: You're rather calm for a woman who just learned the entire multiverse has been obliterated. You do understand I'm not the son you raised?
Lillian: Perfectly. Would your Lillian have been frightened by world destruction? If so, you've upgraded.

Lillian: Are you all right?
Lex: [crushing a metal tube] I'd say I'm more than all right.
Lillian: [he telekinetically lifts and crushes a cinderblock] Now you're just showing off.
Lex: Not yet.
Lillian: [putting on a metal knuckle and firing a kryptonite beam into the wall, he inscribes the House of El sigil] To think you said you weren't obsessed with the Kryptonians.
Lex: [firing the knuckle again and blowing the sigil up] I told Lena that she had it right. Aliens shouldn't be Earth's saviors. A Luthor should. And now I will be. Leviathan is gone. Next, I'll get rid of the Kryptonian and all her friends, and then the non-believers. And once I fix this planet, I'll do what the Anti-Monitor failed to do. Fix every other planet in the universe.
Lillian: Uh, well, that sounds like a good plan. Please get back to the part about ridding this planet of the non-believers.
Lex: Leviathan intended to use Obsidian Platinum to kill people in VR. Instead, I used Obsidian to upgrade people's brains in perpetuity. A little thing I like to call I Love Lexi.
Lillian: That's very alliterative, dear.

Lena: Checkmate.
Lillian: You just love saying that to me, don't you?
Lena: I've let go of my anger, too, mother. I can't waste my energy on it.
Lillian: Right. You need all your energy to focus on saving the world. Although, all I've seen are the commercials for your image inducer. Making a mint hiding aliens in plain sight.
Lena: It's not political mother, it's just business. It helps fund my other research; the important kind.
Lillian: Ever the pragmatist.

Lillian: I admit I didn't expect your little performance to be so effective.
Lex: You underestimated me even more than I did, Mother.
Lillian: No one should have been able to Houdini themselves out of a situation like that.

Lillian: The case against you is ironclad. The Tessmacher girl's testimony will be damning. And every day you spend fruitlessly shaking your fist at the sky is another day the Luthor name gets dragged through the mud.
Lex: Mother, it almost feels as if you care more about the family name than freeing your son from bondage.
Lillian: I do. Our family has always achieved selfish aims by appearing selfless. If you take the stand and make a mockery of yourself in the face of insurmountable evidence, the world will see us for what we really are.
Lex: [angrily] Do you really have so little faith in me that you think I should agree to *rot* in prison? I will remind you, I have been in prison before. I have been shot and killed and risen from the dead before, and will not be subjugated again. You should know, I always have a plan.
Otis: Yeah, boss. Kablooey!
Lex: A legal plan, you imbecile.

Lillian: The past is the past. Best to focus on the future. In this world, the Luthors are revered. How do we maintain our status?
Lex: Well, of course, the first order of business is finding the Fortress of Solitude and destroying the Kryptonians.
Lillian: Why? Supergirl is your greatest ally.
Lex: Was, I'm afraid. Supergirl will remember the previous world as vividly as I do. Soon it will be war. We need to be prepared. You, me, and Lena.
Lillian: The Lena who killed you? That Lena? Well, you said she'll remember your previous world, too
Lex: What's your point?
Lillian: That you have an inferiority complex over a pair of hokey heroes in blue tights.
Lex: If Supergirl sneezes too hard, it would split this planet in half.
Lillian: And yet, it was her friendship with your sister that spun you out.

Lillian: A few months ago, when the planet was being terraformed by those other Kryptonians, I was in my cell, under a mattress, hoping the ceiling wouldn't fall and crush me. And I realized I didn't want to die alone. And if I didn't want to die alone, I had to change. So, what do you want to know about the Graves siblings, besides they're monsters?
Supergirl: A list of every Cadmus location you think they might be using to hide.
Lillian: Just domestic? Or international?

Lena: If you had 24 hours, would you be able to extract the Harun-El from Ben Lockwood's system?
Lillian: Yes. Why? You don't think you can do it?
Lena: Lex has figured out how, and I haven't cracked it yet. But your mind works like his.
Lillian: Well, as much as I love a challenge, we both know who this is really for. And why would I ever do anything for Jimmy Olsen?
Lena: Oh, because your lunch was laced with an exotic neurotoxin, and no, I'm not gonna tell you which one.
[holding up a vial]
Lena: I have the antidote, and you have 24 hours. I've just given you the gift of focus.

Lillian: Your targets are too high-profile. Maybe you should think smaller.
Chet: I'm never thinking small again. From now on, it's all big. Big bank accounts, big yachts, big money.
Lillian: I have no interest in making you rich. My interest is in molding public perception through the use of these weapons. To sow fear and discontent. To make the populace ready for our leadership.
Chet: So that's what this is about, you wanna rule the world?
Lillian: No, I want to save it.
Chet: Lady, I could give a rip about your politics. But if you're so worried about my well-being, why don't you replace the gun Supergirl damaged? Something bigger?
Lillian: [giving him a new weapon] Use it wisely.

Lillian: Your sister is still MIA. You shouldn't be celebrating. You should be out there looking for her.
Lex: Can't, Mother. If I calculated correctly, we should be getting a call any moment.
[a hologram emitter pulses on]
Lex: Oh, see?
[Kara appears]
Lex: Ah, the maid of might. What a surprise.
Supergirl: We know you've placed satellites around the world, and when they sync up, they'll send out a signal killing everyone you haven't brainwashed.
Lex: What do you want? Gold star?