Supergirl is one of the Arrowverse's more optimistic shows. Kara Danvers is an eternally cheerful hero for the new age and the series has only increased in popularity since its first season. This has a lot to do with the variety of interesting and unique characters introduced throughout the show's current run.
One such character is Lena Luthor, who made her Arrowverse debut in the premiere episode of Season 2 of Supergirl. Lena and Kara immediately hit it off, with the two soon progressing to a strong and supportive friendship. However, considering recent events, it could be argued that Kara and Lena were never real friends.
Superman's History With The Luthor Family
If there's one person who Kara loves more than her adoptive family, it's her cousin from Krypton, Superman himself. The two heroes are clearly very close to each other and are more like brother and sister rather than cousins. That means that Kara respects Clark's opinions.
Given the well known history between Superman and Lex Luthor, it's easy to understand why Clark was slightly weary when meeting Lena, Lex's sister. Although she soon laid his doubts to rest, Clark's history with Lex meant that perhaps Kara, subconsciously, didn't trust Lena as much as she should have.
Kara Didn't Tell Lena About Her Secret Identity
The worst part about being a superhero is having to keep your secret identity a secret. It's extremely difficult to keep things hidden from your closest friends and family, especially when it's something so big and extraordinary. Most of the time, though, it's for a good reason.
However, in Kara's situation, many viewers were of the same opinion that Lena needed to know sooner rather than later. All of Kara's other friends knew, and so did Lex Luthor. Lena was supposed to be Kara's best friend, and so Kara should have trusted Lena with her secret, and not hidden it for so long.
Lena Has Trust Issues
Lena hasn't exactly had the easiest life. She watched her biological mother drown when she was just a young child, and the fact that she was unable to help scarred her for life. She was then adopted by the Luthor family, where Lillian Luthor disliked her and her brother grew up to be insane.
Seemingly everyone in Lena's life has betrayed her at some point and so she found it difficult to connect to people. Good friendships are hard to come by because they require both parties to have faith in each other. Lena has been burnt so many times before that she might never be able to fully trust anyone.
Lena Secretly Created Her Own Kryptonite
When Lena first met Supergirl officially (not counting the time when she first met Kara), the two wonder women got on incredibly well. They both wanted to save the world and Supergirl already knew that Lena was completely different from her deranged brother.
However, that didn't stop Lena from creating synthetic green kryptonite in secret. Her motivations were understandable, as there have been many Kryptonians who are not as well behaved as Supergirl or her cousin. Conversely, Lena knew that what she was doing would hurt Supergirl as she kept her work a secret.
Lena Captured Kara
Season 5 has proved to be a rough season for Kara and Lena's friendship. In the Season 4 finale, Lena was forced to shoot and kill her brother, Lex, but not before he revealed that Kara was Supergirl and that all of Lena's friends had been lying to her from the very first moment they met.
Naturally Lena was devastated and bitterly angry about all of her friends' deception. Although Kara broke the news to Lena herself in a wonderfully poignant scene, it changed nothing. Lena was so upset that she captured Kara in a state of vengeance. Naturally, this is not what one would call a healthy friendship.
Lex Tried To Kill Kara
While this entry isn't specifically about Lena as such, we can't write this list without giving the notorious Lex Luthor an entry all of his own. Lex is probably Superman's greatest and most popular villain, and Supergirl began to capitalize on that popularity by introducing the Luthor family in Season 2.
The best friendships don't just rely on two people liking each other; they need to be able to get along with the people in the other party's life. Lena is at a significant disadvantage here as Lex hates Superman and by extension, he hates Supergirl too, which makes the friendship between Lena and Kara more tense.
Lena Unintentionally Aided The Daxomite Invasion
Lena's natural distrust of anyone new in her life is only overshadowed by her unconscious desire for a mother figure. Lillian Luthor may have been Lena's adoptive mother but she was rarely ever kind or comforting towards her daughter, and their relationship has remained antagonistic.
Desperate to find the mother figure she had always wanted, Lena befriended Rhea, Queen of Daxom, and helped her to build a portal device. Unfortunately, Rhea had been lying to Lena for the entire time, much to Lena's distress. Although this wasn't Lena's fault, her actions still had a negative impact on Kara.
Kara Used Lena For Her Articles
When Kara and Lena first met, Kara was accompanying Clark as he went to interview Lena about her taking over Luthor Corp. Clark was initially politely sceptical about Lena's intentions but after proving herself to him, Clark wrote Lena a generous article. Lena then told Kara she would make a good reporter.
Thanks to Lena, Kara began training to become a journalist. However, almost every time Kara needed an interview for an article, she would head straight to Lena to get a quote from Lex's little sister. While friends help each other out, Kara seemed to be using Lena for her connections to the Luthor family.
Lena Built A Device To Identify Aliens
Friendship is about accepting the other for who they truly are, and not caring if they're different in the process. On the whole, Lena and Kara managed this admirably, as both women respected and supported the other (for a time, at least).
However, Lena's inventions and ambition have occasionally questioned their friendship. For instance, in Season 2 of Supergirl, Lena and Kara butted heads slightly when Lena informed her friend that she had built a device capable of identifying aliens. Kara objected to this, stating that aliens had a right to remain hidden in case of prejudice, and she had a point.
Lena Dated James Olsen
James Olsen and Kara have a semi-complicated history. For the whole of Supergirl's first season, Kara spent a lot of her time looking longingly at James from the sidelines while he dated Lucy Lane. When the couple eventually broke up, Kara conveniently lost interest in James.
Later on, Lena met James and the two eventually started dating. It was obvious that they cared for each other but ultimately, their differing values lead to them separating. The number one rule of friendship is that you don't date your friend's ex, and although James and Kara were only together for a day, it was still dubious on Lena's part.