After Lex crashed en route to his honeymoon, Lionel held a funeral service for his son after the rescue teams came up empty. Martha, Jonathan, Lex's widow Helen Bryce, Lana Lang, and Clark all attended. Lionel publicly denounced Helen, although he couldn't completely have her disposed, due to the special vial of blood he bought from her and the fact that she was the only one who knew where it came from. When Lex returned, Lionel had to prove he had nothing to do with the plane crash.