Jor-El

Jor-El
Jor-El as depicted in The Adventures of Superman #589 (February 2001). Art by Paul Rivoche.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Superman comic strip (January 16, 1939)
Created by	Jerry Siegel (writer) Joe Shuster (artist)
In-story information
Full name	Jor-El
Species	Kryptonian
Place of origin	Krypton
Team affiliations	Science Council
Notable aliases	Jor-L (in the Golden Age) Mister Oz (in "DC Rebirth")
Abilities	Genius-level intellect Proficient scientist, inventor, and engineer Utilizes technologically advanced equipment Skilled martial artist and hand-to-hand combatant

Jor-El is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, Jor-El first appeared in the Superman newspaper comic strip in 1939.

Jor-El is Superman's biological father, the husband of Lara, and a leading scientist on the planet Krypton before its destruction. He foresees his planet's fate but is unable to convince his colleagues in time to rescue most of Krypton's inhabitants. Jor-El is able to save his infant son Kal-El (Superman) by launching him towards Earth in a homemade spaceship just moments before Krypton explodes. When Superman later constructs his headquarters, the Fortress of Solitude, he honors his biological parents with the inclusion of a statue of Jor-El and Lara holding up a globe of Krypton. The fortress also holds a holographic copy of Jor-El's consciousnesses, letting Superman interact with his father for advice and knowledge.

Jor-El was portrayed by Marlon Brando in the films Superman and Superman II. Archival footage cut from the prior films was used with the permission of Brando's estate to insert the deceased Brando into 2006's Superman Returns in a reprise of the role. The character was then portrayed by Russell Crowe in the DC Extended Universe film Man of Steel. Angus Macfadyen portrayed the character in the first season of the television series Superman & Lois.

Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel, the creators of both Superman and Jor-L, first introduced a character named "Jor-L" in 1936, more than a year before the first Superman story was published.^[1][2] The original "Jor-L" appeared in New Adventure Comics (released in 1936, cover-dated January 1937), a re-titled issue #12 of the previous New Comics, which would be re-titled again, starting with issue #32, as the 45-year-long Adventure Comics series.^[3]

Featured in the four-page Shuster and Siegel strip Federal Men, this "Jor-L" is not an extraterrestrial but, instead, a far-future "ace sleuth" in the service of "Interplanetary Federation Headquarters". The character battles "Nira-Q", the outer-space-faring "bandit queen", in the year 3000 A.D. The 1936 "Jor-L" exists as part of a story within a story, as Shuster and Siegel's strip presents the tale as a scientist's forecast of future crime-fighting told to the contemporary 1930s-era G-man heroes of Federal Men.^[1][2]

Jor-El was first referred to indirectly in Action Comics #1 in 1938, which only mentioned a scientist who sends his son to Earth. He made his first full-fledged appearance in the Superman newspaper comic strip on January 16, 1939, where his name was spelled as "Jor-L". His name first appeared as being spelled "Jor-el" in the Superman novel The Adventures of Superman (1942) written by George Lowther. Later comic books capitalized the "E" in "El." Jor-El's first appearance in a comic book was in More Fun Comics #101.

In the 1960s, now known as part of the Silver Age of Comic Books, DC Comics introduced to its superhero stories the fictional concept of different versions of characters from real-world publication history existing in separate "universes" that could communicate with each other.^[4][5] As DC developed this concept through further stories, the version of Superman's father during the previous Golden Age of Comic Books was identified as "Jor-L", matching the original spelling of the character's name, who lived on the Krypton of the Earth-Two "universe" (derived from the versions of characters and stories that appeared during the earlier "Golden Age" period of publication history). In contrast, the concept presented "Jor-El" as no longer another spelling of the same name but a different character entirely: the father of the then-contemporary "Silver Age" version of Superman, who lived on the Krypton of the Earth-One "universe" (used to describe the setting for then-current "Silver Age" stories and characters, some of which had been substantially changed from their "Golden Age" versions).^[6]

A retelling of Superman's origin story in 1948 first delved into detail about Jor-El. However, his formal and more familiar Silver Age aspects were firmly established starting in the late 1950s. Over the course of the next several decades, there was a definitive summarization in the miniseries World of Krypton in 1979 (not to be confused with the similarly-named post-Crisis on Infinite Earths late-1980s comic miniseries).

As presented in the World of Krypton miniseries and other stories from the Silver Age of Comic Books, Jor-El is Krypton's leading scientist, inventing, among other devices, a self-titled hovercar. He also discovers a parallel plane of existence which he calls the Phantom Zone and invents a device that can open portals to it. This device gets him a seat on the Science Council, Krypton's ruling body. He lives in Krypton's major city of Kryptonopolis.

Even before Jor-El's birth, the El family is renowned for its contributions to Kryptonian society. Ancestors of Jor-El include Val-El, an explorer; Sul-El, the inventor of Krypton's first telescope; Tala-El, the author of Krypton's first planetary constitution; Hatu-El, the inventor of Krypton's first electromagnet and electric motor; and Gam-El, the father of modern Kryptonian architecture.

Jor-El has two brothers: Zor-El, who lives in Argo City and eventually becomes the father of Kara, alias Supergirl, and an identical twin brother named Nim-El, who lives in Kandor. In several stories, Jor-El's father is established as Jor-El I, and his mother as Nimda (nee An-Dor).^{[citation needed]} Jor-El eventually meets and marries Lara, the daughter of Lor-Van and a young astronaut in Krypton's fledgling space program (which is soon permanently grounded after Jax-Ur blows up one of Krypton's inhabited moons, leading to his banishment to the Phantom Zone);^[7] the two have an infant son, Kal-El.

When Krypton begins experiencing a series of earthquakes, Jor-El investigates. He soon discovers, to his horror, that Krypton's core is extremely unstable and radioactive, and will eventually reach critical mass and explode, taking the entire planet and its populace with it.^[8] Jor-El tries to convince the members of the Science Council of this impending disaster and urges re-establishing Krypton's space program so giant spacecraft can be built to carry the populace to another habitable world. However, the Council is dismissive of Jor-El's findings and refuses to comply with his plan. Some even accuse him of treachery, trying to cause chaos so he can take over. This had been a plot of General Zod's, which having failed, caused his banishment to the Phantom Zone. Thus the Council is wary of Jor-El's motives.

Around the time he discovers Krypton's impending doom, Jor-El meets his own son Kal-El without realizing it (after Kal-El accidentally travels back in time). There are supporters of Jor-El's theory, but when a ship is constructed to evacuate them, the city of Kandor is shrunken and stolen by Brainiac, removing the people who believe in Jor-El's work.^[9]

Frustrated, Jor-El continues his work on space travel on his own, hoping to build a spacecraft to save his family. This work includes launching several smaller test rockets; one of these rockets includes the family dog, Krypto.^[10] However, as time runs short, Jor-El only has enough time to build a spacecraft to save his son Kal-El. He decides to send Kal-El to Earth, realizing he will gain superhuman powers under Earth's yellow sun and lower gravity. As Krypton finally goes through its final destructive stages, Jor-El and Lara place their son in the rocket and launch him toward Earth, before they themselves are killed along with almost all the rest of the planet's population. Lara could have fit inside the rocket as well, but chose to stay behind to improve Kal-El's chances of reaching Earth.

After the 1985-1986 miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths and John Byrne's 1986 miniseries The Man of Steel rewrote Superman's origins, details about Jor-El's background and character were changed. In Byrne's version, Jor-El inhabits a cold and emotionally sterile Krypton where even bodily contact is forbidden. Indeed, Jor-El himself is considered a "throwback" for actually expressing emotions toward his mate Lara and favoring the less sterilized days of past Kryptonian eras. Another change in this version is Jor-El genetically altering his son's fetus (gestating in a "birthing matrix") to allow him to leave Krypton (in this version of the mythos, Kryptonians are genetically "bonded" to the planet itself, not allowing them to leave) and merely attaching a warp engine to the matrix instead of constructing a ship wholesale. The result is that Kal-El is "born" when the birthing matrix opens on Earth.

In the 1990s series Starman Jor-El meets a time-traveling Jack Knight and Mikaal Tomas, two individuals who both bear at various points the name "Starman", and are accidentally sent 70 years back in time and hurled across space. Jor-El thereby first learns of Earth's existence; in return, Jor-El helps Knight and Tomas escape from his overbearing father Seyg-El.

In the 2004 miniseries Superman: Birthright, Jor-El, along with Krypton and Lara, was, more or less, reinstated to his Silver Age versions, though with such updated touches as Lara contributing equally to the effort of sending Kal-El, once again an infant while on Krypton, to Earth. In this version, Jor-El discovers Earth moments before launching his son's spacecraft. Also, the conclusion of the miniseries has the adult Superman, on Earth, seeing his parents through Lex Luthor's time-space communicator, and on Krypton, seconds before its destruction, Jor-El and Lara see their son alive and well on Earth and know that their efforts are successful. As with Byrne's conflicting view of Krypton, the Birthright origins of Jor-El, Krypton, and Luthor have recently been retconned, and, following Infinite Crisis, they are no longer valid in comics canon.

However, a more recent storyline co-written by Geoff Johns and Superman director Richard Donner presented yet another version of Jor-El and Krypton which reintroduced General Zod and the Phantom Zone criminals. With art by Adam Kubert, Jor-El is depicted for the first time with a beard and the design of Kryptonian society is distinct yet again from Birthright and Man of Steel, incorporating elements of Donner's work on the first two Christopher Reeve films, in particular the notion of Krypton's Council threatening Jor-El with harsh penalty of exile to the very Phantom Zone he himself discovered if he is to make public his predictions of their planet's imminent doom or otherwise attempt to "create a climate of panic."

Jor-El is shown here to have been mentored by friend and noted scientist Non, who corroborates Jor-El's findings regarding Krypton's impending destruction, when the two are arrested and brought to trial before the Council by Zod and Ursa. When Non defies the Council's dire prohibitions and elects to spread the word of the coming apocalypse, he is abducted by Council agents and apparently lobotomized, thus explaining the character's mute simple-mindedness, brutality and destructiveness in line with Jack O'Halloran's performance as Non in the first two Reeve films. Appalled, Zod and Ursa propose to Jor-El that they band together and overthrow the Council, but Jor-El will have none of it. When their murderous insurrection fails, the Council forces Jor-El to exile them to the Phantom Zone and never speak of his findings again, lest he face the same fate. For this perceived betrayal, Zod declares that he will escape and conquer Krypton (confident that Jor-El will actually discover some way to save the planet) and force the scientist and his son to kneel before him one day.

Having been re-built via a Kryptonian crystal during the One Year Later story arc, the current version of the Fortress of Solitude, which is also designed to essentially be visually identical to the Donner and Bryan Singer films, now contains an advanced interactive "recording" of Jor-El which, although visually dissimilar to Marlon Brando, is otherwise identical in function to that featured in Superman Returns.

Superman/Batman #50 presents Jor-El sending a probe to Earth that makes contact with Thomas Wayne while he is on a drive with a pregnant Martha, the probe holographically transmitting Thomas' consciousness to Krypton so that Jor-El can better learn what kind of world Earth is to help him decide which of many possible candidates he should send his son to. Thomas tells Jor-El that the people of Earth are not perfect, but are essentially a good and kind race who will raise the child right, convincing Jor-El to send Kal-El there. Thomas records his encounter in a diary, which is discovered by his son Bruce Wayne in the present day.

The New 52 version of the character on the cover of Superman (vol. 3) #0 by Kenneth Rocafort

Jor-El on the cover of Action Comics #989 (2017) by Jay Leisten and Neil Edwards

Following two line-wide revisions of DC superhero comic books, branded by DC Comics as “New 52” and “DC Rebirth”, the character Jor-El was revised to be still alive due to being rescued by Doctor Manhattan. After being nursed back to health by locals, Jor-El sees firsthand the atrocities of man, as a dictator usurps all of what the people own, causing them to starve. After witnessing these atrocities, Jor-El is forced to watch the horrors of mankind over the centuries and becomes Mister Oz.^[11] Jor-El becomes dissatisfied with humanity and attempts to force his son and his family to leave in the belief that Earth cannot be saved, but when Superman forces him to acknowledge that he is attacking his own son, he withdraws. It is later established that Jor-El is a member of the "Circle", a clandestine organization composed of five powerful cosmic beings and intergalactic rulers including Appa Ali Apsa, Sardath of Rann and Rogol Zaar, the being who destroyed Krypton.^[12]

• An alternate universe version of Jor-El appears in Superman: The Last Family of Krypton. This version survived Krypton's destruction and accompanied Lara and Kal-El to Earth, where he sets up the corporation JorCorp while Lara establishes the self-help movement 'Raology'.
• An alternate universe version of Jor-El appears in Superman Adventures. This version is a resident of a Kryptonian city that survived Krypton's destruction. After the 'prime' Superman arrives in this world, Jor-El destroys the city to send him home.^[13]

• Jor-El appears in the Adventures of Superman episode "Superman on Earth", portrayed by an uncredited Robert Rockwell.^[14]
• Jor-El appears in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman episode "The Foundling", portrayed by David Warner.^[15][16]

Tom Welling as young Jor-El in Smallville in the show's third season episode "Relic"

Julian Sands as Jor-El in the ninth season Smallville episode "Kandor"

• Jor-El appears in Smallville, portrayed by Julian Sands and voiced by Terence Stamp, while Tom Welling portrays a younger version of him in the episode "Memoria".^{[17][18][19][20][21]}
• Jor-El appears in the pilot episode of Supergirl, portrayed by an uncredited actor.
• A holographic version of Jor-El appears in Superman & Lois, portrayed by Angus Macfadyen.^[22] This version is an advisor to Superman who is ultimately destroyed by Tal-Rho following Superman's refusal to join him.

• Jor-El appears in the Super Friends franchise:
  • Jor-El first appears in the Super Friends (1973) episode "The Planet Splitter", voiced by Casey Kasem.
  • Jor-El appears in the Challenge of the Superfriends episode "Secret Origins of The Super Friends," voiced by G. Stanley Jones.
  • Jor-El appears in the Super Friends (1980) episode "The Krypton Syndrome", voiced by Philip L. Clarke.
• Jor-El appears in series set in the DC Animated Universe (DCAU), voiced by Christopher McDonald.^[23]
  • Jor-El first appears in Superman: The Animated Series. This version attempted to convince Krypton's leaders of its incoming destruction but was denounced by Brainiac, who knew of the planet's fate and, instead of finding a solution, downloaded himself into a satellite to escape and preserve Krypton's knowledge.^[24]
  • Jor-El appears in a photograph in the Justice League two-part episode "Twilight".^[25]
  • A dream world incarnation of Jor-El appears in the Justice League Unlimited episode "For the Man Who Has Everything".
• Jor-El appears in the Pinky and the Brain episode "Two Mice and a Baby", voiced by Jeff Bennett.
• Jor-El makes a cameo appearance in the Dilbert episode "The Delivery".
• Jor-El makes a non-speaking appearance in a flashback in the Legion of Super Heroes episode "Message in a Bottle". This version was initially able to prevent Krypton's destruction with a device called the Messenger, which can convert anything to crystal and thus replace unstable matter. The Messenger was housed in a temple in Kandor, and when Brainiac shrunk and stole the city, he took the Messenger with it, dooming Krypton to destruction.
• Jor-El appears in The Looney Tunes Show episode "Best Friends", voiced by Jeff Bergman.^[26]
• Jor-El appears in Kara and the Chronicles of Krypton, a spin-off of the television series Smallville.
• A hologram of Jor-El appears in My Adventures with Superman, voiced by Jason Marnocha.^[23]

• Jor-El appears in Superman (1948), portrayed by Nelson Leigh.^{[citation needed]}

• Jor-El appears in the 1978 film Superman, portrayed by Marlon Brando.^[27] The film originated the idea of Superman's iconic "S"-shield symbol originally being the family crest of the House of El, which resembles an Earth "S" by coincidence. Originally conceived by Brando himself and suggested on-set, this origin of the famous Superman symbol has been used in many stories since. In the current comics, however, the shield is the Kryptonian symbol for "hope," and not only is it worn by Jor-El in a similar manner to Brando of the first feature film, but it adorns all manner of Kryptonian flags, clothing, spaceships, and equipment.
• Brando filmed additional footage for the sequel Superman II, before differences behind the scenes caused his footage to be cut. However, it was later restored for the 2006 revised version, Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut. In the Richard Donner Cut, Jor-El again appears as an image, posthumously attempting to guide and inform Kal-El. Jor-El's historical crystals reveal to Lex Luthor the existence of the three Phantom Zone criminals General Zod, Ursa and Non, which makes Luthor realize just who and what they are (and that it was Superman who caused their release). Jor-El is asked by Clark if he can live a life as a human with Lois, and he tries to persuade Clark not to wish so, but Clark is firm in his wish. Jor-El then reveals the crystal chamber with the rays of Krypton's red sun which will make Clark human forever. Later, Clark returns to find all the crystals and information regarding Krypton destroyed, but finds the original crystal and is able to bring back Jor-El. Jor-El sacrifices his remaining life-force to restore his son's powers so that Superman can save Earth from Zod. Superman later destroys the Fortress after it has been breached by Luthor and the Phantom Zone criminals, but then goes back in time, where it remains normal.
• Jor-El appears in Superman Returns, portrayed again by Marlon Brando via archival footage.^[27]

• Jor-El appears in Man of Steel, portrayed by Russell Crowe.^[28] Rejecting the Kryptonian tradition of eugenics and artificial birth, this version stole the Kryptonian genetic codex to preserve the Kryptonian race and provide his son with the distinction of choosing his own destiny, creating Kal-El, who is then sent to Earth before Krypton's destruction. Following a 33-year imprisonment in stasis for an attempted coup in which he murdered Jor-El, General Zod and his lieutenants pursue the infant to Earth, where Clark Kent first encounters his father via an interactive computer hologram that simulates his father's personality and knowledge. The AI of Jor-El was later destroyed by General Zod.

• Jor-El makes a non-speaking appearance in All-Star Superman.
• An alternate version of Jor-El appears in Justice League: Gods and Monsters, voiced by Yuri Lowenthal. Before he could implant his genetic code onto the ship that would have formed Kal-El, General Zod shows up and shoots him to implant his genetic code on it instead, leading that version of Superman to grow up to look and behave more like Zod.
• Jor-El appears in The Lego Batman Movie, voiced by Jeff Bridges.
• Jor-El, based on Marlon Brando's portrayal, appears in Teen Titans Go! To the Movies, voiced by Fred Tatasciore.^[23]
• Jor-El appears in Teen Titans Go! & DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem in the Multiverse, voiced again by Fred Tatasciore.^[29]
• Jor-El appears in Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons, voiced by Nolan North.^[30][23]
• Jor-El appears in DC League of Super-Pets, voiced by Alfred Molina.^[23]

• Jor-El appears in the Superman Returns video game.
• Jor-El appears in DC Universe Online, voiced by William Price.
• The Fortress of Statue's statue of Jor-El appears in Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe.
• Jor-El appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.^[31]
• The Man of Steel incarnation of Jor-El appears in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, voiced by Nolan North.

In the Elliot S. Maggin 1978 novel Superman: Last Son of Krypton, Jor-El is shown as having sent a navigation probe ahead of Kal-El's spaceship, to find a suitable foster parent on his new planet. In Kryptonian society, scientific achievement was a preeminent virtue, so Jor-El's probe was programmed to seek out the leading scientific mind on Earth, presumably to adopt Kal-El. The probe landed (in the early 1950s, although the date is non-specific) in Princeton, New Jersey, where it soon appeared outside the window of Albert Einstein and communicated its mission to him through telepathy, along with precise details of where Kal-El's rocket would land (near Smallville, Kansas), several days later.

In the 2007 novel The Last Days of Krypton by Kevin J. Anderson, Jor-El is shown as a science hero who is respected and admired by all of the people of Krypton and has a standing offer of a place on the Council. Yet his clashing with this conservative Council over new discoveries supplies much of the tension in the book. General Zod and his two minions make a bid to take over Krypton, first posing as Krypton's saviors.

• Superman dynasty

• Jor-El on DC Database, a DC Comics wiki
• Jor-El at Smallville Wiki
• Jor-El (Kryptonian) at Smallville Wiki
• Jor-El (clone) at Smallville Wiki
• Supermanica bio on the pre-Crisis Jor-El Archived 2012-03-27 at the Wayback Machine
• Superman Homepage bio on the post-Crisis Jor-El
• Jor-El at TED