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Jor-El
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Jor-El is a fictional character from the Superman comic books, published by DC Comics. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born artist Joe Shuster, he first appeared in Action Comics #1 as Superman's biological father.
Jor-El is a Kryptonian, and the husband of Lara Lor-Van. He is a scientist and leader on the planet Krypton before its destruction. Jor-El foresaw the planet's fate, but was unable to convince his colleagues in time to save their race after his appeals.
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Encyclopedia
Jor-El is a fictional character from the Superman comic books, published by DC Comics. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born artist Joe Shuster, he first appeared in Action Comics #1 as Superman's biological father.
Jor-El is a Kryptonian, and the husband of Lara Lor-Van. He is a scientist and leader on the planet Krypton before its destruction. Jor-El foresaw the planet's fate, but was unable to convince his colleagues in time to save their race after his appeals. He was able to save his infant son, Kal-El, sending him in a homemade rocketship to Earth just moments before Krypton's demise. After constructing his Fortress of Solitude, Superman honored his deceased biological parents with a statue of Jor-El and Lara holding up a globe of Krypton.
Jor-El is usually portrayed as closely resembling the later appearance of Kal-El as the adult Superman. In the 2006 Richard Donner cut of Superman II (actor Marlon Brando did not appear in the original 1980 release of the film), Lex Luthor notes a resemblance between Jor-El and Superman.
History
Golden and Silver Age versions
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 in 1939, where his name was spelled as "Jor-L." His name first appeared as being spelled "Jor-el" in the 1942 Superman novel The Adventures of Superman written by George Lowther; later comics would capitalize the 'E' in 'El.' After the introduction of DC's multiverse system in the 1960s, it was established that the Golden Age version of Superman's father was named "Jor-L" and lived on the Krypton of the Earth-Two universe, while "Jor-El" was the father of the Silver Age version of Superman and lived on the Krypton of the Earth-One universe.
A 1948 retelling of Superman's origin story first delved into detail about Jor-El, though his formal and more familiar Silver Age aspects were firmly established starting in the late 1950s and over the course of the next several decades, with a definitive summarization in the 1979 miniseries The World of Krypton (not to be confused with the post-Crisis on Infinite Earths late-1980s comic mini-series of the same name).
His accomplishments
As it was summarized in this miniseries (and in various other Silver Age stories), Jor-El was Krypton's leading scientific genius, having invented, among other devices, the "Jor-El," a hovercar, and having discovered a parallel plane of existence which he called the Phantom Zone and invented a device by which it could be entered, which he called the Phantom Zone Projector. He lived in Krypton's major city of Kryptonopolis.
Even before Jor-El's birth, the El family was renowned across Krypton for its various contributions to Kryptonian society. Ancestors of Jor-El included: Val-El, a famous 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.
Family life
Jor-El had two brothers: Zor-El, who lived in Argo City and eventually became the father of Kara Zor-El, alias Supergirl, and an identical twin brother named Nim-El, who lived in Kandor. In several stories, Jor-El's father was established as Jor-El I, and his mother as Nimda An-Dor. Jor-El eventually met and married Lara, daughter of Lor-Van, a young astronaut in Krypton's fledgling space program (which was soon permanently grounded after Jax-Ur blew up one of Krypton's inhabited moons), and the two had an infant son, Kal-El.
Jor-El as a male Cassandra
When Krypton began experiencing a series of earthquakes, Jor-El investigated. He soon discovered, to his horror, that Krypton's core was extremely unstable and indeed radioactive, and worse, that it would eventually reach critical mass and explode, taking the entire planet and its populace with it. Jor-El tried to convince the members of Krypton's ruling body, the Science Council, of this impending disaster, and urged re-establishing Krypton's space program so giant spacecraft could be built to carry the populace to another habitable world. However, the Council was dismissive of Jor-El's findings and refused to comply with his plan.
Frustrated, Jor-El continued his work on space travel on his own, hoping to build a spacecraft to save his own family. This work included launching several smaller test rockets; one of these rockets included the family dog, who responded to the name of Krypto. However, as time ran short, Jor-El soon found that he would only have enough time to build a spacecraft to save his son Kal-El. He decided to send Kal-El to Earth, realizing he would gain superhuman powers under Earth's more intense yellow sun and lower gravity. As Krypton finally went through its final destructive stages, Jor-El and Lara placed their son in the rocket and launched him toward Earth, before they themselves were killed along with almost all the rest of the planet's population.
Modern versions
After the 1985-1986 mini-series Crisis on Infinite Earths and John Byrne's 1986 mini-series The Man of Steel re-wrote Superman's origins, details about Jor-El's background and character were changed. In Byrne's version, Jor-El inhabited a cold, emotionally sterile Krypton where even bodily contact was forbidden. Indeed, Jor-El himself was considered a "throwback" for actually expressing emotions toward his mate Lara, and for his favoring the less sterilized days of past Kryptonian eras. Another change in this version was 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 were 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 was that when the birthing matrix opened on Earth, Kal-El was "born" on that planet.
In the 1990s series Starman, it was revealed that, in his youth, Jor-El met a time-traveling Jack Knight and Mikaal Tomas, two individuals who both bore at various points the "Starman" mantle. Knight and Tomas had been accidentally sent 70 years back in time and hurled across space. It was in this way that Jor-El first learned of Earth's existence; in return, Jor-El helped Knight and Tomas escape from his overbearing father, Seyg-El.
In the 2004 mini-series 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 mini-series 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 were successful. As with Byrne's conflicting view of Krypton, the Birthright origins of Jor-El, Krypton, and Lex 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 into mainstream continuity. 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 had discovered if he were 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 corroborated Jor-El's findings regarding Krypton's impending destruction, when the two were 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 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. (This echoes the statement Terence Stamp made in both Superman movies Donner directed: "No matter that it takes me an eternity, you WILL bow down before me, Jor-El; I swear it! First you, and then one day, Jor-El, YOUR HEIRS!!!")
Having been rebuilt via a Kryptonian crystal during the One Year Later story arc, the current version of the Fortress of Solitude, which was 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.
In Superman/Batman #50, it is revealed that, years ago, Jor-El sent a probe to Earth that made contact with Thomas Wayne while he was on a drive with a pregnant Martha, the probe holographically transmitting Thomas' consciousness to Krypton so that Jor-El could better learn what kind of world Earth was to help him decide which of many possible candidates he should send his son to. Thomas tells Jor-El that the people of Earth aren't perfect, but are essentially a good and kind race, who would raise the child right, convincing Jor-El to send Kal-El there. Upon returning to his body, Thomas uses the technology in the Kryptonian probe to revitalize a failing Wayne Enterprises. Years later, the alien technology would be the basis of much of Batman's technology. Thomas recorded his encounter in a diary, which was discovered by Bruce in the present day.
Appearances in other media
Jor-El has appeared (usually briefly) in various media adaptations of the Superman story. Media portrayals of Jor-El tend to vary greatly in how he's presented, often diverging from the original source material.
Film
Superman serial
Jor-El was portrayed by Nelson Leigh in the 1948 Superman movie serial.
Superman film series
Superman
Marlon Brando played Jor-El in the 1978 Superman film, which Alexander Salkind, his son Ilya Salkind, and their business partner Pierre Spengler produced and which Richard Donner directed. In the movie, Jor-El is shown wearing the Superman "S"-shield symbol as the family crest of the House of El; it was, in fact, Brando's idea to wear the symbol in this manner. In the current comics, 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. However, the film version is one in which the shield is unique to members of the House of El, with other Kryptonians wearing their own individualized family crests.
When the teenage Clark Kent finds the green crystal his birth father placed in his ship, it leads him to the North Pole, where the green crystal creates the Fortress of Solitude, and brings Clark into contact with an interactive hologram of Jor-El, who instructs his son on how to use his powers and informs him that the people of Earth "can be a great people, Kal-El, if they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all...their capacity for good...I have sent them you, my only son." Later, Jor-El is shown advising Superman on why he must maintain his secret identity to protect himself and his loved ones.
Superman II
Marlon Brando filmed additional footage for the sequel, Superman II, before differences behind the scenes caused his footage to end up on the cutting room floor. It has been restored for the 2006 revised version, Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut. In the Richard Donner Cut, Jor-El appears again as in the first as a person 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 Lane. Jor-El tries to persuade Clark not to wish so, but Clark is firm with his will. 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.
Superman Returns
In 2006, two years after Brando died, he "reprised" the role of Jor-El in Superman Returns through the harvesting of archived video footage and sound clip outtakes. In the film, Lex Luthor, having retained vague memories of the place, returns to the Fortress of Solitude during Superman's absence to learn the power of the crystals. After stealing one, he uses it, with kryptonite, to create a new continent that threatens to destroy North America. Superman manages to throw the "New Krypton" island out of the atmosphere and into space.
Animation
Superman theatrical cartoons
Jor-El is referenced in the first episode of the Superman theatrical cartoons as one of Krypton's "leading scientists sensing the approach of doom." So he placed Kal-El into a rocket and blasted it off toward Earth just as Krypton exploded.
Super Friends
Jor-El is also seen in at least three episodes of the Super Friends. He appears in the episode "The Planet Splitter," and in the Challenge of the Superfriends episode "Secret Origins of The Superfriends," and he also appears in the short episode called "The Krypton Syndrome."
Superman: The Animated Series (1988)
On the 1988 Superman animated series, Superman mentions that Jor-El was the creator of the Phantom Zone, which holds General Zod and his two Kryptonian companions. One of Zod's minions creates a pool of energy that allows them to create a monster called "The Hunter" (voiced by Peter Cullen) that leaves the Phantom Zone to kill Superman, then find the Phantom Zone Projector and free them. Jor-El is only mentioned, but he is not shown.
Superman: The Animated Series (1996)
In the Superman animated series in the mid-1990s, Jor-El is featured as the hero of the series' first episode; he is voiced by Christopher McDonald.
In the first part of the three-part opener, "The Last Son of Krypton," Jor-El is a scientist examining the reasons for various earthquakes across the planet. His findings indicate Krypton's imminent destruction. Here, the animated Jor-El diverges from the comic version. While both versions feature the ruling council of Krypton dismissing Jor-El's findings, Jor-El is portrayed as a far less respected member of the scientific community, and the episode also gives a specific reason to the council's dismissal: Brainiac. Brainiac, the operating system that runs the planet and chronicles its history and information, insists that Jor-El's calculations are incorrect, and the council members trust Brainiac much more than Jor-El. (Also, Jor-El's radical plan to put Krypton's entire population in the Phantom Zone while Krypton is destroyed for later transference to another planet is greeted by the council with nothing less than hatred.) This is the same Brainiac who later becomes Superman's nemesis.
When Jor-El investigates the difference between Brainiac's findings and his own, he discovers that Brainiac has lied to the council to save himself. Brainiac counters by sending the authorities after him, leading to a protracted action sequence of Jor-El evading the police; this is one of several scenes which portray Jor-El as a skilled fighter and pilot, his primary vehicle resembling a flying scooter. With mere minutes before Krypton is to be destroyed, Jor-El loads Kal-El into the rocketship which had been intended for a single Kryptonian who would restore Krypton's population from the Phantom Zone, and dies with his wife Lara as the planet explodes. Jor-El's legacy on the show is carried on by the constant battles between Superman and Brainiac (he is as much Jor-El's enemy as he is Superman's) and the Phantom Zone criminals Jax-Ur and Mala, who were foiled by Jor-El.
Batman Beyond
As a possible tie to the resemblance between father and son, Christopher McDonald also voices an older Superman in the Batman Beyond two-parter "The Call."
Justice League
In the two-part episode "Twilight", Jor-El and Lara make a cameo in a picture shown to Superman by Brainiac when he attempts to renew his offer of exploring the universe and collecting knowledge.
Justice League Unlimited
Jor-El also appears in the Justice League Unlimited episode "For The Man Who Has Everything," an adaptation from the print story of the same name written by Alan Moore, which originally appeared in 1985's Superman Annual. In the story, Superman has an induced fantasy where he sees what his life would be like if Krypton had not exploded. Here, Jor-El is portrayed as an old man whose "sky-is-falling" theories disgraced him, but has done well enough for himself since then to have a sense of humor about it. As a bit of an in-joke, his facial design matches Superman's from the first season of Justice League, plus he slightly resembles Marlon Brando. Jor-El's voice is again provided by Christopher McDonald.
Legion of Super Heroes
Jor-El also appears in the Legion of Super Heroes animated series. He appears in the episode called "Message in a Bottle." In that episode, he was shown in a flashback, which was a story told by Brainiac 5, referring to the time when the original Brainiac (known as Brainiac 1.0 by the 31st century) shrank Kandor and destroyed the entire planet Krypton.
Kara and the Chronicles of Krypton
Jor-El is also featured in the animated web series Kara and the Chronicles of Krypton, a spin-off of the television series Smallville.
Live-action television
The Adventures of Superman
Jor-El was played by Robert Rockwell, who went uncredited on-screen, in "Superman On Earth," the first episode of the 1952 television series The Adventures Of Superman.
Superboy
Jor-El was "played" by George Lazenby, who was actually playing the role of an alien disguised as Jor-El, in the late 1980s television series Superboy, which Alexander Salkind and his son Ilya Salkind produced for first-run syndication.
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
David Warner played Jor-El in the episode "Foundling." From a small Kryptonian globe in the spacecraft that carried him to Earth, Clark Kent begins to see holographic messages from his biological father. Jor-El details Krypton's destruction and how he saved his son by sending him to Earth in a small experimental spaceship. Jor-El says that there is an old Kryptonian saying: "On a long road, take small steps."
François Giroday played Jor-El in the episode "Big Girls Don't Fly," where Clark learns that he was married, at birth, to Zara, which was apparently a common ritual on Krypton prior to its destruction.
Smallville
Terrence Stamp has voiced the disembodied spirit of Jor-El, Clark’s biological father, in 16 episodes from season two to season seven. Jor-El first appears to Clark as a voice emanating from the spaceship that brought Clark to Earth, informing him that it is time to leave Smallville and fulfill his destiny – a destiny that Clark believes is to conquer the world. Clark does not want to leave Smallville, so he destroys his spaceship. Three months after Clark fled Smallville, Jor-El and Jonathan make a deal. Jor-El will give Jonathan the power to bring Clark home, but only if Jonathan agrees to give Clark to him when the time comes. In season three’s "Relic", it is revealed that Jor-El (portrayed by Tom Welling in flashbacks) came to Smallville as a "rite of passage" by his own father. It is deduced by Clark that Jor-El chose the Kent family to be Clark’s adoptive family after having a positive experience with Jonathan’s father. In the season three finale, Jor-El makes good on his deal, and takes Clark from Smallville. Jor-El returns Clark three months later, reprogrammed as "Kal-El" to seek out the three stones of knowledge so that he can fulfill his destiny; Clark fails to retrieve all three stones immediately, which results in a "great evil" arriving on Earth.
With the three stones united, Clark uses them to form the Fortress of Solitude, where Jor-El informs him that he needs to begin his training in order to fulfill his destiny. That training in interrupted by two Kryptonian disciples of Zod—a criminal from Krypton, who is stuck in the Phantom Zone—who proceed to destroy Smallville looking for Clark. As a consequence when Clark does not return, Jor-El strips him of his powers. When Clark is killed in his mortal body, Jor-El resurrects Clark, with his powers, but informs his son that someone he loves will have to take his place in death; that person turns out to be Jonathan. In season seven, Jor-El warns Clark about the existence of his cousin Kara, the daughter of Jor-El’s brother Zor-El. It is revealed that Zor-El attempted to assassinate Jor-El. Clark’s consistent disobedience forces Jor-El to imprison his son in a block of ice. After learning that a clone of Clark has returned to Smallville, Jor-El frees his son so that he can take care of the creature.
Terence Stamp's name was deliberately kept out of the opening credits in order to keep the secret that he was voicing Jor-El. Stamp originally portrayed General Zod in the first two Superman films, starring Christopher Reeve.
Apart from Welling's portrayal of the character, Jor-El himself is never actually seen on-screen, with the exception of a glimpse during a flashback scene in the episode "Memoria."
Other Appearances
In an episode of the sitcom Seinfeld entitled "The Secret Code," Jerry reveals that his ATM code is "Jor-El."
In the episode of the animated show Futurama entitled "Future Stock," Jor-El has a cameo as a giant floating head, proclaiming himself "Master of Scheduling."
In an episode of the USA Network series Monk (TV Series) entitled "Mr. Monk Takes Manhattan," the street preacher who briefly converts Monk is called "Jor-El."
The saying "They claimed Jor-El was wrong too" has been used by various green organizations in trying to make the world aware of the plight of global warming.
Novels
Superman: Last Son of Krypton
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, in order 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.
Through the probe, Einstein learned that, due to the yellow-sun environment and lower gravity, the child would acquire superhuman powers on Earth, but concluded that he himself was too old to raise a super-child and that he would probably not live to see him become an adult. He reasoned the child should have both a father and mother, and also that on Earth, the qualities of kindness and honesty would be more important than sheer scientific knowledge to instill into a super-powerful being. (The real-life fact that Einstein had fled from despotic Nazi Germany in the 1930s was noted as a possible factor in this decision.)
Einstein then traveled incognito to Smallville to seek out a suitable family; this required his sneaking away from fawning government handlers assigned to protect/baby-sit Einstein as a vital national resource. In the course of several days in Smallville, he encountered Jonathan and Martha Kent, and decided that they would be ideal foster parents for the Kryptonian child, due to their honest and generous natures. Einstein arranged for the Kents to be in the immediate area when Kal-El's spaceship landed, thus ensuring he would be found and later adopted by them.
The last sequence shown in the novel has Kal-El, now grown up to become Clark Kent/Superman, reading a letter that Einstein had written to him, using the written Kryptonese language, in which he explains all this.
The Last Days of Krypton
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 for many years. At the start of the novel, Jor-El's research discovers the Phantom Zone.
See also
Superman: Birthright Superman Dynasty
External links
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