Moments before Krypton exploded, Jor-El and Lara place their infant son in a rocketship and send him hurtling through space to land on Earth. In most stories the pair perish… but not always. In some stories something happens that allows Jor-El to survive. But should he?
In the latest instalment of our “Great Debate” feature, we ask the question…
Should Jor-El survive the destruction of Krypton?
Yes
For most of Superman’s history, one thing has remained a constant: That Kal-El’s parents die in the destruction of the planet Krypton after rocketing their baby to Earth. It’s an element of the character’s story that has remained a constant almost since the beginning. Things were radically changed when Jor-El was revealed to have survived Krypton’s destruction during the events of “The Oz Effect”. Though he was meant to die, he was pulled away from his demise at the last moment by Dr. Manhattan. Over the course of the story, Jor-El proved to be a bit of an antagonistic force. Eventually, he was returned to his original place in time as punishment for some events that had serious ramifications in the DC Universe. When these issues were first being released, I was uncertain as to how I felt about the return of Jor-El. One of the big three rules of writing comic books had been broken: You don’t kill Aunt May, Bruce Wayne loses his parents in an act of senseless violence, and Superman’s biological parents perish along with his home world. Over time, I’ve come around on the idea of Jor not only surviving Krypton’s destruction, but also becoming a recurring character.
For starters, we already have a variation of this concept. In the Fortress of Solitude, Kal has Kryptonian technology that not only allows him to learn from his biological father, but also interact with him. Though these are just advanced holograms and recordings, the concept is still there. It’s in “Superman: The Movie,” it’s in the comic books, and it’s in “Man of Steel,” making it a concept that’s been around for over four decades. What would be the harm if, somehow, Jor-El actually managed to survive his planet’s destruction? We’re already used to Kal going to his biological father for advice, and sometimes even help. The only difference would be that there’d be a physical guy instead of a recording. As for how they’d write it into the story, I have no idea what they would do. Perhaps he was visiting Kandor when Brainiac decided to steal and bottle the city, leaving Lara to save Kal.
While it would be a significant change of pace for a lot of Superman readers, I think that this retooling of the Superman mythos could be an interesting one. Although Bendis absolutely ignored what happened in “The Oz Effect” to tell his story, the idea of Jon having a Kryptonian grandfather to explore and learn with was a cool concept. Most of the time, Jonathan Kent ends up dying during Clark’s teenage years, so it would be interesting to see him get some wisdom from his biological father, which would play nicely into the debate of nature vs. nurture in relation to Superman’s character. Perhaps Kal and Jor could find a way to cure Mon-El of the lead poisoning or even restore the bottle city of Kandor to its proper size. The possibilities are endless.
Of course, something like this would receive an incredible amount of pushback from editorial and the fan base, so it’s likely we’ll never see Jor return again. Still, it’s fun to think about all of the different stories and scenarios that could play out if he were to somehow survive Krypton’s destruction. It’s hard to say if it’d even be a good change, but the potential for interesting stories exists.
No
Mr. Oz was a character introduced in a Superman story by Geoff Johns and John Romita JR. I’ll save my opinion on that story for another day but right now let’s concentrate on the mysterious character. A green cloaked figure who seemed to have ties to Clark. But how and why? We encounter him again during the “DC Universe: Rebirth #1” one shot. Then he made appearances in other books as well as holding the likes of Tim Drake and Mr Mxyzptlk prisoner. Very intriguing. Then they did the story that revealed his identity. I was hoping it wasn’t who I thought it was. But it was. It was Jor-El. There was this convoluted back story about Dr Manhattan taking him just before Krypton exploded. Showing him how bad humanity could be. So he decided to imprison people and then became a bad guy. I still can’t wrap my mind around this. I wasn’t happy that Jor-El survived but I detested what they did to him. Then Brian Michael Bendis came along and did his thing and that just made things worse. Is he still alive in the current continuity? Who cares. If that’s what they were going to do to the character after bringing him back for good after 80 years I’m fine with him just melting into obscurity.
All of this is a long way of asking not only should Jor-El have come back but maybe he shouldn’t have died during the destruction of Krypton. How would Clark’s life have been if his Kryptonian dad either traveled to Earth with his son or had popped up sometime during the run of the Superman books and became a supporting character. No. It just wouldn’t befit the character of Clark if part of the reason he was sent to Earth to be Krypton’s last son and carry on the mantle still existed and was having coffee with Pa Kent. Would there even have been a Pa Kent if Jor-El traveled with his son to Earth? Maybe Jor-El would have appeared after floating in suspended animation and showed up on Clark’s doorstep in Metropolis. Or maybe… Well I think you get the point.
Clark learning how to deal with his powers and becoming the man he is because of the inspiration of the Kents makes him Superman. Having Jor-El along for the ride just doesn’t make sense as part of the narrative. Now we’ve had “hologram Jor-El” and “flashback Jor-El” and that’s okay. Some of those Silver Age Krypton stories were fun and it’s okay that Clark learns of his heritage. But Jor-El as a supporting character just doesn’t fit. His sacrifice would be for nothing. Jor-El is as much a hero as his son. He warned the elders of Krypton of its destruction, trying to save his people. After they laughed him away he knew that he had to save his son. The planet was going to be destroyed but he built a ship for his son so he could escape the cataclysm but he didn’t build one big enough for himself and Lara because he knew their deaths were inevitable. They were going down with the ship. But their son must survive, so he made the ultimate sacrifice. That alone should be a reason why he should not have survived. He shouldn’t be fighting along Superman or having dinner with Clark and Lois. It should also tell some of the creators that bringing him back is a bad move. And making him a “villain”!? What were they thinking? Jor-El should be an inspiration for the sacrifices he made. He should survive in Superman’s heart. That is why he should never have survived Krypton. No. Never.
Many thanks to our Great Debaters – Mario Bennese and Marc Lax.
I think it depends on the story. Turning Jor-el into somewhat of an antagonist as Mr. Oz I wasn’t a fan of. However, in the 2021-2022 Superman 78 comic series Jor-el and Laura both survived as well as a good portion of the Krypton‘s people due to Brainiac having captured their city and putting them into a bottled environment. I really liked the interaction between Superman and meeting his biological parents for the first time. It’s something that we will sadly never see in live action, but the story is so well written that this is the next best thing.
The concept of Jor-El surviving Krypton’s destruction isn’t bad and of itself. The problem is when the concept isn’t developed properly.
I think it fundamentally changes the myth of the character we love, I feel it really complicates Clark’s relationship with John.