Note: There are major spoilers for “Superman” below.
“We love you more than heaven, our son. We love you more than land. Our beloved home will soon be gone forever, but hope finalizes our hearts, and that hope is you Kal-El.”
In an early scene of James Gunn’s “Superman,” a wounded Kal-El listens to this message from his parents as he heals from a recent battle. “It soothes him,” Superman Robot #4 says of the hologram, which was recorded during the destruction of Krypton.
This message is an iconic part of Superman’s lore, rendered with touching poignancy by Gunn and his cast. But there’s also a twist. Early in the film, audiences learn that the message was corrupted in Kal-El’s transit to Earth. There’s a second half that’s yet to be deciphered. What Superman — and audiences — didn’t know, however, was that a more sinister second half of this speech would soon be revealed, simultaneously upending and paying homage to Superman’s comic book history.
What does the rest of Jor-El and Lara’s message say?
Early in the film, Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), Ultraman and the Engineer (María Gabriela de Faría) invade the Fortress of Solitude. Here, the Engineer manages to decode the corrupted half of Jor-El and Lara’s message to young Kal-El.
It’s not as pleasant as the first half.
As Superman learns alongside the rest of the world, Jor-El and Lara sent their son to Earth so he could rule over the weak and simple people of the planet. The Kryptonian couple emphasizes that he should take on many wives to proliferate his DNA, leading to the trending of #SecretHarem. It’s a shocking revelation that upends Clark’s perspective of his life and mission on Earth.
Is the message real?
According to “Superman,” absolutely.
When Lex Luthor introduces the sinister back half of Jor-El and Lara’s message to the world, he notes that a number of experts have independently verified the audio and video. Of course, the egomaniac nearly collapses under the weight of his hatred for Superman. Fabricating a believable piece of slander hardly seems outside Lex’s abilities and desires.
However, there are two scenes in “Superman” that suggest the message is genuine. In one, Lex tells the leader of Boravia that he genuinely stumbled upon the incriminating video while searching the Fortress of Solitude for weapons, providing him a perfect means of delegitimizing Superman. With only people involved in Luthor’s plot present for the conversation, Lex really has no reason to lie about the video being genuine.
In the other scene, Mister Terrific tells Clark that the experts Luthor called upon would not vouch for the message’s authenticity unless they knew for certain that it was real. Here, Gunn essentially uses Terrific — an unquestionable genius and tech expert — as a means of telling the viewers “Yes, this is real.”
Of course, Jor-El and Lara’s words could easily be walked back in a future installment of the DCU using some form of comic book trickery. Luthor could always double back and admit that he was actually lying, or some later story could reveal that the message was somehow tampered with in transit.
Regardless, Clark believes the new footage to be real in “Superman.” This revelation may not become permanent canon, but it is, at the very least, part of the emotional truth of this film.
Is this twist from the comics?
Like a lot of “Is this from the comics?” questions, the answer here is yes and no.
Are Jor-El and Lara evil, Earth-conquering Kryptonians in the bulk of Superman lore? No. Is there some precedent for the ideas presented in their message to Kal-El? Yes.
There have been a few different interpretations of Jor-El, in particular, that put him at odds with Kal-El and/or the people of Earth. In one Rebirth-era storyline, called “The Oz Effect,” Jor-El battled his son after arriving on Earth through the manipulation of Doctor Manhattan (don’t ask).
2022’s “Flashpoint Beyond” checks in on the Superman of the Flashpoint universe — an alternate timeline created after Barry Allen saved his mother from being killed. In this story, an adult Kal-El discovers a message from Jor-El asking his son to prepare the way for Kryptonians to take over Earth. Kal was but one of many children sent to planets in the hopes that they could prepare a new home for Krypton.
“Your mission upon adulthood is to use your powers to disarm the humans in advance of our arrival,” Jor-El says. “And then we will conquer them as father and son. Together.”
This message is probably the closest comp in comics to the scene shown in “Superman.” Many viewers noted the similarity between Gunn’s version of Jor-El and characters from “evil Superman” riffs, like “Invincible.” The Jor-El of both “Flashpoint Beyond” and Gunn’s “Superman” shares a philosophy eerily reminiscent of Omni-Man and the Viltrumites.
Other “Superman” adaptations played with the idea of Jor-El being a more nefarious figure. The character in the film bears a resemblance to “Smallville’s” take on Kal-El’s father — a cold figure who believes Kryptonians are superior to humans.
Who is the Eradicator?
Jor-El’s and Lara’s message could set up an important character from Superman’s history: The Eradicator.
Following the iconic storyline “The Death of Superman,” DC introduced four alternate Supermen based on four of the character’s nicknames/character traits: Steel (The Man of Steel), Cyborg Superman (The Man of Tomorrow), Superboy (The Metropolis Kid) and the Eradicator (The Last Son of Krypton).
Created by Roger Stern, the Eradicator was a cold, extreme and relatively emotionless AI uploaded into the body of a Superman clone. Much like Jor-El and Lara, the Eradicator tells Superman that his mission is “to protect the ultimate integrity of Kryptonian life.” During the “Reign of the Supermen/Return of Superman” event, Eradicator eventually adopts more of Kal-El’s humanity, apparently sacrificing himself to save the true Superman from Cyborg Superman’s attack. This also fulfills his mission to protect Kryptonian life “no … matter … the cost …”
The character would later appear again as an outright villain, with an early story from Peter J. Tomasi, Patrick Gleason and Jorge Jimenez during the Rebirth era of “Superman.” In this storyline, the Eradicator attempts to remove the human half of Superman and Lois Lane’s son, Jon Kent, for being “impure” in comparison to his Kryptonian genes.
Jor-El and Lara’s philosophy closely resembles the Eradicator’s: they believe in Kryptonian supremacy and preservation above all else, deeming humanity impure and simple. Were Kal-El to have grown up following the second half of this message, he would turn into a figure not unlike the Last Son of Krypton introduced in “The Death of Superman.” Perhaps a future installment of the DCU will see Jor-El’s philosophy live on through an Eradicator-like figure.
How does this affect the DCU?
Jor-El and Lara’s message presents an interesting question: do they speak for themselves or all of Krypton?
With “Supergirl” (formerly “Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow”) coming up next as the second film in the DCU, fans will soon learn how far-reaching the implications of this lore change will be. Unlike Superman, Kara Zor-El didn’t leave Krypton as a baby, and thus has memories of her family’s culture and experiences. This burdens the character with a profound sense of loss — one that likely explains Supergirl’s destructive behavior in her “Superman” cameo.
If Jor-El and Lara’s message represents the dominant opinion of Krypton, it could create an even greater rift between himself and his cousin. Were Kara to be raised in an environment of would-be conquerors, she would likely have a far different (and far lesser) opinion of Earth than Clark Kent. This seems somewhat unlikely, however, as Clark and Kara clearly had a relationship prior to “Superman,” and the message’s contents caught him completely by surprise.
In most “Superman” adaptations, Jor-El both sits among Krypton’s higher class and stands as something of an outsider, a member of his planet’s Science Council who fails to convince his peers of impending doom. In portraying him as a Kryptonian purist, it’s possible that Gunn simply dialed Jor-El’s outsider qualities to the extreme, placing him more in the company of a figure like General Zod than the rest of Krypton.
While some fans were turned off by such a radical change to Superman’s origin, it’s important to consider the message for what it is: 20 seconds of dialogue from two terrified parents sending their son into oblivion. To treat the clip as if it portrays the entirety of their characters — and all of Krypton — would be folly. If anything, this message signals that audiences have much more to learn about Krypton in the coming years.
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