Zor-El

Zor-El (died 1979) was the father of Kara Zor-El and the husband of Alura Zor-El, as well as one of the most respected scientists of Krypton.

Early life
Zor-El was born on the planet Krypton, into the prestigious House of El. He had a younger brother, Jor-El, and they both became scientists after reaching adulthood.

Zor-El fell in love with a judicator named Alura, who later became his wife, and they had a daughter, Kara.

When Kara was eight years old, she gave Zor-El a statue of a winged creature she made herself, but was upset that the wings weren't perfect. Nonetheless, Zor-El treasured the statue, assuring Kara it was fine just the way it was and that he loved her.

Zor-El would often bring Kara to his lab while he worked and even sought her help when facing difficulties. At some point, he took Kara to the planet Starhaven and the Well of Stars.

Project Medusa
At some point in his life, the Ruling Counsel of Krypton ordered Zor-El to create the Medusa virus, a synthetic bioweapon designed to eradicate all extraterrestrial life other than Kryptonians as a fail-safe mechanism to protect Krypton in the event of an invasion. The virus was never used, and the files regarding it were later brought to Earth on Kal-El's pod.

Zor-El also began conducting studies on the Harun-El, a mystical black rock found on Krypton with untold powers.

Sending Kara to Earth and protecting Argo City
When it was determined that Krypton was facing imminent destruction, Zor-El initially worked to build a transmatter portal in an effort to get every resident of the planet to safety, but failed to complete it in time. Zor-El then used his research on the Harun-El to build a protective dome powered by the rock to preserve Argo City.

Not knowing if the dome would work, Zor-El and his wife Alura decided to send their daughter Kara to Earth alongside her cousin and Zor-El's nephew, Kal-El. Before sending her off, Alura told Kara that the trip would be long, but assured her that she and Zor-El will be with their daughter in her dreams. Zor-El prepared his daughter's pod and watched as the latter boarded her ship, leaving right before the planet self-destructed.

Ultimately, Zor-EL was able to power the Harun-El dome and Argo City was saved. Unfortunately, he lost his life in the process due to the tainted air following the collapse of Krypton and died.

Hologram
Zor-El's intelligence appears as a hologram in the Fortress of Solitude when Kara goes there to learn of Project Medusa. The A.I. explains that the virus was created by him as a joint effort between the Military and Science Guilds to kill other life forms in the event of an invasion. Shocked, Kara protested that her father was saving lives with his work, to which the A.I. corrected with saving Kryptonian lives. Kara angrily pointed out that Zor-El had given Project Cadmus the perfect weapon to use on Earth and deactivated the A.I. before he could respond.

Legacy
Zor-El was revered and respected by the denizens of Argo City for his sacrifice, with a plaque dedicated to him and every other Kryptonian who died in the destruction of the planet.

Zor-El's death was one of the catalysts for Alura changing her legal methods, as she was heartbroken over her husband's death and believed it could've been prevented if she was more proactive in saving Krypton.

Upon learning the origin of the Medusa virus, Kara was horrified at her father's willingness to create and use such a dangerous weapon and even felt ashamed to be his daughter, wondering if death and destruction was all that remained of her parents' legacy. However, J'onn J'onzz assured Kara that she is her parents' legacy and can learn from Zor-El and Alura's mistakes to be better.

When Kara visited Argo City for the first time, she was both awed and saddened upon learning of her father's sacrifice, implying she came to forgive Zor-El for his mistakes.

Personality
Zor-El was shown to be compassionate, courageous and wise individual who worked hard to protect Krypton through his work as a scientist. He was also a loving and devoted husband and father to his wife, Alura, and daughter, Kara. Zor-El would often share his work with Kara, fondly acknowledging her as a fellow scientist.

However, Zor-El was also revealed to have been a ruthless pragmatist if it came down to hit. To fight against alien invasions, he created the Medusa virus, a dangerous bioweapon with the capability of eradicating all life other than Kryptonians on a large scale. Zor-El believed he was justified in using a virus with horrific potential as a last resort to protect his home, without caring of the death and destruction it could cause. He never even thought to create a cure if the virus fell into the wrong hands, displaying traits of callousness and arrogance.

Despite these flaws, Zor-El genuinely loved and cherished his family and placed the well-being of his fellow Kryptonians above all else. In the wake of the planet's destruction, he worked tirelessly to find a way to save all of Krypton's residents and ended up giving his life to protect Argo City, ensuring that a piece of Krypton remained intact, proving that he truly did have his family and home's best interests at heart.

Powers

 * Kryptonian physiology: Normally, like all Kryptonians, Zor-El's capabilities were no greater than a normal human of his physical conditioning. However, if he had been charged by the energy of a yellow sun, Zor-El would have become able to perform various inhuman feats. However, this never happened as he wasn't ever exposed to a sun different to the the Kryptonians' natural red one.

Abilities

 * Genius-level intellect/Master scientist/Master engineer: Zor-El was highly intelligent, being one of the most distinguished scientists on Krypton. Zor-El was able to create the synthetic Medusa virus. He even built a special dome powered by the Harun-El to provide Argo City with breathable air and hide it from potential invaders. Zor-El was partially successful in designing a transmatter portal to evacuate Krypton's residents from the planet.
 * Multilingual: Zor-El was capable of fluently speaking English and Kryptonese.

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Trivia

 * He was bad at cooking.

Behind the scenes

 * Zor-El debuted in Action Comics #252 (May, 1959), as the biological father of Kara Zor-El, who also made her debut in the same issue. The latest incarnation of the character becomes the second version of the villain, Cyborg Superman.