- For other uses of Kal-El, see Kal-El (disambiguation).
- For other uses of Superman, see Superman (disambiguation).
- "He's not one of us, Sam. Where I come from, you're like me, and you don't trust him either because you know what he's capable of. You have to help me save your planet, Sam. Before Kal-El..."
- —John Henry Irons to Sam Lane about Superman's Earth-TUD22 counterpart[src]
Kal-El is the son of the late Jor-El and the half-brother of the late Tal-Rho. Sometime before Krypton was destroyed, he was sent to Earth. After losing his adoptive parents and being subjected to abuse and experimentation, he eventually learned about his true heritage and took on the moniker of Superman. However, Kal turned against humanity after meeting his brother, Tal-Rho.
Quick Answers
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Biography[]
Original multiverse[]
Early life[]
Kal-El with his adoptive parents.
Kal-El was born on the planet Krypton and sent to Earth following the planet's destruction.[1] He landed in the United States in Smallville, where he was adopted by the Kent family and lived on a farm. One day in the spring when Kal-El was a child, he and his adoptive parents watched as their field with the previous season's crops was burned. Kal's adoptive father explained to him the concept of a controlled burn, which was necessary for new crops to be planted.
Months later during a Fourth of July celebration, when out driving in Smallville, his adoptive parents were killed in a car crash, with Kal being the sole survivor.
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Kal-El is arrested by the police.
Kal-El was then placed in a new foster home, where he was mistreated by his foster parents and bullied by the two other boys who lived there. Several years later, his super-hearing developed, allowing him to hear his foster father beating his foster mother in the middle of the night. Kal confronted the man and accidentally killed him with his Heat vision, terrifying his foster mother. The woman kicked Kal out, calling him a "freak" and a "monster".
Kal fled the house but was later arrested by the police and taken to a special U.S. government facility, where he was experimented on. Eventually, Kal's super-strength had also awoken, allowing him to easily escape from his restraints. While breaking out of the facility, he found the spaceship which brought him to Earth, and along with it, a sunstone crystal.
Kal-El awakens his powers with his sunstone crystal.
Kal escaped to the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil, South America, where he constructed a fortress using the sunstone crystal. At the fortress, he met the A.I. of his late father, Jor-El, and learned the truth about his heritage. After telling his father of his life on Earth, including the losses, pain, and mistrust he suffered, Jor-El declared Kal must save the people of Earth from themselves, and trained him to become a weapon capable of that.
In adulthood, Kal became a vigilante known as Superman, who once even considered himself the 'Savior' before accepting Frederich Nietzsche's concepts of the Übermensch used to rebrand his superhero identity.[2]
Time as Superman[]
As Superman, Kal spent the next 20 years protecting Earth, saving humanity from disasters such as an ocean wave about to sink a ship, and attacking regimes of countries hostile to America, as well as their armies and drones. At one point in Asia, he saved a collapsing bridge in Guizhou, China, winning the U.S. population's support despite the various national governments fearing his power. At some point, he also thwarted a terrorist bombing of a federal building and captured a school shooter. Although he stopped many crimes, Kal grew frustrated as the worst of humanity persisted in spite of his efforts.[2]
Attacking Earth[]
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Kal-El uses a nuclear bomb to destroy Coast City.
- "Why? What did I do to you?"
- "It wasn't just me. You destroyed my whole planet!"
- —Superman's Earth-TUD25 counterpart and John Henry Irons[src]
Kal was approached by his brother, Tal-Rho. He promised Kal that they could cure Earth of its evilness by resurrecting Krypton through the humans. From there, Kal allied with Tal-Rho and began attacking cities in the United States and across the globe. He even went as far as using a nuclear bomb to destroy Coast City, which was intended to be used against the Kryptonians.[2]
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Kal-El kills with his Heat vision.
Along with an army of Kryptonian-empowered humans, Kal used his Heat vision to destroy several Metropolis buildings, prompting a major global resistance against the rogue Kryptonians. One night, at exactly 10:36 PM EST, he killed Lois Lane during a live interview on the DPN news as she revealed the Kryptonians' weakness to Kryptonite.[3] Kal also killed a squadron of military soldiers led by general Sam Lane, with John Henry Irons being the only survivor.[4]
Anti-Monitor Crisis[]
On December 10, 2019, a wave of antimatter slowly began consuming the entire Earth-TUD22 universe, including the Milky Way galaxy and heading to the Solar System. As Irons was trying to escape using his ship, Kal tried to stop him, while also being followed by John's daughter. [5]
After Irons went through an antimatter wormhole to Earth-TUD25,[6] Kal was recruited by Magog to serve his needs and was sent to Earth-Prime.[2]
New multiverse[]
Battle with Magog[]
Kal was transported to Earth-Prime in the year 2049, where he battled Supergirl and Martian Manhunter. He later joined Will Parker, Clayface, the Necrians, and the clone of The Needle, but they were all defeated by Earth-Prime's heroes. While all the other villains were returned to their time, Kal mysteriously vanished entirely, leaving Martian Manhunter and Jay Garrick confused.[7]
Personality[]
Similar to Kal's other doppelgängers, he was once a moral, honorable, and just individual who fought to protect citizens of Metropolis and overall the entire world. However, due to his difficult upbringing and seeing the people of Earth (Earth-TUD22) not bettering themselves through his example, Kal eventually came to lose faith in humanity. This, combined with Tal-Rho's offering of a quicker solution, caused Kal to betray humanity and begin destroying them.
Powers and abilities[]
Powers[]
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Kal-El using his heat vision to destroy Metropolis.
- Kryptonian physiology: Normally, like all Kryptonians, Kal-El's capabilities are no greater than a normal human of his physical conditioning. However, once charged by the energy spectrum of a yellow sun, he becomes able to perform various inhuman feats.[4]
- Solar energy absorption: Like all Kryptonians, Kal was able to absorb the suns energy in order to grant him abilities.
- Flight: Kal is able to manipulate his own gravitational field to generate thrust and propel himself through the air.[4]
- Heat vision: By concentrating the solar energy in Kal's body, he can emit red energy beams from his eyes.[4]
- Invulnerability: Kal was able to withstand direct gunfire without taking any damage.[4]
- Solar energy absorption: Like all Kryptonians, Kal was able to absorb the suns energy in order to grant him abilities.
Weakness[]
- "The only remnants of your real home, Kryptonite, make you sick."
- —John Henry Irons, to Kal-El's Earth-TUD25 counterpart[src]
- Kryptonite: Like all Kryptonians, even while empowered, Kal is vulnerable to the exposure of Kryptonite, a radioactive mineral from his home planet Krypton. Depending on the nature of the said Kryptonite, it will cause a different adverse effect on him.[1]
- Green Kryptonite: Green Kryptonite not only physically hurts Kal, but also it weakens his physical attributes, making him equivalent to that of a normal human.[1]
Equipment[]
- Superman suit: Kal wore a black and silver protective suit as his alter-ego, Superman.[4]
Appearances[]
Superman & Lois[]
Season 1
Season 2
Season 4
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Comics[]
EARTH-PRIME[]
Trivia[]
- This Kal-El wore a suit that was identical to the one that John Deegan wore when he altered Earth-1's reality with the Book of Destiny to turn himself into Superman.
Behind the scenes[]
- In the DC comics, Kal-El is the superhero known as Superman and as his human guise Clark Kent. He debuted in Action Comics #1 (June, 1938) by creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
- This version of Superman seems to be loosely based on Ultraman, the evil counterpart to Superman from Earth 3. In this universe, Alexander Luthor, Jr. was a hero who wished to rid his world of Ultraman.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Pilot"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Controlled Burn"
- ↑ "Man of Steel"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 "Heritage"
- ↑ "Into Oblivion"
- ↑ "Through the Valley of Death"
- ↑ "Savior Complex"
| Other versions of Kal-El (Earth-TUD22) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| To see other versions of this character, click the Earth name below for that Earth's counterpart of Kal-El. | ||||
| New multiverse | ||||
| Earth: Prime • TUD25 • Inverse World | ||||
| Original multiverse | ||||
| Earth: 38 • 96 • TUD22 | ||||
| Transmultiversal multiverse | ||||
| Earth: 38A | ||||