Jor-El
From DC Animated Universe Wiki, the DCAU Database
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| Jor-El | |
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| Information | |
| Species: | Kryptonian |
| Hair: | Black |
| Eyes: | Black |
| Relatives: | Lara-El (wife) Kal-El (son) Sul-Van (father-in-law) |
| Base: | Krypton |
| Affiliations: | Kryptonian Science Council |
| Voiced by: | Christopher McDonald |
Jor-El was one of the planet Krypton's foremost scientists, and the birth father of Kal-El, the future Superman.
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[edit] History
A brilliant scientist, Jor-El served Krypton's ruling council loyally for many years. At some point, he married Lara, daughter of Councilor Sul-Van. With her, he fathered one son, Kal-El.
Sul-Van said once that Jor-El's primary flaw was his ego, that he was incapable of admitting that he could be wrong. Sul-Van may have been correct, but Jor-El carried it well because he was usually right, and never let concern for his reputation stand in the way of doing what he believed necessary.
Among his many accomplishments was thwarting High General Jax-Ur's attempted coup d'etat. Discovering intelligence of the uprising, Jor-El gathered a small force of militia and captured one of the rebel parties, using their communications equipment to send out a signal that disabled the rest of Jax-Ur's forces. He did not deign to appear at Jax-Ur's trial, a decision Jax-Ur called cowardice.
Years later, Jax-Ur would call Jor-El "a clever man" with poor judgment in choosing sides.
Conducting research on a series of earthquakes rocking Krypton, Jor-El discovered evidence which he said predicted the planet's imminent destruction. Before sharing his findings with the Council, he prepared a rescue plan for the planet's population that required sending all of Krypton's populace into the Phantom Zone, allowing himself, traveling in a one-man spacecraft, to release them on a new planet.
However, his findings were deliberately dismissed by the supercomputer Brainiac. The Council sided with Brainiac. Unwilling to admit that he might be mistaken, Jor-El investigated, and found that Brainiac had deliberately lied in order to give himself time to escape. By then, it was too late, as Krypton was to explode in a matter of hours. Jor-El could only put his backup plan into effect: to use his spacecraft to save his son, Kal. Programming the ship to carry Kal to Earth, Jor-El offered to send Lara with him. She refused, saying that her place was with her husband.
Before the ship departed, Jor-El and Lara recorded a message, telling their son that they loved him, and to always use his powers in a responsible way.
Jor-El watched the ship depart, and then kissed his wife as the world ended around them.
To honor his parents' memory, Superman carved two colossal statues of them in the Fortress of Solitude, holding aloft a globe of Krypton.
[edit] Fictional History
In a fantasy world created by the Black Mercy, Superman grew up on a Krypton that never exploded, in which his family was still alive. In this fictional history, Jor-El's warnings about the planet's destruction turned out to be wrong, and his reputation suffered a disastrous blow that took him years to recover from.
[edit] Background Information
In the film Superman, Jor-El (played by Marlon Brando) is credited as the discoverer of the Phantom Zone.
In the comics storyline, "For the Man Who Has Everything," on which the Justice League Unlimited episode of the same name is based, Jor-El has been disgraced as a result of being wrong about Krypton's destruction, and his bitterness leads him to start a rebellion against the planet's government.
[edit] Trivia
Jor-El was voiced in Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League Unlimited by Christopher McDonald. McDonald also provided the voice of his "son", Superman, in the Batman Beyond episode "The Call.
