Superman’s Father Is Now a DC Hero, But I Think the Lore Change Is a Mistake

Warning: Spoilers for Absolute Superman #3

Superman is one of the DC Universe’s most beloved heroes, yet his father isn’t always deemed heroic. Jor-El’s morals have often been questioned by his son due to his dark actions on Krypton. Now, a shocking rewrite has redeemed Jor-El in DC history and transformed him into a heroic figure. However, I don’t believe this change to Superman’s status quo works in his favor.

Jor-El, the biological father of Superman, receives a major overhaul in an Action Comics story entitled “Phantoms”, written by Mark Waid with art by Clayton Henry. This tale follows Superman’s investigation of mysterious occurrences in the Phantom Zone, a Kryptonian prison founded by Jor. This experience causes Superman to doubt the ethics behind the Zone and, by extension, the ethics of his father.

Waid and Henry subvert this morally ambiguous take on the character to redefine Jor-El’s discovery of the Phantom Zone and paint him in a positive light. After decades, Superman’s father is getting portrayed as a hero, but I’m staunchly opposed to this retcon.

Jor-El Tried to Save His Fellow Kryptonians, Rewriting Classic Superman Lore

The Phantom Zone Was Originally Meant to Help People, Not Imprison Them

In Action Comics #1074, Superman gets transported to Krypton’s past before its destruction, where he has the privilege of meeting his parents face-to-face. Prior to this fateful encounter, Superman had struggled to comprehend why his father would use a dimension as harsh as the Phantom Zone to imprison criminals. No matter how harsh the crime, Superman believes in redemption, and he can’t fathom the kind of person Jor-El must have been if he hadn’t considered that as an option. When he speaks with Jor, though, he learns the truth about the Phantom Zone’s creation.

Superman’s father brings him down to his laboratory and shows off the Phantom Zone projector, revealing that he’d built it as a lifeline of sorts. Jor explains that, since Krypton is nearing destruction, he hopes to teleport Kryptonians into the Zone so they can survive the loss of their planet. Rather than intending for it to be an unjust punishment, Jor-El initially planned for the Phantom Zone to be a salvation for his people. This massive retcon to Superman lore makes his father a savior of Krypton, but in doing so, it simultaneously undermines the Absolute Universe’s take on the character.

Jor-El’s New Portrayal Ruins His Absolute Universe Counterpart

Krypton’s Destruction No Longer Defies Expectations in DC’s Alternate Continuity

While Jor-El’s biggest sin being erased may appear to be a good thing, upon reading Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval’s Absolute Superman #3, I can’t help but feel that DC made the wrong call. The Absolute Universe revamps many aspects of Superman’s traditional mythos, and that includes the final days of Krypton. In this version of continuity, Jor and Lara Lor-Van work together to devise a plan to escape their decaying world with young Kal-El. Superman’s parents ultimately decide to rescue as many Kryptonians as possible thanks to a large space-ship they have procured, demonstrating their heroism.

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Jor-El’s attempt to salvage lives in the face of imminent death is an interesting contrast to his standard iteration – at least, it would be if not for the retcon in DC’s core universe. Both variants of Jor coming up with an elaborate plot to save their fellow Kryptonians causes both to fall flat in turn. If Jor’s Phantom Zone proposal had remained consistent with the original story, then Absolute Superman’s updated origin would be much more effective as a re-invention of Superman lore. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case, and the impact on the Absolute Universe isn’t where my issues with this change end.

Superman’s Father Doesn’t Need to be a Hero In Order to Create One

The Story of Superman Is More Meaningful If His Parents Aren’t Perfect

My main problem with Jor-El being regarded as a hero is that it detracts not only from his own stories, but from Superman’s as well. Superman’s moral dilemma about Jor pioneering the Phantom Zone serves as a compelling conflict for him to overcome. To me, the “perfect” hero having an imperfect father is a much better concept than his perfection being inherited. Superman’s parents should be flawed, because that makes him avoiding their mistakes all the more satisfying. Jor-El may definitively be a good guy for now, but I hope DC undoes this unnecessary “fix” and restores Superman‘s complex relationship with his father.

Action Comics #1070-1081 and Absolute Superman #3 are available now from DC Comics.

Superman

The icon who launched the entire world of superheroes, the last son of Krypton escaped his dying world to crash land on Earth and be raised as Clark Kent. The world knows him better as Superman, the Man of Steel, the leader of the Justice League, and the most well-known hero in the DC Comics Universe. Blessed with the powers of a demigod, Kal-El of Krypton fights enemies both small and cosmic in his endless pursuit of truth, justice, and a better tomorrow.