Kal-El

== Biography ==
=== Background ===
Planet Krypton had long been divided, but its state of tension was reaching a boiling point in the months leading up to Kal-El’s birth. As a result, his father, Jor-El created the AI Vril Dox to monitor Krypton, and the AI predicted that Krypton’s core was unstable and would soon destroy the planet. Jor-El sent Kryptonian citizens into panic over this news, causing him to go on house arrest, and the Kryptonian High Council to debate his punishment.
Knowing Jor-El would be trapped at home, General Dru-Zod gathered his Black Zero Squadron and prepared an attack. Unbeknownst to them, Jor-El’s wife, Lara Lor-Van was going into labor as they approached. The two did battle, and eventually, Jor-El’s brother, Zor-El, managed to get word to the High Council, who sent over reinforcements to escort the Black Zero Squadron off the premises. As the Squadron was courted off to stand trial with the Council, Jor and Lara welcomed baby Kal-El into the world.
=== Early Life ===
Kal recalls very little of his two years spent on Krypton. Thankfully, his cousin Kara is there to fill in some of the blanks. The first two years of Kal-El’s life were marked by political unrest, as supporters of the House of Zod protested outside the family home regularly. Jor-El would lead squadrons for days into the mines towards Krypton’s core, where they could detect nothing amiss, despite Vril Dox’s insistence that Krypton’s destruction was imminent.
As such, Kara’s father, Zor-El, and Kal’s began creating plans, escape pods to be constructed for the whole family to allow them to escape a doomed planet, should the destruction come. And so, the family lived in fear for those two years. Their fathers grew to be workaholics, and their mothers riddled with guilt and silent anxiety.
The day of destruction came, but not in the way they were expecting. Vril Dox revealed he had been building a body and an army for himself in the caverns beneath the Kryptonian Arctic. He rose up against the planet and began to destroy it. Lara raced to put Kal-El in his rocket, sending him off towards Earth, but was unable to enter her own pod before Vril Dox’s destruction took down the home in a fireball.
And so, baby Kal-El was sent through the stars, arriving on Earth in a meteor storm that struck Smallville, Kansas. It did quite a bit of damage, including crashing Lionel Luthor’s car, destroying the county courthouse, and attracting the attention of Jonathan and Martha Kent.
=== Clark Kent ===
The Kents found the young boy. As government agencies closed in on the scene, they retreated to the farmhouse, disguising the baby boy as their son. That was the story they went with, claiming they had adopted the boy (the records conveniently destroyed by the meteors). However, they found that not all was normal with the boy.
Under the yellow son, his alien physiology made him develop extraordinary powers. Jonathan was encouraging of Clark, helping him explore his powers in small ways, such as when Martha was horrified to find Clark balancing Jonathan’s tractor with one hand. They offered the boy little explanation for his bizarre abilities, as they themselves knew very little.
Clark spent his entire childhood in Smallville living and working on Kent Farm. On occasion, the family had an excursion to Metropolis or Gotham City, but those were few and far between. In school, Clark wasn’t the most popular kid around, but he did alright. His two best friends were Pete Ross and Chloe Sullivan. The trio enjoyed investigating the rise of metahumans, Chloe specifically created the “Wall of Weird”, which gave way to Clark’s love of journalism.
In high school, Clark began dating Lana Lang, a member of the yearbook staff and school newspaper. She knew of his, Chloe, and Pete’s investigations and convinced Clark to join the school newspaper, the Smallville Torch. She and Clark became fascinated with the town’s “meteor freaks”.
Clark’s time at the newspaper wound him up with a scholarship to Metropolis University, where he studied journalism. Lana, Chloe, and Pete all wound up with the same scholarships. On his own for the first time, Clark decided it was time to embrace the abilities his parents had made him hide for several years.
He donned a prototype costume and took to the streets, putting muggers and members of the 100 Gang into their place. His bulletproof skin allowed him to take more beatings than any human could take. However, his escapades were scarcely picked up on by local press, which Clark was okay with.
His independence and knack for wandering off to do good put him on the outs with Lana, and she eventually ended things and transferred schools. He eventually revealed his secret to Chloe and Pete, who sort of forced their way into helping him with his activities. However, Clark would become distracted from this, when he laid eyes on a gorgeous black-haired girl who was in all his journalism classes, that would of course be Lois Lane.
Lois and Clark were by far the two best students in the class, and were the star reporters of Metropolis University’s student run newspaper, the Daily Star. Interestingly, though, they didn’t get along at first. They got along even less when both were in the running for a competitive summer internship with Metropolis’ most prestigious newspaper - the Daily Planet.
In the summer between their junior and senior year, Clark and Lois both worked at the Daily Planet, practically tripping over one another to impress the lead editor Perry White. Perry was often displeased with their antics, but saw their competition (and their sexual tension, which he picked up on before even they did) as a way to get more quality work out of them. He would push them to constantly try to one-up the other. He sweetened the pot a little by telling them that one of them would be offered a full-time position by the end of their internship.
Graduation day came, and shockingly, Perry hired both Clark and Lois - partnering them together to cover the explosion of metahumans that was rocking the world. He particularly wanted Clark to focus on Batman's activities in Metropolis’ sister-city. He recognized both of their natural interrogation skills, and sent them on a stakeout for LuthorCorp’s suspicious activity.
The search would turn up nothing, but the bond that Clark and Lois formed that night turned into romance, and both were properly smitten, to the point that within a year, they were married. They returned to Kent Farm for the ceremony. A few nights before the ceremony, Jonathan and Clark shared a beer together, where Jonathan took Clark to the barn cellar, and showed him the aircraft he had arrived on Earth in.
Confused and angry, Clark started up the ship, discovering that his fingerprint activated the on-board computer. It displayed him a map, showing him the location of a Kryptonian base in the Arctic Circle. Clark took off into the night, attracting the attention of military planes before he disappeared into international airspace.
He followed the location to the exact latitude and longitude to find, weirdly, nothing. Frustrated, he slammed his fist against the ground, clearing a giant path of snow enough to reveal an entrance hatch. He opened it and found himself in an expansive Kryptonian ship, which had become grounded and appeared to be no longer operational.
Once inside, a golden alien robot named Kelex introduced itself to Clark, calling him by his Kryptonian name of Kal-El and showed him around the ship - then inquiring what happened to his cousin, before dismissing the matter entirely. A holographic image of Clark’s biological father, Jor-El, appeared to him and told him everything about his heritage and his special abilities. The conversation ended with a presentation of a suit bearing the mark of the House of El.
He spent days in that ship, returning to Smallville the night before the wedding to very concerned parents and a very pissed Lois. That night, he told Lois everything, and she assured him that they would navigate this challenge together.
Following their wedding, he told his parents he felt called to a greater purpose, and that night in the Kent kitchen, he and Martha combined parts of the suit Kelex had made for him and created the first Superman suit.
=== Superman ===
After a nice week-long honeymoon, Clark and Lois came back, both ready to change Metropolis in their own way. Clark began operations as Superman. Among his early adventures were coordinated arrests of members of the 100 Gang, the defeat of metahuman trafficker Ultra-Humanite, and saving Lois and Hank Henshaw from an experimental spacecraft crash.
During his early adventures, he also gained a number of allies, among them were John Henry Irons, an engineer who was studying material leftover from the Smallville meteor shower, police commissioner Maggie Sawyer, bartender Bibbo Bibowski, and Alex Danvers, an agent of the DEO.
In 2002, Clark teamed up with Batman and Wonder Woman when three of their villains teamed up in an attempt to steal the Amazons’ technology. The three thwarted their plan, and this historic team-up came as a precursor to the Justice League, which would be founded that November, when the alien Appellaxians attempted an invasion of Earth. With the help of Aquaman, the Flash, Green Arrow, and Martian Manhunter, they were defeated.
Shortly after the Justice League’s assembly, Lois announced to Clark that she was pregnant. Clark was over the moon about this revelation. In the nine months leading up to Jonny’s birth, Clark was often spotted talking to the Jor-El hologram or bending Jonathan’s ear for advice.
However, during those months, Clark’s world was rocked when he discovered he was not the last Kryptonian. Unbeknownst to him, his cousin, Kara had been trapped in cryogenic stasis within the Phantom Zone, where General Zod’s Black Zero Squadron was also trapped, along with prison guard Sal-Den. At some point in the Zone, Sal-Den found Kara and freed her from stasis - but, Zod found out and forced the two to build him a device allowing the Squadron to escape the Phantom Zone.
The device worked, leading the Phantom Zone Criminals into the Fortress of Solitude, where Lois was going into labor. Zod showed Kara to Superman, to the surprise of Kelex, who insisted that she was his cousin, perhaps the last daughter of Krypton. Superman told Zod that Krypton had been destroyed, making Zod declare that he would make Earth into a new Krypton.
A fight ensued with Superman, Kara, and the recently formed Justice League battling the criminals. At first, they attempted to keep the fight underground, to prevent them from gaining powers under the yellow sun. But, as they closed in on Lois’ chambers, Superman was forced to destroy part of the roof as a distraction and make them give chase.
The battle bled into Metropolis, where John Henry Irons adorned his chest with the insignia of the House of El and took up arms as Steel to fight back against the invasion. Kelex was able to reverse engineer Zod’s device and used it to re-imprison the Squadron back in the Phantom Zone. As the fight drew to a close, Superman welcomed his first son into the world.
=== The House of El Reborn ===
Clark now had to navigate life not only as a biological father to Jonny, but as a surrogate father to Kara. To prevent suspicion, Clark cashed in on his alliance with Alex Danvers, and Kara was “adopted” by her parents, Linda and Fred Danvers, who lived in Smallville. They gave the girl the Earth name of Karen.
But, Kara didn’t want to just stay and live a normal life on Earth, like Clark, she yearned to use her powers to help people and begged him for a chance. So, in late 2004, Superman gained Supergirl. She spent most of her time in Smallville, with the Danvers and Kents, but accompanied Clark on certain adventures in Metropolis.
Together, they faced villains like Toyman, Prankster, and Silver Banshee, and Kara continued to prove herself. However, these threats grew more threatening. In particular, they faced Metallo, a rogue government created android powered with Kryptonite - the Kryptonians’ one weakness, and Parasite, a metahuman that could zap the powers from their bodies in an instant and turn their abilities on them.
Knowing that Kara needed a training ground, Superman partnered with the rest of the League to create the Titans - so their teenaged proteges could have companions to train with - although the program would quickly grow beyond that into its own superhero team.
Soon, Clark and Kara would both come face-to-face with the being that took their home from them, when Vril Dox, now known as Brainiac, attempted an invasion of Earth. Superman and Supergirl both fought hard against the alien, but the combined might of the Titans and Justice League is what dealt the blow that forced him into retreat.
However, Brainiac didn’t leave them with nothing. Technology of his was left behind in the form of decommissioned androids, which quickly found their way onto the black market and into the hands of government superpowers looking for a superheroic silver bullet. In addition, while exploring the wreckage of his ship, a number of living specimens, some alien, some android, some human/alien, etc, were discovered.
All underwent genetic scans at the Fortress of Solitude, and one specimen, a ten-year old girl, contained DNA that tested positive for Kryptonian, even more than that, it turned out her blood lineage matched that of Clark’s. She appeared completely clueless on any of her origins, knowing her name to be Cir-El, but Clark decided to take her in.
His and Lois had to move to another apartment to accommodate this new guest. Unsure of how to explain her presence, they opted for the explanation of Clark’s cousin “Mia Kent”, who was staying with them to attend school in Metropolis.
On the career side, things were looking up for Clark and Lois. Lois wrote a number of think-pieces on Superman and did a couple of sit-down interviews. She and Clark did some up close and personal interviews with Lex Luthor, of whom Clark was suspicious.
Clark’s world was rocked with grief when Jonathan suffered a fatal heart attack in the winter of 2007. His world fell apart and he was forced to take a step back from Superman actions, feeling useless as he was unable to save his father’s life from this illness. However, his father’s inspirational words rang true in his ears, inspiring him to continue onwards.
In 2008, the House of El gained another edition in the form of Superboy, a clone of Clark, which resulted in the exposure of Cadmus Labs. Lois wrote an investigative piece on Cadmus that made her world famous. Clark was happy to tag along for the ride. As a reward, Perry White assigned them their own special photographer - Jimmy Olsen, to be commanded by the “metahuman beat” that Clark and Lois occupied.
Clark was hesitant to take on Superboy - with the Superman family growing so large and so odd so quickly. Conner Kent, as he was dubbed, moved back to Kent Farm to stay with recently widowed Martha.
=== Man of Tomorrow ===
Meanwhile, the threats to Metropolis grew more bizarre each day. On one adventure, the alien bounty hunter Lobo attempted to kidnap Superman and sell him into a gladiator pit for the alien Mongul. In an attempt to get Superman to submit to him, Mongul infected him with the alien parasite the Black Mercy, briefly trapping Clark in an alternate reality where Krypton had never exploded. He was eventually freed with the help of Kara, Conner, and most bizarrely, Mia.
It was around this time that Clark wanted to investigate Mia’s origins. A thorough examination by Doctor Mid-Nite, Steel, and the Atom found that her genetic makeup was not 100% genetic. Instead, she appeared to be an incredibly advanced android, who they theorized was there as a potential spy. A psychic examination attempted to clear the girl, but the results were unclear.
Not wanting to offend Mia, Clark tried to keep her at arm’s length, but the girl began to grow aggressive - demanding that she become the next Supergirl and trying to force Kara out of the spot. She went so far as to attempt to open the Phantom Zone again to lock Kara within. This obviously didn’t go over too well.
In 2012, for personal reasons, Kara stepped down as Supergirl, turning the mantle over to Mia to finally get her time in the Sun. Plagued by uncertainty of the girl, Superman was hesitant to take her on as a sidekick. When Lois revealed she was pregnant again, something changed in Mia, and she stopped being aggressive but grew lethargic. One day, she told Clark and Lois that she was moving to Jump City and disappeared, just like that.
Upon further investigation, Superman began to suspect Brainiac’s involvement, and in the summer of 2014, he bid his family farewell in a pursuit to find him. He spent the next months traversing the galaxy in search of the android, where he briefly wielded a Green Lantern ring and even grew a beard. He eventually found Brainiac and demanded he tell him what was going on with his daughter.
Brainiac revealed she had indeed been placed there as a sleeper agent, but somehow, she had broken free of the programming. She had been programmed to believe she was the time-traveling daughter of Clark and Lois. Lois’ pregnancy messed with her head so bad it caused her to become lost in her own head. But Brainiac’s control over her had been severed.
Clark returned home and found that everything had fallen apart in his absence. The Justice League and Titans were both forced into shutdown, with Miss Martian having to fake his press appearances during his absence. He discovered that Conner had also placed himself in exile in Hawaii and wouldn’t reveal why. He also learned that Kara’s father had seemingly returned from the dead - leaving her completely distraught.
He revealed the findings of his travels to Mia. She was distrustful of Brainiac, and begged to be cryogenically frozen in the Fortress until they could be sure. Clark chose to honor her wishes. With all of this stress, Steel offered to take over as Metropolis’ protector, while Lois begged Clark to take some time off. Clark obliged.
=== Grounded ===
Lois gave birth to twin daughters, Carol and Jane. Then, she and Clark declared that they were taking an extended sabbatical and moved back to the Kent Farm. Clark grew out his beard for a little bit and put down the cape. He decided to start instilling the lessons in Jonny that his father had instilled in him.
He sat on the sidelines, becoming a novelist in this time, even writing and publishing a book. He watched as Sivana Industries attempted to create their own Justice League, although it was quickly revealed to be villains masquerading as heroes. Clark discovered two more Earthbound Kryptonians, Lor-Zod and Thara Ak-Var. When their status as Kryptonians was revealed, he put on the cape to greet them, offer them some words of wisdom and a home-cooked meal.
That night, they showed up at Kent Farm, and the Kent Family grew yet again. Clark began to wonder if it was time for Superman to return. Instead, Steel offered to take on the two as proteges, hoping to redeem “Ultraman” and “Superwoman”, allowing Clark to spend more time with his family.
However, his call to return came when Lex Luthor became President, and the Justice League came back into action. He shaved his beard and returned to the baby-blue and red. Following the liberation of Gotham City, he went on a small tour to bring back all of his proteges, even Mia, telling them the words he knew they needed to hear, and the Superman Family was back.
=== The Return of Superman ===
Now, Superman was back and better than ever. While he, Mia, and Steel (and some colorful new allies) focused on keeping track of Metropolis, while Kara, now going by Power Girl, remained in National City, and Conner focused on being the hero of Smallville.
He would find himself rattled on January 1st, 2018, finding he had no memory of the previous night, later discovering that Tomorrow Woman and Triumph had betrayed the Justice League in a massive plan that resulted in the destruction of the Watchtower, Bludhaven, parts of San Diego, and the League’s reputation, as well as claiming Steel's life.
He learned that during the sixteen hours he couldn’t recall, Vandal Savage had mind-controlled him and six other Justice Leaguers into planting devices created by the Reach on Rann and Thanagar to throw the planets out of orbit and sending them into war with one another. With the threat on Earth of the OMACs taken care of, Clark and the other Leaguers were escorted by the Green Lantern Corps to stand trial on Ajuris 5 with the Tribunal.
After a lengthy trial, they eventually proved their innocence, and returned to Earth in time to fight the Reach on Oolong Island. Since the defeat, Jonny has become the second Superboy, and awaits admission to the Young Justice Academy. In addition, an individual known as the Eradicator has been spotted in Metropolis - although it's unsure if he is friend or foe. A woman calling herself Strange Visitor has also been spotted bearing the insignia of the House of El, though her relation is unsure as well. And John's niece, Natasha is readying herself to take over the reigns as the new Steel. 
The Kents are also celebrating Lois winning the Pulitzer Prize after exposing the OMAC scandal and its many connections to different supervillain organizations.
== Trivia ==
* Clark's favorite movie is To Kill a Mockingbird.
* Clark is a published novelist.
* Clark will often have Kara explain Kryptonian words and traditions to him