Tal-Rho

* Civilian
* Alter ego

"*Perhaps you can find something more worthy of your unique gifts. If you want to make a real impact, I can be a resource. I pride myself in helping people achieve their best selves.*"
—Morgan Edge[src]
**Tal-Rho** (born c. 1968) is a Kryptonian, the son of the late Zeta-Rho and Lara Lor-Van, and the maternal half-brother of Kal-El. On Earth, he used the name **Morgan Edge** and was a majority shareholder of Galaxy Holdings, the owner of the *Daily Planet*, and the CEO of Edge EnerCorp until he was exposed as the culprit for implanting Kryptonian minds in people's bodies.

## Biography

### Early life

 File:Young Tal-Rho.png
"*Brother?"
"I know how unlikely it may seem, but the two of us, we share the same Kryptonian blood."
"You are not my brother."
"I am, Kal-El. My real name is Tal-Rho. I'm the son of Zeta-Rho and Lara Lor-Van."
"That's not possible. My mother—"
"Married Jor-El, your father. Yes, I know. Years after she'd been matched to my father, years after I was born. It was when she first warned that Krypton was dying. The very reason my father sent me here. I was the first son of Krypton to leave... and I came here with one purpose: to further our Kryptonian heritage.*"
—Tal-Rho and Superman[src]
Tal-Rho was born in 1968 to Zeta-Rho and his genetic match Lara Lor-Van on Krypton. Tal-Rho was sent to Earth before Krypton's destruction and landed somewhere in the British Isles.

 File:Young Tal-Rho enter his Fortress for the first time.png   When his pod opened, Tal-Rho absorbed yellow sun radiation quickly and gained extraordinary powers. A couple with a shotgun on a hunting trip in the woods found Tal-Rho, who incinerated the couple with his heat vision due to lack of control. Other hunters captured the young child and turned him over to the government.

For 9 years, Tal-Rho was the subject of experimentation until he escaped. Tal-Rho learned to speak British English, but he also developed a dislike for humans. Upon setting up a headquarters in the desert, Tal-Rho interacted wit the A.I. of his father who had to subject him to further training. Later, he adopted the alias "Morgan Edge" and founded Edge EnerCorp and became a majority shareholder of Galaxy Holdings.

### Meteorite shower

"*Now the resurrection begins.*"
—Morgan Edge[src]
Tal-Rho eventually found out that Superman was his brother, this motivated him to go against his father's wishes and find another way to resurrect the people from Krypton once he finds the Eradicator. In 2015, Morgan went to Saskatchewan; while there, he was in a convoy as it was bombarded by meteorites. When a the Eradicator fell to the ground, Morgan exited his vehicle and declared that the resurrection could begin.

### The search

Morgan promised the towns of New Carthage, Hazel Green, and Granville that he could bring prosperity and jobs as he bought farms and land in the area. However, he failed to keep his promise to each town, causing ruin and exit for its citizens. Morgan used his technology mixed with X-Kryptonite to give Kryptonian powers to several people, including his assistant Leslie Larr and David Fuglestad. Morgan told one of his workers, Derek Powell, that he had an "opportunity of a lifetime" for him. Derek disappeared and also gained superpowers.

### Smallville

"*Why would someone like Morgan Edge be interested in a bunch of farms in Smallville, Kansas?*"
—Lana Lang Cushing[src]
 File:Morgan and Leslie in Smallville.png
Morgan recently bought the *Daily Planet* and laid off much of its staff, including Whit and Clark Kent.

Morgan targeted small towns that were vulnerable due to natural disasters and financial downfalls, and is beginning new business in Smallville.

Later, at the town meeting, Morgan Edge arrives with his personal assistant Leslie Larr and makes promises to the citizens of Smallville that he will bring jobs and money to the town. Lois challenges Edge in front of everyone with her research, so Morgan spins the story to make himself more reputable. Edge then rewrites Lois's article. During a meeting of the *Daily Planet*, Lois appears and leaves her letter of resignation.

He then sends David Fuglestad to spy on Lois in Smallville. But, when he is discovered and defeated by Superman, Edge orders Leslie to kill him.

### Rediscovering X-Kryptonite

 File:Lana, Kyle and Morgan dinner.png
Morgan sent Leslie to the *Smallville Gazette* with a copy of Lois' *Daily Planet* contract, which included a clause preventing her from publishing an article that would "defame" him. Then he went to watch a Smallville High School football game with Kyle Cushing. Then they went to dinner with Mayor Dean and Lana, where Morgan noted that Lana had great potential that she was wasting in Smallville. He also went to inspect the Shuster Mine with Leslie, where they found Lois again, who asked him what he was doing in town, and Edge asked the same question. As Lois was unable to make her case at the city council meeting, Edge gained exclusive rights to the mines.

 File:Leslie Larr and Morgan Edge find a large supply of X-Kryptonite.png
Later, he and Leslie surveyed the mines and she effortlessly punched through the rock face at a spot he indicated, revealing a large supply of X-Kryptonite. Leslie noted that they might have a hard time finding candidates, but Morgan noted that he could find talented people.

After a fire burned the donations made to the Smallvile Harvest Festival, Morgan Edge wrote a check to have the items replaced.

Days passed. Morgan and Leslie greeted employees and inspectors when they opened the mine. Leslie saw Lois Lane, but Morgan told her to ignore her. Meanwhile, Morgan approached Lana, as opposed to Kyle, about promoting the mine and being its representative to the town. Lana accepted the position and the increased income. Leslie questioned Morgan's decision; Morgan cited that Lana had credentials that were above others in Smallville.

### Edge EnerCorp

 File:Morgan and Lesie at Shuster Mines.png
Morgan gave Lana an office at Edge EnerCorp and asked her to interview people for a leadership program he was developing that needed five people like her who had untapped potential.

Meanwhile, Morgan reprimanded Leslie for allowing two intruders in the Shuster Mine to escape her. Morgan noted that he had too many people in his business, including Superman, but he wanted no one to disturb his shipments of X-Kryptonite. Leslie suggested that she would send a small shipment to see who follows it. Morgan told her not to fail him again; Leslie showed fear.

When Lana interviewed Emily Phan, Morgan pretended that he was not listening. Later, behind Lana's back, Morgan hired Emily for the program. Leslie returned and pleased Morgan that she succeeded in sending a shipment. Morgan told Leslie that he wanted Kyle Cushing in the leadership program, but he was not going to pressure Lana into making that happen.

Morgan smiled as Leslie escorted Kyle into his office, as Kyle accepted being a part of the leadership program, thus gaining superpowers.

Finding the citizens of Smallville to his liking, because they could accept the superpowers without glitching, Morgan put an ad in the *Smallville Gazette* for more participants. Lois saw the ad and stormed into his office at Edge Enercorp and told him that she objected; Morgan retorted that word-of-mouth advertising would do because the citizens were happy with the program and the money that he was providing. After Lois left, Morgan told Leslie that he was going to have Lois attacked. To that end, Morgan sent Emily, Kyle, and Jasper Townes to the Kent Farm; during the melee, Emily escaped with the ELT and took it to Morgan.

### Revealed identity

***This section is a stub. You can help expand this section by adding some information.***

Later, at somewhere close to Smallville, Morgan, using the ELT of Lois Lane to summon Superman, wore a Kryptonian suit and told "his brother" about his history and true identity. Tal-Rho gave Kal-El a choice between Kryptonians and Humans, as Tal-Rho wanted to revive the race on Earth. After a brief tussle, Tal-Rho told his younger half-brother that he would give him time to decide.

In actuality, Tal-Rho was giving the Kryptonian minds inside the humans time to settle in their new bodies.

Tal-Rho met with Superman again about twenty-four hours later; Superman chose humanity. Tal-Rho explained that his time with humans growing up was not as good as Superman's must have been, but Superman would not be swayed. Citizens from Smallville who had been converted, including Emily Phan and Jasper Townes, grouped together to kill Kal-El. Tal-Rho and his Subjekts chased Kal-El through Smallville and through Sequoia. As the Subjekts fired their heat vision, Tal-Rho hesitated; he noticed that Kal-El had the Eradicator. Tal-Rho screamed as the Eradicator was activated by Kal-El's solar flare, reverting the Subjekts to their human forms.

Tal-Rho could not find his younger brother and went to see Leslie Larr, the only Subjekt left; he told her that he had a back-up plan.

Catching up with the unconscious Superman at the Fortress of Solitude, Tal-Rho used an invention created by Krypton's greatest scientist Ter-Loc to scan Superman's memories where he learned about his history and his connections with Lois Lane and his sons. After breaking the crystal containing the copy of Jor-El's conscious, Tal-Rho roughed up Superman and left to go confront Lois, Jonathan, and Jordan. Jordan tried to use his eye beams on him only for Tal-Rho to defeat Jordan. Superman caught up with Tal-Rho and surrendered to him while stating to Lois that there's no other way. At his desert hideout, Tal-Rho is advised by Zeta-Rho's A.I. to subject Superman to the reclaimed Eradicator.

### Becoming the Eradicator

 File:Tal-Rho absorbs solar energy.png

***This section is a stub. You can help expand this section by adding some information.***

After Kal-El defeated Zod's mind, Tal-Rho went to the space and used his heat vision to merge himself with the Eradicator. John later used an missile to "interrupt" him.

### Helping Clark

***This section is a stub. You can help expand this section by adding some information.***

## Personality

Tal-Rho has the same personality as Earth-38 Morgan Edge, but he is noticeably more ruthless and intelligent than his counterpart. While claiming to care about the history and safety of Kryptonians, he ignores the continued prosperity of both his culture and the people on Argo City, instead preferring to focus his efforts with X-Kryptonite, hoping to restore Krypton's former glory through it. Unlike Morgan, he has a somewhat better respect for women, given his assistant, Leslie Larr yet has no problems insulting them as seen with Lois Lane and Lana Lang. He is also not above threatening anyone, as seen when Lois attempted to dig up dirt and later the attempt on her life.

As Lois once pointed out, Tal-Rho enjoys using exploitative business practices to gain more fortune while slowly causing individuals to lose their jobs in the process. His ability to be conniving, sly and charming makes others, such as Kyle Cushing, to be otherwise warmer toward Tal-Rho, rendering them ignorant to his deceptive means; his subtle, yet manipulative, skillset has allowed those affiliated with him to turn on one another, such as Lana and Kyle, without much effort.

Tal-Rho's opinions on Earth extend from his father, believing them to be a weak-willed species prone to violence and destruction, an idea he has kept since his arrival on Earth and the traumatic experience of it. This was further strengthened by the abuse of his father, Zeta-Rho, whose A.I recreation had carried on his plans through Morgan's pain.

While Tal-Rho did end up carrying out his father's plans, his actions of resistance toward his father display that he is homesick and that he desperately wishes to have a real family again. He was overjoyed to find Kal-El was his half-brother, but; due to his allegiance to Krypton and his father's abuse, Tal-Rho could only fully accept his half-brother if he helped him bring back Krypton. Taking a no-compromise approach, even resorting to threatening Kal's family, which alienated him further and further from his half-brother. When he is finally defeated, he admits to Kal-El that all he ever wanted was a family and Kal-El responds that he had one, they were brothers and Tal-Rho begins to regret what he's done.

Much of his negative nature seems to stem from his harsh upbringing: Being raised solely by his self-righteous and shameless father and believing that his mother never loved him.

## Powers and abilities

### Powers

* **Kryptonian physiology:** Normally, like any Kryptonian, Tal-Rho's capacities are no greater than any normal humans of his physical conditioning. However, once properly charged, the energy surging throughout his physiology enables him to perform various superhuman feats. Having spent decades on Earth since he was a child, Tal-Rho's powers are more developed than most other Kryptonians; making him one of the most powerful beings in the entire multiverse.
	+ **Solar energy absorption:** Like all Kryptonians, Tal-Rho relies on the yellow sun to charge his cells enough to grant him his powers.
		- **Superhuman strength:** Edge possesses an immense capability for superhuman strength; as he managed to punch Superman away after the latter charged at him mid-flight.
		- **Superhuman speed:** Like all Kryptonians, Tal-Rho is capable of moving at superhuman speeds.
			* **Accelerated perception:** Tal-Rho possesses enhanced reflexes that allow him to view events in slow motion, giving him an enhanced reaction time relative to a human.
		- **Flight**: Like all Kryptonians, Tal-Rho is able to manipulate his own gravitational field to generate thrust and propel himself through the air at tremendous hyper-sonic speeds.
			* **Levitation:** Tal-Rho can utilize his flight to suspend himself in the air and remain stationary while doing so.
		- **Heat vision:** Tal-Rho can emit red energy beams of intense heat from his eyes. Due to his control; he was able to beat Jordan Kent's own heat vision with ease.

#### Former powers

* **Eradicator application:** Once he blasted the device in a last effort attempt to preserve his plan, Tal physically merged with the Eradicator, upgrading his standard set of Kryptonian abilities.
	+ **Kryptonite immunity:** After merging with the device, Tal-Rho now has an immunity to the effects of Kryptonite. Being shown to be unaffected by it's radiation and even able to use his powers to their full extent while under Kryptonite.
	+ **Solar energy blasts:** Instead of being able to blast them from his eyes, Tal is able to launch solar blasts from his whole body.
		- **Force field generation**: Tal can use his solar energy to create an energy barrier at will. He used this ability when Superman and John Henry Irons charged at him, instead finding themselves thrown back.
	+ **Mind transference**: Tal can transfer Kryptonian consciousnesses into people at will.

### Abilities

* **Great business acumen:** Tal-Rho has great business skills.
* **High tolerance for pain**: Tal-Rho has a very high tolerance to pain, and feels little, if any pain after Zeta-Rho conditioned him with prolonged exposure to an intense laser ray in his fortress.

### Weaknesses

* **Kryptonite:** Similar to all Kryptonians, Tal has a weakness to Kryptonite. This was no longer a factor after he became one with the Eradicator device. However, after he lost the powers of the Eradicator, he most likely has a weakness to it once again.
	+ **Green Kryptonite:** Green Kryptonite has been shown to weaken Tal and even dampen his powers enough to contain him.

## Appearances

### *Superman & Lois*

Season 1
* "Pilot" (pictured)
* "Heritage"
* "The Perks of Not Being a Wallflower" (mentioned)
* "Haywire"
* "The Best of Smallville" (mentioned)
* "Broken Trust"
* "Man of Steel"
* "Holding the Wrench" (mentioned)
* "Loyal Subjekts"
* "O Mother, Where Art Thou?"
* "A Brief Reminiscence In-Between Cataclysmic Events"
* "Through the Valley of Death"
* "Fail Safe"
* "The Eradicator"
* "Last Sons of Krypton"

Season 2
* "What Lies Beneath" (mentioned)
* "The Ties That Bind"
* "The Thing in the Mines" (mentioned)

## Gallery

10-year-old Tal-Rho.png10-year-old Tal-Rho19-year-old Tal-Rho.png19-year-old Tal-RhoTal-Rho as Morgan Edge.pngTal-Rho as Morgan EdgeTal-Rho as the Eradicator.pngTal-Rho as the Eradicator
### Promotional images

#### *Superman & Lois*

Superman & Lois Morgan Edge Promotional Image.png
## Behind the scenes

* In the DC comics, Morgan Edge is a media mogul who owns Galaxy Communications, often making him an antagonist of Superman, though an ally of Clark Kent. He was created by Jack Kirby and debuted in *Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #113* (October, 1970).
* Tal-Rho bears some similarities to H'El from DC Comics. Like H'El, Tal-Rho was a Kryptonian survivor with the mission to preserve Krypton's legacy in any way possible, no matter how ruthless. Unlike H'El who thought of Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van as his parents while he actually was a clone, Tal-Rho is a biological son of Lara Lor-Van.
* Tal-Rho served as the main antagonist of Season 1 of *Superman & Lois*.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "A Brief Reminiscence In-Between Cataclysmic Events"
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "O Mother, Where Art Thou?"
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Haywire"
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Pilot"
5. ↑ "Fail Safe"
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Heritage"
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "The Perks of Not Being a Wallflower"
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "The Best of Smallville"
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Broken Trust"
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Man of Steel"
11. ↑ "Holding the Wrench"
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Loyal Subjekts"
13. ↑ "Through the Valley of Death"