While DC Studios didn't initially highlight Jor-El's role in Superman, the reboot still introduced a new set of Kryptonian parents for David Corenswet's Kal-El. Replacing Man of Steel's Russell Crowe and Ayelet Zurer are A Star Is Born actor Bradley Cooper and Westworld actress Angela Sarafyan.
Superman famously has an interestingly split heritage between his Kryptonian birth to Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van and his adoptive upbringing on Earth to Jonathan and Martha Kent (for which director James Gunn cast Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell, respectively). As Superman is not an origin story, the Man of Steel's Kryptonian parents never show up in person and are limited to hologram form. However, they still ultimately played a pivotal role in the story that followed. Superman is playing in theaters now.
Why Did Jor-El Send Superman to Earth?
Warning - The rest of this article contains spoilers for Superman.
When the DCU's Kal-El crash-landed on Earth, he was accompanied by a message from his Kryptonian parents, Jor-El and Lara. Unfortunately, half of this message was corrupted in transit, leaving Kal-El with all the familiar motifs, calling for him to save Earth and its inhabitants.
However, when Lex Luthor broke into the Fortress of Solitude (which was possible due to Ultraman's surprising identity twist), the Engineer recovered the rest of the message, allowing the villain to broadcast it to the world.
This revealed the true reason Jor-El sent his son to Earth, dumbing mankind down as a primitive species and calling for him to rule over them, taking as many wives as he could and having children to ensure the Kryptonians live on through him.
Naturally, this turns much of the world against Superman until he proves himself by defeating Luthor and saving the planet before leaning into how he really is "human" and that the Kents are his true parents.
How James Gunn's Jor-El Compares To Other Superman Adaptations
Jor-El having a nefarious agenda for Kal-El to conquer Earth in his family name and rule over it with the might of his Kryptonian powers isn't exactly a traditional portrayal of the character in DC lore.
Kal-El's parents are classically portrayed as leading scientists on Krypton who foresee the planet's destruction and push for action to prevent it, not quite going as far as to plot the conquering of other worlds to continue its legacy.
Jor-El appeared in Smallville through a Kryptonian artificial intelligence (AI), where he could be described as somewhat more "evil" than usual. While he was often harsh and cruel in training his son into the hero he was meant to be, the CW series never took him quite as far as being evil.
Interestingly, there was a point in Smallville where Clark Kent came to think that Jor-El was evil when he found a message calling him a "god among men" and instructing him to "rule them with strength."
This plot point was largely abandoned for later seasons, but one has to wonder if it inspired James Gunn, as he is openly a fan of the show. Superman even paid tribute to Smallville with one Lex Luthor-related detail.
DC Rebirth introduced another evil Jor-El who survived Krypton's destruction, seemingly thanks to interference from Watchmen's Doctor Manhattan. Here he was shown all the darker sides of humanity to break his faith in mankind, leading him to push his son to stop wasting his time with them.
Throughout the storyline, Jor-El interfered with events in Superman's life and across the DC universe under the mysterious moniker, Mister Oz.
While Bradley Cooper has been introduced as the DCU's Jor-El, there's no telling whether he will return after that villainous twist. Unless the hologram is retconned or recontextualized in the future, it's tough to imagine this Superman wanting much advice from his Kryptonian parents.
Cooper's DC debut can be seen in theaters right now, where he is joined by David Corenswet's Superman, Rachel Brosnahan's Lois Lane, and Nicholas Hoult's Lex Luthor, along with Nathan Fillion, Edi Gathegi, and Isabela Merced as the Justice Gang.
