By [ad_1]
In Justice League, Superman’s use of the Phantom Zone brought up some uncomfortable feelings about his Kryptonian father, Jor-El.
WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Justice League #67, available now from DC Comics.
One of Superman’s newest foes, Synmar Utopica, was just defeated by Batman, who used the Phantom Zone projector to banish him after a fight with the Justice League. The victory should have been celebrated considering the devastation Synmar could have caused. However, Superman was left with a bitter reminder of his father’s many mistakes in Justice League #67, by Brian Michael Bendis, Phil Hester, Eric Gapstur and Hi-Fi.
This has been more pronounced as of late due to Superman recently meeting Jor-El, with the elder Kryptonian not only disappointing Superman with his general attitude towards the universe, but also inadvertently robbing Superman’s son, Jon Kent, of his childhood. Accordingly, the use of his father’s invention must have left a bad taste in his mouth.
In a twist to traditional Superman lore, Jor-El had been saved from Krypton’s destruction thanks to intervention from Doctor Manhattan and was dumped on Earth. Unlike his son though, Jor-El only saw the worst that humanity had to offer, and this corrupted his view of the universe. When he tried to make amends with his son by offering to take his grandson on a trip across the cosmos, Clark was understandably hesitant. But he decided to give his father a chance. This would later lead to one of the biggest regrets of Clark’s life, a choice that will in all likelihood, haunt him until the end of his days.
Superman trusted Jor-El to keep his son safe. Instead, Jon was trapped on Earth-3 for years, missing out on most of his childhood and returning to Earth as a man when only three weeks ago he had left as an eleven-year-old. This not robbed Jon of his childhood, but stole those years that Superman and Lois could have raised their son as a happy and relatively normal family.
However, that was not the end of Jor-El’s mistakes. Superman also came to learn that Jor-El knew of Krypton’s impending destruction, not because of a natural calamity, but because it was directly caused by a man named Rogol Zaar, a man who Jor-El worked beside as part of a clandestine organization known as the Circle. In short, Jor-El had a part to play in what happened to the Kryptonian species, and that secret nearly lead to all-out war across the universe.
Naturally, anything that reminds Superman of Jor-El will not be pleasant for him anymore. For so much of his life, he had perceived Jor-El as this wise, just leader who was ignored by his people but had the courage to send his son to safety. But this was a rose-tinted view of his father that was shattered the instant he met the man. It’s never easy for a child to learn that their parents are also human beings, so to speak. Jor-El made mistakes, everyone does, but his mistakes had consequences for everyone else, not just him.
With Clark still learning to be a father to his own son, the reminder of his own father is a daunting one. He once measured himself by the standard his father set. With that foundation gone, Clark can only rely on what he believes to be right. And as the world grows more complicated and dangerous, that certainty dwindles every day.
About The Author
[ad_2]
