Rao (Earth-One)

{{DC Database:Character Template
 * Image                  = Rao Deity 002.jpg
 * RealName               = Rao
 * CurrentAlias           =
 * Aliases                = The Red Sun; The One God; Rao who Kindled the Sun
 * Identity               = Secret
 * Alignment              = Good
 * Affiliation            =
 * Relatives              =
 * Universe               = Earth-One
 * BaseOfOperations       =


 * Gender                 = Male
 * Height                 =
 * Weight                 =
 * Eyes                   =
 * Hair                   =
 * UnusualFeatures        =


 * Citizenship            =
 * AlienRace              = Kryptonian God
 * MaritalStatus          =
 * Occupation             = God of the Sun
 * Education              =


 * Origin                 =
 * PlaceOfBirth           =
 * Creators               = Len Wein; Julius Schwartz
 * First                  = Superman Vol 1 248


 * HistoryText            = The God Rao has no clear depiction or body; instead, he is a mythological force.  Yet his influence is seen throughout Kryptonian history.  There’s an awareness of Rao as the primary god in Krypton's Pantheon as far back as Krypton's recorded history goes.  He is not necessarily named, but always identified with Krypton's Red Sun, and, at the same time, the maker of that sun and the moons.

Kryptonians call on Rao often in times of strife or surprise -- Superman in particular. '''"Great Rao". "By Rao". "Thank Rao". "Rao knows I tried." "Rao’s beams!!"''' While Rao is not known for answering, his designs repeat on Krypton. Again and again; the population is warned of an impending disaster, which the vast majority ignore and where only a few are saved - those that Rao's Prophet Jaf-El called righteous; while "the rest will die - by flood!"

Rao has always been intimately tied with the family specifically named to honour him - the House of El. As with Jaf, the El's have regularly been the prophets for the will of Rao, until finally there is only a single city of Kryptonians left, lead by the Els.

Rao as a Vengeful God
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As Rao blesses, he also curses. Kryptonians were divinely guided through crisis, flood, draught and war; while at the same time their potential superpowers were actively suppressed by the light of Rao, as a Red Sun’s light immediately removed any superpowers possessed by a Kryptonian. With a few notable exceptions, Rao also jealously thwarted any attempt to bathe in the light of other, yellow, suns.

The destruction of Wegthor, blamed on Jax-Ur, meant the final end of the Space Ark program that had earlier been decimated by Brainiac's theft of Kandor. Jax-Ur may have been banished, but it was actually a cruel twist of fate. Jor-El calculates "the odds of the only two craft in space about Krypton intercepting each other’s orbital path are billions to one!" which is the definition of a miracle, or divine intervention by another name.

After the Kryptonian final catastrophe, Argo City was miraculously saved to float in space, still orbiting Rao. Zor-El installed massive rockets with a limited fuel source and directed the city towards a distant yellow star. Argonauts began to fly and exhibit superpowers, but again, the agents of Rao interceded. Priest of Rao Jer-Em declared, "You have angered the gods by leaving our Red Sun!" and forced the city back into the orbit of the star Rao, where their solar powered abilities were stripped and rare rocket fuel exhausted. Jer-Em faced banishment to the Phantom Zone and Argo's population itself would be destroyed by meteor storm. Jer-Em believed that they had transgressed against the will of Rao, and thus received their punishment.

Kandor survived its various forms in Brainiac's bottle, as it remained exposed to the light of a Red Sun in each of its incarnations; and thus was still faithful to Rao and continued to survive. Kandor's removal, however, took all the cities 6 million people with the exception of Jor-El's immediate family. Along with them went Zor-El, the Space Ark and its rare fuel that would have saved all Krypton.

Superman's great-grandfather Var-El was the first Kryptonian to leave the light of Rao and teleport to Earth where he gained the powers that a yellow sun provided. Ironically, it was a jealous Rao that killed him with an other-dimensional Red Sun. If Var-El was part of any divine plan of Rao, it was to provide information about Earth to his Grandson Jor-El II who would send Kal-El there. Var-El was not destined to be Rao's champion on Earth.

Rao's Plan - Genetic Bottlenecks
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The few Kryptonians left alive after the cataclysm (particularly after the meteor bombardment of Argo City) represented the fifth time that Rao had whittled the population of Krypton down to a handful:


 * In the first days of Krypton, astronauts Kryp and Tonn met on the surface of the world where they were trapped and were genetically similar enough to beget the Kryptonian race.
 * When the planet was tidally locked with the star Rao there were a handful of tribes battling for sparse resources around the perpetual twilight between light and dark sides.
 * During Krypton's ice age, "Few pockets of mankind... survived the encroachment of ice over once tropical areas."
 * The Prophet Jaf-El foresaw both the Red Sun Rao changing color and the ensuing biblical flood. It was the fault of those worshipping false gods and "lifeless idols".  "There is but one God — Rao!"  He lead a small group of Kryptonians to safety on Mount Mundru, and gave thanks to Rao for their lives.  Jaf-El chillingly predicted that "In ages hence, Krypton will be destroyed... salvation will lie far away -- on the yellow star called Ariu."  Which is what Kryptonians called Earth's sun.
 * The final catastrophe created by Rao - and predicted 1000 years earlier by Jaf-El - left only the children of Jor-El II and Zor-El rocketing away from their dead homelands. Excluding a miniaturized Kandor and the Phantom Zone inmates.  This left the last two Kryptonians on Earth related and thus unwilling to procreate.  (Although this prohibition must not have been in place when the children of Kryp and Tonn had no others to mate with but each other.)

Being a jealous god, Rao kept Kryptonians planet-bound, limited in number and ultimately isolationist:
 * Sul-El faced this long ago when he began using a telescope to scan the heavens and sited the invading Vrang armada, but was dismissed by Rao’s acolytes. "Beware!  To suggest Rao put life on other worlds is rank heresy!"
 * Jor-El was the sole dissenting voice on the Kryptonian Science Council when they banned space travel, even though it spelled the doom of Krypton. Jor-El may have been the scientific prophet of Rao, but he was not given the knowledge of the catastrophe to warn he Council.  His rocketry plan ultimately existed to save only one Kryptonian.  Kal-El.

With the exception of Kal-El’s Great-Grandfather Var-El, (who ultimately received divine retribution for abandoning the light of Rao, but not before leaving notes on Earth for Jor-El) those who first left Krypton did so as a form of punishment - first in suspended-animation rockets and later in the Phantom Zone.

The Phantom Zone as Sanctuary
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The hell of the Phantom Zone is, ironically, a sanctuary from the death of Krypton. It was only in the final days of Krypton that Jor-El created the Phantom Zone Projector; and he immediately recognized the irony that Jax-Ur was sentenced to life in the “substanceless hell” that is the Phantom Zone, while the rest of Krypton had been sentenced to death.

The irony is lost, however, from a wider perspective, as Jor-El did first create the Phantom Zone Projector as a means of escaping Krypton into another dimension.

The Zone itself is officiated by Rao's fellow pantheon member Aethyr. Escapes from the Phantom Zone happen often but are short lived. There’s the usual suspects like General Zod and Jax-Ur as well as religious icons such as Kandorian Jer-Em. Jer-Em only escapes the Phantom Zone to expose himself to Kryptonite which is the "Gateway to Rao's heaven... soil... of home. I go to Rao..."

Priests of Rao
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There have been many priests and profits of Rao. Jer-Em, Jaf-El and Yu-El, to name a few.

When the constitution of Krypton is being written, Tala-El consults Yu-El - the Temple of Rao high priest - to establish a scientific system of governance as chosen by the will of Rao and Tala's ingenuity.

Jer-Em has an imaginary Black Mercy inspired family relation named Lor-Em, who leads the Sword of Rao sect who wants a return to ‘Old Krypton’.

Rao and the House of El
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The El family lineage was based upon thankfulness for blessing of the Red Sun Rao, as Urrika's first unifier Erok the Magnificent took the name 'El' meaning "of the star". Erok’s piety was such that those with red hair were said to be touched by Rao and were named an officer.

Since the House of El was one of the few families to have survived the deluge, that name spread across the continents of Krypton - so much so that when a time-travelling  Superman was introduced to his parents they thought nothing of meeting someone named 'Kal-El' - the 'Star Child' or 'Child of Rao'.

The Family Crest of El has always been the Red Sun of Krypton. Jor-El II, his father, and his cousin Zor-El all wear it on their chest.

Ceremony
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Rao as the creator and provider, presides over all Kryptonian ceremony. Wedding, election, baptism, funeral - each is a dedication to Rao.

Wedding
Despite Yuda being the God of Marriage and Mistress of the Moons, Rao is thanked first at weddings and credited for creating the moons. The language changes over the millennia, but Rao is forever a part:

"In the name of Rao who kindled the sun..." "In the name of Rao who shaped the moons..."

"...before the eyes of man — and before the Heart of Rao" "May the countenance of Rao ever shine upon you, Jor-El and Lara!"

"By the glory of Rao, the Sun, I take you"

Baptism in Rao's Light
Kryptonian infants are baptized in the light of Rao. Before rocketing away from an exploding Krypton, young Kal-El II was named and dedicated to Rao, as was Kal-El I, son of Erok the Magnificent.

"Hold up your son so the light of our Red Sun strikes him, Lara."

Funeral
"The Eyes of Rao are everywhere and they have been cast upon Jor-El I this day - and now the deity Rao's has taken back to his heart this great and noble soul!"

Rainbow
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The rainbow is a metaphorical and physical manifestation of a sun's light, and a recurring image for Kal-El. As such, Superman continues to honour Rao by prisming light, even on Earth.


 * He first wore a rainbow as Saturn wears its rings, which fooled crooks into believing that Superman turned people into glass.
 * After exposure to an alien ship, Superman fires rainbows from his fingertips which contain mini proxy Supermen.
 * The light of Rao prisms in the Rainbow Canyon to bless Superman and Lyla Ler-Rol as they "discover the wonder of their love" when Superman accidentally travels back to Krypton before it explodes. He is immediately depowered by Rao's light upon arrival and trapped.  Only by accident is he rocketed away from Krypton a second time.
 * After exposure to Lois Lane's locket - made of glass from a meteorite - Superman (or worse, Clark Kent) began to exhibit a rainbow aura.


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 * Notes                  =
 * No physical appearance of Rao is seen in Earth-One continuity. Only his Prophets and priests seem to have direct knowledge of his existence.


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