Kal-El (Arrowverse: Controlled Burn)

As an adult, Kal-El began his mission. Noting his kryptonian glyph's resemblance to the letter S. He briefly considered calling himself "Savior". But his identification with the nietzschean concept of the ubermensch drew him to a more ominous moniker; "Superman".

— Magog ^src

Kal-El was the Superman of John Henry Irons' reality. He was once Earth's greatest hero, but eventually turned on humanity after allying with his half-brother Tal-Rho.

History

Origin

When baby Kal-El first landed on Earth, he was found and adopted by a human couple from a small farming town who loved him like he was their own son. Unfortunately, when he was a young boy, the family were hit by a truck while driving home from a Fourth of July party. Although Kal-El survived unscathed, his parents were both killed. One of Kal-El's last memories of his parents before their deaths is them burning dead crops to make way for new ones in a controlled burn.

Kal-El was placed in a foster home where he was mistreated by his foster parents and bullied by the other children. Years later, his super-hearing developed, allowing him to hear his foster father beating his foster mother in the middle of the night. Kal-El confronted the man and accidentally killed him with his heat vision. He fled the house but was swiftly arrested and taken to a government facility where they attempted to experiment on him. However, his super-strength had also awoken, allowing him to easily escape. While breaking out of the facility he found the ship which brought him to Earth and a Sunstone crystal.

Becoming Superman

Kal-El journeyed to the Amazon Rainforest, where the Sunstone created a Fortress of Solitude for him and generated a hologram of his birth father Jor-El, giving him a home and a family once more. Jor-El told Kal-El of his true heritage and, hearing of how humans had mistreated Kal, told him that he must save humanity from themselves. Kal-El trained for years under Jor-El's tutelage and eventually revealed himself to the world. As his House's sigil resembled the letter "S" he considered calling himself "Savior", but decided on "Superman", as he identified with the Nietzschean concept of the Ubermensch.

For twenty years, Superman tried to be the light to show mankind the way to greatness. He saved people from natural disasters and criminals, but he also became involved in humanity's wars and politics, stamping out terrorists and regimes hostile to the West. The world's governments feared his power but his authoritarian interventions made him beloved by the common people.

Conquering Earth

Arrowverse Controlled Burn 001 — Kal-El destroying Metropolis

Despite all Superman's efforts, evil still remained and it seemed that humans could not change their nature. Eventually, Superman's Kryptonian brother Tal-Rho revealed himself, and told Kal of his plans to supplant humanity and remake Earth as a New Krypton. Frustrated and disgusted by mankind after decades of trying to lead by example, Superman agreed to join him.^[1] Tal-Rho had developed a process which allowed him to transform humans into Kryptonians, building an army of superpowered soldiers. They began the takeover of Earth by attacking Metropolis, destroying the city in seven minutes.^[2] Superman thought of the slaughter as a "controlled burn" of the kind his parents used to do.^[1]

A special military force called Hellfire 3-1 was assembled to stop Superman but he easily killed them, with John Henry Irons being the only survivor.^[3] In their desperation, humanity turned to nuclear weapons but the Kryptonians took control of the nukes and used them to destroy Coast City.^[1] The only potential threat was Project 7734, who had discovered Superman's secret weakness Kryptonite and used it to make weapons.

To prevent the secret of Kryptonite getting out, the Kryptonians jammed all global communications, but John Henry Irons' wife Lois Lane was able to circumvent this by broadcasting from high ground.^[1] She revealed the Kryptonians' vulnerability on television, and so Superman tracked the broadcast and murdered her live on the air.^[2]

General Sam Lane had hidden the Kryptonite weapons before his death to prevent the Kryptonians destroying them, and John Henry Irons was able to find and retrieve them. Superman attempted to stop him but Irons escaped with only minor injuries thanks to the Warsuit which he and his daughter Natalie had developed.

Even with Kryptonite the humans were still outmatched, and Irons' supplies were soon depleted, so he created a Solar Missile which would explode with a burst of red solar radiation to drain Superman's powers. They fought in space and Irons attempted to hit Superman with the Solar Missile, but he missed and somehow opened a portal to a parallel universe which he fell through.^[4]

Post-Crisis

Superman was unaffected by the missile and survived,^[1] but his universe was destroyed in the Crisis shortly afterwards.^[5] He was saved by Magog, who took him and other villains from various timelines to his own reality in 2049 to battle the heroes of that world. They were defeated, but Superman escaped and disappeared.^[6]

Powers and Abilities

Powers

Kryptonian Physiology: Under the effects of a "yellow" sun, Superman possesses the same potential powers as an average Kryptonian. These include:
- Solar Energy Absorption: Under optimal conditions, this is the main source of Superman's super powers as they are contingent upon exposure to solar radiation from a yellow sun star system. His biological make up includes a number of organs which lack analogues in humans and whose functions are unknown. It is believed that between one or more of these and his bio-cellular matrix, "yellow" solar energy is stored for later use. This allows for the use of these powers to fade when yellow solar radiation is not available instead of immediate failure.
- Heat Vision: Superman can, as a conscious act, fire beams of intense heat at a target by looking at it. He can vary the heat and area affected.
- Super-Hearing: Superman's hearing is sensitive enough to hear any sound at any volume or pitch. With skill and concentration, he can block out ambient sounds to focus on a specific source or frequency.
- Enhanced Vision: Superman's vision processes the entire electromagnetic spectrum as well as allowing vast control over selective perception and focus.
  This umbrella ability includes the following:
  - Electromagnetic Spectrum Vision: Superman can see well into most of the electromagnetic spectrum. He can see and identify radio and television signals as well as all other broadcast or transmitted frequencies. Using this ability, he can avoid detection by radar or satellite monitoring methods. This also allows him to see the aura generated by living thing.
  - Telescopic Vision: This is the ability to see something at a great distance, without violating the laws of physics. Though limited, the exact extent of the ability is undetermined. In function, it is similar to the zoom lens on a camera.
  - X-Ray Vision: This is the ability to see through any volume of matter except lead. Supermans can see things behind a solid, opaque object as if it were not there. He can focus this ability to "peel back" layers of an object, allowing hidden image or inner workings to be observed. The exact type of energy perceived—such as x-rays, cosmic rays, or some other energy invisible to normal humans—is unclear. This ability perceives an ambient energy source though, it does not involve the eye projecting a concentrated, possibly toxic, beam to be reflected back from objects.
  - Microscopic Vision: This is the ability to see extremely small objects and images down to the atomic level.
  - Infrared Vision: Superman can see with better acuity in darkness, and to a degree in total darkness.
- Flight: Superman is able to manipulate graviton particles to defy the forces of gravity and achieve flight. This ranges from hovering to moving in any posture, in any direction.
- Invulnerability: Due to the interaction of his dense molecular structure and supercharged bio-electric aura, Superman is nigh-invulnerable to extreme energy forces. In addition, his extends this protection against toxins and diseases.
  - Enhanced Immunity
- Superhuman Stamina: Superman is able to maintain continuous strenuous physical action for an indefinite period of time. This based on his body converting yellow solar radiation directly to energy, but is limited by physiological and psychological needs to eat, drink, and sleep.
- Superhuman Strength: Superman's strength is augmented by yellow solar radiation interacting with the greater than human density, resilience and biological efficiency of his musculature. His strength is more an act of conscious will on energy fields than actual physical strength. It is this act of conscious will that enables him to perform physical feats that are beyond the mere application force, such as moving a mountain top without said rock crumbling under its own mass.
- Superhuman Speed: Superman is able to move at incredible speed by sheer force of will. This extends to his perceptions and allows for feats such as catching bullets in mid flight as well as covering vast distances in little or no time.
  This also confers:
  - Superhuman Agility
  - Superhuman Reflexes
- Super-Breath: Superman is able to create hurricane force winds by exhaling air from his lungs. He can chill the air as it leaves his lungs to freeze targets. He can also reverse the process to pull large volumes of air or vapor into his lungs.
- Longevity: Superman can live longer than regular humans, remaining at his prime as long as he was under the exposure of the "yellow" sun.

Abilities

Intimidation

Weaknesses

Kryptonian Physiology: Under the effects of a "yellow" sun, Superman possesses the same potential weaknesses as an average Kryptonian. These include:
- Vulnerability to Kryptonite
- Vulnerability to Magic

Solar Energy Dependancy: Superman's abilities will eventually weaken without replenishing his energy reserves with normal (yellow) sun radiation. When exposed to the same red solar radiation as Krypton's red sun Rao, it causes him to lose his powers and stamina within a large amount of exposure until exposure to yellow sunlight reverses this effect.

Paraphernalia

Equipment

Sunstone

Notes

Kal-El/Superman was portrayed by Tyler Hoechlin.
This Superman wears a black costume, like his "counterpart" from the Elseworld Timeline.
His adopted/human name is unknown. It appears that he did not have a secret identity as an adult.