Rao (Earth-One)

The subject of this article has been mentioned only and never actually shown in a comic book or on-screen. Despite their lack of physical appearances, information about them might still be relevant or interesting or at least worthy of documentation. Anything known about them is to be considered second-hand information.

Rao
Mainstream Universe‎, 1950s-1986
Gallery
Real Name	Rao
Other Aliases	The Red Sun · The One God · Rao who Kindled the Sun
Status
Alignment	Good
Identity	Secret Identity
Race	Kryptonian God
Occupation	God of the Sun
Characteristics
Gender	Male
Origin
Universe	Earth-One
Creators	Len Wein · Julius Schwartz
First Appearance	Superman #248 (February, 1972)

The sun-god Rao was the mightiest of the Kryptonian Gods.

History

Rao has no clear depiction or body; instead, he is a mythological force. There is 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.

Priests of Rao

There have been many priests and prophets of Rao, including Jer-Em, Jaf-El and Yu-El.

When the constitution of Krypton was being written, Tala-El consulted 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.

Ceremony

Despite Yuda being the God of Marriage and Mistress of the Moons, Rao is thanked first at weddings and credited for creating the moons.

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.

Notes

• This version of Rao, including all history and corresponding appearances, was erased from existence following the collapse of the original Multiverse in the 1985–86 Crisis on Infinite Earths event and later restored following the rebirth of the infinite Multiverse during the Dark Crisis of 2022-2023. Even though other versions of the character may have appeared, this information does not apply to those versions.
• No physical appearance of Rao is seen in the Earth-One continuity. Only his Prophets and priests seem to have direct knowledge of his existence.

Related

• Appearances of Rao (Earth-One)
• 1 Images featuring Rao (Earth-One)
• Quotations by or about Rao (Earth-One)
• Character Gallery: Rao (Earth-One)

External Links

• Rao at Wikipedia.org