House of El

For alternate versions of the House of El, see House of El's Family Hub.

"The symbol of the House of El means 'hope'; embodied within that hope is the fundamental belief in the potential of every person to be a force for good."

―Jor-El to Kal-El^[src]

The House of El is a noble Kryptonian family that once resided in a citadel outside the megacity of Kandor. The only known surviving member of this family is Kal-El, the first naturally conceived Kryptonian, known to most of the Earth's population as Superman.

History[]

Origins[]

The House of El is a family of nobles associated with the Thinker Guild on Krypton. For the most part, members of El were the planet's greatest scientists, such as Jor-El, who served to advance their civilization for years to come with inventions such as the projector to the Phantom Zone, and the further utilization of the Phantom Zone to facilitate interstellar colonization campaigns.^[1]

Great Age of Expansion[]

Thousands of years ago, Krypton led a campaign to explore the universe and expand their civilization into the stars. Kara Zor-El, freshly graduated from her schooling in the Explorer Guild, was assigned as commander of Scout Ship 0344 and set off into space to begin her 10-year-long journey of colonization. However, the presence of a stowaway caused Kara's voyage to go off course, leading her to arrive stranded on Earth.^[2]

Kryptonian Civil War[]

In 1980, the entire House of El nearly went extinct with Krypton itself in the days following the Kryptonian Civil War, with only Kal-El, son of Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van, surviving after his launch through the Phantom Zone to Earth. The newborn Kal-El's starcraft crash-landed on Earth in rural Smallville, Kansas, where he was adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent under the name Clark Kent.

In a quest to find his true heritage, Kent discovered Scout Ship 0344 buried on Ellesmere Island, Canada. Upon regaining possession of the ship, Kent encountered the consciousness of Jor-El, who guided his son through the history and culture of his people. Inspired by the House of El's belief in hope, Kent ultimately decided to proudly embrace his superhuman abilities to perform acts of good on Earth under the name Superman.^[1]