Jor-El

Jor-El
The latest incarnation of Jor-El, as featured on Superman #0 (2013). Art by Kenneth Rocafort.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	More Fun Comics #101 (January/February 1945)
Created by	Jerry Siegel, writer Joe Shuster, artist
In-story information
Full name	Jor-El
Species	Kryptonian
Place of origin	Krypton
Team affiliations	Science Council
Supporting character of	Superman
Notable aliases	Jor-L (in the Golden Age)
Abilities	Scientific genius capable of inventing and applying extremely advanced technology; gifted philosopher and mentor, physical strength, agility and speed.

Jor-El (or Jor-L in the Golden Age) is a fictional character appearing in titles published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, he first appeared in a newspaper comic strip in 1939 with Superman.

A Kryptonian, Jor-El is Superman's biological father, the husband of Lara, and a leading scientist on the planet Krypton before its destruction. He foresaw the planet's fate but was unable to convince his colleagues in time to save the inhabitants. Jor-El was able to save his infant son Kal-El (Superman) by sending him in a homemade spaceship towards Earth just moments before Krypton exploded. After constructing his Fortress of Solitude, Superman honored his deceased biological parents with a statue of Jor-El and Lara holding up a globe of Krypton.

Physically, Jor-El is usually portrayed as closely resembling his son Kal-El/Clark Kent/Superman.

Shuster and Siegel, Superman's creators, first introduced a character named "Jor-L" in 1936, more than a year before the first Superman story was published. The original "Jor-L" appeared in New Adventure Comics (released in 1936, cover-dated January 1937), a re-titled issue #12 of the previous New Comics, which would be re-titled again to become the 45-year-long Adventure Comics series after issue #32.

Featured in the four-page Shuster and Siegel strip "Federal Men", this "Jor-L" was not an alien, but rather an "ace sleuth" in the service of "Interplanetary Federation Headquarters" who battles against "Nira-Q", the space-faring "bandit queen", in the year 3000 A.D. The 1936 "Jor-L" exists as part of a story within a story, as Shuster and Siegel's strip presents the tale as a scientist's forecast of future crime-fighting told to the contemporary 1930s-era G-man heroes of "Federal Men".