World Of Krypton Romance

Odd to think of a love story when talking about the origins of Superman, but, even though their saga started with their death and the end of their world, Krypton...it showed their love as well, as they loved each other so much that they couldn't live without each other.

Here is the story of Superman's parents...Jor-El and Lara (though in brief style, through the World Of Krypton mini-series, originally intended for Showcase #104-#106, then #110-#112) with covers by Ross Andru and Dick Giordano.

World Of Krypton #1 (July, 1979)

First up is "The Jor-El Story" by Paul Kupperberg, Alan Kupperberg, Howard Chaykin and Murphy Anderson, with Superman reviewing a recently discovered diary of his father, Jor-El, which starts when his father (Jor-El I) took him and his brother, Nim-El, to see the Jewel Mountains of Krypton...continuing with his education, ending up in Kryptonopolis, working on their space program with General Dru-Zod and Professor Ken-Dal.  

There, he met a young astronaut, named Lara Lor-Van, and fell in love.  Jor-El continued to work, discovering an anti-gravity particle, which helped to reduce the cost of his ship (making it out of the heavy, but, for Krypton, cheap, metal of gold), all while Lara professed a love for him (and a desire to be the rocket's first pilot).  Jor-El's Golden Folly was supposed to be an unmanned flight, but Lara snuck aboard, ending up on Krypton's moon of Wegthor.  A rescue ship was sent, with Jor-El sneaking aboard using his anti-gravity...rescuing Lara.  Then, Jor-El presented a plan to Krypton's science council, of putting criminals in suspended animation and reforming them while they slept (all while in orbit).  At this time, with a possible promotion, Lara took Jor-El to the Matricomp (a Kryptonian computer) to ask for the right to marry.  

While Jor-El worked with rocked scientist Jax-Ur, Lara got the answer from the Matricomp, denying marriage, but instead proposing marriage to Anr-Mu, Matricomp's messenger.  The first test of the rocket suspension idea came, with Nali-Ilv crashing back on Krypton, demonstrating new super powers.  This seemed fishy to Jor-El, who figured it out.  It wasn't Nali-Ilv, but his twin, Ed-Ilv, using Jor-El's anti-gravity metal to fake super powers.  Nali's ship was disintegrated and the substitution made, to make Jor-El's project a failure, so criminals would instead be executed, to hide the crimes of the police chief, Tron-Et (who would be revealed if criminals reformed).  Flush with success, Jor-El headed home, to find Lara entranced with Anr-Mu who fought Jor-El with super strength.  Jor-El figured out Anr-Mu looked like the Matricomp's creator, and that Matricomp fell in love with Lara, creating an android to marry her.  Jor-El destroyed Matricomp, ending Anr-Mu and freeing Lara from hypnosis, clearing the way for them to marry...with Superman attending?   

More on the last in the next issue...and the stories here are adapted from Superman #233 (Jor-El's Golden Folly), Superman #234 (Prison In The Sky) and Superman #246 (Marriage, Kryptonian Style). 

World Of Krypton #2 (August, 1979)

Continuing on, with "This Planet Is Doomed!" by Paul Kupperberg, Alan Kupperberg, Howard Chaykin and Murphy Anderson, with the wedding of Jor-El meeting his father and fighting an ice bird outside Kryptonopolis, with Jor-El I being injured.  Jor-El and Lara were at the hospital, checking on Jor-El I (with Jor-El's assistant, Kal-El, a time tossed Superman who ended up on Krypton), with Jor-El discovering one of his father's ideas...that Krypton was doomed.  Presenting these facts to the science council, Jor-El had a plan of space arks to save the Kryptonians, working on that in Kandor with his supports as his father died.  

But, as Jor-El and Superman went to try to convince his other brother, Zor-El to join in from Argo City, they watched helplessly as Kandor was shrunk and stolen (by Brainiac), ending the space ark plan.  Jor-El lost one of his last supporters as Kal-El was accidentally launched into space, disappearing (free of Krypton's gravity and red sun, Superman was able to time travel home).  Yet, Jor-El did get some good news, as Lara told him she was expecting. During a rocket test, the rocket nearly killed them both, but they were saved by space traveler, Rol-Nac, who became godfather to Jor-El and Lara's son, Kal-El (the Star Child, also named after Jor-El assistant). 

Here, Jor-El discovered the Phantom Zone, a realm where people could exist and bodiless phantoms (which would save even more money than the prison rockets they were already using).  Showing this to the science council in competition with Gra-Mo, who was in competition with Jor-El for a seat on the science council, it was the winning competition as Gra-Mo's green androids failed (and he blamed Jor-El).  Rioting against Kryptonopolis' robot police, Gra-Mo and his gang ended up being the last criminals sent into orbit.  Jor-El got elected to the science council, and his father's assistant found the Krull spaceship (an advanced ship from an ancient race that ended up on Krypton).  Jor-El, Lara and Dr. Mar-Ko tested the ship, but, collided with a rocked secretly launched by Jax-Ur (who was testing illegal explosives in rockets), destroying the Krull ship and sending Jax-Ur's rocket into Wegthor, destroying the moon.  Jax-Ur was sentenced to eternity in the Phantom Zone, and the destruction of the Krull rocket (which would have given Jor-El advanced science for his own rockets) and Wegthor (a launching base, inhabited by many Kryptonians) foreshadowed doom for Krypton.

Superman originally attended his parents wedding in Superman #141, Brainiac steals Kandor in Superman #134, Rol-Nac saves Jor-El and Lara in Action Comics #378, Jor-El invents the Phantom Zone ray projector and deals with Gra-Mo in Superboy #104 and Jax-Ur is exiled into the Phantom Zone in Superboy #117. 

World Of Krypton #3 (September, 1979)

Concluding the saga, here with "The Last Days Of Krypton" by Paul Kupperberg, Alan Kupperberg, Howard Chaykin and Frank Chiaramonte, with Jor-El putting Jax-Ur in the Phantom Zone, and lecturing the science council of Krypton's approaching doom, Jor-El loses the vote to continue space exploration research.  Jor-El tracks a surviving piece of the Krull ship into the scarlet jungle (as he plans to continue to work on space rocket research in secret), while continuing to sentence other villains into the Phantom Zone like Faora Hu-Ul, General Zod and his cousin, Kru-El (see Phantom Zone).  

Jor-El tests a rocket with his sons dog, Krypto, but that is knocked off course, sending Krypto into space.  Jor-El heads to the scarlet jungle to get Krull rocket fragment, pursued by an agent of the science council.   Jor-El retrieves the rocket engine (using his anti-gravity device) and fights off the agent.  At home, exhausted and getting the jungle fever, Lara worries for her husband's health.  The Phantom Zone villains try to mentally enslave Jor-El to use the Phantom Zone projector to release them, but Lara stops Jor-El in time.  Free from the fever, Jor-El sneaks the Phantom Zone projector into Krypton's last rocket launch (sending Kru-El's weapons into space).  

Jor-El plans to test his new rocket engine with Beppo, and meets Lar Gand from Daxam, whom he gives a star chart to Earth.  Here, the last tremors of Krypton start, with Jor-El planning to send his son, Kal-El, to Earth.  Lara chooses to stay, knowing without her weight, the rocket has a better chance of reaching Earth, and she could not bear to live without her love, Jor-El.  Kal-El leaves Krypton in the rocket as Krypton explodes...a fiery star to equal the love of Jor-El and Lara.

Jor-El sent Krypto into space in Adventure Comics #210, Jor-El fights the Phantom Zoners and launches the projector into space in Superboy #104, Lar Gand gets directions to Earth in Superboy #88, Jor-El tapes a message for Kal-El in Superboy #89 and Beppo sneaks aboard the rocket Kal-El takes to Earth as Krypton explodes in Superboy #76, ending the saga of Jor-El and how his love for Lara started and ended.