Kal-El (DC Extended Universe)

Kal-El
Alias(es)	Clark Kent Superman Man of Steel Greenhorn Joe
Appeared in	Man of Steel Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Justice League
Status	Alive
Actor	Henry Cavill

"My father believed that if the world found out who I really was, they'd reject me out of fear. I let my father die because I trusted him, Because he was convinced that I had to wait, that the world was not ready. What do you think?"

―Clark Kent

Kal-El is the last son of Krypton. When his father, Jor-El, realized that his planet was doomed, he and his wife Lara sent Kal to Earth, where he would be found by Jonathan and Martha Kent he was given the name Clark Kent. Using his powers he defends the good people of Metropolis from threats like criminals and more importantly, General Zod; Kal would then become the superhero known as Superman.

Biography

Man of Steel

"It's not an S. On my world it means hope."

―Superman

Kal-El was born on the distant planet Krypton to the scientist Jor-El and his wife Lara Lor-Van in the midst of a planet-wide war. Kal-El was a naturally-born child, which is outlawed on Krypton where all children are genetically engineered to become a more efficient being. When the planet was about to explode and to ensure their son's survival, his parents sent Kal-El away in a ship designed to carry him to safety away from the planet, sending him to Earth, where Jor-El knew of a scout ship sent prior where Kal-El would grow up with extraordinary abilities but look identical to the planet's natives. His ship landed undetected in Smallville, Kansas where he was found by a local farming couple, Jonathan Kent and his wife Martha. They took him in and illegally adopted him renaming him "Clark Joseph Kent".

When Clark was nine years old, his body began to change in a way that would define his life forever. To the shock of Jonathan and Martha, Clark began developing super powered abilities, the extent of which none of them knew. When Clark's super hearing and x-ray vision first developed and all the noises he could hear manifested at once, it was troublesome for the young Kryptonian to handle. He ran out of class and hid in a closet. Martha was called to school and helped Clark control his new abilities.

When Clark was thirteen years old, whilst travelling on a school bus with his class, the bus crashed into a river. With the bus overturned, Clark decided that he must use his abilities to save everybody on the bus and using his super strength pushed the bus to the safety of the river bank. Several children saw Clark do this Lana Lang and two bullies who relentlessly bullied Clark over the years, Whitney Fordham and Pete Ross. Pete's mother, Helen, confronted Martha and Jonathan about the unusual events that occur around Clark, but they defended their son claiming there was nothing special about him.

Jonathan finds Clark sitting on an old broken down truck gazing into the fields and tried to convince him that he had to hide his abilities from the world if he was to be safe because not everybody would be as understanding as they were, but Clark argued that he shouldn't hide if he can help people. Questioning his place in the world, Jonathan decided to reveal to Clark how he came to them. In the barn, under the floor, Jonathan revealed Clark's ship to him along with the House of El Command key confirming that Clark was an alien and came to them from the stars. Shocked and afraid, Clark asked if he could still pretend to be Jonathan's son who simply hugged his adoptive son and said he would always be his son. Jonathan said that Clark must, in time, find the reason he was sent to Earth.

A short while later, a group of kids lead by Kenny Braverman confronted Clark when he was waiting for his father while reading a book in his their family's pick-up truck. Ken dragged Clark out of the truck and pushed him to the ground to try and prove there was nothing special about the quiet young boy. Clark was visibly desperate to hit Braverman, but managed to stifle the urge by crushing the metal fence-post behind him. The group of bullies walked away when they realized Jonathan was a short distance away watching them with the owner of a shop; except for Pete who held his hand out to Clark to help him up. Clark admitted to his father that he wanted to hurt Ken, which Jonathan couldn't help but agree with; but explained it would accomplish nothing in the end and that one day Clark would change the world.

When Clark was seventeen years old, he was out with Jonathan and Martha, stuck in a traffic jam on a highway, when a tornado swept through the region. People began evacuating their vehicles with Jonathan telling Clark to get Martha to safety. Clark realised he could help people with his abilities but Jonathan told him to to not use them and to keep them secret. As Jonathan was helping other people, Clark came to help, taking a little girl to safety. In the ensuing chaos, Jonathan died filling Clark with guilt. Shortly after this traumatic episode, Clark heeded his fathers wishes and left Smallville on a quest to find the reason he was sent to Earth.

Clark found work on a fishing boat, soon encountering danger as an oil rig exploded. Clark took it upon himself to save the people that were caught in the flames. He then swam to shore and found a new job in a bar. While at work, Chrissy, a waitress, was getting harassed by a local to the bar, Ludlow. Clark stepped in only to have a beer thrown in his face. Clark was tempted to hit the trucker, but Chrissy persuaded him that it was not worth it. Ludlow continued to taunt Clark as he left. Clark vented his rage by wrecking Ludlow's eighteen wheeler, spearing the cab and trailer with pieces of timber.

At the bar Clark overheard of a military site being set up in the Antarctic. He got a job working near to the site and carried Lois Lane's bags to her living quarters. Clark then went to investigate the artifact for himself, unaware the reporter was following him. Using his heat vision he melted his way through the ice down to a massive alien ship. As he wandered around the enormous ship he finds a port to which fits the Command key, but is attacked by the ship's automated defense system. He uses the key to give himself access to the system. He explored the ship, finding four pods, three containing long dead bodies and the other completely empty.

During Clark's exploration, Lois entered the ship and accidentally activated the defense system, getting injured in the process. Clark saved her by destroying the defense robot and cauterizing her wounds with his heat vision, revealing his existence to her before she passed out. Leaving her outside in an area she would be safe and found quickly by the military, Clark returns to the ship which automatically takes off for a remote area of Antarctica.

An interactive projection of Jor-El appears and greets Clark. Jor-El informed him of his true name Kal-El, his people's history on Krypton and its downfall thanks to Zod. Jor-El shows him technology on the ship, including the Genesis Chamber; a technology Kryptonians used to procreate. Jor-El then showed Clark their family crest, the symbol of "Hope" for the Kryptonian people and Kal's unique nature as the first naturally born child of Krypton in generations, a being who can choose his own purpose. Jor-El finally gives him a suit he had the ship create for Kal-El before imploring his son to keep pushing his limits to be a symbol of hope for the people of Earth.

Clark then began testing his powers, trying many times to fly before taking off and soaring high into orbit of Earth.

Clark returned home to Smallville and greeted his mother with a hug. He explained to her the travels he went on and that he found the answers he was looking for. Meanwhile, Lois was investigating her mysterious savior and eventually found her way to the farm with questions about Clark, leading her to the cemetery where Jonathan was buried. Clark found her at the cemetery where he revealed the reason he died to protect Clark from the world, convincing her to not publish a story revealing him to the world as Clark Kent.

Whilst in the farm house General Zod, the Kryptonian Military leader from his home world his father had told him about, arrived on Earth with his army and sent a message to the world to hand over Kal-El or suffer the consequences. Realising his existence on Earth was no longer a secret and that he couldn't put people in harm's way after a discussion with Father Leone, Smallville's priest, Clark decided to hand himself over to the military in his new suit in order to protect his mother. Flying outside a military base he knew was imprisoning Lois, he confronted the base's military leader General Swanwick and his army, offering to hand himself over into their custody in exchange for Lois' freedom. Clark attempted to assure the military he only wanted to help and posed no threat to humanity. Unfortunately the military had orders to hand him over Zod, who sent his second in command Faora-Ul to collect Clark and Lois, whom Zod specifically requested join them on his ship, Black Zero. On route to the ship, Clark slipped Lois his House of El Command Key as Faora acquired a respirator for Lois so she could process the Kryptonian environment on the ship.

Aboard Black Zero, Clark came face to face with Zod, but started to cough up blood and struggle to breathe as Black Zero's life support systems were replicating Krypton's atmosphere, an enviroment he had never known. The effect left Clark virtually powerless so Zod could subject him to mental probing. Zod learned all about Kal's life and showed him plans to destroy the human race to resurrect Krypton with the genetic Codex of the Kryptonian race that his birth father Jor-El had stole and sent with Kal to Earth. Clark broke free from the probing to see Zod standing above him, explaining his remorse for killing Jor-El, but declaring there was nothing that could stop him from resurrecting Krypton. Jax-Ur took some of Clark's blood and ran tests on it which would later reveal that the Codex that Zod was searching for had been embedded in Kal-El's genetic structure, making him a living repository of the Kryptonian race. Lois however, had brought Jor-El's AI aboard Black Zero and it helped her escape using an escape pod before changing the atmosphere for Clark to regain some strength to break free. Punching a hole in the ship for sun rays to get through, Clark regained full strength and had final words with Jor-El, who encouraged him that he could save humanity. Clark then raced after Lois in the falling escape pod, catching her just before the pod exploded in a corn field.

Realizing that Zod most likely knew his ship was located in Smallville, Clark flew off quickly to his family's farm. Upon his arrival, he found Zod and a group of soldiers threatening his mother to locate the Codex. An enraged Clark violently attacked Zod, flying him through several grain silos and repeatedly punching his face, damaging his helmet. Their fight led them to Smallville's Main Street, where Zod's soldiers rescued him. Clark was forced to battle two Kryptonians sent as a diversion, managing to hold his own with the veteran warriors. Clark also managed to save some of the US military personnel led by Colonel Hardy. The Kryptonians eventually withdrew after a devastating battle. Recognizing Superman's contribution to protecting them, Colonel Hardy allowed Clark to leave by citing him as an ally. Clark flew to his family's farm to check on his mother who was unharmed and was reunited with Lois, who was told by Jor-El that they could use Clark's ship to open a focused black hole which would send the Kryptonians to the Phantom Zone.

Clark delivered his ship to the military and flew to the Indian Ocean, where Zod had deployed a World Engine to terraform Earth and make it into a new Krypton. After some struggle, Clark was able to fly through the gravity beam the ship was emitting, destroying it while also knocking himself unconscious. After regaining conciousness, Clark flew to Metropolis to find Zod attacking the military with the scout ship that Clark had found. After damaging the ship and entering it, Clark ignored Zod's pleas to spare the ship, stating that Krypton had had its chance. Using heat vision he damaged the ship, causing it to crash.

The military unit led by Colonel Hardy and Lois fell under attack from Faora, who disabled most of the crew before the Colonel managed to crash into Black Zero. Lois was thrown from the ship as it crashed and Clark caught her before trying to fly away from the singularity caused by his ship colliding with Black Zero. He placed Lois beside Perry White, Steve Lombard and Jenny Jurwich and in a moment of adrenaline, Lois kissed Clark who reciprocated before flying off to confront Zod. Having mastered the ability to fly, Zod engaged Clark in a battle that almost destroyed what was left of Metropolis. The two then crash-landed in Metropolis Central Station where Zod unleashed his heat vision upon an innocent civilian family. Clark grappled Zod trying to divert his heat vision away, even pleading with the other Kryptonian before having no choice but to snap Zod's neck, killing him. Shocked and horrified at the loss of the final fellow Kryptonian at his own hand, Superman let out a deafening, bellowing scream of agony as Lois arrived and consoled him.

Returning home to his mother in Smallville after saving his adopted planet, Clark wishes Jonathan had lived to see who he had become and is consoled by his mother as the two think back to a moment Jonathan stared with awe at a young Clark playing as a child in the garden of the farm with a red sheet as cape. Superman also confronts General Swanwick, who had been using military drones to search for Superman. Explaining he is here to help, but it needs to be on his own terms, he tells the General he's trusting him to make the U.S. government understand.

Clark then got a job at the Daily Planet in Metropolis. Arriving on his first day, he decided to wear glasses to conceal his identity as the alien hero known as "Superman" before being welcomed to "the Planet" by Lois.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

"Stay down! If I wanted it, you'd be dead already."

―Superman

In Nairomi, Africa, Superman destroyed a Predator drone that fired a missile at the compound where Lois was being held hostage. Crashing through the ceiling, he stared at the general and Lois, who released the general's arm and nodded at him. Before the general knew what was happening, Superman charged at him, barreling through the walls behind him. He supposedly left immediately afterwards, but scorched bodies littered the compound, raising suspicion that Superman had used heat vision to wipe them out.

Clark later dropped by Lois' apartment with groceries. Lois, in the bathtub, told him about the hearings, to which Clark responded he doesn't care; he didn't kill anyone, no matter what they think. When Lois stressed over their relationship, Clark handed her a rose. He suddenly removed his jacket and shirt, much to Lois' surprise. Clark embraced her, and she reciprocated, spilling water from the bathtub.

Clark visited the apartment complex where Batman was last seen, and the residents spoke to him about Batman's recent surge in brutality.

Clark was later requested to cover an event hosted by Lex Luthor at his own house. Inside, he listened in on Bruce Wayne's communication with Alfred, and when Bruce returned from downstairs, went to speak to him, asking his opinion on Batman's activities. Bruce mentioned the "puff-piece editorials" put out about Superman by the Daily Planet. After an uncomfortable standoff, Lex Luthor introduced the two men. When Lex left to talk to the governor, Clark noticed a TV broadcast about a fire at a Day of the Dead celebration. After seeing a girl trapped inside one of the buildings, Clark decided to intervene. As Superman, he rescued the girl and brought her into a crowd of people, who extended their hands out towards him as if they worshipped him.

Superman was next seen doing various deeds through a montage; dragging a capsized ship across ice fields by the chain where its anchor used to be, while its passengers stood atop it; saving the occupants of a rocket ship after it exploded, carrying the capsule containing them to safety; and rescuing a group of people from the flood waters. Clark later view a broadcast by Charlie Rose featuring Senator Finch, looking frustrated at her apparent mistrust towards him. He called up his mother, Martha, striking up a conversation. When he wished "it was more simple," Martha responded, "Nothing is ever simple".

At the Daily Planet, Clark searched on his computer about Batman's activity, reading articles entitled, "For Gotham City Inmates, Bat-Brand is a Death Sentence", "Dozens of Criminals Marked with "Bat-Brand", and "Batman Acting As Judge, Jury and Executioner". He received a parcel containing a newspaper article entitled, "Bat Brand of Justice!" and photographs, each featuring the same human trafficker that Batman branded earlier. He looked at them, becoming visibly disgusted at Batman's brutality. He went to speak to to man's wife, who expressed her frustration; the mark is known all over, but the guards don't care. "Bat's the judge," she says. When Clark asked her to help him change it, she responded, "A man like that, words don't stop him. You know what stops him? A fist!". She walked away, leaving Clark alone.

Taking her words to heart, Clark decides to change his tactics and flies into action as Superman, targeting Batman as he tried to steal kryptonite from Lex Luthor, resulting in a car-chase. Appearing out of nowhere, Superman kicked the Batmobile aside with little effort. The vehicle careened out of control and crashed into a nearby gas station. Superman stalked towards the wrecked car, stepped onto the hood, and tore off the roof, tossing aside the metal scraps. Batman stood up to face him. Superman attempted to intimidate Batman, warning him not to follow the Batsignal any more. "The Bat is dead. Bury it," he declared, glaring at the Caped Crusader. "Consider this mercy."

Superman later arrived at the Capital building after hearing Finch's request. Ignoring the protestors outside, Superman entered the building. As he walked into the hearing, the guests fell silent, following him with their eyes. Finch gave the beginning of a speech, but stopped abruptly upon noticing a mason jar in front of her. She attempted to continue, stammering, turning the jar to read its label; "Granny's Peach Tea". Finch jerked her hand away, and looked to Lex's empty seat, then to Wallace, in the wheelchair. Superman followed her gaze, but it was too late; Wallace's wheelchair exploded.

Superman helped to carry the victims of the explosion out of the building, where paramedics were waiting. He then looked around at the destruction, death and suffering, looking devastated. He looked over at Lois, in the crowd, and then woefully closed his eyes before shooting into the sky.

Overwhelmed by guilt for his failure to stop the explosion, Clark went into self-imposed exile. On top of a mountain, he had a vision of his father, Jonathan, who spoke to him about an incident in which he stopped the flood waters from reaching his farm, but inadvertently set it upstream, washing away another farm. He continued that when he met Martha, she gave him faith that there was good in this world. "I miss you, son", he said. Clark responded, to thin air, "I miss you too, Dad".

Clark returned as Superman when Lex Luthor pushed Lois off a building, saving her from falling to her death, and setting her down on the street below. He immediately returned to the rooftop to confront Luthor. The young man briefly rambled about gods, before revealing that he knew Superman's identity. He then pointed across the bay to the Batsignal in Gotham, and ordered Superman to go "battle him to the death." When Superman refused, Lex revealed that he had Martha hostage in an undisclosed location, and she would be executed as a witch. Luthor told an enraged Superman to kill Batman in exchange for Martha's life. Superman calmed down, his heat vision extinguished. Satisfied, Luthor boarded a helicopter, telling Superman he now had less than one hour to "bring [him] the head of the Bat."

After a touching moment with Lois, Superman flew to Gotham to confront Batman, who was already waiting for him. Although he attempted to speak to him calmly, he accidentally triggered a pair of sonic emitters that blasted sound waves at him. He used a manhole cover to destroy them and then faced off with Batman before pushing him to the ground. Batman activated machine gun turrets, pelting Superman with high-caliber rounds. Superman cowered for a moment, before shooting into the air and incinerating them with heat vision. He then grabbed Batman and flung him aside, bouncing violently along the ground. When Batman refused to stay down, Superman pushed him through the side of a building, and then hurled him through the Batsignal. Superman told him to stay down; in response, Batman tossed a smoke grenade at him. Charging through it, Superman saw that Batman had vanished. From behind him, the Dark Knight fired a round from his riot gun. Superman caught it in mid-air, but it released a cloud of Kryptonite gas, bringing Superman to his knees. Batman taunted Superman, who threw a punch at him, only to find it blocked. Batman repeatedly pummeled Superman before stomping him through a skylight. Batman kicked Superman across the room, and beat him senseless before he could recover, flooring him with a powerful left cross.

Superman lie dazed for a moment, then got back up, blocking Batman's next kick. Superman flung the Dark Knight right through the wall, and staggered to his feet. They charged at each other, and Batman pinned Superman to the wall and punched him repeatedly, but his punches grew less effective. Superman hovered in the air and then pushed Batman through the floor, crashing onto the level below. Superman then grabbed Batman by his armor and hurled him through multiple rows of urinal partitions, but lost his balance in the process. As Batman reloaded his gun, Superman charged at him, hoping to beat him to it. Batman managed to get the shot off moments before Superman hit him again, tearing off the side of his helmet. The Man of Steel writhed in agony on the floor as the Kryptonite enveloped him, and then Batman smashed a sink basin over his head, bringing him down. The Dark Knight hoisted Superman over his shoulders and dropped him off a balcony, leaving him to fall twelve stories, straight onto his back. Batman grappled down and attached a new cable to Superman's feet, and used it to swing him around like a yo-yo, smashing through a ring of concrete pillars. He took up the spear and prepared to kill Superman, who desperately begged him to "save Martha". Lois then entered running and told Batman who Martha was, and Batman stepped down, hurling the spear away. Superman and Batman reconciled, and Batman moved out to rescue Martha, while Superman flew off to the Kryptonian ship to confront Luthor again.

When Superman arrived at the ship, Luthor revealed his trump card: a monstrous genetically-mutated Kryptonian deformity, known as Doomsday. The monster tore his way out of his chrysalis, and threw a punch at Lex. Superman lunged forward and caught his massive fist before beating him back into the network of cables. Doomsday caught him in his massive hands when he charged again, and then leapt out of the ship and the tent in a single bound and knocked Superman into his memorial site. As Superman regained his footing, Doomsday landed in front of him. The brute stared at the giant statue of Superman, then turned to the puny real-life version standing below him. A helicopter circled with a spotlight as they squared off.

Superman charged again, pushing Doomsday backwards into the statue, but the brute flung him through the memorial wall like a ragdoll, then picked up a stone slab and smashed it on top of the hero. He then seized him by his ankle and hurled him right through his own statue and into a distant skyscraper.

Superman eventually recovered, and grabbed Doomsday from below, pushing him up into the sky, and eventually into space. Doomsday abruptly turned and swatted him away, but Superman soared back and punched him, sending him flying even higher. After pummeling the monster again, Superman looked down to see a nuclear missile streaking towards him. Flying up to the brute, Superman latched onto his head and held him in place as the nuke struck them, undeterred by the creature's vain attempts to tear him off.

Superman was badly injured by the explosion, and Doomsday plummeted to Earth, crashing on Stryker's Island. While Batman attacked Doomsday and lured him into Gotham, Superman floated unconscious in space, his skin cracked, his body limp and fragile. He eventually drifted into a field of sunlight, thus rapidly healing him. His strength restored, Superman swooped down from the sky and pummeled a distracted Doomsday, catapulting him across the Port of Gotham and straight into an oil storage tank, causing it and the rest of the refinery to explode.

Superman regrouped with Batman and met Wonder Woman, and they prepared to battle the brute. Doomsday released another shockwave, ripping apart the Port of Gotham. As the energy dissipated, Wonder Woman and Doomsday lunged at each other, while Superman flew overhead. Wonder Woman hit Doomsday's leg with her shield, launching him upwards. Superman slams into him in mid-air, knocking him down. Doomsday dodged Wonder Woman's next attack and pummeled Superman, sending him flying backwards. When he returned, Doomsday narrowly dodged his attack and grabbed him before flinging him to the ground. He immediately followed up with a kick, sending the Man of Steel violently tumbling over the ground.

Superman returned and fired his heat vision, only for Doomsday to counter-attack with his heat vision. He proved more powerful, driving Superman backwards and into the ground. Superman shot upwards and prepared to retaliate before hearing a faint knocking noise; Lois was stuck in a pool of water, trapped beneath rubble. Superman immediately flew in to rescue her, and then took it upon himself to take the Kryptonite spear, while Wonder Woman battled Doomsday on her own.

Wonder Woman was starting to lose ground against the brute, who knocked her down, sending her weapons flying out of her hands. Settling in the dust, she grinned before grabbing her sword and blocking Doomsday's punch. She then sliced off the monster's hand, but was thrown backwards by his heat vision.

Superman grabbed the spear and rushed towards Doomsday, who was now ensnared by Wonder Woman's magic lasso. Batman fired a round from his gun, striking Doomsday in the head, extinguishing his heat vision. Superman struck Doomsday square in the chest with the spear, and the creature roared in pain, breaking free from Wonder Woman's lasso. He snatched Superman in his giant left mitt and then speared him through the S symbol on his chest with the long bony spike on his right stump. Unfazed, Superman grabs the spear's handle and shoves it, the tip piercing through the creature's back. Both combatants simultaneously cried out in agony, as red and green light shot from Doomsday's eyes and chest. It went out, and Doomsday collapsed, clutching Superman's seemingly lifeless body in his hand.

The military held a memorial service to honor Superman, while Clark Kent was given his own funeral back at the Kent farm. Bruce spoke to Diana about the other metahumans in the background. Lois dropped a handful of dirt onto Clark's coffin, before solemnly walking away. Meanwhile, a faint heartbeat is heard, and the dirt rises from the surface of the coffin, hinting that he is still alive.

Suicide Squad

To be added

Justice League

"Well I believe in truth... but I'm also a big fan of justice."

―Superman

To be added

Character traits

Kal, throughout his life, has proven to be extremely heroic, intelligent, brave, strong-willed, determined and selfless. He is peaceful by nature, and has always resisted the urge to use his extraordinary powers against others who do him wrong - particularly his childhood bullies. He dedicated his life to helping others using his high intelligence and Kryptonian powers. Kal proved to be intensely conflicted; After rescuing the occupants of the school bus from sinking into a river, he complained that he had chosen saving the bus occupants over hiding his talents. Kal also appeared to be extremely independent. He hated the idea of killing people, shown by how conflicted he was about murdering General Zod - not only had he killed someone with his bare hands, but he had also exterminated the only other Kryptonian alive other than himself. However, he is willing to throw this hatred of killing aside in times of great need, when he was forced to stop Zod to save a family and later when he killed Doomsday at the cost of his own life.

Kal is also willing to lay his own life on the line to save others as well. This was shown when he destroyed the Kryptonian world engine, which nearly killed him. Later, he took it upon himself to retrieve a Kryptonite spear and deliver a fatal blow to Doomsday, which cost him his own life when the beast stabbed him in the chest with a bony protrusion.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

• Kryptonian Physiology: As a Kryptonian, Kal's alien body adapted to Earth's atmosphere and gravity and absorbed the yellow radiation emitted by the Sun. This process of adaption granted Kal superhuman powers, whose intensity increased during his life as long as he kept being exposed to Earth's environment.
  • Solar Energy Absorption: Superman's body is able to process the earth's atmosphere and the yellow sun's energy to nurture his cells, thus giving him his nigh-unlimited physical abilities along with his unique powers.
  • Superhuman Strength: While under a yellow sun, Superman possesses incredible, potentially incalculable superhuman strength. He used it to easily crumple metal, shatter concrete, lift a bus, destroy a truck, break through thick metal walls and doors, crush an extremely durable Kryptonian surveillance robot, and even sustain the upper portion of a massive collapsing oil rig (though this strained him), all before even reaching his full potential. However, after learning and embracing his Kryptonian heritage as Kal-El, he finally gained his full strength potential, becoming far stronger than ever before and has never since been seen to physically exert or strain himself. Since then, Superman has engaged other Kryptonians in hand-to-hand combat. His mighty punches generated visible shockwaves and were powerful enough to visibly hurt and even daze the other Kryptonians. He was able to punch Faora through several walls, knock Nam-Ek unconscious, and catapult General Zod vast distances. Superman was even able to generate enough force to break through another Kryptonian's invulnerability, such as when he managed to break Zod's neck, killing him. With some effort, Superman was even able to fly against the tremendous force of a Kryptonian World Engine's gravity beam, even though he was somewhat weakened by the terraforming Kryptonian aura that it generated. Due to years of constantly adapting and absorbing vast amounts of solar-energy makes him even mightier than other solar-powered Kryptonians, who have only arrived on Earth relatively recently. When combating Doomsday, Superman actually overpowered the creature in terms of pure brute strength (blocking his punch and restraining him long enough for the nukes to hit them). After his resurrection, Superman (in a confused state at the time) was able to free himself from the Lasso of Hestia, even single-handedly overpowering the combined might of Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Cyborg relatively easily, later, after regaining his senses, Superman was able to carry a huge occupied apartment building way from Parademons and pried apart three Mother Boxes after Cyborg made an opening with little effort. Even while holding back, Superman was even able to swiftly and easily overpowering Steppenwolf with little to no effort; ultimately making him the strongest member of the Justice League.
  • Superhuman Stamina: Superman almost never seems to grow tired. He is able to survive flying at high speeds into outer space and underwater. After reaching his full potential, Superman hardly showed signs of fatigue, notably towing a gigantic tanker ship by its chain through ice without any resistance. While he was severely weakened from the effort of destroying a World Engine, Superman was able to recover almost instantly under direct sunlight and fly back to Metropolis. He could resist the pull of a Phantom Zone singularity and fight General Zod shortly after. Even during his ferocious battle with the stronger Doomsday, Superman never slowed down.
  • Superhuman Speed: Kal can run, fly and react at incredible supersonic speeds (at least Mach 3). Kal was able to fly from the southern Indian Ocean to Metropolis (on the other side of the planet) in a fraction of a minute, and was later even able to fly fast enough to help himself and Lois escape the tremendous gravitational pull of a Phantom energy singularity. The only super-powered individual capable of moving faster than him (at the time) is the Flash. However, after his resurrection, Superman has become even more faster then before, as he is now able to match the Scarlet Speedster's top speed.
  • Superhuman Agility: Superman possesses far more agility than a normal human.
  • Superhuman Reflexes: Superman's speed extends to his reflexes as well, as he managed to caught a punch from the larger Kryptonian Nam-Ek while being pinned by him and Faora, and later easily caught a grenade shot at him by Batman at close range. He was able to stop Wonder Woman from clashing her bracelets together, dodge all of Steppenwolf's attacks, and even perceive and react to the Flash's incoming attack despite simultaneously battling Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Cyborg. Much like the Flash's reflexes, Superman sees others as slowed to the point they're all but frozen in place,
  • Super Breath: Superman can breath in space and under water and can also freeze objects with his breath.
  • Invulnerability: The enhancing process that Earth's yellow sun environment did to Superman's skin, bones and muscles made him incredibly tough, durable, and virtually indestructible. He was able to move in a sub-zero temperature location with light clothes and without harm; he lived in outer space without any problems, high-caliber bullets shot by military jets and helicopters knocked him back, but did not wound him in the least, he survived the attack of a Kryptonian surveillance robot's mechanical whip, plasma bolts from Tor-An's Kryptonian Rifle, violent attacks of the World Engine's metallic liquid defenses, and even the tremendous force of its huge gravity beam as well. Superman also withstood the fall of a massive oil rig, the explosion of a military plane and numerous mighty blows from other Kryptonians without any kind of permanent damage. He didn't even flinch when he was hit by the Batmobile. He is also immune to earthly diseases, bacteria, and viruses. However, he isn't completely indestructible. He can be damaged Kryptonite xenominerals, which cost him the fight with Batman. Doomsday was also shown as capable of bypassing Superman's invulnerability and cost him some temporary damage at the very least. Additionally, he was badly injured by a nuclear explosion, having drained most of his solar energy reserves and leaving him resembling a decrepit-looking husk for a while until he recovered.
  • Accelerated Healing Factor: Upon reabsorbing vast amounts of solar energy, he recovered form a comatose state instantly via cellular regeneration. His advanced healing has kept him in a comatose state of healing to regenerate from Doomsday mortally wounding him.
  • Flight: Superman is able to use his incredible strength to perform super jumps. However, he later learned to manipulate the force of gravity around him, which grants him the power to levitate and fly. He can fly also in space, not only in Earth atmosphere, and he can reach incredible supersonic speeds (of at least Mach 3). This ability allows him to maneuver with precision in any direction, as well as hover in one place.
  • Heat Vision: Superman can project thick laser-like concentrated beams of intensified heat from his eyes. He used this power to quickly melt ice and metal with ease, cauterize wounds and cause burning pain to other Kryptonians. He even managed to use his heat vision to counter Doomsday's for some time, though eventually the creature proved more powerful.
  • X-Ray Vision: Since he was a young boy, Superman was able to see through objects and through the clothes and skin of people around him. He was initially unable to control this power, but his adoptive mother helped him focus in order to avoid being overwhelmed by his perceptions. With this ability, Superman had no problem seeing through the one-way mirror of an interrogation room, which enabled him to face Dr. Hamilton while talking to him, and even read the ID badge in the latter's pocket. Lead appears to be the only substance that his Kryptonian x-ray vision cannot penetrate.
  • Telescopic Vision: Superman can clearly see things over vast distances. For instance, when he first saw Black Zero hovering over Smallville, he was able to mentally zoom in, and perceive it in detail.
  • Superhuman Hearing: Superman soon discovered that he possesses a very keen and sensitive sense of hearing, which allows him to perceive feeble or far noises very clearly, both infrasonic and ultrasonic ones. He was initially unable to control this power, but his adoptive mother helped him focus in order to avoid being overwhelmed by his perceptions. Hence, he now possesses enough control to exclude ambient sounds in order to focus on a specific source or frequency. He could possibly possess a mental telepathy associated with the sound as well, as he can hear through the vacuum of space, where there is no air for sound waves to travel through.
  • Immortality: Superman cannot stay dead for a very long time if he has the growth cordex and if it is not removed from his body. The cordex has shown to bring any kryptonian alive from death even under thier older sun of Krypton.
  • Lie Detection: Due to his superhuman hearing; Superman can hear an individual's heartbeat, allowing him to sense if that said individual is lying or telling the truth; based on their heart rates.

Abilities

• Genius-Level Intellect: As the son of Jor-El, Kal is an extremely intelligent individual, as seen when Kal won a science fair at age 9 and later could be seen reading the Republic by Plato, a highly complex piece of Socratic dialogue concerning philosophy and political science, when he was 13. Later in life, Kal managed to successfully falsify his identity and stay off the grid as he traveled the world, and even the extremely skilled reporter Lois Lane needed weeks of research to track him down.
• Expert Reporter: As a member of the Daily Planet, Kal is an exceptionally skilled investigative reporter, displaying remarkable insight and investigative skills right away after getting hired as a junior reporter and quickly climbing through the ranks. After only a year, Kal had twice earned the Elliot Prize for Investigative Journalism (the first of any of the Planet's reporters to do so).
• Expert Social intuition: Kal has a high degree of social confidence, allowing him to intuitively determine how to interact with others. Hence, Kal was able to gain many jobs during his years of soul-searching. As a Daily Planet reporter, Clark gained even more social experience, and was soon confident enough to lead a school field trip to S.T.A.R. Labs, to diplomatically interview Kahina Ziri's neighbors, and later the newly-widowed Adriana Santos. Notably, Kal was even able to maintain his diplomatic composure when interviewing billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne (despite the latter's distasteful remarks about Superman) to the point that even the usually calm Bruce began getting visibly annoyed with the reporter.
• Skilled Tactician: Kal is a capable tactician; for example, he was able to facing off with Faora-Ul and Nam-Ek who are far more experience tactician then himself, as he took advantage of his own mastery of the powers they'd yet to develop, and defeated Faora by destroying her breather to render her helpless. Superman was even able to think his way out of the ultimatum of Lex Luthor (who is a genius in his own right) avoiding having to kill Batman and rescuing his mother in the process.
• Skilled Leader: Kal is a capable leader; for example, Batman admitting to Alfred that Superman would've done a better job at recruiting the Justice League than he had, and later defaulted the leadership of the team to him. The version of Superman seen in Bruce's nightmare was equally capable of leading the Regime to victory in the lengthy war against the Insurgency, inspiring fierce loyalty in them to the point that his troops would always reverently kneel upon his arrival.
• Expert Hand-To-Hand Combatant: Although he is no martial artist, Kal is able to adapt to different forms of combat. His fighting style seems to be based around pure brute strength and solid defense, as opposed to speed and martial arts, and though relatively primitive, it's proven quite effective. Kal was able to hold his own against the combined assaults of Faora and Nam-Ek, and later defeated General Zod in single combat. He was able to do significantly more damage to them than they could to him, as his superior strength and durability enabled him to absorb their mighty blows and recover quickly whilst delivering powerful punches of his own.
• Bilingualism: Kal is capable of fluently speaking English and Spanish.
• Ventriloquism:
• Intimidation: Throughout his career as Superman, Kal commands an intimidating presence to where most humans fear him, even Bruce Wayne (secretly the vigilante known as Batman; who commands an intimidating presence in his own right) is terrifying of him.
• Indomitable Will:

Weaknesses

• Kryptonite: Kryptonite is a green ore form of a radioactive element from Kal's home planet of Krypton; in it's gassy form it can temporarily suppress his physical attributes, making him equivalent to that of a normal human, in it's natural form, kryptonite can cause Kal somewhat fever-like, including nausea, weakness, dizziness, vertigo, fatigue, immense amounts of pain and loss (or near loss) of consciousness. Wounds inflicted on Kal by kryptonite do not disappear when it leaves his presence, and only direct exposure to sunlight can instantly allow Kal to recover completely from it's damaging effects and these otherwise incurable wounds.
• Limited Combat Experience:
• Nuclear Energy:
• Lead: Even with his X-ray vision, Kal cannot see through lead.
• Sensory Overload:
• Being of Equal Powers:

Equipment

• Supersuit: Kal wears a protective suit as his superhero alter-ego, Superman, to hide his identity from his enemies when he goes out fighting crime, the suit was designed by Kal's father, Jor-El. It is also made from native Kryptonian materials, making the suit just as durable as Kal; as bullets cannot penetrate it and even explosives from missiles could not damage it.

Relationships

• Jor-El - Biological father and mentor; deceased.
• Lara Lor-Van - Biological mother; deceased.
• Kara Zor-El - Cousin.
• Martha Kent - Adoptive mother.
• Jonathan Kent - Adoptive father; deceased.
• Lois Lane - Co-worker and love interest.
• Perry White - Boss.
• Jenny Jurwich - Co-worker.
• General Zod - Enemy and victim; deceased.
• Faora-Ul - Enemy.
• Nam-Ek - Enemy.
• Lana Lang - Friend and childhood crush.
• Pete Ross - Bully turned Friend.
• Father Daniel Leone - Friend.
• Justice League
  • Bruce Wayne/Batman - Rival turned ally and teammate.
  • Diana Prince/Wonder Woman - Ally and teammate.
  • Barry Allen/The Flash - Ally and teammate.
  • Arthur Curry/Aquaman - Ally and teammate.
  • Victor Stone/Cyborg - Ally and teammate.
• Lex Luthor - Enemy.
• Doomsday - Enemy and victim; deceased.
• Steppenwolf - Enemy.

Appearances/Actors

• DC Extended Universe (3 films)
  • Man of Steel (First appearance) - Henry Cavill
  • Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - Henry Cavill
  • Suicide Squad (Mentioned only)
  • Justice League - Henry Cavill

Behind the scenes

To be added

Trivia

• Before Henry Cavill was cast as Superman, Matthew Goode, Armie Hammer, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Zac Efron, Dwayne Johnson, Sam Worthington, Patrick Wilson, Robert Pattinson, Colin O'Donoghue and Jon Hamm were on the final shortlist for the lead role. Former Superman actors Brandon Routh and Tom Welling were also on the list.
• Henry Cavill had tried out for the part of Superman in Superman Returns.
• Henry Cavill also tried out for the part of Batman in Batman Begins.
• Henry Cavill is the first English actor to portray Superman.
• Cavill wore Christopher Reeve's Superman suit in his audition.

Gallery

Man of Steel

Infant Kal-El.

Lara Lor-Van with infant Kal-El.

Jor-El with infant Kal-El.

Clark Kent.

Clark Kent.

Young Clark

Clark saves the school bus.

Jonathan and Clark.

Young Clark Kent discovering his ship.

Jonathan takes Clark to the barn.

Jonathan shows Clark his ship.

Clark in the Fortress.

Kal-EL meets his father, Jor-El.

Superman is born.

Lois Lane interviewing Superman.

Superman.

Lois watches as Superman surrenders to the US army.

Superman struggling to adapt to the Kryptonian atmosphere.

Superman.

Superman.

Superman.

Superman flying at super speed.

Clark Kent wearing glasses.

Clark starts work at the Daily Planet.

Promotion, Posters and Filming

Superman and Lois Lane Promotional Image.

Promotional Image.

Promotional Image.

Promotional Image.

Promotional Image.

Promotional Image.

Promotional Image.

Promotional Image.

Promotional Image.

Promotional Image.

Promotional Image.

Promotional Image.

Promotional Image.

Promotional Image.

Promotional Image.

Promotional Image.

Promotional Image.

Promotional Image.

Poster.

Poster.

Henry Cavill on set as Superman.

Superman's costume at the Expo.

Henry Cavill in Christopher Reeve's Superman outfit in his audition.

A another look at Henry Cavil in Christopher Reeve's Superman costume.

Promotional art.

promotional art.

Man of Steel skin from Injustice: Gods Among Us video game.

Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice Prequel: Superman

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Promotion, Concept Art and Filming

Promotional Image.

Justice League

Promotion and Concept Art

See Also

• Superman

Links

• Kal-El on the DC Extended Universe Wiki