Kal-El (Earth-929)

"Humans aren't weak. They're stronger than any of us could hope to ever be. Not by their physicality; not by their abilities. They are strong willed. They are strong hearted. A human will go hours, wearing and tearing at his or her own body for the simplest reasons...and when they're body can take no more, they will keep going. For this I give the human race sympathy; I give them praise. They, as a race, are more powerful than any superman could ever hope to be. I am proud to be a part of this planet; no matter my origins."

- Kal-El to Dru-Zod

Birthright
Kal-El, son of Jor-El, was born to an esteemed lineage. Birthed into a house of scientists, astronomers, and geniuses, Kal was to be the beginning of the next generation of Kryptonian intellectuals. As an infant, Kal showed a higher level of knowledge than the other children of Krypton. He could define and distinguish shapes and walk on both legs during his first year of life, and could speak in his second. Kal showed immense neurological growth as the years went by, and he was eventually classified as a child prodigy. To adults, Kal was the symbol of what they hope the world would become. To Kal, however, he felt like an outsider. Shunned for being overly knowledgeable by the other children, Kal found his only emotion console to be a young Kryptonian pup; a stray whom he adopted and named “Krypto”.

When Kal entered his juvenile years, he was sent to the city of Kandor, to become an apprentice to the wonderful mind of Dr. Kur-Van. For three years, Kal studied Kryptonian engineering, Kryptonian medicine, Kryptonian geography, and Evolved Arithmetic. All of these, he was told, would be needed to become a highly ranked intellectual of society. However, Kal felt detached from his studies; as if he did not want to become a professor. As he grew older and smarter, Kal felt himself drifting away from science and more towards military activity.

General Zod
During his last year of apprenticeship under Dr. Kur-Van, Kal began to study more deeply into Kryptonian warfare and military. His mother discovered this and scolded him, wondering why he would ever want to be a fighter. Kal explained that he didn’t want to harm anyone; just protect the people he loves. Though she did not approve, Lara Lor-Van agreed with her son’s ideals. For this, she allowed him to keep his books. His father, however, was not informed; for he would have been outraged to learn his son preferred brawn over brain.

Kal wanted to learn more than just what the books taught him however. He attended a formal military recruitment seminar, where he came in contact with the highly celebrated General Dru-Zod. Kal approached the sign up sheets, in hopes of joining the military, but was instantly shot down due to his young age (of only twelve), and his lanky features. Zod met him after the ceminar, though, informing him that he would train him and help him make the roster for the Kryptonian military. So began a daily routine of Kal-El attending classes with his mentor in the day, and attending late night combat training with General Zod at night. Zod taught Kal an infinite amount of fighting styles. He taught him years’ worth of training, which Kal proved to adapt and learn in record time. He truly was a prodigy- and not just with his mind. One night, however, Zod crossed a tense line. Against military orders, Zod dragged a hostage to their routine training spot. Attempting to torture and kill him, Zod was surprised when Kal tried to stop him. Zod easily overcame Kal, giving him a warning, “If you’re not going to end the fight, then what was the point of starting it in the first place, Kal?”

Kal escaped, Zod not bothering to pursue him. The boy raced to the Council Halls, at the peak of Kandor. There he convinced them that Zod was a corrupt military leader, and that he was attempted torture on helpless, disarmed prisoners of war. The Council disagreed with these methods of information gathering, and so they sent out drones and soldiers to recover Zod from his chambers. They were not expecting the hell to follow.

Civil War
Zod retaliated harshly, killing the soldier that had come to retrieve him, as well as destroying the drones. Rallying an army-sized group of supporters under his banner, Zod declared war on the Council and the rest of the Kryptonian military. This Civil War would last for six months and would be known as the Dark Days. During this time, Kal-El, his mother, and his father moved out into the country side. There they lived peacefully, choosing to stay out of the war. Kal revealed to his father out of guilt that he had taken fighting lessons from Zod himself. Jor-El shunned his son for weeks, until he finally accepted the fact that Kal was going to have to see the bad parts of the world one way or another.

Towards the end of the Dark Days, Kal began to feel weary and sick. After testing his blood, his father deduced that Kal had contracted a rare, Kryptonian disease known as Rorack’s Plague. This disease would cause Kal to self-combust, killing him in a matter of years. Despite the immenent threat of danger arriving at any time, Jor-El and Lara convinced themselves that putting their son in a Cryo Containment Pod was the only way to save his life. Depending on how long he remained in the pod would determine how long his diseased body would stay halted. The cryo pod, instead, put Kal into a prolonged coma and paralysis. Distraught and angry, Lara did not speak to Jor-El for weeks.

Destruction of Krypton
While Kal was in cryostasis, Zod decided to attack the heart of Krypton- Mount Kryptonis. Home to the Council’s holy Citadel, Zod did not realize that the mountain was also home to Krypton’s core. Drilling an interweaving system of tunnels into the rock face to reach the Citadel, Zod harshly disrupted the balance of the planet, sending it into a catastrophic countdown to imminent destruction.

Using a seismic transmitter, Jor-El deduced that the planet had only twenty four hours until it was going to explode. With all of the spaceships either destroyed, or under Zod’s control, Kal’s Cryo pod was the only thing left to transport off world. Jor-El tried to open it, but this proved to be a grave mistake. Opening the hatch exposed the comatose Kal-El to a wave of fresh seismic toxins, which increased the rate at which the disease spread. Realizing that Kal-El would need to complete the procedure of a full, blood stream freezing in order to sustain his health, Jor-El placed Kal-El in a red and blue containment suit, and set him back inside of the pod. As the last great intellectual mind of Krypton, Kal-El the prodigy was destined to live. Jor-El began entering coordinates as the planet slowly started to self-combust. The pod would enter a straight flight to a far off planet; one inhabited by creatures exposed to yellow sun radiation. He determined that the sun would feed into Kal-El’s cells, giving him super human abilities unlike any Kryptonian. He would be a god amongst men; not an outsider, but a symbol.

Before Jor-El sent off the pod, Lara insisted that Krypto be placed in the pod along with Kal. This would make him feel more at home on the foreign planet, and less like an outcast. Jor-El did as instructed, placing Krypto in a specially-designed sustainment collar and placing him in the pod.

Kal-El’s pod rocketed into space, as Krypton began to perish behind it. This would be the last time he would see the planet and his people; but it would be the first step of a new life.