Superman, born Kal-El and legally named Clark Kent, is the last son of Krypton, sent as the dying planet’s last hope to Earth, where he grew to become its protector. Though he was apparently killed shortly after the Darkseid War, his essence merged with the New Earth Superman in Rebirth, creating a new, merged timeline for Superman.

Kal-El was born on Krypton to Jor-El and Lara. After Jor-El discovered that the planet was doomed to destruction, he attempted to escape with his family into the Phantom Zone but was repelled by the criminals who had already been imprisoned there. With no other choice, he and Lara resigned themselves to their fates, placing their son in a prototype evacuation rocket, activating its Brainiac intelligence, and sending it to a planet with a yellow sun: Earth.