Warning! Contains Spoilers for Batman: Fortress #7Superman is one of the greatest symbols of hope in the entire DC Universe, but it turns out that his original Kryptonian family the House of El has a very dark secret related to the destruction of Krypton.
Superman is a hero to trillions of people in the comics, constantly saving the planet or all reality while still making time to look out for the people of Metropolis on an individual basis. While Superman is undeniably one of the greatest heroes on Earth, his history from Krypton hasn’t been that significantly explored. While readers know a bit about Superman’s father Jor-El and his mother Lara, Superman’s extended family haven’t been explored nearly as much. While most readers would assume that since Superman is a beacon of hope, his family would have been the same, but turns out that’s not the case.
In Gary Whitta and Darick Robertson’s Batman: Fortress #7 — which takes place outside regular DC continuity — readers see the hidden history of the House of El. While Superman has always portrayed himself as a hero who came from a dying planet, this version of Superman’s history is a bit darker. In the issue, Batman, Lex Luthor and their allies discover a recording Jor-El left for Superman, confessing that Krypton didn’t explode of a natural disaster. In reality, it exploded due to enemies of Krypton, who acted in response to Krypton becoming significantly more hostile and militarized, which was something pushed by Superman’s family. While in the main universe Superman idolized Krypton and its people, this universe shows it was a lie and that the House of El significantly pushed Krypton to become far more war-like in their society. Fortunately, this isn’t the case in the main universe.
Krypton Was Mostly A Society Of Peace
In the actual main DC Universe, Krypton was mostly a planet of peace. While they were originally a warlike society, they eventually renounced that and even banned space travel. This is why when Krypton started to explode, only Superman managed to make it off. The fact this alternate version of Superman was not only from a warlike planet but knew it and instead hid this from his friends, making up a story of Krypton exploding to natural causes, is a significantly darker twist on Superman’s origins than most fans are used to seeing. While Superman’s family has had darker interpretations before, such as when Jor-El was revealed to be Mr. Oz, the idea that Superman’s extended family is to blame for Krypton dying, due to their own actions, is something not yet seen in comics.
While Batman: Fortress has yet to finish its storyline, its revealtions about the destruction of Krypton make it entirely possible that this version of Superman isn’t the beacon of hope that his main universe counterpart has always been.
Batman: Fortress #7 is now on sale from DC Comics.
