Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Superman.

Superman puts a drastically evil twist on Clark’s parents, but I’m convinced that the DCU plans to redeem them. James Gunn’s film is the powerful start to the rebooted DC Universe that the studio needed. With strong performances from the whole cast, the film is a fresh take on the classic hero while still paying tribute to some classic plot points.

The movie begins with Clark already well established on Earth as the hero Superman. Known to the public as a savior of sorts, Superman opens minutes after he’s lost his first battle. He returns to the Fortress of Solitude to heal and his robots turn on a video message from his Kryptonian parents, claiming that Clark finds it soothing.

Clark’s parents, Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van, died with the destruction of Krypton. Although he hasn’t seen them since he was a baby, most iterations of Superman have him look up to his parents as mentors. In some projects, Superman is able to get advice from a hologram of his father’s consciousness. Clark clearly looks up to his parents, but Superman puts a shocking twist on their dynamic.

The New DC Movie Reveals Superman’s Parents Sent Him To Earth To Conquer It

The Second Part Of Superman’s Message Was Damaged

In the video message that Superman keeps in the Fortress of Solitude, his parents tell him why they’re sending him to Earth. Unable to stop the destruction of Krypton, they say that they want their child to thrive on a planet where he can do the most good for humanity. It’s a touching sentiment that has guided Clark’s actions for years.

However, Superman was never able to hear his parents’ full message to him as the second half of the video was damaged in transit. Lex Luthor and his allies notice this upon breaking into the Fortress of Solitude, and after the Engineer steals the message, she and a team of alien experts are able to decrypt the second half.

Lex shares the message with the public, where Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van’s original intentions for Clark are revealed. Thinking that humans were simple creatures, they wanted their son to conquer Earth and continue the Kryptonian lineage. The public feels incredibly betrayed after considering Superman a beacon of hope for years, and it sends Clark into a moral dilemma.

This twist on Clark’s parents is a huge departure from other adaptations of the character. In the typical Superman origin story, Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van are depicted as loving parents who sent their son to Earth because that was what was genuinely best for him. In Superman, their intentions are nothing short of malicious.

I’m Convinced The DC Universe Is Hiding Another Superman Origin Story Twist

Deception Would Be In Character For Lex

Considering Lex has committed far more malicious actions without a second thought, it wouldn’t be a shock at all if the message that he retrieved from the Fortress of Solitude was actually doctored. Many fans probably even ᴀssumed it was when it first aired to the public. However, the movie makes a point of hammering home the idea that the footage is authentic.

Lex tells the public that he had multiple experts work on decrypting the message and verifying the validity of its contents, but I’m convinced that it might not be the whole story. Considering how humans still perceive aliens as a mystery, there doesn’t realistically seem to be many experts on aliens around, let alone many at Lex’s convenient disposal.

Despite Lex saying otherwise, surely the footage has to be doctored. A reboot of a beloved franchise means there’s room for story twists and risks, but giving Superman’s parents malicious intent would definitely be a bold, controversial route. Although Superman ended in a touching place, retconning Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van’s intentions could still be narratively interesting.

With how damaged the second half of the message was, there’s truly no telling what it said in its original state. No one would put it past Lex to doctor footage just to ruin Superman’s reputation and worldview considering how much he hates the hero. If a future DCU project revealed this to be Lex’s plan all along, it would be in line with his character’s motives.

Lex Luthor Doctoring The Superman Footage Would Redeem Jor-El

Fans Are Split On The DCU’s Take

Perhaps Gunn’s plan all along was truly to give Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van bad intentions. It did give Clark the interesting lesson of letting his own actions define his life’s purpose, and he developed a deeper appreciation for his Earth parents by the end of the film. However, it’s still a shame that Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van have been made out to be evil so early on in the DCU.

If the footage is real, it paints Jor-El as a would-be conqueror who thinks himself above humans. He has had this motive before in the comics – once in 2022’s Flashpoint Beyond and as Mister Oz in the “DC Rebirth” comic relaunch – so it’s not completely unheard of. Fans seem to be split on the DCU’s Jor-El twist though, and some don’t think it’s a good take on the character.

There’s a very real possibility that the franchise retcons this plot in the future, or perhaps redemption for Jor-El is already in Gunn’s plans. Doctored footage would make complete sense for Lex, even after being so adamant that it was authentic. Superman is just the start of a growing franchise, and there’s still plenty of time for more twists to set in.