The House of El has officially been declared a twisted family tree…
[CAUTION: This post contains spoilers for Superman & Lois S01E10: O Mother, Where Art Thou?]
We cannot believe we’re actually going to say this but we have a very twisted family tree on our hands with the House of El. In this week’s Superman & Lois, Clark makes a startling discovery that quite literally turns his life upside down. He learns that his biological mother, Lara Van-El (formerly Lor-Van) was married before his father, Jor-El and that she had a child; Tal-Roh, Kal-El’s older half-brother. Now, we’re sensing Krypton vibes here.
For those who aren’t aware, Krypton wasn’t set in the Arrowverse, but it shares a similar concept. In that series, which centres around Seg-El, Kal-El (and Kara Zor-El)’s paternal grandfather, Seg learns that he has not one but two sons in the future. The first is Jor-El who is conceived via the Genesis Chamber under the name Cor-Vex but is later renamed Jor-El. His mother is Nyssa-Vex (Wallis Day who is now the new Kate Kane in Batwoman). His second son comes as a massive surprise when he suddenly shows up in the past. He is Dru-Zod aka Superman’s greatest Kryptonian enemy. His mother is Seg’s secret lover, Lyta-Zod (Georgina Campbell). However, the series was cancelled before Zor-El could even be mentioned.
This connection ultimately made Kal-El the nephew of General Zod in that series. The sibling connection wasn’t known to Jor or Dru as Seg never knew of his second son’s existence. Zod was told by his mother that his father had died. What he didn’t know is that his dear old dad was in fact, alive and had another son.
Lara’s Secret Life And Another Link To Krypton
For Superman & Lois, the twisted family tree concept is shifted to Lara as she is forced into an arranged marriage long before she married Jor-El. In turn, Jor was well-aware of his stepson’s existence but felt it was not important for Kal to know about his brother.
However, Tal, being much older than Kal was well-aware of his baby brother’s existence. In fact, Tal was the first Son of Krypton to end up on Earth. However, unlike his half-brother, he ended up in the English countryside and was hunted and experimented upon by the government. This lead to his hatred towards humans.
Going back to Lara, she was married to Zeta-Roh before she left him and presumely their son for Jor-El. Now, the whole arranged marriage thing happened on Krypton too. Seg is forced into an engagement with Nyssa while still being in love with Lyta.
However, over time, Seg and Nyssa came to have a close bond, mostly because of their shared hatred for Daron-Vex, Nyssa’s father who wanted to rule the planet. The series was axed before we could see any more development into Seg and Nyssa’s relationship as they fought to get their son back after he is kidnapped by Brainiac.
Zeta-Roh Had Bad Intentions For Lara’s Technology
Lara created technology that could be used in horrible ways but that was not the reason she manufactured it. Edge’s endgame was to recreate Krypton but on Earth, which is why he has been putting Kryptonian consciousnesses into human hosts.
Zeta-Roh, Lara’s first husband and Edge’s father wanted to use his ex-wife’s technology for a similar purpose to his son. The device is thought to be a fable until Lara’s consciousness is transferred into Lana, Clark’s former girlfriend, and close friend. CinemaBlend can explain it better than we can.
According to Jor’s AI, his wife’s technology was not intended to be used for evil, but for preservation. The example he gives is how Kal is now talking to his AI. He explains that Zeta wanted to colonise other worlds, like Brainiac in a way, but without the bottling.
Kal begs his father for information about how to stop his brother. Jor explains he doesn’t know how the Eradicator works as it is Lara’s invention.
Jonathan Comes Up With A Crazy But Sensible Twisted Family Tree Theory
At the farmhouse, the DoD are ensuring Lois and the twins are safe while Clark investigates Edge’s claims. Jonathan and Jordan start talking and it opens a bit of a theory.
Jonathan tells his brother what he and Lois learned about John Henry Irons’ Earth and how his Earth’s Kal-El killed that Earth’s version of their mother. Jordan is confused and questions him. His brother theorises that what if Irons’ version of Morgan Edge was the evil Superman’s brother too and he promised to bring back Kryptonians including their mum which is why he killed the other Lois.
In a way, he might be right.
Lara Resurrected Within Lana
Lana volunteers to take on Lara’s consciousness despite everyone else’s protests. Surprisingly it works and Lara confirms to Clark that her device was never intended to be used to upend other worlds. She says that most of Krypton’s people were peaceful.
Lara also explains the concept of genetic matching (like it was in Krypton) and that she met Jor, they fell in love which lead her to ending her first marriage. This concept was similar with Seg and Lyta while he was matched (but not married) to Nyssa in Krypton.
Going back to Superman & Lois, Clark asks why his mother’s sunstone wasn’t in his pod like his father’s was. Lara explains further that Zeta-Roh stole hers in revenge for leaving him. She then brings up how happy her son is with Lois and how Earth embraced him. She also asks her son to tell her about her grandsons.
While Clark goes to stop his evil brother, Lara gets to know Lois, asking her what it’s like to be with her son. Lois is very upfront with her and Lara says she had a lot of hopes and dreams for Kal and they’ve come true just as she’d hoped.
At least Clark isn’t a twin where one is evil.
