Spoiler alert! This article contains spoilers for Superman (2025).
Superman(2025) offered a huge and shocking change to Superman’s father, Jor-El, one which was subtly teased from the very beginning of the movie.James Gunn’s triumphantSuperman(2025)redefinesDC’s Man of Steel’s legacy with bold choices, but none was more shocking than the twist involving Jor-El. Yet this change was actually hinted at in the movie’s opening scenes.
For decades, Jor-El has been depicted as a noble scientist who sacrificed himself to save his infant son from Krypton’s destruction.Supermanbucks this trend by changing an essential aspect of Jor-El’s legacy. This revelation reframes Superman’s entire life and raises alarming questions about what Krypton really stood for. More surprisingly, the twist was seeded early in the film.
James Gunn’s Superman Movie Makes A Major Change To Superman’s Origin Story
Superman (2025) Changed The Reason Superman Was Sent To Earth
In Gunn’sSuperman, the Fortress of Solitude is home to a holographic message from Kal-El’s long-dead Kryptonian parents, Jor-El and Lara. Early in the movie, Superman rewatches the damaged footage. The portion he can accessfeatures a heartfelt message about hope, legacy, and his purpose: to be a light for humanity.
This version echoes the tone of classic Superman stories and reinforces Kal-El’s belief that he was sent to Earth to protect its people. However, everything changes once Lex Luthor and the Engineer manage to repair the remainder of the message. In the repaired version, Jor-El tells Kal-El that Earth is a fertile, lesser-evolved planetripe for colonization.
Jor-Eloutlines a disturbing plan: Kal-El is to repopulate Earth with Kryptonian descendants and rule over the human species as their superior. He even mentions that Superman should start amassing brides for a secret harem. Superman is, of course, horrified.
He insists it must be doctored, an elaborate hoax by Lex to manipulate him. Yet then, in one of the film’s most hauntingly quiet scenes, Mister Terrific confirms the truth. His analysis of the Kryptonian data crystals confirmsthere’s no manipulation. This isn’t a trick. This is Jor-El’s true, original message.
It’s a shattering revelation thatcuts to the core of Superman’s identity. For years, he believed he was a savior. Now, he has to confront the possibility that he was intended to be a conqueror. It’s a devastating twist – but one the movie subtly builds toward from the very start.
Jor-El’s Message Hinted At His True Motive
Image via Warner Bros.
While the twist involving Jor-El’s authoritarian plan seems like a dramatic left turn,Superman(2025) plants clues from the beginning. During the glitching holographic message, Jor-El describes Krypton asa civilization that valued land. The line seems poetic at first glance, but on second viewing, it’s deeply unsettling.
The word “land” isn’t just a descriptor, it’s a signal of ideology. Jor-El speaks not in terms of stewardship, but ownership. There’sa subtle, imperialistic tone embeddedin the phrase, implying that Kryptonians viewed territory as something to dominate and mold to their will. This early word choice primes the audience, consciously or not, to question Krypton’s supposedly enlightened values.
In traditional Superman stories, Krypton is usually portrayed as a utopia, intellectually advanced and morally evolved. Yet Gunn’s version hints at a civilization whose greatnessmay have bred entitlement. It’s this sense of superiority (of Krypton as a fallen empire) that recontextualizes Jor-El’s motivations. The wording may be subtle, but it’s carefully chosen, and perfectly seeds the later reveal.
How The DC Universe Could Undo This Jor-El Retcon
The DCU Could Retcon This Retcon Quite Easily
The shocking nature of Jor-El’s message left Superman himself (and the audience) grappling with disbelief. It’s sucha dramatic reversal of what audiences have come to expectfrom Superman’s origin that it naturally invites speculation. WhileSuperman(2025) makes a point of having Mister Terrific verify the footage’s authenticity, it’s worth noting how quietly that validation is delivered.
The line comes quickly, almost in passing, and is never revisited. While Superman gradually accepts that the message was real, it was largely framed around himaccepting his human identity over his Kryptonian heritage. This is signaled inSuperman’s final sceneswhere his message from his parents is replaced by home videos of Jonathan and Martha Kent.
With this aspect firmly in place, the DCU could row back on the Jor-El message. In the comics and past adaptations, Kryptonian technology has often been shown to be manipulable, especially by geniuses like Lex Luthor. The data crystal system is powerful, but it’s also vulnerable. There’sprecedent in DC lore for holographic recordings being corrupted, altered, or reprogrammed to mislead.
Moreover, Jor-El himself doesn’t appear in person, only in hologram form. Without a living Kryptonian to cross-reference, all Superman has is a message. If the audience is only seeing what characters believe to be the truth, there’sroom for reinterpretation later in the DCU. It’s possible that Lex Luthor doctored the footage in a way that even fooled Mister Terrific, or that some third party manipulated the message as part of a longer game.
From a narrative standpoint, this ambiguitygives the DC Universe creative flexibility. If the filmmakers later choose to walk back the idea of Jor-El as a crypto-fascist colonizer, they have an opening. The groundwork has already been laid for doubt, denial, and deception.
Alternatively, they could double down on it – redefining Krypton as a morally compromised empire, which wouldforce Superman to fully embrace his Earthly humanityand reject his biological lineage entirely. Either path is compelling. Gunn’sSupermantwist might be controversial, but it’s layered with just enough nuance that future stories could deepen, or undo, it in compelling ways.
