Jor-El (Smallville)

"Fear not, Kal-El. ... I am Jor-El, your father. ... I am his will, his memory. I am to fulfill his promise and guide you all the days of your life."

- Jor-El, to Clark, "Exodus"

Jor-El is a recurring character appearing on the WB/CW television series Smallville. He exists as a disembodied voice first through Clark's ship, then the Kawatche Caves and finally the Fortress of Solitude.

Unlike previous versions of the character, Smallville's Jor-El has a harsh and at times cruel demeanor. It is later explained that some parts of the original Jor-El's personality was left out at its creation, explaining its lack of emotion and mercy.

His voice is provided by Terence Stamp, who also played General Zod in the first two Superman films starring Christopher Reeve.

Villainous Acts Committed by Jor-El
Though Jor-El has done unnecessarily harsh things, none of them were committed due to pure malice. Most of his actions were simply a way of pushing Kal-El/Clark Kent to fulfill his destiny.


 * He rescued and brainwashed a teenage girl into becoming "Kara of Krypton" in order to make Clark fulfill his destiny.
 * He has been willing to let Clark die on numerous occasions when he failed him.
 * He burned the symbol of Kal-El's ancestors onto Clark's chest which periodically burned painfully.
 * He gave Jonathan Kent powers to bring Clark back, being fully aware that it would cause him heart problems.
 * He coerced Clark into beginning his training by strangling and threatening to kill Jonathan.
 * He brainwashed and removed Clark's memories, turning him into "Kal-El."
 * He took away Clark's powers after he failed to return to the Fortress
 * He imprisoned Clark in a block of ice for a month

Season 2
In "Rosetta," Clark opens his spaceship and discovers a message from his Kryptonian birth father stating: "On this third planet from the star Sol, you will be a god among men. They are a flawed race. Rule them with strength, my son. That is where your greatness lies." A shocked Clark interprets the message as meaning he was sent to Earth to conquer humanity, and is immediately apprehensive about the possibility despite comforting words from his adoptive father Jonathan Kent.

In "Calling," Clark begins hearing a disembodied voice announce that "The day is coming" and later finds a Kryptonian message on the Kawatche Cave wall which he translates as "The day is coming when the last son will begin his quest to rule the third planet," remembering that he is the last survivor of Krypton. At the end of the episode, Clark hears the voice say "Kal-El, it is time" and sees lights coming from his spaceship in the Kents' storm cellar.

In "Exodus" (the Season 2 finale), Clark enters the storm cellar, where he finds the spaceship glowing and rising into the air. The voice, coming from the ship, explains that it is Jor-El, Clark's biological father. When Clark tells him he thought he died back on Krypton, Jor-El further explains that he is the Kryptonian Jor-El's memories and will, and that he is to guide Kal-El all the days of his life. Jor-El then tells Clark he will return to him at sundown and that he has no choice in the matter.

At sunset the next day, Clark hears Jor-El command him to come to him, so he again goes down to the storm cellar, where he finds the spaceship hovering over the ground. Jor-El insists that Clark will obey; when Clark denounces and refuses him, Jor-El telekinetically slams Clark up against a corner of the cellar and burns a Kryptonian symbol (resembling the Superman symbol) on Clark's chest, stating Clark cannot fight his destiny. He then tells Clark that, at noon the next day, he will begin his journey and warns Clark that, if he continues to defy him, he (Clark) will hurt his loved ones.

The next day, Clark, desperate to be free from Jor-El, steals a kryptonite key from Lionel Luthor and places it into his spaceship. The kryptonite key causes the ship to implode and then explode, resulting in a massive release of energy that hits Jonathan and Martha as they are arriving home; this causes a pregnant Martha to miscarry. A distraught Clark decides to put on a red kryptonite ring and leave Smallville. As he's riding a motorcycle out of town, Jor-El's voice is heard saying "You will obey me, Kal-El," meaning Jor-El isn't gone.

Season 3
In "Exile," set three months after the events of "Exodus," Jonathan retrieves the Key to Clark's destroyed spaceship and goes to the Kawatche Caves to ask Jor-El for help in bringing Clark back home. He makes contact with Jor-El, who explains he was testing Kal-El to see if he was ready to begin his journey and tells Jonathan it will be of no consequence if Clark returns to the Kents for the time being. Jor-El and Jonathan then make a mysterious deal that involves Jor-El bestowing Jonathan with temporary Kryptonian powers so he can bring Clark back to Smallville.

In "Relic," Clark finds a Kryptonian pendant that originally belonged to the original Jor-El and contains memories of a visit Jor-El made to Earth in 1961 as a young man. While on Earth, Jor-El (going by the alias "Joe") rescued Louise McCallum (Lana Lang's great-aunt) from a mugger, Lachlan Luthor (Lionel's father and Lex Luthor's grandfather). Jor-El and Louise fell in love and began an affair. Sadly, Lachlan found Jor-El and tried to shoot him, only for the bullets to bounce off Jor-El and hit Louise, killing her.

Grief-stricken, Jor-El fled from the scene and made his way to the Kawatche Caves, intending to return to Krypton. Along the way, he encountered Hiram Kent (Jonathan's father and Clark's adoptive grandfather), who believed his claims of innocence and helped him escape from the police. Seeing all of these events on the pendant, Clark speculated that Jor-El had arranged for Jonathan and Martha to find and adopt him.

In "Covenant" (the Season 3 finale), a teenage girl comes to the Kent Farm, claiming her name is "Kara" and that she's from Krypton. Kara reveals the terms of Jor-El and Jonathan's pact: Jor-El agreed to give Jonathan temporary powers to bring Clark back on the condition that Jonathan would return Clark to him when the time came for Clark to fulfill his destiny.

By the end of the episode, Clark agrees to go with Kara into a portal in the Kawatche Caves, but stalls when Jonathan arrives with evidence that "Kara" is actually Lindsey Harrison, whom Jor-El abducted and turned into a puppet so he could lure Clark to him. Jor-El begins speaking from the portal and tells Clark to go with Kara. When Clark angrily refuses to do so, Jor-El disintegrates Kara, saying she served her purpose, then begins strangling Jonathan, threatening to kill him if Clark refuses him again. Despite Jonathan's pleas, Clark enters the portal, which closes, leaving an unconscious Jonathan on the ground.

The season finale ends with an imprisoned Clark floating in a void and Jor-El proclaiming he shall be reborn.

Season 4
In "Crusade," Jor-El returns Clark to Smallville, brainwashed as Kal-El of Krypton. Kal-El sets out to find and unite the three Stones of Power, but is stopped by Martha using black kryptonite.

In "Sacred," Clark receives a letter from the recently deceased Dr. Virgil Swann encouraging him to seek Jor-El's guidance once again, as Jor-El is the only one who can help Clark finish his journey. Clark then takes the returned Key and uses it to make contact with Jor-El in the Kawatche Caves. Jor-El explains to Clark that the knowledge of Krypton's civilization was encoded in the Stones of Power, which were brought to Earth where they were hidden in different locations. He then tells Clark that if he does not unite the stones before others do, war, famine, and destruction will befall Earth.

In "Commencement," after another meteor shower is expected to hit Smallville in a matter of hours, Clark confronts Jor-El, who criticizes Clark for rejecting his Kryptonian heritage and says there is nothing Clark can do to prevent the imminent meteor shower. He reiterates that Clark must unite the Stones of Power before cutting off communication with his son.

Season 5
In "Arrival," Jor-El greets Clark after he enters the Fortress of Solitude and tells him he must stay in the Fortress so he can train and prepare to save Earth from a coming evil from Krypton. When Clark stops his training to save Chloe Sullivan (who was transported to the Arctic along with Clark after he united the Stones of Power), Jor-El insists he must continue but eventually agrees to let Clark take Chloe to safety. However, Jor-El tells Clark to return by sunset or there will be terrible consequences. When Clark fails to return, Jor-El takes away his powers, turning him human.

In "Hidden," after Clark dies from a gunshot wound, he awakens in the Fortress and is greeted by Lionel Luthor, who addresses him as "Kal-El." Lionel turns out to be possessed by Jor-El who explains that, when Lionel was exposed to one of the Stones of Power, he became a vessel for Jor-El to inhabit should Clark ever require his aid. Jor-El goes on to explain that Clark will return to life as the Kryptonian he truly is, but the life of someone he loves will have to be exchanged for his own. Jor-El informs Clark that he is about to face his darkest hour and tells him to remember that the lessons people learn from pain are the ones that make them the strongest. Jor-El then embraces Clark and assures him he will always love him.

In "Solitude," Clark confronts Jor-El, believing him to be the one who infected Martha with a Kryptonian virus. Jor-El claims he is not responsible, but maintains that someone Clark loves will still die to compensate for his resurrection.

In "Reckoning," after Lana Lang dies in a car accident, Clark goes to the Fortress and tearfully begs Jor-El not to take Lana's life. Jor-El tells Clark they are not gods, but when Clark angrily insists it is not Lana's destiny to die, Jor-El gives him a crystal that will reset time twenty-four hours but warns his son that, even if he is able to alter one course of events, someone close to him will still die. Clark uses the crystal and is able to prevent Lana from dying, only for Jonathan to die of a heart attack following a heated confrontation with Lionel.

In "Vessel," Clark ventures to the Fortress to speak with Jor-El about Brainiac, and Jor-El tells him that Brainiac is being controlled by Zod, who was responsible for the destruction of Krypton. Jor-El then explains that Zod's physical body was destroyed to prevent him from escaping the Phantom Zone and that the only way he could be freed was if he had a vessel to inhabit on Earth. He then gives Clark a Kryptonian dagger and charges him to find and kill Zod's vessel, who turns out to be Lex.

Season 6
In the season premiere "Zod," when Martha enters a damaged Fortress with an injured and unconscious Lois Lane, Jor-El greets Martha and informs her that, when Clark used the dagger against Brainiac instead of Zod's vessel, he accidentally damaged the Fortress and released Zod from the Phantom Zone. When Martha demands to know what happened to Clark, Jor-El responds that he has been banished by Zod and insists that Clark's mission must be completed. Before sending Martha and Lois back to Smallville, Jor-El thanks Martha for raising Clark.

Season 7
Coming soon

Season 8
In "Abyss," Clark re-builds the Fortress and speaks with Jor-El, telling his Kryptonian father that he's now using his powers to help others. Jor-El commends Clark for his new pro-active approach and agrees to help remove Brainiac from Chloe. Clark later brings Chloe to the Fortress and asks Jor-El to remove her memories of his powers and his alien heritage; Jor-El agrees and does so.

Later, when Clark returns to the Fortress to thank Jor-El for his help, Jor-El praises his son for making a hard decision but senses something else is troubling Clark. When Clark replies that Chloe kept seeing the Kryptonian symbol for doom, Jor-El explains the symbol represents Doomsday, who has made his way to Earth. Clark vows to take the creature on, and Jor-El assures his son he'll be there for him. After Clark leaves, however, Brainiac takes over the Fortress, silencing Jor-El as he calls for his son.

Season 9
Coming soon

Season 10
In the season premiere "Lazarus," Jor-El communicates with Clark in the astral plane after Clark dies sacrificing himself to send Zod and the Kandorians away, and warns Clark of a new threat coming to Earth.

Later, when Clark boasts that he's now the hero he was meant to be, Jor-El harshly condemns Clark for his willingness to take a life (specifically, a dying clone of Lex Luthor) and informs him that the dark force that's coming is drawn to the darkness within individuals. He then tells Clark that he cannot be a beacon of hope when he is harboring darkness in his heart. When Clark angrily insists that he is a hero and that he decides his own fate, Jor-El declares that Clark will never be Earth's savior and the Fortress grows dark and silent.

In "Supergirl," Kara returns to Earth and begins building a reputation as a superhero. When Clark meets with her and demands straight answers, she tells him that Jor-El has disowned him and sent her to Earth to take Clark's place as a hero.

In "Abandoned," Lois goes to the Fortress to speak with Jor-El, telling him his lack of faith in Clark is the reason Clark isn't the hero he can be and asking him to reconcile with his son. Jor-El, however, remains silent, causing Lois to angrily remark Clark is a better man than he is. Jor-El responds by imprisoning Lois in a column of energy. When Clark comes to the Fortress, rescues Lois, and prepares to give up on Jor-El completely, the Fortress plays a holographic recording of the Kryptonian Jor-El and his wife Lara, telling Clark that, despite the fact they were unable to save Krypton from destruction, they are confident he will become Earth's greatest hero. The message also reveals that the original Jor-El left his emotions out of the A.I.'s programming under the belief that they had prevented him from saving Krypton and didn't want Kal-El to be burdened by his father's flaws.

In "Prophecy," Jor-El temporarily transfers Clark's powers to Lois so the two of them can understand each other better. Later, he summons Kara to the Fortress and gives her the choice of staying to help Clark fight Darkseid or traveling to the future so she can follow her own path. After his powers are switched back to him, Clark confronts Jor-El and tells him he's done with his trials before shutting down the Fortress.

In "Finale," as Clark is thrown through the air by Darkseid, he suddenly finds himself having a mental conversation with Jor-El, who tells him he has had the power within him all along. Jor-El then shows Clark images of his heroic feats over the past ten years, revealing to Clark that all of those moments have been preparing him to become a hero. Jor-El then announces Clark's final trial is upon him and encourages Clark to seize his destiny before Clark returns to reality.

After his battle with Darkseid, Clark goes to the Fortress, where Jor-El announces his journey has come to an end and tells Clark he is proud of him for embracing his Kryptonian side. Jor-El then tells Clark he is the only one who can lift Apokolips from Earth and returns the Superman costume (which he previously took and stored in the season premiere), giving Clark one last piece of wisdom: Even though Clark is a Kryptonian, it was his time spent in Smallville with all the people there that made him the hero he has become.