Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. All rights to Man of Steel go to Warner Brothers and all right to Superman go to DC comics. I own nothing.
Prologue
"People are afraid of what they don't understand" - Jonathan Kent
November 9th, 1983
Krypton was going to blow! Jor-el, a well renowned scientist on Krypton, figured that out long ago, but the people did not listen. He pleaded with them on saving their people by sending them away in ships so that they could survive and flourish on another planet. Everyone mocked him. Some would say he was like Noah from the classic biblical tale, trying to save people from their doom by putting them on ships and leaving the destruction behind them. There is something different about Jor-el though. Once the people did not listen, he did not care about saving himself, or the people of his home planet. He cared about his son. He claimed that his son was the future of the Kryptonian race. Jor-el and his wife Lara had conceived their son through a natural birth, the first natural birth in centuries on Krypton. Their son was special. They named him Kal, Kal-el.
"Jor-el, I don't know if I can do this!" Lara cried out.
"Lara, listen to me, the planet is going to explode, our son is Krypton's last hope" Jor-el replied.
"I won't be able to hear his first words, see him walk" she lowered her head "I won't be a parent to him".
"You are the boy's mother whether we are here or not," he whispered as he lifted her face.
She nodded. She knew what she had to do. She knew Kal needed to be somewhere safe. She locked him in the pod and kissed him on the forehead. Jor-el did the same. Boom. Krypton quaked beneath their feet.
"Lara prep the launch now'' Jor-el shouted out.
"Jor-el, think of what they will do to him, he will be an outcast" Lara shouted. Jor-el moved quickly to Lara and hugged her tightly.
"What could they do to him? He will be a god among them!" Jor-el whispered humbly, stoking Lara's hair. Lara pulled away nodding in confirmation. She reached out and pressed the button. The engines on the small rocket roared to life. Jor-el put his hand on the glass. He traced the letter "S" on the glass. "Remember this Kal, remember the house of El, bring the hope to your new home" Jor-el softly spoke. The rocket slowly ascended "Goodbye my son".
The tiny rocket soared away from the exploding planet. This is the death of many, but the birth of a man, a man of steel!