Born on the planet Krypton, young Kal-El was the child of Jor-El and his wife Lara Lor-Van. When the maniacal supercomputer known as Brainiac revealed his plans to digitize Krypton and destroy it, Jor-El worked to stop his evil plans. But he was too late, forcing the heartbroken couple to put Kal-El into a spaceship and send it hurtling away just as Krypton exploded.