Warning: contains spoilers for World of Krypton #6!
DC's latest Superman change to his origin story reframes the part Earth has to plan in the narrative - and now there are two major symbols of hope in the DC Universe. The Man of Steel has long been considered the "Big Good" of the DC Universe, acting as the stalwart and steady superhero in the face of a morally-grey Earth. But World of Krypton #6 reveals that Earth is as important to Kryptonians as Superman is to humans.
Comic book readers are familiar with Superman's backstory, the more general points of which were established back in Action Comics #1 in 1938 and expanded upon in subsequent issues. Krypton, Superman's home planet, was unstable and would eventually explode. Realizing the danger, his scientist father Jor-El sealed his son Kal-El inside a rocket just large enough for one occupant and sent it to Earth, where he would eventually grow up to become Superman. Details have changed throughout the decades, but in every incarnation of the origin story, Krypton is always destroyed and Kal-El is always sent to Earth.
In World of Krypton #6, written by Robert Venditti with art by Michael Avon Oeming, the social order of Krypton has all but collapsed. The damage to the core of the planet is irreversible, and Krypton has less than one year before it explodes. As civilian protestors clash with security forces, Jor-El is forced to send his friend General Zod to the Phantom Zone. Despairing, he returns home to see that his wife Lara Lor-Von has located a suitable planet to send her son as Krypton's last survivor. "Our son can have a future. Through him, us. And our people. Where there is a chance for future...there is always hope."
Superman's well-known "S" symbol on his chest, once simply standing for his name, now has multiple meanings. It's been used as the House of El's family crest and is also the Kryptonian symbol for hope. This new series, which has changed many elements of the Superman mythos, now plainly positions Earth as Krypton's own "symbol of hope" from another world. It's not spelled out precisely, but the final image - showcasing Earth - leaves little to the imagination.
The World of Krypton series has concluded and the entire affair was quite the eye-opener regarding Krypton's past. In particular, the relationship between Jor-El and Zod was completely re-contextualized. But in the entire World of Krypton series, which is available now, the most poignant moment is sure to be Jor-El and Lara looking at Earth, the new home of their son and future Superman.
World of Krypton #6 is now available from DC Comics.