Lara-El
Family	Jor-El (husband, deceased), Kal-El (son), Kara (niece), Zor-El (brother-in-law, deceased) Alura Zor-El (sister-in-law,deceased), Conner Kent (partial clone of son)
Powers and Abilities	All Kryptonian powers under a yellow sun
Played By	Kendall Cross (Memoria) Helen Slater (Lara, Blue, Abandoned)
Status	Deceased

"Goodbye, my sweet Kal-El." – Lara, Memoria

Lara-El (1942 - 1986) was the Kryptonian biological mother of Kal-El and the wife of Jor-El. She perished along with her husband when her home planet Krypton exploded due to the fanatical actions of her brother-in-law Zor-El who used Brainiac to ignite the planet's core.

Physical AppearanceEdit

Lara is a middle aged woman with long blonde flowing hair, described to be stunning and beautiful by many. She is known for wearing the traditional Kryptonian white garment attire with a silver bracelet on her right arm as well Jor-El's victory ring around neck like a necklace. Lara has also worn a blue kryptonian garment attire.

PersonalityEdit

In the few instances she was shown, Lara was seen to have a compassionate and fair nature. She was very loving and held great protectiveness as well as love for her niece Kara and her son Kal. Lara was wise and good-natured, wanting the best for the people that she loved.

Powers and AbilitiesEdit

Main article: Kryptonian Powers and Abilities

When Lara arrived on Earth through a piece of Zor-El's technology, which was activated using the Fortress' console, she was wearing Jor-El's victory ring, which is made out of blue kryptonite, which removed her abilities. Unbeknownst to her that it would rob her son of his abilities, Lara bestowed it to Clark, which removed his abilities, which in turn, restored her own, though whether or not she displayed them remains vague. However one could argue that she displayed Invulnerability as she was unhurt despite being thrown across the Fortress by Zor-El, whilst attempting to save Kara.

• Invulnerability - Lara-El, after giving Clark Jor-El's Victory ring (Blue K), gains all natural Kryptonian powers.

VulnerabilitiesEdit

Lara, like all Kryptonians, was vulnerable to the various forms of kryptonite, but was ultimately killed by the destruction of Zor-El's blue crystal, which was all that kept her alive.

Early lifeEdit

(All birth dates for those born on Krypton are in Earth years)

Lara-El was born in 1942 on Krypton. She met Jor-El sometime after his adventures on Earth; the two were married sometime before he became a member of the Council.

Lara was indeed familiar with Faora, the wife of Zod, however was not in any part of the genetic extraction used to be resurrected on Earth through the Orb of Kandor.

Lara was very close to her niece Kara; Kara would sneak away from Kandor to see her aunt. The day that she found out that she was pregnant with Kal-El, Lara was ecstatic; apparently, she had trouble conceiving a child but eventually succeeded, as Kal-El was her "miracle baby."^[1]

Before Kal-El was born, Lara traveled to Earth to see if the Kents, the family Jor-El chose for their child in the event Krypton did not see the end of the war with General Zod, would be perfect for her son. Kara followed Lara to Earth and suggested that she name her child "Kal-El." Lara found the Kents acceptable. When Kara's father Zor-El arrived to retrieve his daughter, Lara realized she was desired by Zor-El and was made part of his "science": Zor-El stored her DNA in a crystal he later sent with Kara on her journey to Earth.

Sometime after Kal-El was born, Lara, while looking after her son, was contacted by Kara, who told her that Zor-El had planned to ignite Krypton's core and that he has begun the process. Lara was about to tell Kara what to do before Zor-El stopped her and wiped Kara's memory; she proceeded to chastise Zor-El for his actions. She then contacted Jor-El, who went to try and stop the detonation of Krypton's core but was unsuccessful.

When Jor-El had to send Kal-El to Earth to escape Krypton's destruction, Lara wondered if the people of Earth would love him, but Jor-El assured her that they would. Lara then bade her son farewell before his spaceship departed Krypton. She and Jor-El both tried once more to stop Krypton's destruction, but they died with the rest of their race.

Season ThreeEdit

Clark Kent had no recollection of his biological mother until his memory was jogged in the kryptonite water tank that Dr. Lawrence Garner placed him in to discover his past. He remembered Lara placing him in his spaceship, and came out of his reverie screaming Lara's name. Later, Clark found out from his adoptive mother Martha Kent that "Lara" was his first word as a child, and realized that his birth parents loved him.

Season SevenEdit

"Kal-El, as long as this ring remains on your finger and you have no power, you cannot fulfill the destiny your father and I have envisioned for you." – Lara, to Clark, Blue

In 2007, when Kara and Clark were captured and given a green kryptonite serum, they both relived an old memory of Kara's from when Kara, Zor-El and Lara visited Earth. Clark finally saw his mother through Kara's eyes, and later found a photo of Lara that Kara had taken during their visit to the Kent Farm years ago.

Later, Clark heard his mother's voice calling for his help from the blue crystal, which transported him to the Fortress of Solitude. Ignoring Jor-El's warnings, Clark inserted the crystal into the Fortress' console, resurrecting Lara as a clone. Lara embraced her son, proud that he had become a man. She was taken to the Kent Farm, where she, Kara and Clark decided to take down Zor-El, who had also been brought back as a clone by the crystal.

For her safety, Lara was taken to the Queen Tower where Lana Lang kept her company. She gave Clark his father's victory ring that, unknown to her, contained blue kryptonite that stripped Clark of his powers. While being kept company by Lana, Lara warned Lana of the darkness brewing within her. At that moment, Zor-El arrived and abducted Lara, taking her to the Fortress. Lara watched as Zor-El used the Fortress to create an eclipse that would wipe out all of humanity and agreed to be by his side when he threatened Clark's life.

While Zor-El was away from the Fortress ostensibly searching for Kal-El, Lara retrieved a Kryptonian dagger with the intent of using it against Zor-El, but Kara elected to use the dagger herself. Once Zor-El returned to the Fortress, Kara unsuccessfully attempted to kill her father with the dagger, and Zor-El overpowered both women until Clark arrived and subdued him with green kryptonite. With Zor-El restrained for the moment, Lara told her son to destroy the crystal, as it was the only way to regain his powers so he could fulfill the destiny she and Jor-El envisioned for him. Though initially reluctant, Clark shattered the crystal just as Zor-El recovered and was about to kill Kara. Once the crystal was destroyed, Zor-El and Lara's lives were ended.

Season TenEdit

"My dearest Kal-El, our love will always be with you." - Lara, Abandoned

Lois and Clark journey to the fortress where Lois pleads with Jor-El to reconcile with his son. Jor-El accepts her request by showing them a final message from Jor-El and Lara as the planet Krypton crumbled all around them. Jor-El and Lara both shared their regrets from being unable to save their homeworld, but were relieved that their son would live on and grow up to become the savior of humanity. Lara expressed how much both she and Jor-El will always love him and their legacy will live on through him and he'll never be alone.

In the ComicsEdit

In the comics, there has been many different version of Lara. The original version had her behave as a simple wife and mother, but in later stories it was implied that she was in fact a highly trained pilot and a member of the Kryptonian space program.

However when the Superman history was retold during "Man of Steel", Krypton was re-imagined as a cold sterile place, where emotions were forbidden. Lara was a librarian and historian, and while it was love at first sight for Jor-El, it took time for Lara to get used to it and accept him.

During the most recent versions of Superman's retold origins, Lara began as a member of the Labor Guild (essentially the slave caste of Kyrptonian Society). She met a young member of the Science Guild, Jor-El, who fell in love with her and despite her Guild, married her. As a result, she herself became a member of the Science Guild, which as it turned out, she was rather adept for, particularly when it came to the concept of space travel. When the time came for them to save Kal-El from the destruction of Krypton, it is believed that she had a heavy hand in the ship's design.

Regardless of her many different origins, Lara was one of the only people on Krypton to believe Jor-El's warnings of Krypton's destruction, and they both decided to send Kal-El to another world.

Other Faces of Lara-ElEdit

Luana Walters as Lara in Superman serials (1948)

Aline Towne as Lara in Adventures of Superman (1952).

Susannah York as Lara in the Superman: The Movie (1978)

Lara in Super Friends (1980)

Britt Ekland as Lara in Superboy . (1988)

Eliza Roberts as Lara in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993)

Finola Hughes as the voice of Lara in Superman: The Animated Series (1996), Justice League'(2001)', Justice League Unlimited (2001)

Lara as she appears in in All-Star Superman (2011)

Ayelet Zorer as Lara in the upcoming Man of Steel (2013).

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NotesEdit

• Helen Slater played Supergirl in the 1984 film Supergirl.
• Lara first appeared in the Superman newspaper strip in 1939.
• In the comics, Lara's full maiden name is Lara Lor-Van; Kryptonian women inherit their father's full name as a surname until they marry (e.g. Kara Zor-El), at which point they drop their maiden name altogether and keep only their first name.
• In Geoff Johns' Superman: Secret Origin, Lara is depicted as a blonde instead of her traditional darker hair color. This may be influenced by the hair color of Smallville's version of Lara.
• Helen Slater voiced Talia the daughter of Ra's al Ghul in Batman: The Animated Series
• According to Martha Kent, Clark's first word was Lara. (Memoria)
• Lara was seen in a hologram with Jor-el wearing a silver bracelet is engraved with the House of El symbol, which represents Lara's relationship with the El family. This can also be seen as a tongue in cheek reference to Lara playing Supergirl/Kara Zor-el in 1984.(Abandoned)

ReferencesEdit

1. ↑ Kara tells this to Clark in Kara.

See alsoEdit

• House of El
• Kara and the Chronicles of Krypton
• Clark and Lara
• Episodes featuring Lara-El

External linksEdit

• Lara on Wikipedia
• Lara on Wikia DCAU
• Lara on DC Database
• Lara on comicvine
• Lara on SuperFriends Wikia
• Lara Lor-Van on Superman Wiki