"He's more than a story. He's more than a comic book superhero. He's more than a symbol of hope. He represents our greatest aspirations. He is everything we think we can be. And yet, even with all the strength and all the power in the world, he may not be able to meet his greatest challenges and redeem his family's legacy. For he is... the Son of El."
— Opening narration
Superman: Son of El is a 2022 DCU fan podcast created by Isaac Bluefoot.
It's a retelling of the story of Superman, but with a few key differences from the traditional myth. Clark Kent is still Kal-El, the son of Lara and Jor-El, the last survivor of Krypton sent to Earth to escape his planet’s destruction, raised by Kansas farmers Jonathan and Martha Kent.
But in this retelling, Krypton was in our solar system. And, more importantly, Clark’s ancestors in the House of El were the ones to create humanity in the first place, and the Kryptonians weren’t particularly good Gods. Now that Krypton is gone, Clark must work to redeem his family’s legacy and bring peace to Earth. But with his limited understanding of both his own abilities and of Krypton’s legacy on Earth will provide challenges that not even Superman can overcome alone.
The first two seasons, made up of 31 episodes that were released from January 2022 to February 2023, can be listened to on the Superman: Son of El
website or on any podcast platform. The third season is still in production.
Superman: Son of El provides examples of the following tropes:
- Adaptation Origin Connection: Mostly to do with the impact the Kryptonians being Earth’s creator-Gods.
- Both the Wayne and the Luthor families are members of the Light Keepers, an ancient organization founded to prevent humanity’s destruction by Krypton if their Gods ever turned on them again. Lex Luthor and Bruce Wayne spend their early years being trained as a part of this organization, and thus in the beginning know more about Superman’s origins than he does.
- After the Light Keepers arrange the destruction of Krypton, all members of the elite Light Keepers families are assassinated by the Joker, save for the young Lex and Bruce. Bruce’s investigations eventually reveal that the Joker’s birth family was also a member of the Light Keepers, though he is unable to identify which family he originally belonged to.
- J'onn J'onzz’s people, the Martians, were also creations of the Kryptonians who were destroyed by their Gods after an attempted rebellion. J'onn was the last survivor
- Afraid of Their Own Strength: Growing up, Clark is unable to control his own strength, and thus can’t even hold a pencil or open up a car door by himself without being afraid of breaking it. His family and friends, combined with educational accommodations and an ability to shrug off the occasional broken plate, help him live a normal enough life so he manages to graduate high school. After going to the Fortress for the first time, the AI holograms of Lara and Jor-El help Clark learn how to turn his powers on and off.
- All-Loving Hero: As with most adaptations of Superman, Clark is a genuinely kind and caring person who tries his best to help everyone, even his enemies. While many are suspicious of Kryptonians in this continuity, Superman’s genuinely good nature wins him the trust of the future members of the Justice League, eventually even the suspicious Batman.
- Arranged Marriage: Kara is sent by her father Zor-El from Kandor to be a “bridal tribute” for Kal-El. Superman is quick to tell Kara that there will be no marriage between them, especially considering she’s both a teenager and his cousin, much to Kara’s relief.
- Badass in Distress: In this continuity, Kryptonite doesn't simply weaken Superman or disable his powers, or even kill him, but has the effect of causing Superman disabling levels of mental distress and grief for his destroyed homeworld. When Lex Luthor decides to go after Superman for good, Clark is caught off guard and is helpless as Lex's men tie him in Kryptonite chains and let him sink to the bottom of the sea. Without a lucky intervention from Aquaman, Clark would have been trapped at the bottom of the ocean in a state of total despair forever.
- Distant Prologue: The story begins with a prologue of Kal-El's ancestors thousands of years ago on ancient Earth.
- Downer Ending: Superman and his friends in the Justice League are left in a difficult place after the ending of the second season.
- Batman's paranoia and self-isolation reach new heights after the murder of Jason Todd at the hands of the Joker.
- The Justice League, after having no choice but to participate in a brutal global war for a year, is fractured. Due to varying levels of coercion, the Green Lantern John Stewart and Black Lightning both begin working for Luthor’s government to capture their former teammates. The other members of the Justice League remain fugitives from the US government and its allies.
- During the final battle, Steve Trevor dies, Wally West is shot and is seriously injured and Barry Allen is missing.
- In an effort to stop Luthor from destroying a city without having to kill him, Superman apologizes to Lex and agrees to retire, believing that his efforts to help the world have some more harm than good. There is a glimmer of hope here: Lex is completely stunned by this and for the first time left doubting himself as he leaves.
- Fugitive Arc: After Kara’s existence is revealed to the public when she unintentionally destroys a county fair, President Luthor declares this evidence of an alien conspiracy and sends the Suicide Squad after the Justice League. The League, being forewarned by Steve Trevor, hides out in Superman’s Fortress of Solitude, with the members whose public identities are well known being forced to stay there.
- Hero with Bad Publicity: Lex’s PR campaign against Superman, including a disastrous public debate in which Lex Luthor strategically reveals to the public that Superman is an alien, leads to the general public beginning to fear Superman and other alien superheroes. The public’s trust in both aliens and superheroes in general becomes so low that Lex Luthor is easily elected president.
- Jerkass Gods: The Kryptonians were a decidedly this as the early Gods of the human race.
- Last of His Kind: As is traditional, Clark is the last survivor of Krypton, and though he had no memories of the planet, he feels a deep grief over its destruction. The Martian Manhunter, J'onn J'onzz is also the last survivor of Mars, his life saved by a teleporter malfunction that kept his body "saved" until Clark unintentionally freed him.
- Never Got to Say Goodbye: Clark is devastated after his adoptive father Jonathan Kent has a heart attack and falls into a coma while he is away. He passes without waking, leaving Clark grief-stricken and unable to say a real goodbye. However, while on a mission to The Underworld with Batman and the more mystical side of the DC universe, (Dr. Fate, Jason Blood, Constantine and Zatanna) he finds Jonathan and the two get the chance to speak one last time. Jonathan also helps with the mission, being able to calm Solomon Grundy when no one else could.
- Nuke 'em: An unstable Lex Luthor attempts to nuke a city in order destroy or capture Vandal Savage (and more importantly, to get one over against Superman.)
- Plagued by Nightmares: Since his childhood, Clark has been tormented by a recurring nightmare of his Kryptonian grandfather Enlil murdering his brother Enki on ancient Earth out of petty jealousy.
- President Evil: Similar to the President Luthor storyline in the comics, after a brief stint in prison, Lex embarks on a PR campaign and eventually runs for and wins the presidency, stoking fears of an alien invasion and public mistrust of superheroes to do so.
- Relationship Revolving Door: Lois and Clark are stuck in this pattern for a while. Clark is frequently distracted from their relationship by his duties as Superman and ends up repeatedly standing her up, leading to Lois breaking up with him and then later getting back together. Even knowing that Clark is Superman isn't enough to fix their relationship. Lois eventually admits that she used the fantasy of being with Superman to keep herself from actually committing to a real relationship. She eventually ends up breaking up with Clark for good and marrying Richard White.
- Sufficiently Advanced Alien: Kryptonians are energy-based extradimensional beings with such advanced scientific knowledge and powers that they were able to create intelligent life. They would eventually become essentially Gods to the early human race in ancient Sumer.
- Whole Episode Flashback: The story takes a break from Superman and his story in the modern day to spend a majority of episodes 20-23 following Bruce Wayne's early life as the apprentice and later heir of Ra's al Ghul in the League of Shadows and to his early days as a vigilante in Gotham.
- World War III: The second season is mainly concerns global war that begins when the nation of Kaznia (ruled by Vandal Savage) begins an imperialist war of aggression against its neighbors. The war eventually expands, with Savage’s super powered soldiers fighting on multiple fronts, eventually including Africa, Asia and Europe. The United States and its allies, led by President Lex Luthor, and separately, a coalition of nations known as the United Sodality, led by Ra's al Ghul, and eventually the Justice League are all drawn into the fight against it.
