Jor-El Earth's sun is younger and brighter than ours was. Your cells have drunk in its radiation, strengthening your muscles, your skin, your senses. Earth's gravity is weaker, yet its atmosphere is more nourishing. You've grown stronger here than I ever could've imagined. The only way to know how strong is to keep testing your limits. You will give the people an ideal to strive towards. They will race behind you, they will stumble, they will fall. But in time, they will join you in the sun, Kal. In time, you will help them accomplish wonders.
Jor-El [Jor-El is on assembly with the Elders of Krypton]
Will you not understand? Krypton's core is collapsing. We may only have a matter of weeks. I warned you, harvesting the core was suicide. It has accelerated the process of implosion.
LE Lor-Em
Our energy reserves were exhausted. What would you have us do, El?
Jor-El Look to the stars, like our ancestors did. There are habitable worlds within reach. We can begin by using the old outposts.
RZ Ro-Zar
Are you seriously suggesting that we evacuate the entire planet?
Jor-El No, everybody here is already dead! Give me control of the Codex. I will ensure the survival of our race. There is still hope. I have held that hope in my hands.
[There is a large blast as Zod is bringing about a coup for control of Krypton]
This council has been disbanded!
RZ Ro-Zar
On whose authority?
[Zod shoots and kills Ro-Zar]
The rest of you will be tried and punished accordingly.
Jor-El What are you doing, Zod? This is madness!
What I should have done years ago. These lawmakers with their endless debates have led Krypton to ruin.
Jor-El And if your forces prevail, you'll be the leader of nothing!
Then join me. Help me save our race. We'll start anew. We'll sever the degenerative bloodlines that led us to this state.
Jor-El And who will decide which bloodlines survive, Zod? You?
Don't do this, El. The last thing I want is for us to be enemies.
Jor-El You have abandoned the principles that bound us together. You've taken up the sword against your own people. I will honor the man you once were, Zod. Not this monster you have become.
[Zod arrives as Jor-El and Lara are about to launch their son into space]
I know you stole the Codex, Jor-El. Surrender it and I'll let you live.
Jor-El This is a second chance for all of Krypton, not just the bloodlines you deem worthy.
Jor-El We've had a child, Zod. A boy child. Krypton's first natural birth in centuries, and he will be free, free to forge his own destiny.
[Zod attempts to destroy the launch, but is stopped by Jor-El and they engage each other in combat. Lara is nearly complete with the launch sequence. As Jor-El has Zod temporarily restrained he begins to plead with Lara]
Lara, listen to me, the Codex is Krypton's future. Abort the launch!
[Lara continues the launch sequence and sends her son into space]
NOOOOOOO! [Zod stabs and kills Jor-El. Lara runs over to his fallen body and mourns him] Your son, Lara, where have you sent him?
His name is Kal, son of El. And he is beyond your reach.
Jor-El [inside the Kryptonian ship buried in the Arctic, Clark inserts his key into a console and is greeted by an unfamiliar face]
To see you standing there having grown into an adult…if only Lara could have witnessed this.
Jor-El I am your father, Kal, or at least a shadow of him. His consciousness. My name is Jor-El.
Jor-El Kal-El, it is.
I have so many questions. Where do I come from? Why did you send me here?
Jor-El You came from Krypton, a world with a much harsher environment than Earth's. Long ago, in an era of expansion, our race spread out through the stars, seeking new worlds to settle upon. This scout ship was one of thousands launched into the void. We built outposts on other planets, using great machines to reshape environments to our needs. For a hundred thousand years our civilization flourished, accomplishing wonders.
Jor-El Artificial population control was established. The outposts and space exploration were abandoned. We exhausted our natural resources. As a result, our planet's core became unstable. Eventually, our military leader, General Zod, attempted a coup, but by then it was too late. Your mother and I foresaw the coming calamity and we took certain steps to ensure your survival. This is a genesis chamber. All Kryptonians were conceived in chambers such as this. Every child was designed to perform a predetermined role in our society as a worker, a warrior, a leader, and so on. Your mother and I believed Krypton lost something precious: the element of choice, of chance. What if a child dreamed of becoming something other than what society had intended? What if a child aspired to something greater? You were the embodiment of that belief, Kal. Krypton's first natural birth in centuries. That's why we risked so much to save you.
Why didn't you come with me?
Jor-El We couldn't, Kal. No matter how much we wanted to. No matter how we loved you. Your mother, Lara, and I were a product of the failures of our world as much as Zod was. It's hard to explain.
Jor-El No. You are as much a child of Earth now as you are of Krypton. You can embody the best of both worlds. The dream your mother and I dedicated our lives to preserve. [He reveals to him the Superman suit] The people of Earth are different from us, it's true, but ultimately, I believe that is a good thing. They won't necessarily make the same mistakes we did, but if you guide them, Kal, if you give them hope. That's what this symbol means. [Pulls back his coat to reveal the House of El symbol on his chest] The symbol of the House of El means "Hope." Embodied within that hope is the fundamental belief in the potential of every person to be a force for good. That's what you can bring them.
C Computer
[General Zod activates the Genesis chamber]
Genesis Chamber activated.
Jor-El Stop this, Zod, while there's still time.
Haven't given up lecturing me, have you? Even in death.
Jor-El I will not let you use the Codex like this.
You don't have the power to stop me. The command key I have entered is revoking your authority. This ship is now under my control.
Jor-El Our people can coexist.
So we can suffer through years of pain trying to adapt, like your son has?
Jor-El You're talking about genocide.
Yes. And I'm arguing its merits with a ghost.
Jor-El We're both ghosts, Zod. Can't you see that? The Krypton you're clinging onto is gone!
[Ordering the computer]
Ship, have you managed to quarantine this invasive intelligence?
Jor-El You'll fail.
Then prepare to terminate it. I'm tired of this debate.
Jor-El Silencing me won't change anything. My son is twice the man you were. He will finish what we started. I can promise you that.
Tell me. You have Jor-El's memories. His conscience. Can you experience his pain? I will harvest the Codex from your son's corpse, and I will rebuild Krypton atop his bones.
[Zod then terminates the artificial Jor-El]
