"Karl, you are our last hope. You will go to that world and guide its people forward. You will become a god and create a beautiful world."
Once, the Kryptonians ruled the universe, conquering far and wide. But now, their race faces its end. The Elder Council had forbidden leaving the planet for tens of thousands of years.
Because of this, when their home world teetered on the brink of destruction, no Kryptonian was willing to flee. In their hearts, they had long forgotten the brilliance of the stars and the beauty beyond Krypton's red sun.
Yet, life always holds surprises. Take Kal-El, for example. He was the first baby born naturally on Krypton in tens of thousands of years, to his parents, Jor-El and Lara Van.
They couldn't bear to let their newborn son, free from genetic limitations and full of infinite potential, die with them on a planet destined for destruction. So, they made every preparation.
Jor-El readied a spaceship that could bypass Krypton's detection systems. He seized the opportunity of General Zod's rebellion, spurred by the coming apocalypse, to steal the Life Codex—a collection of all Kryptonian genetic data—and inject it into Kal-El's body. The future of their entire race rested on this innocent child.
"It's time, Jor."
Lara checked the time, listening to the alarms wailing outside. Zod's rebellion had begun. It was only a matter of time before the Elder Council caught them.
"Alright," Jor-El nodded, operating the console and launching the escape pod. As the countdown finished, the escape pod shot from their rooftop, leaving the doomed planet behind, bound for a world called Earth.
"You will create a better world, my child," Jor-El said. He turned and adjusted the armor he had already donned. Zod's main target in the rebellion was the Life Codex, so he knew Zod would be at their door any moment.
"Jor-El! What have you done? Where is the Codex of Life? Tell me!"
Outside, Zod had also seen the escape pod escape Krypton amidst the chaos. A sense of unease spurred him to break into the house quickly. When he saw a fully armed Jor-El, he instantly understood everything.
"The Code of Life doesn't belong to you, Zod..."
Jor-El and Zod began to fight. But as a scientist, Jor-El was ultimately no match for Zod. He was killed when Zod plunged a dagger into his abdomen. However, Zod, having wasted too much time, was soon captured by the Kryptonian army and sentenced to exile in the Phantom Zone.
The escape pod, carrying Jor-El's hopes, continued its journey towards Earth along its planned route. If everything had gone as planned, it would have crash-landed on a farm in Kansas. The Kents would have found him, raised him with kindness, and after many trials, he would have become Superman, the protector of Earth and humanity, beginning his legendary story.
But then, an accident occurred.
A moderately sized black hole, previously unnoticed, suddenly appeared right on the escape pod's flight path. It swallowed the pod and vanished immediately.
This unexpected event brought the escape pod to another universe, to another Earth. But in this universe, there was no Krypton, no Apokolips, no Green Lantern Corps, and no Darkseid.
In this universe, there was Asgard, the Celestials, the Five Great Cosmic Entities, and an Earth where many stories also unfolded.
A farm in Kansas, but its owners were not the Kents.
The clever farmer wanted to earn extra money beyond farming to support his children in New York. So, the old couple decided to turn their farm into a tourist attraction, occasionally hosting visitors from big cities. This allowed those who had grown up in the "steel jungle" to experience a taste of rural life.
Guests were few. The old couple had a large farm to manage, so they could only host one couple at a time.
This time, their guests were a young couple from New York: Benjamin Parker and his wife, May Parker.
Benjamin was an ordinary office worker, and May was a community worker. Traveling on their salaries was a luxury, but after many years of marriage, they realized they had never taken a honeymoon. So, they decided to splurge. Since they had no children, why not enjoy themselves for once?
Indeed, this couple had no children. It wasn't due to any physical problem; both May and Benjamin were in excellent health. However, post-marriage physical exams revealed their genes were incompatible. Their bodies were fine, but there were abnormalities in the chromosomes of their genetic material.
They wanted children, but they didn't want their children to be born different because of their unique genetics. The loving couple didn't want to be separated, so they decided not to have children in this life, choosing instead to live their lives dependent on each other.
That night, they walked to the edge of the farm. Here, far from the city's lights and pollution, the night sky was exceptionally beautiful.
Then they saw a fiery ball falling from the sky.
"Ben, was that a shooting star? A falling star?" May asked.
Benjamin frowned. Though just an ordinary employee, his knowledge was considerable. He knew that if a fireball of that size truly was a meteorite from outer space, the impact could destroy everything around it.
Immediately, Ben pulled May under him, shielding his wife with his body. Even if the possibility was very small, he couldn't let his wife get hurt.
Boom!
The fireball crashed onto the wasteland outside the farm. The noise was deafening, but fortunately, it was a large farm. Besides them, probably only the old couple, preparing dinner back at the farmhouse, noticed anything unusual.
Once sure it was safe, curiosity drove the couple to rush to the crash site. The first thing they saw was a strangely shaped aircraft.
Neither Ben, nor May, nor even the old couple who arrived later, dared to touch the machine carelessly, fearing unknown dangers.
It wasn't until they heard a baby crying from inside that Ben finally found the courage to gently touch it.
With that gentle touch, the hatch opened automatically, revealing a delicate little baby to everyone.
"So cute..."
The old couple were still a bit scared. They had grown children themselves and only received tourists for their sake, so they didn't react much to seeing Kal-El.
But May was different. For the child's sake, they had decided not to have children, yet she deeply longed for one. In her eyes, Kal-El, who had fallen from the sky at that moment, was like a gift from God.
"Ben..."
"I know, May."
Ben reached in and gently lifted Kal-El out of the escape pod, smiling at May.
"I had the same idea as you. Didn't we pick a name a few years ago? Clark. How about Clark Parker?"