Baby Kal-El, of course, grew up to be Superman; Jor-El and Lara were his parents.
For the sake of this discussion, assume that you do only know the barest details about Earth: that is, that a species superficially similar to your own Kryptonian race lives there, and that he can survive in the environment. But also assume you lack is the detailed knowledge about the planet that Jor-El demonstrates in some versions (notably the Reeve movies). That’s always bothered me; I mean, if he had time to learn all that crap about a random alien planet, he had time to build a bigger goddamn starship. Anyway – you know nada about Earth culture and history except that the planet hasn’t developed interstellar space flight.
Also assume that the spaceship is fast enough so that, from Kal’s point of view, he will travel the lightyears 'twixt Earth & Krypton in about a week. The ship can definitey keep him alone alive during that time. It can probably accommodate mother and child during the journey, but that’s assuming that absolutely nothing goes wrong during the transit; there’s a margin for error for baby Kal alone, but little or no such for Kal and Lara. Jor is heavy enough so that he almost certainly can’t use the ship alone, much less with his wife or child on board.
Would you send your young son off into space alone to be raised among people who may be savages? If you’re Jor, do you insist that Lara get in the ship, using force of necessary? If Lara, do you protest when Jor tells you to get in?
Poll in a moment. As always don’t let its momentary absence slow you down.
Depends on the value of “probably”. That word alone (essentially being the focus of your entire post) is far too important, being that the decision hangs on it.
I’m not gonna make up numbers. Instead I’ll offer these details:
Jor-El (or more likely his computer) has plotted an optimum course from Krypton to Earth based on long-rance technobabble sensing equipment. But that’s all based on Krypton, because the planet, obviously, does not have a space fleet at this time. The ship’s piloting computer can handle deviations based on conditions in the field; there’s no question about that. Babies being small, there’s enough life support to take care of Kal even if deviations stretch the trip out to three times what is calculated. But if any such deviations add more than, say, 10% to the travel time, there won’t be enough life support or whatever to support the baby and Lara all the way to the Sol system; they’ll die before they get close enough to the Sun for Lara to become a demigod who doesn’t need a starship.
That the ship he built could accommodate Lara and Kal is contra-factual - in no version of the story is the ship at all large - it may be about the same volume as Lara, if we assume she’s on the thin side.
A hypothetical in which Jor would be able to build one that could is a huge stretch - having failed to convince the Science Council of Krypton’s inevitable doom, he was operating alone, on an abbreviated time-line and a shoe-string budget. Several versions of the story specifically address that point.
Maybe. But the dialogue tends to include him trying to persuade her to get in with the baby, and her noble declining always has her saying, “No! It’s a better chance if we send him alone!” not “Are you feverish? I can’t fit in that thing.”
So clearly they thought it was possible. I’m going to assume that the art is in error rather than the dialogue.
How can the assertion be contra-factual, anyway? We’re talking about a freaking comic book. Facts not allowed. Persons presenting actual facts will be beaten with a stick.
What did I JUST SAY?
Check the spoiler box. No nudity, but still naughty.
You say that we don’t know anything about Earth’s history or culture… Do we know that Kryptonians are super under Earthly conditions?
My priority would be to maximize my baby’s survival, whatever else. But if I were in Jor-El’s shoes, I would have more information than I do here and now. I’d know the principles on which the ship operates, and could make at least a scientific best guess as to the likelihood of resource-stretching contingencies. I’d also have at least some guess, though less-informed, about Kal-El’s chances of survival unescorted. So based on that information which I would have, but lack, I would choose whichever course of action seemed to give him the best odds.
And if that course were to send him with parental escort, there’d be no question of forcing Lara aboard, since I wouldn’t have married her in the first place if she weren’t the sort to make that decision on her own and volunteer.
Lacking a poll option for “It depends”, I checked all of the options from which I’d be choosing, plus “you left something out”.
And I’ll also point out, although I didn’t check that option, that “cheesecake” can have multiple meanings, both of them relevant (the one by virtue of it being a Rhymer poll, which always seem to involve dessert items somehow, and the other by virtue of Supergirl being attractive and often scantily-clad). But you knew that already, and doubtless intended the double meaning (which, for Athena’s sake, I’ll refrain from calling a pun).
Jor-El and Lara should have enclosed with Kal-El plans for a Phantom Zone projector and then, after seeing him off, sent themselves into the zone, where they could float around until he fetched them out.
I think not. It makes sense to take the risk if you know that a yellow sun turns you into a demigod. You don’t even have to get to the Sol system; you have to get to the nearest yellow sun system, whereupon life support becomes irrelevant.
Well, of course it was a play on words. And Athena’s mostly vexed at the Piers Anthony fans. They know who they are.
Dude, the Phantom Zone is, basically, hell. I’m willing to believe that Jor knew the Kryptonians were kidding themselves by calling it a humane alternative to execution. Not to mention that every most of the inmates, if not all of them, hated his guts.
I’d want my child to have the best chances of survival—even if it means decreasing the margin of error for the trip out, I’d sure as hell want to guarantee someone would be able to look after him on landing.
I mean, inhabitants aside, what if the damn thing just lands in the wilderness somewhere? It’d be a fine thing for the last son of Krypton to die of thirst strapped in his cradle, or be eaten by wolves if they claw the hatch open.
I don’t know about Lara’s outdoor survival skills, but if she’s capable of picking up a stick, I’d wager that they’re still a good deal better than an infant’s.
Actually, Son of a Rich has a point: I probably would be willing to put up with a few decades of Hell if it meant that, at the end of it, I’d have a chance of being reunited with my growing son and loving wife. Alternately, the projector itself probably weighs less than Lara, and wouldn’t need life support: Put it in the ship with automated controls. I’d certainly be willing to put up with it for a week.
Maybe. I’m not sure how much suffering the inmates can inflict on one another, though I tend to think it’s a lot.
It’s probably not a good comparison (as he was in there for a thousand years) but pre-Crisis Mon-El preferred death to returning to the Zone. They always glossed over the implications, though.
Kryptonians have the accumulated knowledge of seven galaxies. They know perfectly well what the effect if a yellow sun has on them. There’s no fear that Kal El will struggle physically on Earth.
I remember a Krypton series (Byrne’s reboot?) that had the wussy Krypto-fascists exploring habitable planets with a viewscreen.
And Lara being shocked at the big, hairy Earthlings.
And Jor-El explaining that little Kal would have great powers there.
I mean, if the dude was just shooting his kid off into empty space with no destination in mind, it was as stupid as it was futile.
I’d insist Lara go with Kal-El. Not knowing the specific probabilities, it seems reasonable that the increased probability of Kal-El dying because he’s an infant without any adult to protect him is at least as great as the increased probability of him dying on the trip because Lara went with him. And having her go makes it possible both will live.
