‘Superman & Lois’: Does Superman Have a Brother In DC Comics?
Superman & Lois revealed Morgan Edge’s true identity as Tal-Rho, Kal-El’s Kyrytponian half-sibling. It’s a thrilling new twist for the CW series, but does Superman have a brother in DC Comics?
‘Superman & Lois’ reunites Clark with his Kryptonian family
In Superman & Lois episode 10, “O Mother, Where Art Thou,” Morgan Edge (Adam Rayner) confronts Superman (Tyler Hoechlin) and reveals he’s not the only son of Krypton.
“My real name is Tal-Rho,” he says. “I’m the son of Zeta-Rho and Lara Lor-Van.”
When Clark points out that Lara is his mother, Edge tells him that his father was with her before she met Jor-El. “She’d been matched to my father,” he adds. “It was when she first warned that Krypton was dying. The very reason my father sent me here.”
When Lana (Emanuelle Chriqui) takes on Lara’s sentient consciousness, she confirms Edge’s story. She tells Clark that he was born from the loving relationship she had with Jor-El.
“[Zeta-Rho and I] were genetically matched,” Lara says. “That’s how unions were formed for thousands of years on Krypton. And then I met your father. We fell in love and ended my relationship with Zeta-Rho. Jor-El and I shared a vision for a better world.
“I gave birth to you,” she added. “And then your father and I, when we decided to send you to Earth, we hoped you would live that vision.”
Through flashbacks, Edge reveals that his arrival on Earth was not as welcoming as Clark’s. He was hunted and attacked as soon as he landed.
And after being caught, he was held captive and tortured for years. Edge suggests that it’s this experience that makes him believe humans are not worth saving.
So does Superman have a brother in DC Comics?
Superman does have a brother in DC Comics, but not like the one we just saw on Superman & Lois. In writer Karl Kesel and illustrator Tom Grummett’s 1993 comic book series, The Adventures of Superman #500, Conner Kent, aka Kon-El, aka Superboy, is introduced as Clark’s brother.
But he isn’t a brother in the biological sense because Conner was created using Superman and Lex Luthor’s DNA. However, he was raised by Jonathan and Martha Kent, making him Clark’s brother — at least socially and emotionally.
It looks like ‘Superman & Lois’ created Tal-Rho for the series
From the looks of it, Superman & Lois created Tal-Rho specifically for the show. The character does not seem to appear in any DC Comics. Neither does his father, Zeta-Rho.
But there are some parts of the new story that are found throughout the comics. In later Superman-related reboots, the Kryptonian tradition of genetic matchmaking is confirmed (it was also highlighted in the TV series, Krypton). And the Eradicator — the machine Edge uses to bring back Kryptonians — is also featured in the comics as a villainous Kryptonian AI.
Like it did with Jon and Jordan Kent, Superman & Lois is expanding Superman’s family and story fascinatingly with the addition of Tal-Rho. With just a few episodes left in the season, it’ll be interesting to see how Clark’s growing family story pans out.
