though that concept may be, there are broader themes at play. The context into which this scene fits is a story about a man whose superhero destiny is guided by his two fathers (Jor-El and Jonathan Kent) while his connection to humanity is anchored by the women he loves – namely Lois Lane and Martha Kent. The key to this duality is in the fact that Superman’s birth mother is Lara Lor-Van, but she is not available to Clark in holographic form. In making the choice about who might guide the child after Krypton has died, the answer appears to be his father – Jor-El. This means that Lara retains no influence over her son, while Jor-El retains all. This is important to note because Jor-El clearly had to convince Lara of his arguments for sending their child off into space, in the first act of the...

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