To see you standing there having grown into an adult... if only Lara could have witnessed...

Jor-El: To see you standing there having grown into an adult... if only Lara could have witnessed this. Clark Kent: Who are you? Jor-El: I am your father, Kal, or at least a shadow of him. His consciousness. My name is Jor-El Clark Kent: Kal? That's my name? Jor-El: Kal-El, it is. Clark Kent: 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 100 thousand years our civilization flourished, accomplishing wonders. Clark Kent: What happened? 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. Clark Kent: 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. Clark Kent: So I'm alone? 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] Jor-El: 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. The symbol of the House of El means hope. Embodied within that hope is the fundamental belief the potential of every person to be a force for good. That's what you can bring them.

To see you standing there having grown into an adult... If only Lara could have witnessed this. Who are you? I am your father, Kal. Or at least a shadow of him. His consciousness. My name was Jor-El. And Kal? That's my name. Kal-El. It is. I have so many questions. Where do I come from? Why did you send me here? 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 100,000 years, our civilization flourished... ...accomplishing wonders. What happened? Artificial population control was established. The outposts on 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 fulfill a pre-determined 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 for him or her? 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? We couldn't, Kal. No matter how much... ...we wanted to. No matter how much we loved you. Your mother, Lara, and I... ...were a product of the failures of our world as much as Zod was... ...tied to its fate. - So I'm alone. - No. You're as much a child of Earth now as you are of Krypton. You can embody the best of both worlds. A dream your mother and I dedicated our lives to preserve. The people of Earth are different from us, it's true. But, ultimately, I believe that's a good thing. They won't necessarily make the same mistakes we did. Not if you guide them, Kal. Not if you give them hope. That's what this symbol means. 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. Why am I so different from them? Earth's sun is younger and brighter than Krypton's 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 have imagined. The only way to know how strong... ...is to keep testing your limits. Unh! Uh-- Oh. Whoa! You will give the people of Earth an ideal to strive towards. They'll 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.