Zor-El (Earth-Prime)

"There's always hope."

- Zor-El to Kara

Zor-El is a respected scientist from Krypton, the husband of Alura Zor-El and the father of Kara Zor-El.

Early life
Zor-El was born on Krypton into the House of El and grew up alongside his brother, Jor-El. He would grow up to be a well respected scientist and marry Alura Zor-El, with the pair eventually having a daughter named Kara Zor-El.

Predicting the imminent destruction of Krypton, Zor-El and Alura sent Kara to Earth in a pod to protect her cousin, Kal-El. He then stayed behind on Krypton to activate Argo City's shields to save it from the destruction endured by the rest of the planet. Knowing that he had almost no chance of survival, he sent himself to the Phantom Zone where he would stay for the next three to four decades. While there he hid in a cave from the Phantoms and slowly lost all hope of escape.

Reunited with his Daughter
In 2020, Kara was sent to the Phantom Zone after an encounter with Lex Luthor. When landing, she was approached by a group of Phantoms but was saved by Zor-El. She woke up some time later only to discover that it was her father who saved her, and he had been alive all this time. He told Kara that there was no point attempting to escape, but she didn't listen and had to be saved from the Phantoms by him again.

A few hours later, Kara successfully convinced Zor-El to fight the Phantoms, and so they left the cave where they witnessed them opening a portal to another section of the Phantom Zone. They grabbed hold of one of the Phantoms while they were going through the portal which got them to their destination but resulted in Kara's leg being injured.

Zor-El then tried to help his daughter but was captured by Scar and other several bandits who held him captive. With the help of a Fifth Dimensional Imp called Nyxlygsptlnz, Kara's leg was healed and the two teleported to Shadow Lake where Zor-El was being held to rescue him.

The three of them then walked to the Phantom Zone Anchor which links the zone to the rest of the universe in an attempt to escape. However, when they arrived they found that the mirror which was supposed to be a portal back to Earth was damaged. They then worked together to find another mirror that was in storage but during this search Zor-El was attacked by "Scar" who turned out to actually be Nyxly in disguise. Zor-El told Kara to go on without him as he was now a liability, and so she went to the control room promising to come back for him. Once at the control room, Nyxly revealed to Kara that she was the one who attacked Zor-El which resulted in a fight that damaged the controls and caused the Anchor to self-destruct. Kara then escaped with Zor-El just in time, leaving Nyxly behind.

Rescued by the Superfriends
As the pair walked together, they were approached by a group of Phantoms who gave Kara a fear vision which discouraged her from leaving the Phantom Zone. However, Zor-El was able to restore her mind and just as they were about to be swarmed by Phantoms they noticed a blinding yellow light from a Yellow Sun Grenade which gave them their powers back. They quickly recovered from their previous injuries as The Tower flew in and Kara then brought herself and Zor-El aboard as the ship left the Phantom Zone.

Powers

 * Kryptonian Physiology: Zor-El's Kryptonian physiology grants him a variety of superpowers when exposed to a yellow sun.
 * Solar Energy Absorption: Kryptonians are able to absorb solar energy from yellow suns and convert the energy as strength for powers.
 * Accelerated Healing Factor: Zor-El is able to heal at a superhuman speed as shown when he was exposed to a Yellow Sun Grenade.

Abilities

 * Genius-Level Intellect: Zor-El was a respected scientist and engineer on Krypton and was one of the few people who predicted the planet's destruction.
 * Bilingualism: Zor-El is able to speak English and Kryptonese.