History
The House of El was one of the noble ruling families of the planet, Krypton.
In Kryptonian, the name El translates to "of the star". The family line extends back thousands of years, to a time when tribes of Kryptonians still waged war against one another across the continents.
The earliest known members of the El family line existed during Krypton's pre-industrial age when Kryptonians were known by only a single name.
The eldest known member of the bloodline which would come to be known as the House of El was Feln, who was the father of Rugad, who was the father of Tomnu.
Tomnu's son, Erok became the first Kryptonian to bear the name name El as part of his unifying a clan under his crest which abstractly symbolized the sun Rao. As there was another bethgar (chieftain) called Erok, Tomnu's son became to be known as Erok of the Star, or Erok-El.
Erok-El's wife was Milia, the daughter of an opposing bethgar named Uved. Erok-El and Milia gave birth to a son, who they named Kal-El. This son would become Kal-El the First, who became the second Bethgar of the realm of Urrika.
Kal-El's son, Wab-El did not share his ancestor's noble qualities and became a vicious warlord; but he did take part in a trade negotiation which did lay the framework for the Kryptonian Guild system and solidified the noble caste structure.
As per the caste structure of nobility, noble born Kryptonians (or those who were ceremoniously adopted through alliances or marriage) would follow a patriarchal pattern, where males would carry the family name, and females would carry their father's full name. By way of example, Jor-El's son was named Kal-El (the Eighth) and Zor-El's daughter was called Kara Zor-El.
In more modern times, just prior to Krypton's destruction, some women would take their family name instead of their father's. Notably the House of El never had such an unconventionally upstart daughter (until "Cir-El of Earth").
Wab-El had two sons, Vad-El and Hyr-El. Vad-El became a tyrant like his father, and Hyr-El disowned the family name after a feud with Vad-El.
Hyr-El's direct family lineage is what eventually evolved into the modern House of El.
Prior to the destruction of Krypton, the brothers Jor-El and Zor-El sired children who would survive their planet's destruction - Kal-El and Kara Zor-El.
Through them, the El bloodline continued beyond the life of Krypton and expanded to Earth where new children would be added to ranks of the House of El. Most notably, through the births of Kal-El's Kryptonian/Human hybrid children with his wife, Lois Lane; but also through cloning, adoption, and alliances with human friends who would become honorary members of the House of El.
- Current Members:
- Kal-El (the Eighth): Patriarch
- Lois Lane: Human Wife of the Patriarch
- Kara Zor-El: Matriarch
- Kon-El: Clone of Kal-El
- Cir-El: Cloned Daughter of Kal-El
- Lor-El: Adopted son of Kal-El (Born son of Dru-Zod)
- Jon-El: Half-Human Son of Kal-El
- Lara Kal-El: Half-Human Daughter of Kal-El
- Cara Kal-El: Half-Human Daughter of Kal-El
- Jana Kal-El: Half-Human Daughter of Kal-El
- John Henry Irons: Honorary Member
- Natasha Irons: Honorary Member
- Strange Visitor: Honorary Member
- Atlee: Honorary Member
- Kelex: House Steward
- Krypto: House Pet
- Thara Ak-Var: "Friend of the Family"
- Disavowed:
- Bizarro: Failed Clone of Kal-El
- Divine: Clone of Kara Zor-El