Chapter Summaries

Joe-Jor-El prepared to transmit the Life Codex’s genetic information to the child growing in Lara’s womb, while Lara worried about the dangers of their decision to have a natural birth. The chapter ended with Joe-Jor-El activating the device and beginning the transmission.

• Lara lovingly touched her belly and asked Joe-Jor-El to protect their child.
• Joe-Jor-El reassured Lara that his simulations showed no danger, then used harmless hypnotic gas to help her sleep.
• Joe-Jor-El reflected on Krypton’s rejection of natural childbirth and the risks it posed to fetuses and their mothers.
• Joe-Jor-El placed the Life Codex above Lara’s belly and began transmitting its genetic information to their child.

He-El searched for the cause of Krypton's coming destruction but found the planet healthy and Brainiac 7 missing. When Superman was born and Krypton remained unchanged, He-El destroyed the planet himself, declaring that he was its original sin.

• Jor-El safely transferred the Life Codex into Lara's embryo, and He-El watched without feeling paternal affection.
• He-El investigated Krypton and found its core and planetary systems healthy, leaving him puzzled about why it had exploded.
• He-El searched the surrounding space for Brainiac 7 but found no trace of him.
• As Jor-El completed the spacecraft and Superman was born, He-El kept watch over Krypton, which remained unchanged.
• He-El recalled his past attempts to save and rule Krypton, then tore apart its core and caused the planet to explode.

As Krypton collapsed and exploded, He-El watched the catastrophe unfold and captured The Flash, who told him he could not complete the loop. He-El flew toward Little He-El’s ship, declaring that Krypton’s explosion was not yet the beginning.

• Jor-El and Lara launched infant Kal away from Krypton as lava engulfed them.
• Kara escaped in her ship while Zor-El’s shield carried Kandor City into space.
• Krypton’s gravity failed, scattering its cities, land, and fleeing inhabitants before its core exploded into a radiation nebula.
• He-El pulled The Flash from between spatial dimensions, and The Flash said He-El could not complete the loop.
• He-El captured The Flash and flew toward the ship in Little He-El’s direction.

He-El brought The Flash to the moment when his younger self attempted to travel to another world, intending to use the Speed Force to close the loop. Little He-El’s consciousness passed through the Traversal Vortex without transporting him, leaving him injured in the meditation chamber.

• He-El took The Flash to the Kryptonian research vessel and showed him his younger self awakening in the cryogenic chamber.
• He-El and The Flash watched Little He-El outwit Jor-El, seize control of the ship, and order Zero to format Jor-El’s projection.
• Little He-El asked how far the ship was from Earth and prepared to use the Traversal Vortex.
• He-El grabbed The Flash by the throat and said he would borrow the Speed Force to finish closing the loop.
• Little He-El’s consciousness passed through the Traversal Vortex, but he remained in the meditation chamber, where he fell and injured his forehead.

After discovering that his traversal vortex could not take him to another world, Little He-El encountered an identical version of himself in the Black Suit. He-El called Little He-El his creation and knocked him unconscious, leaving his fate unclear.

• Little He-El discovered that he could not cross over and considered whether someone had manipulated him.
• Little He-El decided to focus on surviving in space rather than giving in to despair.
• Little He-El saw He-El wearing the identical Black Suit and realized he was facing another version of himself.
• Little He-El asked He-El who he was, and He-El said Little He-El was his creation.
• He-El immobilized Little He-El, touched his forehead, and left him unconscious.

He-El used The Flash's Speed Force to complete Little He-El's closed loop, becoming the source of Little He-Els across countless Parallel Universes. Once his presence destabilized the universe, it sent him back to his original spacetime, where he appeared aboard Zero.

• The Flash realized He-El planned to become the beginning of countless Parallel Universes through Little He-El's closed loop.
• He-El seized control of The Flash's cells, forcing them to vibrate until the Speed Force emerged and began creating divergent spacetimes.
• Little He-El split into countless versions, and He-El became their source as their parallel lives connected him to the universe.
• He-El saw the varied fates of Little He-Els, all of whom remembered him and pursued their creator.
• The universe could no longer endure He-El's presence and returned him to his original spacetime in Zero's command room.

He-El returned after living twenty years in the past, carrying a new weariness as he prepared to confront Jor-El and resolve the mystery of Krypton’s destruction. Before leaving, he promised Ciri he would return and have children with her.

• Ciri worried after He-El vanished, then watched him reappear with The Flash and throw him into Zero’s prison.
• He-El told Ciri he had spent twenty years in the past, creating Little He-El, destroying Krypton, and bringing a Parallel Universe into being.
• He-El considered mastering the Speed Force and creating a universe to protect Ciri and his mechanical warships, but decided to address Jor-El first.
• He-El questioned who had originally destroyed Krypton, since he had not traveled into the past when he was young.
• Ciri urged He-El to release his burdens through her, and He-El thanked her and promised they would have children together.

Jor-El overloaded the devices opening the Parallel Universes to empower Kal, but He-El arrived and destroyed the devices before the energy could consume Earth. He-El discovered that Kal was his biological son, and Kal began showing He-El's traits as he woke.

• Jor-El opened the Parallel Universes at maximum power, intending to make Kal stronger than He-El.
• He-El transported the four failing devices and most of the unleashed energy to the neutron star Kavira, causing the rift to begin closing.
• He-El examined Kal and found that Kal's genes and psychic power came from him, confirming Kal was his son.
• Jor-El attacked He-El after mistaking his gesture to extract psychic power as a threat to Kal.
• He-El told Jor-El that Kal was his son, and Kal awoke with his eyes turning deep black.

Jor-El discovered that Kal was not his biological son and that Lara had conceived him with someone else, leaving him in shock. Superman woke with immense power and tried to understand what had happened, but his bond with Jor-El remained distant.

• Kal's eyes changed from blue to black after He-El extracted his hidden psychic power, and Jor-El became alarmed.
• He-El urged Jor-El to compare Kal's genes, and Jor-El found no House of El genetic markers in Kal.
• Jor-El realized Kal was Lara's son by another man and rejected the discovery in disbelief.
• Superman woke on the operating table, struggling to control his power and recalling He-El attacking him at the Justice League Hall.
• Superman approached the distraught Jor-El, seeking answers about He-El and what had happened.

Superman met Jor-El beneath Kovalis City, where Jor-El struck him through the ground and into a skyscraper before Superman stopped its collapse and rescued its occupants. After He-El revealed that Kal's Gene Atlas matched his and Lara's, Jor-El concluded that Lara had betrayed him with He-El, and He-El punched him up to the surface.

• Superman recognized Jor-El and asked what had happened, but Jor-El furiously punched him through the underground base and toward the surface.
• Superman burst through the Morgan Bank Building, then caught its falling upper half and began rescuing the people inside.
• He-El showed Jor-El that his Gene Atlas matched Kal's and Lara's, leading Jor-El to believe Lara had conceived Kal with He-El's frozen semen.
• Jor-El charged He-El in grief, insisting that Lara would never betray him, while He-El caught his fist and denied being interested in Lara.
• Jor-El's despair turned to rage as he imagined He-El and Lara together, and He-El punched him through the earth to the surface.

Superman learned that the country had collapsed and New Krypton had been established while he was unconscious, even as frightened citizens blamed him for the disaster. After Joe-Jor-El attacked him and denied being his father, someone else told Superman that he was his son.

• Superman carried the broken Morgan Building to safety, but the crowd accused him of bringing the Kryptonians to Earth and destroying their country.
• Superman used his vision to discover that nuclear strikes had devastated the country, its government had vanished, and New Krypton had been established.
• When the ground buckled, Superman rescued Joe-Jor-El from the emerging earth, but Joe-Jor-El punched him and shouted that Superman was not his son.
• Superman demanded to know why Joe-Jor-El had claimed to be his father, then heard an unknown voice tell him, "You're my son."

Superman confronted He-El over his parentage as He-El claimed him as his son, while Jor-El's grief and rage unleashed a destructive electromagnetic field across Kovalis City. Superman fought Jor-El in the sky and discovered his body grew stronger as it healed, while Jor-El broke down after admitting he had created Superman to serve the House of El.

• He-El told Superman that he was his son, and Superman demanded the truth about his parentage and He-El's past attack.
• Jor-El's uncontrolled electromagnetic field caused blackouts, fires, and chaos across Kovalis City's eastern commercial district.
• Superman carried Jor-El into the atmosphere to protect the city, but Jor-El beat him until he fell toward the ground.
• Superman recovered just before striking the ground and returned to fight Jor-El, enduring his blows while pleading with him to regain his reason.
• Jor-El admitted that he had created Superman to continue the House of El's glory, then called himself a sinner for destroying the House of El.

Superman fought Jor-El as Jor-El unleashed electromagnetic attacks across Kovalis City, while Superman tried to protect civilians and push him into space. Jor-El then targeted the eastern commercial district with Heat Vision, and Superman intervened as eighteen buildings were severed.

• Kal felt guilt and remorse after Jor-El rejected him as a member of the House of El.
• Jor-El's electromagnetic field spread across Kovalis City, causing appliances to explode and fires to start.
• Superman clashed with Jor-El and tried to drive him into space without hurting him, while urging him to value Earth's lives.
• Jor-El rejected Superman's plea and fired Heat Vision at the eastern commercial district, cutting through eighteen buildings.
• Superman shouted for Jor-El to stop and used his own Heat Vision to intercept the attack.

Superman fought Jor-El as Jor-El tried to destroy Earth and kill the humans Superman protected. Superman snapped Jor-El’s neck to save a family, and He-El entered the gallery as Superman grieved.

• Jor-El broke off their Heat Vision clash and plunged underground, intending to destroy Earth’s core.
• Superman caught Jor-El below ground and carried him back to the surface, emerging inside St. John’s Art Gallery.
• Jor-El targeted a family hiding in the gallery, and Superman restrained him while pleading with him to stop.
• Jor-El insisted Superman was only a creation of He-El and tried to attack the family, so Superman snapped his neck.
• Jor-El died on the marble floor as Superman sobbed, and He-El entered through the doorway.

He-El ended Jor-El’s life after Superman had snapped his neck, then transformed the House of El symbol on both their suits into an infinity sign. He left Superman alive with the command to keep protecting Earth, while Superman remained frozen in shock.

• Superman grieved after realizing he had snapped Jor-El’s neck, while Jor-El remained barely alive despite losing control of his body.
• He-El entered the gallery and crushed Jor-El’s head beneath his boot, ending any chance of survival.
• He-El reflected on the tangled history that had brought Krypton to its end and changed the S on his chest into an infinity symbol.
• He-El changed Superman’s chest symbol into an infinity symbol and told him to keep protecting Earth.
• He-El took Jor-El’s corpse and left through the doorway, while Superman stood stunned.

Ciri revealed that she was carrying 320 of He-El’s children, while New Krypton expanded its capital and began integrating Earth’s people. As He-El and Kara flew to inspect New Krypton’s territory in the Divine Realm, Kara admitted she could give him an improper massage, leaving their feelings unresolved.

• Ciri told He-El that she had used all 320 suckers on her ten tentacles to carry their children, and he accepted her decision.
• He-El and Kara inspected New Krypton’s construction and its integration of Earth’s people as the new capital took shape.
• Kara voiced her discomfort about Ciri’s visible pregnancy, but He-El said Ciri could do as she liked.
• He-El and Kara flew toward the gateway to New Krypton’s Divine Realm territory, and Kara privately regretted not accepting Ciri’s earlier invitation to comfort him.
• He-El asked whether Kara wanted a child with him, and she blushed before offering to give him an improper massage next time.

He-El inspected New Krypton's growing magic city and entered the Divine Realm with Kara, where Athena outlined plans to train the Magic Corps and restore the Eastern Underworld. He ordered people with magical potential brought from the Three-Body Problem Universe before returning there with Kara.

• Athena transformed New Krypton's highest peak into a magical gateway and built a city that recruited creatures with magical potential for the Ministry of Magic.
• He-El and Kara entered the Divine Realm through the summit portal, where He-El surveyed his territory and met Athena.
• Athena explained that hostile regions around the Divine Realm could provide training grounds for the Magic Corps and that the Eastern Underworld could be repaired into a cycle of reincarnation.
• He-El ordered the Three-Body Problem Universe to send people with magical potential and delegated broad military and civilian magic policies to Athena.
• He-El returned with Kara to the Zero universe mothership and headed for the Three-Body Problem Universe.

He-El visited the conquered Three-Body Earth, where New Krypton had developed new technologies and formed a Willpower Corps under Thomas Wade and Zhang Beihai. He ordered aptitude testing for magic and left Three-Body Earth preparing for expansion under Zero's command.

• He-El arrived in the Three-Body Problem Universe and learned that Zero had become a god of machinery and energy while preparing New Krypton to expand through conquest.
• He-El surveyed Three-Body Earth and reviewed its Emotional Spectrum research, including Thought-Dimensional Entities and the Infinite Rings used by the forming Willpower Corps.
• He-El ordered Athena to send crystal balls so everyone on Three-Body Earth could be tested for magical aptitude, with willing candidates sent to the magic city.
• Thomas Wade and Zhang Beihai, acting commander and deputy commander of the Willpower Corps, met He-El for the first time and reacted to his claim that some people could become gods.

He-El reviewed humanity’s progress under New Krypton and learned that the Trisolaran Civilization still refused to join them. He ordered the conquest of the Trisolarans, beginning New Krypton’s war with the Three-Body Problem Universe.

• Cheng Xin reported on the projects humanity had completed and undertaken over the past decade.
• He-El asked Christine what had happened to the Trisolaran Civilization, and Christine explained that it distrusted New Krypton and had prepared gravitational-wave broadcasts.
• He-El ordered the Trisolaran Civilization destroyed after it rejected New Krypton’s attempts to integrate it.
• He-El ordered reinforcements from another universe and gave Zero full command of the conquest, starting with the Trisolaran Civilization.
• The humans in the conference hall answered, “By your command, Your Majesty.”

He-El concluded that the Speed Force was necessary to stabilize the beings and objects he had brought through the Traversal Vortex, but research on The Flash’s Speed Force had stalled. He entered another universe to learn, control, master, and create the Speed Force.

• He-El returned to Zero with Kara and decided that conquering the Speed Force was necessary to protect everything he had brought from the Traversal Vortex.
• Professor Jinda told He-El that research on The Flash’s Speed Force had made little progress and suggested that it resisted investigation.
• He-El questioned whether the Speed Force chose Barry Allen or had been created by him, and ordered the researchers to keep The Flash imprisoned and under observation.
• He-El went to Zero’s meditation chamber and used the Traversal Vortex to travel to another universe possessing the Speed Force.