Kal-El was born as his home planet, Krypton, was at its end. His father, Jor-El, a brilliant scientist, sent his son away in a rocket with a few choice items, including the symbol of his family. Kal-El landed on Earth in Smallville, Kansas. He was discovered and raised by Jonathan and Martha Kent. They named him Clark from Martha's maiden name. Clark was raised with a strong sense of ethics and morals and when he came of age, he discovered Earth's Sun radiated him and gave him a range of super powers. Kent traveled the world to figure out what his future would be.
After a couple years, he decided to use his powers for the sake of humanity and became Superman. After relocating to Metropolis, he took a day job as a reporter for the Daily Planet. As Superman, he quickly fell in love with top reporter, Lois Lane, and confided his secret identity to her. Over the years, Superman also amassed a collection of super villains, allies, and a secret hideout named the Fortress of Solitude. However, Superman would never kill and put himself above the law. He was no one's judge, jury, and executioner. He believed he had the responsibility of standing up for humanity and holding fast to morality. Superman's role came into question and close scrutiny after the emergence of the Elite, a group of superheroes who were willing to resort to extreme measures to fix the world. Superman opposed the Elite. After being seemingly killed, Superman put on a farce and pretended to kill each of the Elite one by one when he was actually stripping them of their powers and prepping them for supermax prison.