On the planet Krypton, Jor-El of the Kryptonian high council discovers the planet will soon be destroyed when its red supergiant sun goes supernova. Despite his insistence, he fails to convince the other council members. To save his infant son, Superman, Jor-El launches him in a spaceship to Earth, a planet with a suitable atmosphere where his dense molecular structure will give him superhuman strength and other powers. Shortly after the launch, Krypton's sun explodes, destroying the planet.