642 – Kal-El

A panel from Superman #113, March 1957
A panel from Superman #113, March 1957

In Superman #113 (March 1957), we get more Superman mythos building by Bill Finger, when Superman discovers a strange headpiece apparatus near a kryptonite meteor. He discovers that the headpiece allows him to play back mental images from his father, Jor-El. When he plays it back, he learns that Jor-El had to foil the plot of the planet Vergo to destroy Krypton, discovering he had super-powers on Vergo.

Another panel from Superman #113, March 1957
Another panel from Superman #113, March 1957

The “mind-tape” also reveals to Superman his birth name, Kal-El, which is the first time in Superman’s history that he learned his true Kryptonian name.