The Kryptonian scientist Jor-El is collecting data from an ice field on the planet Krypton. After obtaining the samples he needs, Jor-El escapes an earthquake and an attack from a Kryptonian creature. Jor-el analyzes the data and discovers that rising pressure from Krypton’s core will eventually destroy the planet. The computer Brainiac, which is in charge of monitoring all major operations on Krypton, denies this. Jor-El is unable to convince Krypton’s rulers of the planet’s impending doom, and his recommendation to transport all Kryptonians to the Phantom Zone to escape the explosion proves unpopular. When Jor-El confronts Brainiac on the matter, he notices that it is downloading all the data it has collected about Krypton, preparing to flee with it into space. Brainiac reveals that he was aware of Krypton’s mounting pressure long before Jor-El did, but decided not to inform the populace, concluding that saving all the information about the Kryptonian civilization would be just as good as saving the civilization itself. If Brainiac were to be honest, the Kryptonian government would frantically put it to work on an evacuation plan, preventing it from downloading the data in time. Jor-El considers opening fire on the supercomputer, but decides against it as that could possibly wipe out all memories of Krypton. Brainiac orders the Kryptonian police to arrest Jor-El, but he manages to evade them for the time being. Once home, he and his wife Lara send their only son, Kal-El, into space moments before the planet explodes, all but wiping out the Kryptonian race. Brainiac had escaped to its satellite just before.
