Just like Superboy and Supergirl, no one can seem to decide whether the Kents are alive or dead. More recently, Jor-El himself has returned from the grave, seemingly confirming Uncle Ben as the sole comic book character destined to forever stay dead.
In most incarnations Superman's biological parents of Jor-El and Lara are as dead as Krypton itself, and that's because they died in the explosion that destroyed it. They live on through the Fortress of Solitude as statues, but other than that they tend to be dead as most assume they are... until the New 52.
The comic revealed that Jor-El made it to Earth just before Krypton's destruction, and took on the identity of Mr Oz, interfering in Superman's affairs like a covert guardian.
Then there's the Kents. Chances are if you're familiar with Superman you've seen all sorts of different spins on the Kents. Sometimes they're alive to provide guidance when Superman's an adult, while others they die before he makes it to Metropolis. In fact in the current reality both Jonathan and Martha Kent were killed in a car accident on the night of Superman's prom, something currently being examined in Doomsday Clock.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
