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With 'Krypton' To Explore Superman's Religion, Will Rao Be The Show's Main Villain?

Upcoming SYFY series Krypton is set to be a unique take on the Man of Steel's heritage.

By Tom BaconPublished 6 years ago 4 min read
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"Great Rao!" It's an oath that will be familiar to any Superman fan. Kal-El may have been brought up on Earth, but in the 1970s, he started dropping countless references to the Kryptonian deity. Upcoming SYFY series Krypton is set to be a unique take on the Man of Steel's heritage, exploring the near-history of Superman's homeworld, and Raoism promises to play an important role in the show.

Speaking to ComicBook.com, Cameron Welsh explained that Raoism will be a key part of Krypton's culture:

“The world of [Krypton’s capital city] Kandor in our show is a theocracy, and the religious guild is very powerful. The political landscape is turbulent; there’s a very rigid class divide, and there’s the rank-less district, and there’s the gilded area — that’s the science guild, the religious guild, the House of Zod or the House of El. There’s a class divide and a big part of that class divide is religion. And Raoism is the dominant religion.”

At first glance, this might look like nothing more than an interesting detail. In reality, it might just hint at the overarching narrative of the whole series. For Superman fans, Rao isn't just an obscure concept; the Kryptonian god is a powerful character in his own right.

A Kryptonian sun god, Rao stands at the center of the Kryptonian pantheon. He is believed to be the first god, born out of the void of the universe, and the creator of all other Kryptonian gods. In the comics, the holy city of Raoism is Kandor, where the high priest — known as the Voice of Rao — serves his god. It looks as though Krypton is going to be 100% comic-book-accurate, lifting this idea straight from page to screen.

But here's the thing; as fascinating as the religion may be, in the comics, Rao ultimately became an actual being. Bryan Hitch introduced Rao as a powerful, ancient Kryptonian who'd essentially created a cult around himself. The secret of Rao's power lies in a group of mysterious standing stones known as the Forever Stones. Tapping into these, he'd learned to draw the very life from his worshipers, and his theocracy was more of a tyranny than anything else. Worse still, he'd implanted genetic markers in the ancient Kryptonian genome to ensure all future Kryptonians would follow his teachings. Although Kryptonians worship and venerate Rao, he's certainly no benign god. Even Superman himself carried the genetic markers, and was willing to tell Earth's leaders:

"To say Rao changed my world is an understatement. Our god came to Krypton and took a warring, savage people and made them into one of the greatest races the galaxy has ever seen. Had he not taught them love and compassion, my parents may never have sent me here."

Rao's powers essentially make him immortal. That means Raoism may be very different to your classic theocracy; the Voice of Rao may actually be his servant, and this Kryptonian god could easily be a key character in the future of the series.

How Rao Fits With The Themes And Concepts Of Krypton

As we saw in Hitch's Justice League run, the Stones of Forever (from which Rao draws his power) can be used to transcend time and space. That fits well with some fascinating spoilers given by Geoff Johns at #SDCC2017. There, he revealed that the show is centered around the concept of time-travel.

"It's a show that, although it takes place centuries ago on Krypton about the House of El, it's about a conspiracy from the present that has traveled back in time to Krypton to prevent Superman's legacy from ever happening. ... Adam Strange and Hawkwoman come to Krypton trying to stop the conspiracy and save Superman's legacy. Doomsday will be in the show. Brainiac is long overdue to be on screen like that."

The Stones of Forever transcend time and space, and as a result, so does Rao. Hitch used this very effectively indeed, even transporting Green Lantern back to ancient Krypton in order to explain the genetic slavery Rao had imposed on the world. In Krypton, the Stones of Forever would be the perfect plot device to enable this "conspiracy from the present" to reach ancient Krypton.

It's certainly unlikely to be a coincidence that, in giving a nod to Rao, Krypton has just subtly tied itself to a major story that featured time-travel. For all Johns confirmed Doomsday and Brainiac, it's actually possible that the real villain of Krypton will be Rao himself.

As we saw in Hitch's Justice League run, the Stones of Forever (from which Rao draws his power) can be used to transcend time and space. That fits well with some fascinating spoilers given by Geoff Johns at #SDCC2017. There, he revealed that the show is centered around the concept of time-travel.

"It's a show that, although it takes place centuries ago on Krypton about the House of El, it's about a conspiracy from the present that has traveled back in time to Krypton to prevent Superman's legacy from ever happening. ... Adam Strange and Hawkwoman come to Krypton trying to stop the conspiracy and save Superman's legacy. Doomsday will be in the show. Brainiac is long overdue to be on screen like that."

The Stones of Forever transcend time and space, and as a result, so does Rao. Hitch used this very effectively indeed, even transporting Green Lantern back to ancient Krypton in order to explain the genetic slavery Rao had imposed on the world. In Krypton, the Stones of Forever would be the perfect plot device to enable this "conspiracy from the present" to reach ancient Krypton.

It's certainly unlikely to be a coincidence that, in giving a nod to Rao, Krypton has just subtly tied itself to a major story that featured time-travel. For all Johns confirmed Doomsday and Brainiac, it's actually possible that the real villain of Krypton will be Rao himself.

At first glance, this reference seems like little more than an Easter Egg for long-term Superman fans. In reality, it's possible that Rao will play a major role in the show. He's easily one of the most terrifying villains ever to come from Superman's homeworld, and he fits perfectly with the concept of time-travel that we've learned is a central part of Krypton. If Rao and the Stones of Forever really are involved, then past and present are fluid. No wonder Superman's legacy is in doubt...

(Source: ComicBook.com)

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About the Creator

Tom Bacon

A prolific writer and film fan, Tom has a deep love of the superhero genre.

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