Rao

"He who kindled the sun. We used to worship all of the gods, but now, only one. Do you know why? At the time of creation, Rao looked out at the chaos and saw wasted potential, and so he formed the stars and planets, the most perfect of which became Krypton. You see, our very planet is a symbol of fully realized potential, Seg. It is also harsh and inhospitable. The only thing protecting us is the force dome, and the only thing protecting the dome is... order. Sadly, your parents chose chaos. I need to know if you intend to follow in their footsteps."

—Daron-Vex to Seg-El^[src]

Rao is the supreme deity of the Kryptonian people, others are Cythonna, Telle, Lorra, Mordo, Yuda, Flamebird and Vohc.

History

Rao is worshipped by Kryptonians as their supreme deity, being immortalized as the main face on the Voice of Rao's mask. He was said to have created the stars and planets in the universe.^[1]

Appearances

Season 1

• "Pilot" (indirectly mentioned)
• "House of El" (mentioned)

Season 2

• "Will To Power" (mentioned)
• "A Better Yesterday" (mentioned)
• "Mercy" (mentioned)

Trivia

• In DC comics, the name of Rao has several meanings:
  • Rao is depicted in several continuities as a red supergiant (in some versions as a red dwarf). Their sun causes to supress Kryptonian powers; the opposite of it is a yellow sun in which Superman often uses when flying in space to regain own powers. As a red supergiant, in most versions it is responsible for destruction of Krypton when the sun goes to supernova.
  • Rao is also depicted as the name of Kryptonian deity, as a creator of their planet and other deities. The name was mentioned in 1970's under tenure of Julius Schwartz, with Superman occassionally exclaiming "Great Rao!" (Superman #248, February 1972) but was officially confirmed in the 1982 miniseries Phantom Zone.
  • Rao is also the name of the individual in 2016 Justice League of America comic series (part of The New 52). This version is a parasitic false god who sustained his immortality through absorbing parts of the lifespans of his followers. He wanted to use Superman's cells to transform the physiology of humans on Earth, becoming a pure-blooded Kryptonians, in addition to gain more godlike power. Rao was killed by Superman above the Earth.
    • Prior to this comic, in the "New Krypton" storyline from 2008, there was a minor Kryptonian god named Vohc, who possessed Jax-Ur and wanted to end the world. He wanted to use Nightwing and Flamebird to make a fake body of Rao to absorb more energy to end the world and make a new one. Jax-Ur and his fake Rao were banished to the Phantom Zone by Nightwing.

References