- "3 WEEKS AGO, Superman stopped the country of BORAVIA from invading JARHANPUR, sparking controversy around the world."
- ―Superman
The Defense of Jarhanpur was the successful prevention of Boravia attacking Jarhanpur by Superman, causing controversy around the world as he threatened Vasil Ghurkos.
Background[]
- "I created the Boravian military conflict so I'd have an excuse to kill you! Once you involve yourself, I knew I could easily get our government's support in nullifying you."
- ―Lex Luthor to Superman[src]
In 2022, Kal-El decided to unveil his Kryptonian nature to the world, becoming a superhero known as Superman. Lex Luthor developed a hatred for Superman, leading him to study Superman's moves and come up with a plan to defeat him. Luthor created a Pocket Universe which he could access to travel quickly around the world and hold his prisoners. Luthor partnered with Boravian president Vasil Ghurkos, knowing that Boravia and Jarhanpur already had tensions between them. He promised Ghurkos the chance to take over Jarhanpur in exchange for a portion of the land going to Luthor, hoping to discredit Superman with his intervention in the conflict.[1]
Defense[]
- "Well, Boravia invaded Jarhanpur and I showed up and told them that wasn't right."
"And?"
"And smashed some tanks and things. And a couple of planes and some other stuff. There were no casualties and no significant injuries." - ―Clark Kent and Lois Lane[src]
During Boravia's first invasion on Jarhanpur, Superman stopped the Boravian Armed Forces by disabling several tanks and confronting the soldiers, telling them their actions were wrong. Afterward, he visited President Vasil Ghurkos and warned him to end his attempts to invade Jarhanpur, threatening to engage in a more "serious" talk. To make sure Ghurkos learned his lesson, Superman flew him to the desert and stuck him to a cactus with small spines before flying away.[1]
Aftermath[]
Kent is interviewed by Lois Lane as Superman
- "I'm not the one being interviewed, Superman, but... I question it. Yeah, I would question myself in the same situation and hold off a beat and consider the consequences."
"People were going to die!" - ―Lois Lane and Clark Kent[src]
Superman's actions sparked controversy around the world as he involved himself in what was seen as a complicated geopolitical conflict, taking a firm side. Public opinion had already started to turn against him, which worsened when Lex Luthor arranged for Ultraman to disguise himself as a Boravian figure named Hammer of Boravia, threatening to continue to retaliate against Superman and the United States of America in general if Superman did not give up. Ultraman escaped, and Clark Kent realized the unethical nature of reporting on himself, allowing Lois Lane to question him about his intervention. Kent stood true to his beliefs that he was right to prevent people from dying, leading to an argument between the two. Meanwhile, Luthor got permission from the United States government to initiate PlanetWatch as a defense system, using Superman's unpredictability in the defense of Jarhanpur as an example.
Luthor and Vasil Ghurkos continued Luthor's plan, unaware that Eve Teschmacher was continually taking selfies as evidence that Luthor was behind the entire thing. Luthor went to the Fortress of Solitude and uncorrupted footage of Superman's parents telling him to conquer Earth, which further turned the tide against Superman. Their conflict came to a head as Luthor's pocket universe threatened to destroy the planet, and the Daily Planet figured out that Luthor had engineered the attack in order to be able to kill Superman. Meanwhile, Ghurkos led another attack on Jarhanpur, which was defeated by the Justice Gang, and Hawkgirl killed Ghurkos. Luthor was arrested for his actions and brought to Belle Reve Correctional Center.[1]