DC Comics Extended Universe Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Scout Ship 0344
41scout
Geographical Information
Galaxy Milky Way
Star Sol
Planet Earth
Country United States of America
State District of Metropolis
Locale Metropolis
Behind the Scenes
First Appearance Man of Steel Prequel


The Fortress of Solitude, officially known as Scout Ship 0344, was a Kryptonian scout ship that crashed on Ellesmere Island and unearthed thousands of years later by the Kryptonian known as Kal-El

After the Battle of Metropolis, the U.S. Armed Forces built a research lab in order to better understand the Kryptonian technology.

History[]

Origins[]

What became the Fortress of Solitude was originally a Kryptonian scout ship on an exploration and terraforming mission many years ago. The criminal prisoner Dev-Em stowed aboard and killed all the staff when Kara Zor-El, the ship's captain, awoke from cryo-sleep and battled Dev-Em. Both experienced their bodies adapting and gaining superpowers under the Sol system's Yellow Sun. The scout ship crashed on Earth as Kara tried to pilot it to safety as the ship began initiating self-repair. When the ship crashed, it slammed deep into the layers of ice and was seemingly lost forever.

Kal-El's Discovery[]

FOS

Kal-El finds the ship

When the ship had self-repaired, it began sending out a signal which was picked up by the United States Military, who began searching Ellesmere Island for the source of the signal under the leadership of Dr. Emil Hamilton from DARPA and Colonel Nathan Hardy (leading the military effort).

Clark Kent was working in a highway bar when he overheard two military officers who worked at the site discussing the discovery. Clark later got a job at a charter helicopter company by which Lois Lane arrived to cover the military operation for the Daily Planet. Clark later sneaked into the site and, using his Heat Vision, burrowed through the ice down to the ship, getting past its defenses. Lois spotted Clark and followed him down the tunnel before being injured by the ship's defense robots. Clark saved Lois, revealing to her that he was an alien and had special powers. He helped her get to the surface before using his Command Key to activate the ship.

Utfy

Jor-El revealing to Kal his alien heritage

The ship broke through the thousands-year-old ice shelves and flew away from Ellesmere Island onto a mountain top. Back aboard the ship, a holographic projection of Clark's biological father Jor-El appeared and revealed to him his origins as Kal-El and the purpose of why he was sent to Earth. Jor-El informed his son that he had to begin testing the limitations of his powers and that he could be a symbol of hope for his adopted planet and lead it to glory and not into decay like Krypton. Jor-El then showed Kal a native Kryptonian Garment which Kal proudly donned.

Supermansfirst

Kal embracing his alien lineage

Stepping outside in his solitude, Kal began trying to fly, leaping kilometers at a time several times before heeding Jor-El's words and finally taking flight.

Foscrash

The fortress crashing

Sometime later, General Zod arrived at the Fortress and had final words with Jor-El before flying the ship to Metropolis, intending to create a new Kryptonian race. However, Kal crashed into the ship, destroyed the Genesis Chamber and brought the ship down, causing it to crash through buildings and lay damaged among the huge rubble field lying in the centre of Metropolis. After his Sword of Rao followers were sucked up back into the Phantom Zone, an infuriated General Zod emerged from the Fortress, and proceeded to challenge Kal-El to a final duel.

Government Usage[]

Batman-v-superman-image-31-1-

The Scouts Ship's new home

With there being no practical way of moving the massive Scout Ship structure buried in the midst of Metropolis' rubble, the US government in co-operation with the United States Armed Forces, built a temporary lab surrounding the massive alien craft, to study and reverse-engineer the vastly superior technology whilst Heroes Park was built around the structure to commemorate those lost during the Black Zero Event and the Battle of Metropolis.

After 2 years of trying, they failed to gain access to the inside of the Scout Ship. Alexander Luthor, Jr., who in a deal with Senator Barrows gained access to the Ship, managed to enter the ship using the fingerprints of General Zod. Using Zod's Command Key, he managed to access the Ship's mainframe. The on board computer told Luthor that the ship was operating at 37% efficiency and asked him if he wanted to assume command of the ship, which he accepted. He then began learning the secrets of the universe.

Luthor eventually overrides General Zod's authority over the ship, and learns how to use the Genesis Chamber. He brought Zod's body to the Chamber and placed it in the waters, cut his hand and dropped his blood over the General's body. The Ship warned against what it would create, but Lex ordered it to proceed. Over the course of a couple of days, Zod's body began metamorphosing into Doomsday, an ancient Kryptonian deformity. As Doomsday was being created, the ship began draining power from the city of Metropolis with huge electrical spikes coming from the ship drawing crowds outside. As Lex waited to see his creation born, Superman arrived just as Doomsday emerged, with the two battling out of the ship.

Lex then began communicating with Steppenwolf in the waters of the Genesis Chamber before S.W.A.T. teams interrupted and arrested Lex.

Bringing Superman Back[]

After the Justice League agreed to resurrect Superman. The League then brought Clark's body to the ship. Aquaman then placed him into the Genesis Chamber waters. Cyborg explained to the rest of the League that when Lex created Doomsday he destroyed all the circuits in the console. He later repaired the console and it started the ship’s self repair program. Batman then told the Flash that they needed to super charge the Mother Box the second it touches the chamber’s waters. Barry then ran at top speed around the ship and used the electricity he generated to jump start the box. Clark then returned to life, but suffering from memory loss. He then flew straight through the ship’s hull and landed at the Superman memorial.

Appearances[]

Trivia[]

  • The Fortress/Ship has an uncanny resemblance to a turtle due to its two holes in the front and its roundish shape.
  • This is the first time in any Superman media that the Fortress of Solitude is a ship. It is normally portrayed as a hollowed-out mountain or grown through Kryptonian crystals.
  • Although never called "Fortress of Solitude" by name in any film, it is currently considered conjecture that the scout ship is, indeed, just that.
  • The ice around the ship was 18,625 years old.
  • When Kal-El is looking at the pods carrying the skeletons of Kryptonians, to the left of him is an open and empty pod which, as revealed in the Man of Steel Prequel, was exited by Kara Zor-El, therefore leading to a future Supergirl appearance.

External Links[]


Superman universe
Media Man of Steel | Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice | Untitled Superman film
Characters Clark Kent/Superman | Lois Lane | Perry White | Jonathan Kent | Martha Kent | Jor-El | Lara Lor-Van | Emil Hamilton | Nathan Hardy | Steven Lombard | Jenny Jurwich | Lana Lang | Calvin Swanwick | Carrie Farris | Glen Woodburn | Peter Ross | Bibbo Bibbowski | Kara Zor-El | Jimmy Olsen | Kelor | Kelex | Daniel Leone | Bruce Wayne/Batman | Diana/Wonder Woman
Enemies Lex Luthor | General Zod | Faora-Ul | Doomsday | Mercy Graves | Jax-Ur | Nam-Ek | Tor-An | Anatoli Knyazev | Car-Vex | Dev-Em | Nadira | Amajagh | Kenneth Braverman
Miscellaneous Metropolis | Daily Planet | Smallville | Krypton | Metropolis Police Department | Kandor | House of El | Sword of Rao | Smallville Police Department | Kryptonian Guilds | Growth Codex | Kryptonite | LexCorp | Superman's Suit | Kryptonian Skinsuit | Kent Farm | Fortress of Solitude | Black Zero | Lex Luthor's House | Kryptonian | Command Key | Kal-El's Starcraft | Phantom Zone | Genesis Chamber | Superman film series
Advertisement