The "S" or "8" Symbol: What's the difference?

[Crispin Glover]

At the beginning of the episode Zor-El was wearing a necklace that had the figure 8 on it like Clark had on his chest when he ran away to metropolis. However, when Zor-El tried to erase Kara's memory of being on Earth he held the Superman S symbol. What the heck is going on? What does each one symbolize?

[litew8]

I think the Kryptonian letter '8' is the Human letter 'S'. Not sure why Zor-El would have both. Screw up.

[jessestuber]

"Kryptonian letter '8'"

ha ha.

Thats like saying the English number G

[TesubCalle]

If you look at most comic-book renderings of that famous 'S' symbol from the house of El, it looks exactly like the number '8' within that diamond shape.

[litew8]

Originally posted by jessestuber
"Kryptonian letter '8'"

ha ha.

Thats like saying the English number G I'm not sure if you're making fun of me or the way that sounded. But there is a manner in translating Kryptonian alphabet. Wow, I sound like a nerd. Seriously though. The Kryptonian symbol 8 incased within a diamond shape is the English letter S.

Here's an English/Kryptonian Transliteration Guide
for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy.

Link =
KRYPTONESE (http://www.hideho.com/languages/kryptonese.jpg)

[HalJordan4184]

Originally posted by TesubCalle
If you look at most comic-book renderings of that famous 'S' symbol from the house of El, it looks exactly like the number '8' within that diamond shape.

It actually looks more like the S, and not the 8. That's how the S came to be. The Superman 8 isn't a recognized symbol across the globe, the s shield is.

[83kaL]

Originally posted by HalJordan4184
It actually looks more like the S, and not the 8. That's how the S came to be. The Superman 8 isn't a recognized symbol across the globe, the s shield is.

I didn't get that lol Superman's 8?

[TesubCalle]

Originally posted by HalJordan4184
It actually looks more like the S, and not the 8. That's how the S came to be. The Superman 8 isn't a recognized symbol across the globe, the s shield is.

Sorry...perhaps I should clarify: I don't mean the logo we see on Supes' chest, I mean the written Kryptonian language. The character looks like an '8' within a diamond shape. Stylized, it becomes the 'S' shape with the red and yellow we all readily recognize.

[HalJordan4184]

Yes, in the comics made Kryptonian alphabet, the letter S is a pentagonal shield with an 8 in it. However, this came far after the S shield was first introduced.

[99point1]

At the begining of Lara we see Zor-El wearing his necklace around his neck and it is the symbol that was branded on Clark's chest in Season 3 Episode 1.


So the theory might be right about Zor-El being Jor-El and trying to take controlof Clark's destiny for his (Zor-El) will.

Pretty cool man.

[superhippie2000]

zor el and jor el are brothers so they would use the same symbol.

[83kaL]

It's the House of El's symbol...

[clana4everfan2]

haha this post make me laugh! :) But it's good info to know and important to explain to fans who are unsure..

[Crispin Glover]

83kaL, I believe you're right that it's the House of El symbol, but if that's the case than what does the superman S represent if indeed the figure 8 inside the shield is the House of El reference?

[xrayvision]

^^It is most likely the symbol created by Jor-El for the member of the House of El that would turn out to be Naman, which turned out to be his own son. It's likely he knew it would be Clark because Kem-El, or whichever Kryptonian it was in the SV mythos who first visited Earth, who created the prophecy and the Starblade had to have seen the future. I'm guessing, he had a device that could see the future and knew Clark was the one who would be raised on Earth and that Lex would be his mortal enemy. It is even possible that he did this using the Eradicator if 1) The Eradicator ever appears on the show and 2) The Eradicator in the SV mythos is able to do this.

It's even possible that the first Kryptonian to visit Earth created that S symbol and passed it down the generations for it to be used by the chosen one (Kal-El) and prepared by his father (Jor-El) in the Phantom Zone and the S crystal.

These are very important questions that still haven't been answered officially. Yet another thing I covered in my fanfics because I see how important it is to the mythos of the show. There is still quite a bit to be told about the caves & the legend.

[Radioflyer]

They painted themselves into a corner in "Rosetta" with the "rule them with strength" message and no it looks like they are about to make up an easy out.

[jesustlife]

Ok ok. The 8 is the S, but there is no reason why would a kryptonian need to use the S then. Ans the have. The S was the door out of the phantom zone, it was the toy crystal Clark used to trap phantoms, it was the thing Zor-El used to erase Kara's memory. Is there are reason for using it one way sometimes and the other on some other ocassion?


Originally posted by Radioflyer
They painted themselves into a corner in "Rosetta" with the "rule them with strength" message and no it looks like they are about to make up an easy out.

Does "rule them with strength" mean a negative thing? Strength is a positive quality. And Clark in a way ends up ruling the world, he's the one who catches the bad guys. He's like a judge, a cop, he's the law as Superman. HE RULES!!

[SmallFarmGirl]

Originally posted by clana4everfan2
haha this post make me laugh! :) But it's good info to know and important to explain to fans who are unsure..

Yeah, my head is spinning :confused:
But I agree, interesting and good info!

[xrayvision]

Originally posted by jesustlife
Ok ok. The 8 is the S, but there is no reason why would a kryptonian need to use the S then. Ans the have. The S was the door out of the phantom zone, it was the toy crystal Clark used to trap phantoms, it was the thing Zor-El used to erase Kara's memory. Is there are reason for using it one way sometimes and the other on some other ocassion?

Like I said, the Kryptonian who would use an S is a human friendly one...Jor-El. He obviously had a lot of stuff going on Earth. And he knew of the Naman legend...how one of his family members down the line (not himself) would be raised on Earth. I think he created that symbol for Naman, i.e. Clark, his own son. Whether or not he knew his own son would be Naman is another story.

As to the crystal Clark got from Raya who got it from Jor-El and the one Zor-El used on Kara, I wouldn't be surprised if they were one and the same, meaning Zor-El stole it for his 1986 trip to Earth. If I'm right and that entire opening scene in Lara was a false memory implanted in Kara's mind by Jor-El to get her to help him (since she would not normally be disloyal to Zor-El & help out Jor-El), then the same crystal he gave Raya was probably stolen from him in the 1986 scene at the Kent House. The reason I think I'm right about that flashback in the opening scene is because while remembering those events, Kara blacked out and that plane almost hit her. I tend to think of that as a symptom of Jor-El's implanted memory, since things like that are not normal for a Kryptonian to experience. Other characters of Smallville have also blacked out due to mind experiments (Lex several times in Memoria and Kevin Grady--who also had memories implanted in his head in Blank).

As for the S appearing on the House of El exit console in the Phantom Zone...someone once said that if Zor-El was stuck in the Phantom Zone (whether or not that's the case), he would be able to get out because he is a member of the House of El. But I tend to think that Jor-El's distrust for his brother would make him deny access/entry to the Phantom Zone. So notice how the Phantom Zone exit console (that Clark put his bloody hand on) had the S symbol (Jor-El's symbol). That is a clue that it was made specifically for Jor-El's immediate family (because it was only his immediate family who had finally broken away from the 8 symbol that his ancestors used and adapted the S symbol) and those like Kara or Zor-El can not escape the Phantom Zone because Jor-El did not trust them after the events that caused the problems between him and his brother. So this would definitely draw a distinction between Jor-El's immediate family (himself, Lara, and Kal-El/Clark) and all other members of the House of El (such as Zor-El, and Kara). I guess that the S symbol in the Phantom Zone was programmed only to allow entry/exit to immediate family members and nobody else (not even those who used the 8 symbol). Maybe using it on that console in the PZ was the first time he used that symbol. And then he started using it for other things like the S crystal and more stuff to be seen in future episodes.

So what I'm saying is that certain things like the stones, the cave, and the FOS that contain the 8 symbol could be used by any member of the House of El, whereas other things like the PZ exit console could only be used by Jor-El's immediate family.

And eventually, Kara will sport that S symbol on her Supergirl suit, so Jor-El will probably accept her and give her entry/exit access to the Phantom Zone.

[queenelizabeth]

Wowww. I just thought Superman would look dumb marching into battle with a giant "8" on his chest.

[jesustlife]

Originally posted by xrayvision
Like I said, the Kryptonian who would use an S is a human friendly one...Jor-El.

Jor-El used the 8 on Clark, and in a preety though way, when he appeared to him the first time. If that is friendly, well...

[xrayvision]

^^Well, I do have a theory that says who has been in the ship, the cave, and the FOS all along (or at least perhaps until the episode Zod) was not Jor-El, but Zor-El.

It would be fitting that Zor-El's revenge on his brother for taking Lara away from him would be messing with the heart of the ship that contained the AI that would guide Clark in life so Clark would be raised the way Zor-El wanted (meaning Jor-El stole his would be wife, so Zor-El stole Jor-El's son as revenge).

Scenario 1:

It's very possible that Zor-El stole the heart to Clark's ship after Jor-El created it & added programming on his own on top of Jor-El's that would allow Clark to be raised in the way Zor-El wanted and that this layer of Zor-El coding was destroyed thanks to Brainiac infecting the FOS in Solitude (when the black Brainiac crystal was installed) or Vessel (when the dagger was thrown at Brainiac). So this would have caused Zor-El to lose control of the FOS, which would explain the dramatic change in attitude in "FOS Jor-El" when he spoke to Martha compared to all previous times we've seen the AI in the ship, the cave, and FOS (even in Vessel he told Clark to kill the vessel of Zod, something the will of the real Jor-El would probably not have wanted). Perhaps the blue crystal is Zor-El's chance to regain control of the FOS.

Basically, this theory means the first time we have really seen Jor-El's programming without any corruption by Zor-El's added code was in Zod.

Scenario 2

Or maybe the blue crystal contains Jor-El's programming that he gave to Kara in the opening scene of Lara, which mean he made Kara think it was Zor-El talking to her by implanting false memories into her mind (as was the case with Kevin Grady & his father in Blank) or by making his S crystal hypnotize her. I think a big clue to the implanted memory thing being true is how Kara blacked out in the midst of her flight, something not normal for Kryptonians. I think it's a symptom that Jor-El did that to her to get her to help him since she would never betray Zor-El and help Jor-El unless something like this was done to her. Furthermore, it means Jor-El could have also made a blue crysal identical to Zor-El's, but Jor-El's did not contain DNA, but programming with strictly his own AI to fix up the mess caused by Zor-El messing with the heart of the ship Jor-El created. So this means Zor-El was still there in Zod and once he lost Clark in the Phantom Zone, he did the only thing he could and saved Martha & Lois. As of Kara, he knows Kara is here with the crystal & he wants Clark to bring it to him so he can destroy it to prevent Jor-El from taking over the FOS.

Scenario 3

It was Jor-El's AI/programming/will in the ship, cave, and FOS all along, but the crystal is Zor-El's way of taking over the FOS. The real Zor-El could be trapped in the Phantom or Survival Zones and wants to get out, but can't get out of the Phantom Zone since it contains the S on the exit console, which as I said was only adapted by Jor-El & his immediate family (Jor-El, Lara, and Kal-El) and programmed not to work on anyone else's DNA but those 3 who adapted the symbol and he can't get out of the Survival Zone because Jor-El is in control of the FOS (the entry point on Earth from the Survival Zone) and is denying him access to Earth. Therefore Zor-El would need to rid the FOS of Jor-El and take control of it with his own AI at the helm of the FOS to grant his physical form access from the Survival Zone to Earth.

[Kal-EL1126]

So, if the kryptonian letter S/8 is the symbol for the house of EL why don't they use the kryptonian symbol/letter of E?

[TampaVille]

Early on, they used the \8/ because it was reminiscent of the Superman shield, but was still believably a Kryptonian symbol. As seasons progressed, and they got closer to Superman, they wanted to include the real Superman shield somehow. They had no way to reasonably work it into the story though, so they just added the \S/ symbol starting with Raya.

There is no explanation and no hidden meaning. It's just shortsighted writing. We've seen too much bad writing over the years that I can no longer give the writers credit for clever thoughts by default. Until we get some concrete reasons to believe there is meaning behind the different symbols, I think it's pretty safe to say that they're the same thing, and the only reason we saw more of the \8/ early on and see more of the \S/ now is simply because the show is more comfortable drawing a stronger connection to Superman now than they were in early seasons (and to be fair, perhaps rightfully so, in that extent).

[xrayvision]

Originally posted by TampaVille
There is no explanation and no hidden meaning. It's just shortsighted writing. We've seen too much bad writing over the years that I can no longer give the writers credit for clever thoughts by default. Until we get some concrete reasons to believe there is meaning behind the different symbols, I think it's pretty safe to say that they're the same thing, and the only reason we saw more of the \8/ early on and see more of the \S/ now is simply because the show is more comfortable drawing a stronger connection to Superman now than they were in early seasons (and to be fair, perhaps rightfully so, in that extent).

I don't think it's just short sighted writing because in Lara, both symbols were seen in the episode. If both Zor-El & Jor-El were shown using the S, then I would agree, but the 8 is still being used. I think there is a meaning. And I think it's to create a distinction between Jor-El's immediate family (which is himself, Lara and Clark) and all other members of the House of El. That's my opinion.

[litew8]

"Jerry Siegel and I came up with the 'S' insignia - we discussed it in detail. We said, 'Let's put something on the front of the costume.' From the beginning we wanted to somehow use the first letter of the character's name. We thought S was perfect. After we came up with it, we kiddingly said, 'Well, it's the first letter of Siegel and Shuster."

"Initially I made it like a shield, a fancy little triangle with curves at the top. I had a heraldic crest in the back of my mind."

"Progressively, as the strip evolved, the emblem became larger and larger."

- Joe Shuster

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
There are different explanations over the course of many years concerning the letter S and its meaning. But concentrating within Smallville and the possible reasoning used to explain both the S and the 8, here's what I'm thinking:

Somewhere durring the series, Clark says: "At first, I thought it (the emblem) was a family crest of some sort - but if it was, it certainly came to mean more than that to these people. Wars were fought over it. Entire cities were built on it. Over the course of time, it became a... a promise. A sign of people fighting to make a better world. A symbol of hope."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Some people consider it a sign of Royalty. The El family was powerful. This could mean that the people of Krypton looked to Jor-El for guidance and direction. Meaning Jor-El was known as a great Scientist and great Leader. A man of peace. The \8/ symbol translated into English is the letter S. The reason why they are mixing both, showing the \8/ and S - just a way for viewers to understand that they are one in the same.

Of course, that doesn't explain why one of the Crystals (Air Element?) Clark was suppose to find has the \8/ symbol - if the symbol is suppose to represent something specific. As Clark mentioned in the series (abovementioned). Why were "Wars fought over it" and "Entire cities were built on it"? Does that mean that Jor-El directed people to fight against evil, and to build up cities - under his direction/leadership? I thought he was just a great scientist, and why would it be on a Crystal (an Element symbol)?

Am I way off, or?

[Radioflyer]

Originally posted by jesustlife
Ok ok. The 8 is the S, but there is no reason why would a kryptonian need to use the S then. Ans the have. The S was the door out of the phantom zone, it was the toy crystal Clark used to trap phantoms, it was the thing Zor-El used to erase Kara's memory. Is there are reason for using it one way sometimes and the other on some other ocassion?



Does "rule them with strength" mean a negative thing? Strength is a positive quality. And Clark in a way ends up ruling the world, he's the one who catches the bad guys. He's like a judge, a cop, he's the law as Superman. HE RULES!! No, RULE them does have a negative connotation. Superman nor anyone else has no business ruling without being elected.


Originally posted by litew8
"Jerry Siegel and I came up with the 'S' insignia - we discussed it in detail. We said, 'Let's put something on the front of the costume.' From the beginning we wanted to somehow use the first letter of the character's name. We thought S was perfect. After we came up with it, we kiddingly said, 'Well, it's the first letter of Siegel and Shuster."

"Initially I made it like a shield, a fancy little triangle with curves at the top. I had a heraldic crest in the back of my mind."

"Progressively, as the strip evolved, the emblem became larger and larger."

- Joe Shuster

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
There are different explanations over the course of many years concerning the letter S and its meaning. But concentrating within Smallville and the possible reasoning used to explain both the S and the 8, here's what I'm thinking:

Somewhere durring the series, Clark says: "At first, I thought it (the emblem) was a family crest of some sort - but if it was, it certainly came to mean more than that to these people. Wars were fought over it. Entire cities were built on it. Over the course of time, it became a... a promise. A sign of people fighting to make a better world. A symbol of hope."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Some people consider it a sign of Royalty. The El family was powerful. This could mean that the people of Krypton looked to Jor-El for guidance and direction. Meaning Jor-El was known as a great Scientist and great Leader. A man of peace. The \8/ symbol translated into English is the letter S. The reason why they are mixing both, showing the \8/ and S - just a way for viewers to understand that they are one in the same.

Of course, that doesn't explain why one of the Crystals (Air Element?) Clark was suppose to find has the \8/ symbol - if the symbol is suppose to represent something specific. As Clark mentioned in the series (abovementioned). Why were "Wars fought over it" and "Entire cities were built on it"? Does that mean that Jor-El directed people to fight against evil, and to build up cities - under his direction/leadership? I thought he was just a great scientist, and why would it be on a Crystal (an Element symbol)?

Am I way off, or? That's all well and good but what really matters is what TPTB are thinking when the use the S verse the 8 and what we are suposed to think is behind it. It seems now that the S device has the power to capture and detain evil phantoms and forcibly wipe minds.

[litew8]

^
So that is suppose to relate to the \S/ on Superman's chest?
He captures evil villans and it causes people to not recognize him?
That makes sense.
But it doesn't explain away why \8/ translates to the letter S.

[Mello Penelo]

Originally posted by jesustlife
And Clark in a way ends up ruling the world, he's the one who catches the bad guys. He's like a judge, a cop, he's the law as Superman. HE RULES!!

Sorry, but Superman leaves the law to the justice system. He is not the law.

[Theshadow129x]

Originally posted by Mello Penelo
Sorry, but Superman leaves the law to the justice system. He is not the law.


^ Which is why Batman fights the way he does. He doesn't believe in the no good ways of American justice. People like Lex always get off because of their money. That's not justice. I love Superman but he really should take over the world to enforce new laws on their primitive ways of human justice. I know I would.

[litew8]

^
Spooky.

[Kal-EL1126]

Originally posted by 83kaL
It's the House of El's symbol...



So, If it's the house of El's symbol why isn't the symbol E ?

[wildenchantress_kt]

Why can't it be both the \8/ and the \S/? I think that the \S/ in Kryptonian means the \8/ in Kawatche. The Kawatche didn't want to put something as obivious as the letter S in the cave paintings. Remember the legend of Naman has been passed down orally for 500 years and the caves were not found until Clark fell into them. Kawatche may not repilcate Kryptonian word for word therefore some of the symbols may be similar but not exactly the same e.g. \8/ & \S/. I believe that the \S/ is the House of El family crest. Also in the episode "Tailsman" Clark states that the legend of Namaan was never accurately written down and therefore it could have many different interpretations.
Also in the episode "Transference" Lionel Luthor's cell mate told Clark that the \8/ means air. That was obivously the Kawatche translation due to the fact that the guy knew nothing about Kryptonian.

[litew8]

^
I think the guy in Lionel Luthor's cell was good at decoding hieroglyphics. Kryptonian symbols can be considered a type of hieroglyphic to someone who doesn't know. It is perplexing to understand the difference between \8/ and \S/ because \8/ was actually embeded into one of the elements (stones). Well, if \S/ translates to Kryptonian \8/ symbol, and it was on an air element (stone), what does the air element stone have to do with the El family, or family crest? Why does something on an Air Element stone represent "Hope", or how does an Air Element stone represent the El family crest? Why were wars faught over it and cities built apon it on Krypton. Why would Superman wear an Air Element symbol on his chest?

Man, this topic can get confusing fast. :confused:

[KryptonScouse]

Well, a simple way to look at it;

He's going to be in the air when he flies :-p (if he flies...)

My only logical way of thinking would be to look at it from the "Superman: Birthright" perspective.

The \S/ logo there was of Kryptonian origin, and was a universal symbol for hope.

I'll quote; "Entire cities were built on it. Over a course of time, it became a...a promise. A sign of people fighting to make a better world. A symbol of hope."

So if we look at this with wider eyes, we could see that;

1. Jor-El, being part of the "El" family, was accustomed to using the \8/ symbol.

2. The Kryptonian symbol for hope is the \S/ logo.

3. Jor-El wanted Kal-El to give hope to Earth, in fulfilling his destiny and becoming Superman.

4. Raya's crystal with the \S/ logo was probably given to her before she entered the Phantom Zone, with Jor-El realising Kal-El may one day end up in there with her.

The crystal was made for Kal-El, so he could see the symbol, and one day embrace it.

Heh, there's my idea! Not bad for 6:45 am!

[ultimatesmallvillefan]

Lolz i guess i'll clear it up for everyone...when Jor-el scarred the symol onto clark's chest he told him that it was the mark of his ANCESTORS, so it was an old symbol.. Over time the symbol must have changed from the 8 to the S.

----- Added 2 Minutes later -----

SO the 8 was the old family crest but over time changed to sybolize air, and then the S was made for modern day.

----- Added 5 Minutes later -----

and also just like hieroglyphcs a symnol can have more than one meaning.

----- Added 6 Minutes later -----

and also just like hieroglyphcs a symnol can have more than one meaning.

[e-µ-i]

Well, a simple way to look at it;

He's going to be in the air when he flies :-p (if he flies...)

My only logical way of thinking would be to look at it from the "Superman: Birthright" perspective.

The \S/ logo there was of Kryptonian origin, and was a universal symbol for hope.

I'll quote; "Entire cities were built on it. Over a course of time, it became a...a promise. A sign of people fighting to make a better world. A symbol of hope."

So if we look at this with wider eyes, we could see that;

1. Jor-El, being part of the "El" family, was accustomed to using the \8/ symbol.

2. The Kryptonian symbol for hope is the \S/ logo.

3. Jor-El wanted Kal-El to give hope to Earth, in fulfilling his destiny and becoming Superman.

4. Raya's crystal with the \S/ logo was probably given to her before she entered the Phantom Zone, with Jor-El realising Kal-El may one day end up in there with her.

The crystal was made for Kal-El, so he could see the symbol, and one day embrace it.

Heh, there's my idea! Not bad for 6:45 am!

So far the best idea I've read. Very nice. Explains everything.

[ClarkyBoy14]

Lolz i guess i'll clear it up for everyone...when Jor-el scarred the symol onto clark's chest he told him that it was the mark of his ANCESTORS, so it was an old symbol.. Over time the symbol must have changed from the 8 to the S.

----- Added 2 Minutes later -----

SO the 8 was the old family crest but over time changed to sybolize air, and then the S was made for modern day.

----- Added 5 Minutes later -----

and also just like hieroglyphcs a symnol can have more than one meaning.

----- Added 6 Minutes later -----

and also just like hieroglyphcs a symnol can have more than one meaning.
That's pretty much right. The "S" symbol is the symbol of the House of El. In "Quest," Robert Teague said that the ceremony he performed on Clark (when he carved the "8" symbol onto Clark's chest) was performed by the early people of Krypton, back when they were warriors.

So...

S=House of El symbol
8=Symbol put in use by early Kryptonians

Either TPTB knew what they were doing, or the realized they made a mistake and fixed it.

[pizzahead2490]

.............

[ripripcasm]

I don't think the S symbol is the english translation of the 8 symbol.
because in the first superman movie you see all the men of krypton wearing these really cool foil like suits, and they all have their own family crests on them. Jorel had the S on his.

In season 2 when jorel brands clark with the 8 and says it's the mark of his ancestors, then that could mean it has possibly changed over time.

Like maybe, the 8 was the first symbol for the 'adam and eve' of that genetic line.
however, as the family tree branched out and spread, each family chose to deviate their symbol slightly in order to identify themselves, and allow for differentiation from the other families with the same ancestors.

That's what makes most sense to me, because the S symbol is fully kryptonian, and i think that the fact that it looks like the English letter S, and corresponds with the first letter of Superman, is just a pure coincidence.

[hakavon]

Guys, when Jor-El burned the "8" into Clark's chest (HOW many years ago was that? The ship was still in the storm cellar!) he said that it was the symbol of the house of El.

Later, we saw the traditional "S" symbol. First time, I think, was on the gadget Raya gave Clark to send people back to the Phantom Zone.

It seems pretty simple.

The "8" is an earlier version of the "S" symbol. The writing style just changed a bit over time.

Look at a printed "S" in English and then look at the way some forms of handwriting make it.

Doesn't even look like the same letter.

Same thing with the upper case "A".

With the 8/S, the frame of the two forms is essentially the same, and if you look at the "8", you'll notice on it that the upper loop has a thicker left side than right, and the bottom has a thicker right side than its left.

Eventually, the thinner side just sort of faded away and the letter came to be written in the form we know as the Superman emblem.

It's the same Kryptonian letter. One's an older form than the other, that's all.

[wickedwango]

Funny how your image visualises your point.