Krypto the Superdog is an aspect of Superman’s comic book mythos that many fans felt would never make it into a live-action film. However, as many had speculated, Kal-El’s loyal pet will indeed have a prominent role in James Gunn’s Superman. So prominent, that we even see Krypto front and center in Superman‘s first trailer.
James Gunn, the director and co-head of DC Studios himself, talked a bit more about Krypto in a post on social media. He shared, “Krypto arrives on screens in Superman this summer. Krypto was inspired by our dog Ozu, who we adopted shortly after I started writing Superman. Ozu, who came from a hoarding situation in a backyard with 60 other dogs & never knew human beings, was problematic to say the least. He immediately came in & destroyed our home, our shoes, our furniture – he even ate my laptop. It took a long time before he would even let us touch him. I remember thinking, “Gosh, how difficult would life be if Ozu had superpowers?” – and thus Krypto came into the script & changed the shape of the story as Ozu was changing my life. What better time to debut the not-so-good-good-boy Krypto than #AdoptAShelterDog month. Btw, Ozu today, is, fairly often, a very good boy.”
Krypto first emerged in the comics as Superboy’s loyal Kryptonian pooch in the Silver Age of comics. And he has come to symbolize a certain era of Superman comics. Superman’s loyal pet weaved in and out of continuity over the years. Yet somehow, he always finds his way back to his loving master.
Krypto First Appears in DC Comics’ Silver Age as Superboy’s Dog
Krypto first appeared in Adventure Comics #210 in 1955. He was created by writer Otto Binder and arguably the most iconic Superman artist of all time, Curt Swan. Introduced in an intended one-off story, Krypto, who looks like a white Labrador retriever, was actually Superman’s pet as a toddler on Krypton. In Silver Age DC, Krypton was an idealized futuristic version of mid-century America, only with flying cars and high technology. But the average family was a mom, dad, kids, and your standard pets that looked just like Earth animals. When Superman’s father Jor-El must test his son’s rocket to Earth, he uses Krypto as a test subject. In a sense, Krypto predated Laika, the Soviet dog who was the first animal in space, by two whole years.
Krypto’s ship is knocked off course, and he doesn’t arrive on Earth until Kal-El is a teenager in Smallville. Immediately remembering his former master, the two form an instant bond. Just like his master, Krypto has all the same powers under Earth’s yellow sun as Kal-El does. Although as a dog, his super hearing and smell is actually superior. Luckily, under Earth’s yellow sun, he’s also hyper-intelligent, so he’s not going around killing cats with his heat vision, or biting people’s arms off. During this era, we are privy to Krypto’s thought balloons, and he clearly has human-level intelligence. Wearing a little red cape attached to his collar, Krypto became a hero just like his master. When not saving people with Superboy, he posed as “Skip,” the Kent family dog. Although he seems way too comfortable calling Kal-El “master” given the circumstances. Hey, it was the Silver Age.
Krypto’s Popularity and Eventual Decline in Superman Comics
DC editorial originally intended for Krypto to be a one-time character, but the kids reading the comics at the time demanded he return. And a mere four issues later, he did. For the rest of the Silver Age, Krypto became a fixture of Superboy stories, and inspired several other “Super pets” in the Superman family. Following in Krypto’s wake were Supergirl’s cat Streaky, as well as Beppo the Super Monkey, and even Comet the Superhorse. Eventually, there was even a Legion of Super-Pets. Like we said, Silver Age DC was pretty goofy, folks. But the readers of the time loved these cute little animals with superpowers.
In the early ‘70s, thanks largely to the Marvel revolution of the previous decade, the audience for comics started to shift to teens over younger children. DC decided that a little dog flying around in a cape was too childish for their audience, and they wrote Krypto out of the series. They explained that he went off into space at some point after his adventures with Superboy, before Clark Kent became Superman. He made sporadic appearances during the Bronze Age, but didn’t feature regularly in a series. Then, in 1985, DC had its company-wide Crisis on Infinite Earths reboot. Krypton went from an idealistic utopian planet to a stark and emotionless world with zero room for cute pets. Like all other Kryptonian survivors not named Kal-El, DC erased Krypto from continuity. And it would stay that way for the better part of two decades.
The Reemergence of Krypto in Modern-Era DC Comics Continuity
Gradually, DC Comics would hint at Krypto in various ways during his two-decade absence. In the ‘90s comics, there was a little white rescue dog (from Earth) given the name Krypto as an homage. However, Krypto’s true return came in the early 2000s, in the “Return to Krypton” storyline. In that story, by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness, Superman is lured into a fake, ideal depiction of Krypton. A version that looked just like the Silver Age one from decades prior. On that Krypton we meet a version of Krypto, explained as Superman’s childhood pet. This fake Krypton was a trap created by the villainous Brainiac 13. But when Superman escapes this false reality, Krypto follows him home. He sticks around as Superman and Lois Lane’s super pet.
Thus, Krypto returned to DC continuity, this time without human intelligence like his Silver Age counterpart. He was a dog with powers who needed training, leading to all kinds of comedic moments. Readers welcomed Krypto 2.0, who went on to become the Conner Kent Superboy’s loyal dog. Geoff Johns and Gary Frank’s Superman: Secret Origin in 2009 restored his classic origin into the main continuity. Krypto was once again Kal-El’s pet from Krypton who landed on Earth years after he did. Everything old was new again, which is how it works in comics. The New 52 reboot removed Krypto from the main continuity again in 2011 (except in flashbacks to Krypton), but DC Rebirth returned to the classic, pre-New 52 continuity in 2016.
Krypto in Animated and Live-Action Media, Including the new DCU
Krypto first appeared in animated form in the 1966 Adventures of Superboy cartoons. Later he appears in various animated shows and direct-to-video movies, usually as a cameo. Among those series where Krypto makes a cameo are Superman: The Animated Series, Justice League Action, and Legion of Super-Heroes. In 2005, he even got his own series on Cartoon Network, Krypto the Superdog, which lasted for two seasons. His most recent appearance in animated form was in the movie League of Super-Pets, where Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson provided his voice. The biggest addition to Krypto lore from this film is that he now has the civilian name of Bark Kent.
In live-action, we’ve seen homages to Krypto, but never the real deal. In both Smallville and Titans, Krypto was an Earth dog given Kryptonian-like powers via nefarious experiments. The Krypto in Titans became a companion for that show’s version of the Conner Kent Superboy. In the new DCU, James Gunn has confirmed that Krypto in Superman is indeed an alien dog, which will make him the first live-action appearance of the comic book Krypto. He’ll also likely appear in Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, as he plays quite a role in that story in the comics. It only took the better part of 70 years, but it’s finally time for that very good boy’s time in the mainstream spotlight.
Originally published on October 16, 2024.
