After his birth in 1938, Superman very quickly became a mass phenomenon in the United States.which was greatly helped by its rapid adaptation to other media. The radio serial, which lasted more than 2,000 episodes between 1940 and 1951, defined very important traits of the character (such as, for example, being able to fly), and from 1941 to 1943 children became fond of him thanks to the -then very expensive- 17 animated episodes manufactured by Fleischer studios. And, when the character was well established in pop culture, The time has come to expand the super-family so as not to bore the public.
Chorizo with bread
After a crazy initial stage in comics where anything went, Mort Weisinger emerged as Superman's new editor in his most complicated era, the one in which, after marveling at his almost inexhaustible superpowers, you had to create your own universe and mythology: allies, enemies, weaknesses, etc. Now it seems obvious to us, but keep in mind that we are talking about the 50s, when Marvel had not even published 'The Fantastic Four' and “stories to be continued”, as they called serialization then, were a rarity. The comics started and ended in the same issue, and it was strange to make big changes to the status quo so that, whatever comic arrived at your store, you could understand everything without problems.
In this panorama it seemed difficult to introduce a background, and If they did it, it was by popular request or because they insisted on repeating concepts until they stuck.. That is why it is so fascinating that, when such basic concepts for Superman as the Fortress of Solitude or the Phantom Zone did not yet exist (and there were only two types of Kryptonite), Clark Kent's best friend was born: Krypto. It was March 1955, and both Otto Binder, screenwriter, and Curt Swan, cartoonist, They believed that it would only be a curiosity in a chapter that would never be mentioned again.. Little did they know that almost seven decades later their occurrence would co-star in the trailer for James Gunn's 'Superman'.
For more information, Krypto was born in issue 210 of 'Adventure Comics', in an adventure of Superboywhich, at that time, still far from the multiverse, was only Superman in his young age growing up in Metropolis, his love triangles and his teenage adventures. Its cover is incredible and iconic: Krypto, flying, brings Superboy the safe that he just left at City Hall because he thinks they are playing, like someone throwing a stick at a dog. But, What was that dog doing there? How is it possible that there is a super-dog also on Earth with the same powers as Superman? The solution is relatively simple.
A super-tough nut to crack
As they explain in that first appearance in 1955, when Clark was a baby on Krypton, and Jor-El feared that the planet was going to explode at any moment, He decided to send a test animal to Earth to see if the type of rocket he would later send to his son worked.. And who did he choose? Of course, Kal-El's pet. But shortly after taking off, a meteorite diverted the dog's course, so it ultimately arrived on our planet years after its owner. The comic, leaving the door open for his return, It ended with the dog going for a walk around the universe (“It's a mere backyard to him!”Superboy lamented through tears) and pretending that the story would be forgotten.
Until four issues later, of course, when Krypto returned to stay by popular demand. In fact, the casting of super-animals grew so much that in 1962 Krypto was able to mount the Legion of Super-pets with Streaky the super-cat, Comet the super-horse and Beppo the super-monkeywho in previous comics had already faced each other. Four years later, the dog too He was part of the Space Paw Patrol Agentsalong with many more animals than I'm willing to list. And suddenly, after so many years of success, he disappeared from continuity.
At DC, seeing the mature and complex superheroes they were doing in the competition, They decided it was time for Superman to be someone more serious.and they eliminated secondary characters “for children” like Krypto, who in 1971 stopped making surprise appearances and setting up zoological groups. In fact, he wouldn't return to Superman until 1975 after suffering from amnesia for a year. It then had another peak of popularity but, no matter how much love readers and creators had for it, in the mid-80s Everyone was clear that Krypto had to leave if they wanted the superhero to evolve.
Super-wow!
The super-dog had two different farewells. On the one hand, in 1985, 'Crisis on Infinite Earths' eliminated not only Krypto, but the rest of the survivors of Kryptonwhich made sense because, frankly, it had become a mess. A year later, Alan Moore said goodbye to him in the founding 'What Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?', which tells the end of the Silver Age Superman and in which Krypto sacrifices himself for his owner, ending Kryptonite Man. .Do not suffer: If we have him now in the film it is because he has returned to continuity several times.
In the early 2000s, Superman was trapped in a fake Krypton created by Brainiac 13, but it was exactly everything he had dreamed of. There was even a super-dog! In fact, When he finally managed to win and leave that false world, Krypto followed him. towards the real world. This version of the animal has a difference from the original, yes. He does not have super-intelligence: he is a normal dog, but with superpowers. It's no small feat, on the other hand. By the way, if you're curious about how this version of Krypto came to Earth, the solution they gave was the same as in the Silver Age: he was sent on a rocket created by Jor-El, only instead of meeting him as a teenager , Kal-El encountered it as a child and grew up with it.
In 2011, the character of Krypto was retconned again, this time in The New 52, like a normal Kryptonian dog who got locked in the Phantom Zone in the final moments of their planet… which, of course, is saved by Superman. Upon arriving on Earth, as it could not be otherwise, the dog grows superpowers. And now what? Well, after DC Rebirth there hasn't been much time to look at Krypto, but we have seen him as a companion to Supergirl and a friend to the rest of DC's super-mascots. So much so that in 2022 he starred in the notable 'DC Super-pet League' (without whose success James Gunn probably would not have dared to bring him back). Although, be careful, at that time he was already an audiovisual star: between 2006 and 2007, He even starred in his own 39-episode series!
Now, 70 years after its creationKrypto has a new chance to win the hearts of viewers. Yes, it's a strange concept. Yes, it may seem strange to non-superhero readers. But as a Superboy scriptwriter once said, If every man needs a dog… a super-man will need a super-dog¿no?
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