Krypton

For other uses of this name, see Krypton (disambiguation).

Krypton in Action Comics v2 #5.

Krypton is a planet that features in DC Comics.

History

Pre-Crisis, Earth-2

Krypton was an idyllic world in another part of the universe, which gave birth to a race of "supermen". All Kryptonians have the same powers as Superman. The reason is because of Krypton's lower gravity that they were powerless on their own planet.

Pre-Crisis, Earth-1

It was said to had been born over 6 billion time cycles ago from the gaseous mass flung from the red sun of the solar system. (World of Krypton v1 #1)

Around 100,000 years ago, the planet was known as Ny'l'uyl that was inhabited by a hairless race of humanoids that had become masters of the planet that were a content people who had long abandoned warfare. Their science detected a celestial object that was predicted to strike their homeworld and destroying the surface leading to the natives constructing large stasis chambers to shelter their population underground. They were to remain for 20 years whilst their ruler volunteered to stay watch over the years where he took refuge at various points to ensure his survival. For reasons unknown, the instruments did not awaken the ruler in the allotted time and instead thousands of years had passed. During this time, their world gave rise to a new civilization that were the soft skinned Kryptonians who had built their society on the surface. (Superman v1 #397)

Many thousands of years ago, Krypton became the target of a conquering race of aliens known as the Vrangs. Kryptonian astronomer Sul-El, ancestor of Earth's champions, Superman and Supergirl, was the first to take notice of their presence when Rao's rays reflected off their fleet ships. Sul-El voiced his concerns to Usk-Mar, the governor of Kandor, but Usk-Mar regarded Sul-El's claims as little more than prankish rambling. Sul-El became a laughingstock in Kandor. Because of Usk-Mar's recalcitrance, the Vrangs found the Kryptonians easy prey. They quickly conquered the continent of Lurvan and enslaved hundreds of Kryptonians, putting them to work mining the Jewel Mountains. Sul-El and his young son, Hatu-El spent many years in the mountains. When Hatu-El was an adult, he witnessed his fellow slave Val-Lor heroically defy the Vrangs. Though he paid for such effrontery with his life, Val-Lor's noble sacrifice inspired Hatu-El and others like him to rise and rebel against the Vrangs. The key to winning their freedom rested on Hatu-El's ability to harness electricity to power their weapons. As the Vrangs did not have any equivalent resources at their disposal, the Kryptonians quickly turned the tide against them, forcing their alien masters to flee Krypton, never to return. (Krypton Chronicles v1 #2)

Krypton was a super-advanced paradise where science ruled above all. Through the use of science, Kryptonians had freed themselves from all worries, cares, chores, and wars. Robots and computers were used for everything, even for determining what career paths the young children would take as they grew up.

In time, Kryptonians that inhabited their young world began to create villages along the sea as it proved to be the most plentiful source for food. (Superman v1 #268)

Long ago, an onrushing meteor threatened the planet Krypton where it would strike the world in ten days and had the power to destroy whole cities. A scientist by the name of Skal-Var began construction of a rocket designed to destroy the comet before it impacted his world. However, the comet's generated an electrical disturbance that disrupted the guidance system of the rockets causing each to miss. Skal-Var would not have the time needed to create a guidance system to bypass the electrical disturbance and in desperation he built the Comet-Missile 3X which he would pilot in order to ensure it hit its target. Thus, the comet was destroyed before it could bring harm to Krypton but this came at the cost of Skal-Var's life. As a result, he became regarded as a hero on his homeworld for his sacrifice and his Comet-Missile 3X became considered one of the relics of Krypton. (Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen v1 #69)

As science began to mature on Krypton, nuclear disaster erupted on their world that devastated an entire town and killed thousands. In response, the government forbade scientific research leading to it being outlawed and creating a period of anti-science fanatics. This resulted in a time where Kryptonian scientific developments was stunted. (Adventure Comics v1 #333)

In its history, Kandor, the capital of Krypton, was shrunk and taken away by Brainiac. Kryptonopolis, another major city, was the new capital. Space flight was banned as a result of an experiment performed by Jax-Ur which destroyed one of Krypton's two moons.

The destruction of Krypton was the result of a build-up of internal pressures at its core. The explosion transformed of the matter which made up Krypton into a various kinds of kryptonite. Kal-El, the survivor of Krypton, was rocketed to Earth before its destruction.

Post-Crisis

Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a new version of realty

Long ago, a powerful and wise race of magnetic beings called the Xan once ruled Krypton where they used their powers to bring the Xuthful ore from space onto the planetary surface with their living electromagnetic field abilities. Their civilization later collapsed with the only remains of their society being at the Proto-Tombs of Xan. (Superman: The Man of Steel v1 #111)

Kan-Z came to believe that the entirety of Krypton had to atone for the sins perpetrated against the clones. Thus, he orchestrated the renewed Black Zero plot to detonate the planet using a weapon called the world destroyer. Van-L was at the forefront of the war that saw the quick destruction of the Black Zero organization and its various strongholds. (World of Krypton v2 #3)

A time displaced Starman Jack Knight after being lost in time and space came to land on Krypton. This saw him meeting Jor-El as a young man with Jack giving the Kryptonian a device with the coordinates and images of Earth. (Starman v2 #51)

Post-Flashpoint

Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different series of events. Krypton

A movement led by Thalkis Sal-Re came to operate on Krypton until he was assassinated. This led to his followers departing their world and establishing a new identity as the Phaelosians. (Action Comics v1 #1042)

In his quest to save worlds from the Multitude, Brainiac came to Krypton where he collected the city of Kandor by shrinking it for his collection. (Superman v3 #23.2)

Overview

It was said to had been a world of super-gravity allowing its inhabitants to gain invulnerability and super-strength on planets with lesser gravitation. (Action Comics v1 #252)

Places on the planet included:

• Antarctic City :
• Kandor :
• Plain of Wanan :
• Zaro City : (Superboy v1 #126)
• Wizard City : a city that survived the destruction of Krypton and landed on Earth. (Adventure Comics v1 #216)
• Firefalls :
• Kryptonopolis :
  • Red Tower of Kryptonopolis : an executive-like mansion similar to the White House on Earth. (World's Finest v1 #146)
• Argo City :
• Scarlet Jungles : Strange moving forests that advanced in yearly migrations with the only safety being underneath them in tunnels until they had passed. (Superman v1 164)
• Cloud Castle :
• Xan : a long deserted city built by an ancient race. (Superman v1 #282)
• Proto-Tombs of Xan : resting site for the remains of the Xan civilisation. (Superman: The Man of Steel v1 #111)
• Fire-Geysers : also known as the Three Sisters of Krypton as they always burst together and were regarded as a national monument. (World's Finest v1 #146)
• Jewel Mountains : they became the source of the proverb "every tiny diamond thinks it outshines the Jewel Mountains". (World's Finest v1 #146)
• Gorvan Shore : the hills were home to a plant that could be used to brew Thoni Tea. (Superman v1 #669)
• Ansomlands : home to Karsta Wor-Ul. (Superman v1 #669)
• Glass Forest : a forest of trees that were composed of glass which were harvested by glassmen. (Superman v1 #275)
• Eiu Sea : near its shore was a jungle. (Superman v1 #352)
• Striped River : a river where fathers and sons fished for Grosks in a practice known as Grosking. (Superman v1 #360)
• Vathlo Island : home of a highly developed black race. (Superman v1 #239)
• Glass Forest : (Superman v1 #239)
• Boiling Sea : (Superman v1 #239)
• Jerat : a ghost city. (Superman v1 #239) It was abandoned where it came to be used by criminals who stored the stolen Golden Goddess of Kryptonopolis in it but the city was shrunken and taken by Brainiac-A. (World's Finest v1 #158)
• Antarctic City : built under the ice shelf. (Superman v1 #239)
• Mt. Mundru : highest peak on Krypton. (Superman v1 #239)
• Erkol : oldest city on Krypton. (Superman v1 #239)
• Fungus Caverns : (Superman v1 #239)
• Orvai :
• Surrus :

The capital of Krypton was noted as a metropolis composed of the many guilds on the planet. (Superman: Secret Origin v1 #1) Education was not considered lightly by the people of Krypton with massive institutions dedicated for learning being erected in every city each of which had a centuries old tradition in learning. (World of Krypton v1 #1)

A mineral by the name of Xuthful was a rare ore on the planet. (Superman: The Man of Steel v1 #111) Certain rocks on the planet were known as exploding stones that contained natural chemicals which caused them to burst upon impact when thrown. (Superman v1 #356)

The planet was known to had once possessed two moons in its sky. (Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane v1 #21) Another world native to the solar system was Ostok situated on the opposite side of the red sun and had a native humanoid race obsessed with competitive sport who regularly challenged Krypton in such games. (Action Comics v1 #574)

A number of native life forms populated the planet which included:

• Crystal Birds : these gigantic crystalline avian's once populated the skies of ancient Krypton where in prehistoric times swarms of these birds congregated to the site of the mountains instinctively to die where their skeletons formed the living Jewel Mountains. (Action Comics v1 #310)
• Octosaur :
• Thought-Beast :
• Drang : large purple skinned serpentine creatures whose skin could ricochet bullets whilst the beasts had the power of flight and possessing a horn who long ago wreaked havoc on Krypton till they were stopped whereupon the Drang eggs were launched to another world to support them. (Action Comics v1 #303)
• Snagriff :
• Oourba-Beast : a purple skinned quadruped creature much stronger than a Kryptonian man that had an energised tail that it used to strike prey with repeated stings leaving them senseless. (Superman v1 #361)
• Silten : an algae that was harvested by Kryptonians to eat to sustenance themselves. (Superman v1 #268)
• Droth : voracious birds that moved in swarms and feasted on the Silten in the sea. (Superman v1 #268)
• Kiri-Bird : small birds that could repeat sounds given to them. (Superman v1 #275)
• Whirltop Tree : a large tree whose branches snatched those near it if they passed on the non-shady side but pressing the middle root will cause it to release its prey. (Superman v1 #352)
• Gronya : a Kryptonian vegetation similar to mushrooms. (Superman v1 #367)
• Bloodmorel : also known as Avarel Uthotis was native to the Scarlet Jungle that was a unusual and dangerous fungus whose preferred growth medium was in blood. Its spores permeated the skin and thrived within the bloodstream causing fear, bouts of incapacitation, hallucinations, chronic exertion and death in 92% of cases. (DC Comics Presents v1 #85)
• Scarlet Spinner : a red skinned spider that was able to spin webs. (Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane v1 #69)
• Iron Beetle : noted for having a magnetic shell. (Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane v1 #69)
• Horned Repeller : a long insect that had no sense of smell and had an anti-magnetic aura able to repel any metal such as that within an Iron Beetle or even Kryptonite. This was actually the adolescent and when it went through its growth process it metamorphosed into the Glow-Moth. (Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane v1 #69)
• Needle-Fly : a flight capable insect with a long sharp proboscis. (Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane v1 #69)
• Battle Bug : noted for being one of the toughest insects known. (Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane v1 #69)
• Chemi-Ant : an insect that knocked out its enemies with its sickeningly sweet fumes. (Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane v1 #69)
• Wedding Bell Bush : a plant with blue bell-shaped blossoms that made real music when a breeze hit them. (Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane v1 #21)
• Moon Rose : a plant that bloomed on the shadow side of the Jewel Mountains. (Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps v1 #39)

Inhabitants

• Kryptonite Man : male ruler who lived in the predecessor civilization on the planet when it was Ny'l'uyl whose people went underground when a celestial object was predicted to crash on their world. The ruler volunteered to keep watch over his people in stasis until the disaster passed in 20 years but the equipment instead woke him 100,000 years later when the planet was inhabited by the Kryptonians with the world exploding. The ruler could not find his people and only awoke to the planetary destruction where he survived but was infused with Kryptonite with him blaming the Kryptonians for the death of his people. (Superman v1 #397)
• Bertron :
• Doomsday : a genetically engineered male created in prehistoric times by the geneticist Bertron who sent the child repeatedly into the wilderness where he died and was cloned again until his body evolved adaptations to survive his deaths. (Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey v1 #2)
• Ven : male Kryptonian who served as the Director of the learning centre in Kandor who taught three generations of El members. (World of Krypton v1 #1)

Notes

• Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson was asked to help DC Comics in selecting a real-life star that would be an appropriate parent star to Krypton and said that he chose to use real science when finding Krypton's location. He explained that many artists may only use bits and pieces of science, allowing for greater latitude in their creativity, but he wanted to show that using real science, particularly astrophysics, allows for just as much creativity.

In other media

Television

• In Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Krypton was referenced in the setting of the live-action television series. At the end of the third season, it was revealed that a sizable colony survived the planet's destruction. From what was shown of the colony called New Krypton the society had numerous archaic elements, like hereditary rule, arranged marriage for nobles, and trial by combat being legal for nobility. Unlike many incarnations, New Krypton was not isolated from other races as it had starships, including a large vessel that served as its palace with the noble Nor even hiring an assassin from another race to kill Kal-El.
• In Superman: The Animated Series, the planet Krypton was shown in the DC Animated Universe where it made its first appearance in "The Last Son of Krypton". It was home to the highly advanced Kryptonian civilization who were ruled by a planetary council and sought guidance from the artificial intelligence named Brainiac. At some point, they had banished their worst criminals to the Phantom Zone. The scientist Jor-El determined that their world faced impending destruction and tried to warn his people but they refused to believe him as Brainiac dismissed his claims. Jor-El later discovered that Brainiac had hid the truth of Krypton's destruction as the artificial intelligence uploaded himself onto a satellite to save himself. It was then that Krypton exploded but not before sending his newborn son Kal-El on a rocket to safety that headed towards Earth.
• In Supergirl, the planet Krypton was shown in flashbacks where it was the home of both Superman and Supergirl. It faced impending doom many years ago leading to the two heroes being launched to Earth prior to its destruction. The continent of Urrika was said to be where life began on this world with the inhabitants developing glyph language known as Low Speech with their symbols predating recorded history. Its people were known as the Juru who were matriarchal tribal society that were polytheistic whose sun god became the basis of Rao who came to be worshipped by all the tribes. In time, the ruling council of Krypton destroyed much of Krypton's so-called superstitions.
• In Krypton, the planet Krypton featured in the live-action television series set on that world two generations prior to its destruction. It was shown as being inhabited by the advanced Kryptonian civilisation that had no contact with alien life and its people resided in domed cities with the rest of the surface appear as frozen wastelands. They had a number of gods that they had worshipped over the years including Cythonna, Telle, Lorra, Mordo, Yuda and Rao who came to be regarded as the one true supreme deity of their pantheon worshipped above all the others with a theocracy forming on the planet headed by the Voice of Rao.
• In My Adventures with Superman, Krypton was referenced in the setting of the animated television series.

Films

• In Superman Returns, Krypton appeared in the 2006 live-action film where it featured as a destroyed planetoid. Its remains were discovered by scientists on Earth with Superman departing for five years to travel to his destroyed homeworld.
• In Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, Krypton's destruction was shown during a flashback sequence in the animated film adaptation of the comic storyline with it revealed that Superman's cousin Kara Zor-El was another survivor of their homeworld.
• In Superman: Unbound, Krypton was shown in flashback sequences in the animated film. The ancient world inhabited by the advanced Kryptonians was attacked by the supervillain Brainiac who captured the capital of Kandor and shrunk it into a Bottle City many years before the planets destruction.
• In Man of Steel, Krypton made an appearance in the live-action film set in the DC Extended Universe. It was home to the ancient and highly advanced Kryptonian civilization with their world suffering from a planetary core collapse due to extensive mining. This caused the near extinction of the Kryptonians with Kal-El along with the Phantom Zone being the few survivors.

Video games

• In Injustice 2, Krypton appeared in the campaign mode setting of the fighting video game. It was shown during flashbacks where the world was invaded by Brainiac who digitised Kandor and Argo City as part of his collection of gathering knowledge. Numerous of his robotic probes were launched where they attacked the native Kryptonians and killed many of the population. To ensure his collection was unique, Brainiac destabilised the planet causing it to go into a chain reaction that led to its destruction. Only Kal-El and Kara Zor-El survived the destruction after being launched on ships by their respective parents.

Appearances

• Superman v1:
• Krypton Chronicles v1:
• World of Krypton v1:

Links

Internal Links

• Krypton (Fleischer)
• Krypton (Super Friends)
• Krypton (Films)
• Krypton (Lois and Clark)
• Krypton (DC Animated)
• Krypton (Smallville)

External Links

• DC Database Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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