Who is Krypto the Superdog?

Rob's favorite image of Krypto

As a superhero fan, and a dog dad, it's likely no surprise that Superman's dog Krypto is one of my favorite characters! If you don't know who he is, you will once you read this blog!

WHO IS KRYPTO? When Superman (Kal-El) was an infant on the planet Krypton, Krypto was his family dog. As explained in his first appearance, Krypto was originally the toddler Kal-El's dog while they were on Krypton. Superman's father, Jor-El, testing prototypes for the rocket that would eventually send Kal-El to Earth, decided to use Krypto as a test subject. However, Krypto's rocket was knocked off-course; the rocket drifted through space for years until it eventually landed on Earth, where Krypto was reunited with the now-teenaged superhero, Superboy. Krypto is a DC Comics character.

WHAT DOES HE LOOK LIKE? Krypto is a white dog of generic pedigree. When fighting crime, Krypto usually wore a gold collar, a miniature facsimile of the famed Superman-"S" symbol for a dog tag, and a dog-sized version of Superman's cape.

Krypto 1st appearance (w/Superboy) Adventure Comics #210 (1955).  

SUPER-POWERS: Due to the environment (Earth's yellow sun and lower gravity), Krypto possessed the same powers and abilities as his master, although his physical abilities were proportionate to his smaller size and species, similar to an ordinary dog vs. a human. Certain sensory abilities of Krypto's (senses of smell and hearing) would be more acute than those of Superman, just as an ordinary dog's senses would be more acute than those of an ordinary human. Krypto also had super-canine intelligence (approximately human level, though with his canine traits and interests still present); the comics expressed this via the use of thought balloons indicating what Krypto was thinking.

FIRST APPEARANCE: Krypto's first appearance was in a Superboy story in Adventure Comics #210 where he was created by Otto Binder and Curt Swan.

Krypto even got his own comic book for a short time in 2006!