I’m amused that even Krypto the Superdog, who will appear for the first time in live action in the upcoming Superman James Gunn film, has his own fans supporting him!
As the release of the Superman motion picture draws nearer (July 11, 2025), I have noticed that Krypto, who will appear in the film (both in live action and in CGI) is proving to be very popular among fans of the movie! Some admirers are even liking the Dog of Steel more than his owner, the Man of Steel!
Now, I’ve often mentioned my reservations about this film in this column, but I do have to admit that bringing Krypto into the fray has me more intrigued!
Granted, this isn’t the first time Krypto has shown up in DC books and animation. His debut appearance took place in Adventure Comics #210, which was released in March of 1955. (He’s almost as old as I am, for pity’s sake!) At that time, the editor of the Superman line was looking for ways to increase the surrounding cast of the Man of Steel, so Krypto was developed. He was intended to be a one-time thing, but the audience enjoyed him too much to let him fade away into obscurity! I mean, I’m a dog guy as well, so that’s been one of my favorite parts of the Superman mythos!
There are just far too many appearances for the Dog of Steel for me to mention here (for more, go to this Wikipedia page), but let me point out a few of his highlights!
The planet Krypton was described as having a parallel development, which is why that world also had dogs, cats, birds, and monkeys. When Jor-El and Lara were preparing to send Kal to Earth, they followed the pattern that happens often here on Earth—they sent a trial ship into space to see how it would work. Unfortunately for them, the rocket was knocked off-course by meteors and drifted through space, landing on Earth about 10 years later. Apparently, Krypto didn’t age during that time, and he immediately returned to Kal’s side. The bad news was that now he had super-powers he was unused to having, so he kept getting Superboy in trouble. When he wasn’t being kept busy by Kal-El, Krypto mostly contented himself by “romping” through space, having his own adventures wherever he went.
As with most other comics trends, the popularity of Krypto prompted the development of other “super-pets,” and they eventually formed the Legion of Super-Pets, including Krypto, Streaky the Supercat, Comet the Superhorse, and Bibbo the Supermonkey. Krypto was also a member of the Space Canine Patrol Agents (abbreviated SCPA, close to the SPCA organization’s name). That group of dogs each had a unique power or ability, like the Legion of Super-Heroes.
Much like Bandit in the Jonny Quest animated series, Krypto is something of a puzzle to comics creators. If he is too “human,” then he’s a replacement for Superman, Supergirl, or others. If he’s not understandable enough, he’s uninteresting.
This is likely why, after the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Krypto was at first not around. When he next appeared, he was a normal dog belonging to human bar owner Bibbo Bibbowski. Without powers, though, he couldn’t be around the bad guys much, so he was left to stay in the care of Hillary, a young neighbor he likes.
However, in the early 2000s, Krypto was re-introduced as a trap from Brainiac 13. When Superman overcomes this foe, Krypto follows him to Earth. He doesn’t cuddle up to everyone he meets, taking a dislike to Supergirl and the new Superboy at first. He soon ends up with Jimmy Olsen thanks to his signal watch. He’s helped Batman a time or two as well, which I found odd but compelling.
As I previously mentioned, Krypto has come and gone in the comics, but the Superdog has fared better in cartoons and the like.
I really enjoyed the animated series called Krypto the Superdog that appeared on Cartoon Network mornings at 9 a.m. Krypto is adopted by a young boy named Kevin Whitney, with Superman’s approval. They go on several adventures, but my favorite episodes included Ace the Bat-hound and the Dog Star Patrol (similar to the SPCA in the comics).
I also really liked the animated movie DC League of Super-Pets, which had Dwayne Johnson provide Krypto’s voice. Krypto even has a secret identity of “Bark Kent.” That tickled me, for some reason! I wish they would do more of that! DC did release a comic based on what happened following the film, so I wouldn’t even mind more of that!
An honorary mention goes to the live-action Titans series, which featured a larger, more active version of Krypto, who ends up with Superboy as they meet the Man of Steel.
As I understand it, Krypto in the Gunn film is based on a dog named Ozu that he adopted while writing the movie. I’m giving this Krypto the benefit of the doubt, but I was unhappy when he jumped on an already-injured Superman. Was he being playful? Most of the dogs I’ve ever had were much more sympathetic, more in tune with what humans are actually feeling. If I was flat on the ground and calling for help, I don’t think any dog I’ve had in my life would end up making things worse! Maybe that’s just because I’ve mostly been around Rat Terriers or Min Pins. Krypto doesn’t look like any breed even close to that!
I’m hoping Krypto will be much more in tune with Superman after (or even before) that sequence. Dogs are supposed to be “man’s best friend,” after all!
Oddly enough, among my friends, both online and in “real” life, they are all after the Krypto action figure, which I’ve seen the commercial for. Granted, whenever there has been an animal in a sci-fi or comics show, the action figure for that creature has been rare (usually only one per box or so), so you don’t have to be a Krypto fan to be searching for it.
I understand that there will also be several live-action shorts featuring Krypto after the Gunn film debuts. Given that we won’t be able to understand what the Dog of Steel is thinking, they need short and simple plots, for sure!
Some of my friends who are not all that excited about the film often tell me they think Krypto is actually more popular than the David Corenswet version of the Man of Steel. While that may indeed be true, I think they may be letting their biases show! But we’ll see!
What do you think? Does Krypto make you more interested or less interested in the upcoming Superman movie? Will he still be around after this film concludes, or will he take off for his own adventures in space, like the comic? Is this the beginning of more “super-pet” live action adventures? Whatever your opinion, be sure to share it in the space below!
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Wayne Hall creates the Wayne's Comics Podcast. He’s interviewed Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, John Layman, Kyle Higgins, Phil Hester, Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray, David Petersen, Christos Gage, Mike Grell, and Matt Kindt. On this site each week, he writes his "Comics Portal" column (general comics comments and previews) and reviews comics.