For many years, the only thing DC Comics fans thought about Krypton was that it was the planet that Superman came from that exploded, sending him to Earth. Krypton was first mentioned in Action Comics #1, the very first appearance of Superman. Since that time, it has existed in a variety of locations and has had several different appearances over the decades. There were even a couple of major cities on Krypton, including the capital city of Kandor, being part of the Brainiac storyline. Newer stories had another major city called Argo City in the Supergirl stories. Each of the stories slightly changes Krypton ever so much.
Here is a look at the five best depictions of Krypton in DC Comics, from the original home of Superman to the recent changes in Absolute Superman.
5) Absolute Krypton from Absolute Superman
Image Courtesy of DC Comics
Absolute Superman is the latest Elseworld Superman story and part of an overall effort for DC Comics to create a new line, similar to that of the Marvel Comics Ultimate Universe. The Absolute world has included new origins and stories for Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, and many others. This change also updated their side characters and origins, and that included a new look at Krypton.
Instead of the utopian society that classic Superman comics presented, with a highly advanced people, it was instead a planet full of castes, a rigid and stratified society. While it was advanced, it was also very corrupt, and it was the highly advanced people who caused the event that destroyed the planet. It is a lot more relatable thanks to today’s social situations on Earth, and it holds a deeper meaning.
4) Argo City in Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow
Image Courtesy of DC Comics
Supergirl’s origin story was a big reason why she turned out so different from Superman in the DCU. This story was told in the comic book series Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, and it involves the slow death of her Kryptonian city of Argo City. This city made its first appearance way back in Action Comics #252, and it was Supergirl’s father, Zor-El, who built the protective dome around the city to protect it from destruction.
When Krypton exploded, this saved Argo City, and it floated through space for decades. However, a meteor swarm hit the dome, and soon radioactivity began seeping into the city. Everyone slowly began to die, and Zor-El was able to save his daughter by shooting her to Earth to keep her safe. For years, Krypton exploding was the mainstay in DC Comics, but seeing a city surviving only to die slowly made Supergirl’s story even more tragic.
3) “For the Man who Has Everything” Krypton
Image Courtesy of DC Comics
Arguably, the greatest Superman story that ever involved Krypton was in Superman Annual #11. This was “For the Man Who Has Everything,” and it had Wonder Woman, Batman, and Robin showing up at the Fortress of Solitude for Superman’s birthday, only to find him in a trance, a trap set by Mongul. Written by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, this had Superman in a dream world where Skypton never exploded, and he had a family.
Superman’s dad was still alive, he was married and had a son of his own, and he lived a happy life. However, it was one in a Krypton world that wasn’t the ideal society from the early days, but one with a strong military presence and a caste system in place. Seeing Superman have to choose real life over this idealized Krypton was heartbreaking, and that helped make this one of the most touching Superman stories ever told.
2) Krypton in Superman: Birthright
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Superman: Birthright is a 12-issue miniseries by Mark Waid and Leinil Francis Yu that goes a long way in reimagining Superman’s origin story. The main story has Clark Kent as a journalist who tries to understand his Kryptonian heritage, which then helps form his worldview. As an immigrant, it really shows Superman in a new light, and one that all started with his story on Krypton.
One big difference about Krypton is that Jor-El almost didn’t send Kal-El to Earth since he was worried about his safety and didn’t want to lose him. It was unlike any other depiction of Jor-El in comic or other forms of entertainment. Birthright also moved Krypton out of the Milky Way galaxy and into the Andromeda Galaxy, 2.5 million light-years away. Birthright is also where the “S” in Superman stood for “hope.” This is also the series where Brainiac stole Kandor and shrank it down for his collection.
1) New Krypton
Image Courtesy of DC Comics
New Krypton was a brilliant idea that began in 2008 and saw Superman and Supergirl finally free Kandor from Brainiac, and this resulted in 100,000 Kryptonians now living near the Fortress of Solitude. Neither the Kryptonians nor the people of Earth want to assimilate, so Kandor’s scientists use Brainiac’s technology to lift Kandor off the Earth, and they move it to the other side of the Solar System, and place it behind the sun, hidden from Earth.
This city is full of violent and vindictive people, but there are also several good Kyrptonians there, including Supergirl, who has chosen to live on Kandar rather than Earth. This was a great storyline because, even far away from Earth, Lex Luthor and General Lane were determined to destroy them, and it finally led to all-out war when Luthor succeeded, and General Zod led an attack.
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