Krypto! The Superdog

Krypto!

I have the key to how the DC Extended Universe (you know, Warner Bros.’ attempt at catching up to what Marvel is doing with their characters on the silver screen) can instantly rise to the top. Forget Jason Momoa’s Aquaman; forget Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman; and especially forget about letting Zack Snyder take the reins on the whole franchise. If there’s one thing that could save DC and the WB’s attempts, it’s this: Krypto the super-dog. You see, even Marvel isn’t that crazy that they would let a white dog of unknown breed with superpowers take center stage in their movies, so DC can instantly corner that market. And I’m not talking about some watered down animated home video release with a relatively low budget; I’m talking about the Warner Bros. emptying their vault and putting it all into this movie about Krypto. That would be the dream.

The thing is, even superhero comics have taken itself too seriously that Krypto doesn’t even appear much anymore within the pages of comics (or most animals with superpowers, for that matter). And DC isn’t the only one to blame here; even Marvel seems to have placed all their super critters back in the shelter. That is, except for Lockjaw, of course, and I’m thankful for that. Still, I think it’s time they brought back this trend. Comics are supposed to be fun. Now, let’s go back to Krypto and my fascination with this super dog.

This heroic canine is actually a product of the golden age of comics. Created in 1955 by the legendary writer Otto Binder and THE Superman artist, Curt Swan, Krypto first endeared fans within the pages of Adventure Comics #210. However, 70 years is indeed a long time, and people’s tastes change. In this case, it changed for the worse. Because, during those early years Krypto was more of a supporting character – thanks mainly to DC’s aggressive initiative to push more Superman-themed characters around. After the whole trend died down, though, the last dog of Krypton became what was natural for a character like it to be: a novelty that appears here and there in very minor roles in DC’s stories. Sadder still is the fact that DC really seems to be trying their hardest to put down Krypto, what with from becoming a novelty, the canine with the cape has now turned more into a memento that is only shown on the page as an Easter egg to get a few “oohs” and “aahs” from balding middle-aged nerds.

To be completely fair, though, there was one issue of Adventure Comics published less than a decade ago where Krypto appeared in a one-off story as a main character. After that, though, the New 52 came and it was back to the sidelines for the Super mutt again. Still, I am holding out some hope that that won’t be the case in the future. Krypto, along with all the other goofball concepts in comics, can still have a place in today’s all too serious superhero comic book landscape.