Having preferred Batman for the majority of my life, I have to admit that I might never have been as excited to see Superman as I am now if it were not for the inclusion of one fan-favorite character: Krypto. Watching the first trailer for the new Superman movie – found on our upcoming 2025 movies schedule with a July 11 release date – and seeing that scruffy, red-caped good boy carry Man of Steel (David Corenswet) through the snow really warmed my heart and made me wish the upcoming DC movie was hitting theaters even sooner.
In fact, it made me interested in watching other great superhero movies and TV shows and reading DC comic books in which the Superdog comes in to save the day… or at least makes a fun and memorable appearance. Comic book fans and dog lovers like me might be anticipating James Gunn’s Superman more than ever after hearing about some of these fun and thrilling facts I learned about Krypto.
(Image credit: DC Comics)
Krypto Has Some Stronger Abilities Than Superman
Created by writer Otto Binder and illustrator Curt Swan, Krypto the Superdog made his DC Comics debut in March 1955 in Adventure Comics #210, in which he goes on an adventure with the younger Clark Kent’s alter ego, Superboy. According to Michael Eury’s 2006 book, The Krypton Companion, the pup was intended to be a one-off character until positive reception led to a swift reprise just four issues later and he began making further regular appearances. Eventually, he would become a valued companion to the Man of Steel’s adult form on missions to save the world.
Something I find especially lovable and interesting about Krypto is that, in addition to possessing many of the same powers as Superman (including flight, super strength, and lasers emitted from the eyes), there are few things that he can do better than Supes himself. Much like how a normal dog has a greater sense of smell and hearing than an average human being, he outweighs the Man of Steel in those particular areas. So, the dog especially comes in handy in helping detect trouble from afar.
(Image credit: Warner Bros. / DC)
Krypto Is Very Protective Of Superman
With all the time and effort that Superman puts into protecting the human race, there has to be someone who can look after the superhero every once in a while. That is why I find it adorable and admirable when Krypto comes to his aid against potential threats. There is plenty of evidence of the Superdog putting his owner’s well-being before his own throughout the comics but some of the most potent examples that I found come from two of the best DC animated movies in recent memory.
In 2010’s Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, Clark Kent (Tim Daly) and Bruce Wayne (Kevin Conroy, one of the best Batman voice actors) bring Clark’s never-before-seen cousin, Kara (Summer Glau) to the Fortress of Solitude, where the dog greets her with a suspicious growl. A similar instance occurs in Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons from 2022, in which the superheroes’ respective children, Jonathan Kent (Jack Dylan Grazer) and Damian Wayne (Jack Griffo), meet Krypto for the first time when they are forced to break into the Fortress and find that he fiercely serves as its guard.
(Image credit: Warner Bros. Pictures)
Krypto Is A Team Player
Speaking as the owner of two dogs who often struggle to play well with fellow canines and even with each other at times, it is refreshing to see a pooch as collaborative as Krypto. In addition to fighting for Team Superman and even the Justice League and the Titans, he is part of two animal crimefighting organizations – namely the League of Super-Pets and the Space Canine Patrol Agents, which are made up of extraterrestrial animals like himself.
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The former team was the focus of the 2022 animated film, DC League of Super-Pets, which starred Dwayne Johnson as the voice of Krypto, alongside Kevin Hart as Ace the Bathound. The dog would also team up with Mystery Inc. in a movie from 2023 aptly titled, Scooby-Doo! and Krypto, Too!, in which the gang of young sleuths are enlisted to help when the Justice League goes missing as the League of Doom runs amok on Metropolis.
(Image credit: DC Comics)
Krypto Also Has His Enemies
Because Krypto is best known for providing support to Superman, I love that DC Comics has given Krypto the opportunity to face a number of villains on his own. In fact, he has his own arch-nemesis in Destructo, who is the pet dog of Superman’s arch-nemesis, Lex Luthor. I wonder if we should expect to see him appear alongside Nicholas Hoult’s version of Lex in Superman.
Of course, and thankfully so, Krypto has also taken on a few non-animal foes, such as a powerful metahuman known as Atlas. He retaliates against the villain for very nearly destroying the Man of Steel in writer James Robinson’s 2008 comic, Superman: The Coming of Atlas.
(Image credit: Warner Bros. / DC)
Above All, Krypto Is A Loving Pet Like Any Other
While his superpowers are certainly pretty cool, the true Number One reason I have a soft spot for Krypto is the sense of companionship he shows toward Superman like any other pet should for their owner. One iteration that I think wonderfully demonstrates this about him is his self-titled animated series, Krypto the Superdog, which ran for two seasons on Cartoon Network with Sam Vincent in the title role.
The series depicts him as the same powerful being we know from the comics but also shows him having kinship toward a human boy named Kevin Whitney (Alberto Ghisi), who becomes his partial owner. I sense that same loving connection in the new version from James Gunn’s Superman in the way he giddily approaches Clark and licks his face in the trailer.
Then again, Gunn told IGN that Superman’s version of Krypto is not quite like the pooch we saw in the teaser, and in the full film he’s a “pretty terrible dog,” whom the filmmaker based on his own rambunctious pet, Ozu. Well, plenty of dog parents can surely relate to that sort of experience, and for that reason, I imagine I will appreciate his depiction in the upcoming superhero movie even more than I anticipated.