Krypton (comics)
| Krypton | |
|---|---|
Map of Krypton
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Flag of Krypton
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| Race(s) | Kryptonians |
| Notable locations |
Argo City Kandor Kryptonopolis Vathlo Island |
| Notable characters |
Superman Supergirl The Eradicator Jor-El General Zod Doomsday |
| First appearance |
Superman #1 (Summer 1939) |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
Krypton, a planet in the DC Universe and the native world of Superman, is named after the element krypton, which is abundant in its atmosphere. Krypton is also the native world of Supergirl, Krypto the Superdog, and Power Girl (in her case, an alternate-universe version designated "Krypton-Two"). It has been consistently described as having been destroyed just after Superman's flight from the planet, although the exact details of its destruction vary by time period, writers, and franchise. Kryptonians were the dominant species on Krypton.
The planet was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, and was first referred to in Action Comics #1 (June 1938). The planet made its first full appearance in Superman #1 (Summer 1939).
Krypton is usually portrayed in comics as having exploded as a result of a nuclear chain reaction caused by the planet's unstable radioactive core (which created kryptonite, deadly to Superman). As originally depicted, all the civilizations and races of Krypton perished in the explosion, with one exception: the baby Kal-El who was placed in an escape rocket by his father, Jor-El, and sent to the planet Earth, where he grew up to become Superman.
In some versions of the Superman mythos, additional survivors were later discovered, such as Krypto the Superdog, Supergirl, her parents (kept alive in the "Survival Zone", a similar parallel "dimension" to the Phantom Zone), the criminal inhabitants of the Phantom Zone, Dev-Em, Beppo the Super-Monkey, the residents of the bottled city of Kandor, and the real parents of both Superman and Supergirl.
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