This article is dedicated to my good boy, Riley “Krypto” Dalton, 2009-2023.

The first trailer for James Gunn‘s Superman swept the Internet with its comics accurate tone (Including a bowl-cut sporting Guy Gardner), focus on the Daily Planet, and general hopeful vibes with an electric guitar cover of John Williams’ iconic Superman theme shredding through it all. However, arguably, the most memorable moment of both the trailer and various TV spots was the live action cinematic debut of Krypto the Superdog. Krypto saves a battered and broken Superman and reintroduced this adorable, heroic, and above all, good character to a wider audience. (My youngest sister now knows why I called the family Maltese, Krypto for all those years.)

However, Krypto has been flying, barking, fetching, and biting in the comics since he was co-created by Otto Binder and Curt Swan in 1955’s Adventure Comics #210 where he was a pet for the young Superboy’s adventures in Smallville. Throughout various Crises and continuity resets, Krypto has flown in and out of the comics making memorable appearances alongside Superman and his friends in Alan Moore and Swan’s “What Happened to the Man of Tomorrow” and even in the pages of recent DCeased and Death Metal comics. He even got his own child-friendly Krypto the Superdog graphic novel in 2021 where he teamed up with various other “super pets” like Ace the Bathound, Streaky the Supercat, and Beppo the Monkey against threats like Joker’s hyenas, Lex Luthor’s iguanas, and Penguin’s, well, penguins.

Throughout his appearances from the Silver Age books of the 1950s and 1960s to modern appearances in media like the Titans TV show, DC League of Super Pets, and the upcoming Superman and Supergirl Woman of Tomorrow films, Krypto reminds readers that there’s nothing stronger than the bond between a boy and his dog even if that boy has heat vision and X-ray vision or is a half-human/half-Kryptonian clone of Superman and Lex Luthor.

Here are some of Krypto’s best stories over the years from serious slugfests to more on the cutesy, kid-friendly side.

5. Adventure Comics #210 “The Superdog from Krypton” (1955)

As mentioned earlier, Adventure Comics #210 is the Krypto story that started it all as a young Clark Kent aka Superboy befriends a stray, white dog that can fly and have super strength just like him. Although the Silver Age Superboy comics are mainly known for the utter chaos that its titular character brings to Smallville and cleans up by the end of the issue, Otto Binder and Curt Swan’s story has real emotional resonance like when Krypto licks Superboy’s face after he rescues him from the dog-catchers. Also, Superboy feels less alone and more like “the other fellows” with his new pet dog that he has to bathe in lava and barbed wire because of his super-dense hide. They also build a real rapport as the story progresses with Krypto doing Superboy a solid and flying with his cape so Lana Lang doesn’t find out that Clark Kent and Superboy are the same person. The story concludes with Krypto flying free into space because that’s basically his backyard starting a tradition of Krypto flying into space and not reappearing for years at a time. Because of its timing, Krypto feels like Binder and Swan’s homage to Laika and other dogs that were shot into space by the Soviet Union to test space travel because that’s what his origin is except with Jor-El and Krypton.

4. Scooby-Doo Team-Up #9 “Truth, Justice and Scooby Snacks” (2015)

Sholly Fisch’s Scooby-Doo Team-Up series was one of the most underrated comics of the 2010s. Published as one of DC’s digital-first titles, it was a weekly dose of Saturday morning cartoons with guest stars from all over the DC and Hanna Barbera universes. (The team-up with the Doom Patrol is my personal favorite.) In Scooby-Doo Team-Up #18, Superman is suffering from the effects of Red kryptonite so Mystery Inc. and the staff of the Daily Planet must team up to neutralize him and the Prankster with the help of Krypto the Superdog, who shares plenty of banter with Scooby and his “sidekick” Shaggy. Dario Brizuela handles the art duties, and his style is a wonderful fusion of DC Animated Universe and Hanna Barbera styles that sounds like milk being poured on cereal or smells like Eggos fresh from the toaster. However, Fisch’s script is pure Silver Age featuring the magic lake that gives Lois Lane and/or Lana Lang superpowers, Jimmy Olsen’s Elastic Lad serum (He has his own fan club!), and a plot centered around apes, super pets, and colored kryptonite. Because he actually has superpowers, Krypto takes lead on the actual heroic part of the story, and it’s nice to see him lead a world-saving effort and find friendship with Scooby and the gang in a fun, nostalgic story.

3. Teen Titans (2003) #7 “Wednesday” (2004)

During the 1990s, Krypto disappeared from DC Comics titles with his demise in “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow” acting as his curtain call. There was an ordinary Earth dog named Krypton (Later, Krypto because Bibbo Bibbowski didn’t want to pay for an extra letter on his engraved collar), who appeared in various Super-titles, but he wasn’t the same as the Superdog. However, Joe Kelly and Kano brought back the actual Superdog in the 2001 “Return to Krypton” storyline, and he joined the life of another Superboy, Conner Kent, in Teen Titans #7 from Geoff Johns and Tom Grummett. This comic focuses on the individual Teen Titans on their day off including Conner, who is struggling being an ordinary teenager in Smallville living with Ma and Pa Kent. Superman visits Superboy and shows him some of his old haunts like meteorite-formed craters and trees carved with “CK and LL”. The older hero empathizes with the teenager and reminds him that he wasn’t just a goodie two-shoes growing up. And this is where Krypto comes in as something for Superboy to take care of and bond with. Initially, Conner thinks that having a Superdog will make him the laughing stock of the other young heroes, but a few games of high-flying fetch with tree trunks endears him to Krypto as he gets closer to Superman as well. Johns and Grummett use Krypto’s appearance in Teen Titans #7 to connect Conner Kent to classic Superboy comics while telling a more psychological complex story and showing that Superman is an inspirational figure even to edgy, surly teens.

2. Superman #677-680 “The Coming of Atlas” (2008)

“The Coming of Atlas” is a true Superman (and Krypto) epic that kicked off James Robinson’s run on Superman with a bang. Robinson and artists Renato Guedes and Wilson Magalhaes revive 1975 Jack Kirby creation Atlas as a Doomsday-like physical match for Superman, and it takes an assist from Krypto for the Man of Steel to rally himself and defeat this magically powered foe that is like Conan the Barbarian breaking bad. Krypto appears in the first page of Superman #677 playing catch with Superman and Hal Jordan in space as Superman talks about how much he loves the simple life and, of course, Atlas attacks and obliterates the Science Police while this is going on. Throughout “The Coming of Atlas”, James Robinson and Guedes physically break Superman down with Atlas and other shadowy forces while rebuilding him with the help of Krypto and Zachary Zatara because Robinson hasn’t met a legacy hero he didn’t love. I love that James Robinson gets into Krypto’s headspace with monosyllabic captions and the fierce, protective behavior of a dog that loves his owner, but isn’t afraid to get a little mean and mischievous at times. Finally, Superman #680 doesn’t wrap up with Krypto ignominiously slinking away into space, but Superman gives a speech in front of all Metropolis about how he saved the day. At least from the trailer, it seems like a lot of Krypto’s characterization in the 2025 Superman film comes from this story arc, and Robinson definitely would appreciate the appearance of a lot of B and C-list heroes.

1. Super Sons Annual #1 “Animal Planet” (2017)

The best Krypto story is Super Sons Annual #1 by Peter Tomasi and Paul Pelletier where he, Ace the Bat-Hound, Bat-Cow, and Detective Chimp reassemble the Legion of Superpets to bust a petnapping ring in Gotham City. I love the parallels that Tomasi and Pelletier draw between Ace and Krypto and Jon Kent and Damian Wayne’s interactions that extends into the love-hate relationship between Krypto and Streaky the Super-Cat as well as the wacky parrot Flexi, who makes his first appearance in this comic. (A parrot with Plastic Man-type powers is a genius idea, and I won’t hear any detractors.) There isn’t a lot of dialogue in Super Sons Annual so Pelletier’s hilarious visuals do most of the heavy lifting, and there are lots of memorable moments like Krypto carrying Ace while he flies like Superman sometimes does with Batman. The villain is alien who wants to set pets free, but he really just has cages for them in his spaceship and is exposed as a hypocrite. It’s fun to watch Krypto work in a group dynamic with Peter Tomasi and Paul Pelletier embracing the silliness of the Silver Age while showing the ability of comics to flesh out characters without words. Super Sons Annual is a highlight of one of the best DC Rebirth series while being an iconic story for Krypto and his canine, bovine, feline, and avian friends as they save the day while the human heroes sleep.