Kryptonian
Encyclopedia
Kryptonians are a fictional extraterrestrial race of the DC Comics universe who hail from the planet Krypton
Krypton (comics)
Krypton is a fictional planet in the DC Comics universe, and the native world of the super-heroes Superman and, in some tellings, Supergirl and Krypto the Superdog. Krypton has been portrayed consistently as having been destroyed just after Superman's flight from the planet, with exact details of...

. The term originated from the stories of DC Comics superhero, Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...

. The stories also use "Kryptonian" as an adjective to refer to anything created by or associated with the planet itself or the culture that existed on it.

Members of the dominant species of the planet Krypton are indistinguishable from human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...

s, but their biology is much more complex. The cellular structure of Kryptonians allows for solar energy to be absorbed at extremely high levels. On the planet Krypton, whose sun
Rao (comics)
Rao is a fictional star in the DC Comics Universe. It is the red supergiant that the planet Krypton orbited....

 was a red supergiant
Red supergiant
Red supergiants are supergiant stars of spectral type K or M. They are the largest stars in the universe in terms of volume, although they are not the most massive...

 with a relatively low energy output, their physical abilities were essentially the same as humans. When exposed to a yellow star like Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...

's Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...

, which has a vastly higher energy output, their bodies are able to absorb and process so much energy that it eventually manifests as vast superhuman powers (such as flight, super strength, x-ray vision, super speed, invulnerability, heat vision and superhearing
Powers and abilities of Superman
The powers of DC Comics character Superman have changed a great deal since his introduction in the 1930s. The extent of his powers peaked during the 1970s and 1980s to the point where various writers found it difficult to create suitable challenges for the character...

).

Nearly all Kryptonians were killed when the planet exploded shortly after the infant Kal-El was sent to Earth. In some continuities, he is the planet's only survivor.

Physiology & Powers

Kryptonians are indistinguishable from humans; this allows Kal-El to lead a double life as Clark Kent
Clark Kent
Clark Kent is a fictional character created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Appearing regularly in stories published by DC Comics, he debuted in Action Comics #1 and serves as the civilian and secret identity of the superhero Superman....

. In the first stories about Superman's origins, all Kryptonians possess superstrength, superspeed, superhearing, superbreath (vortex/arctic), supervision (telescopic/microscopic), x-ray vision, heat vision, flight, and invulnerability. In later depictions, their abilities are attributed to the differences between Earth's gravity and that of Krypton as well as the difference in the stars which they orbit. When in the vicinity of solar stars such as a yellow, blue or white star, Kryptonians utilize solar energy on the cellular level to achieve abilities unattainable by ordinary human beings. Kryptonians are also given different abilities from the light of dwarf stars, pulsars, and quasars. Some stories also show that Kryptonians have bioelectric fields that surround their bodies and protect them from harm. This field may be controlled: flight, super strength, super speed, super breath, super endurance, super hearing, super vision, super intelligence, x-ray vision, heat vision, invulnerability, and healing factor. Such may or may not be the method by which Kryptonians fly. On occasion they have been depicted with "tactile telekinesis:" with this variation include Conner Kent
Superboy (Kon-El)
Superboy is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the DC Comics universe. A modern update of the original Superboy, who is a younger version of Superman, the character first appeared in Adventures of Superman #500 , and was created by writer Karl Kesel and artist Tom Grummett.Originally...

 and Chris Kent
Chris Kent (comics)
Christopher Kent is a fictional character, a Kryptonian in the , who first appeared in Action Comics #844 , the first part of the Action Comics story arc "Superman: Last Son". Created by Richard Donner and Geoff Johns, he is the biological son of General Zod and Ursa, and the foster son of Clark...

. Phantom Zone
Phantom Zone
The Phantom Zone is a fictional prison dimension featured in the Superman comic books and related media published by DC Comics. It first appeared in Adventure Comics #283 , and was created by Robert Bernstein and George Papp...

 criminals have also demonstrated telekinesis. The abilities of Kryptonians are made more powerful by the passage of time, as such, the older the Kryptonian, the more powerful he/she is.

Mating between Kryptonians and other species is difficult, as Kryptonian DNA is complex enough to make them nearly unable to conceive with most of the other species in the universe, this including humans. Regardless of this, it is not impossible for them to mate with other species. The only notable exception is represented by the native Daxam
Daxam
Daxam is a planet within the DC Universe. It is home to a race called the Daxamites, who are descended from Kryptonian colonists.-History:Daxamites were originally Kryptonians who left their homeworld in order to explore the Universe. They are an intensely xenophobic race, and are fearful of alien...

ite population, a race of non-powered people found by the Kryptonian explorers later known as Daxamites themselves, upon relocating on the planet and co-inhabiting it peacefully with the natives. The Kryptonian explorers found themselves able to breed, and conceive viable offspring with the Native Daxamite, thus leading to the birth of a new, Kryptonian-like race with only minor differences from the parent race, including the ability to breed with a larger number of humanoid races, including human beings from the planet Earth. It is still unknown if other races may exhibit the same degree of compatibility of the Native Daxamites

Super powered Kryptonians are vulnerable to kryptonite
Kryptonite
Kryptonite is a fictional material from the Superman mythos —the ore form of a radioactive element from Superman's home planet of Krypton. It is famous for being the ultimate physical weakness of Superman, and the word kryptonite has since become synonymous with an Achilles' heel —the one weakness...

, radioactive remnants of Krypton, magic, and black holes.

Culture

Kryptonians are a highly technologically advanced people. Their technology is based on self-grown crystals which covered the vast majority of their planet's surface. Vast amounts of data and information can be stored on relatively small crystals. The Fortress of Solitude
Fortress of Solitude
The Fortress of Solitude is the occasional headquarters of Superman in DC Comics. Its predecessor, Superman's "Secret Citadel", first appeared in Superman #17, where it was said to be built into a mountain on the outskirts of Metropolis...

 is often portrayed as a recreation of Krypton's surface, also serving as a storehouse for all the knowledge obtained by the Kryptonian race.

Each Kryptonian family, or House, is represented by a pictographic crest or symbol, often worn by the head of the house. According to the Superman movie and sequels, the House of El, for example, is represented by a shape similar to the English letter "S". Superman wears this same symbol on his costume, which therefore serves a dual purpose: it displays his Kryptonian heritage as well as functioning as the "S" for Superman.

The different Houses were also broken up into a loosely based caste system as well. The scientist and warrior castes tended to be the most important. The different castes lived in buildings with different architectural styles; representing various styles throughout Krypton's history.

Kryptonian society was severely xenophobic. This is a convenient way to explain why no other Kryptonian left the planet before Kal-El. Non-superpowered Kryptonians are genetically dependent to their home planet. Kryptonians are evolutionarily related to Daxamites, who are severely xenophobic themselves. The Daximites remain that way up through the 31st century.

Kryptonian Law did not believe in capital punishment. Instead, the worst criminals were sent to the Phantom Zone. This was done without understanding the nature of the zone, its danger to the imprisoned, and the presence of exits.

Rao was the name of Krypton's Red sun. It was worshiped by many Kryptonians as a god (albeit in a more scientific way as the giver of all life on the planet).

While many Kryptonians wear brightly colored clothes on a daily basis, formal occasions such as funerals, and certain council meetings require everyone to wear white. The white formal clothes are often luminescent.

Comics

For most of Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...

's published history, Kryptonian writing was represented by random, alien-looking squiggles. In the 1970s, E. Nelson Bridwell
E. Nelson Bridwell
Edward Nelson Bridwell was a writer for Mad magazine and various comic books published by DC Comics. One of the writers for the Batman comic strip and Super Friends, he also wrote The Inferior Five, among other comics...

 attempted to rationalize these squiggles into a 118-letter alphabet
Alphabet
An alphabet is a standard set of letters—basic written symbols or graphemes—each of which represents a phoneme in a spoken language, either as it exists now or as it was in the past. There are other systems, such as logographies, in which each character represents a word, morpheme, or semantic...

, referring to the language as "Kryptonese." This standardized alphabet was then used by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...

 until John Byrne's 1986 "reboot" of the Superman universe.

In 2000, DC introduced a transliteration
Transliteration
Transliteration is a subset of the science of hermeneutics. It is a form of translation, and is the practice of converting a text from one script into another...

 alphabet
Alphabet
An alphabet is a standard set of letters—basic written symbols or graphemes—each of which represents a phoneme in a spoken language, either as it exists now or as it was in the past. There are other systems, such as logographies, in which each character represents a word, morpheme, or semantic...

 for the written language, dropping the "Kryptonese" moniker in favor of the more commonly assumed "Kryptonian." All such writing appearing in the comic books is actually just the language of publication (English in the USA & UK, French in France, etc.) written using this transliteration alphabet to replace the native alphabet with a one-to-one correspondence, in a similar fashion to Interlac
Interlac
In the DC Comics fictional universe, Interlac is the designated communication language of the 30th century United Planets.In its basic form it is a simple one-to-one substitution cipher. The Interlac alphabet corresponds perfectly to the twenty-six letters of the Latin alphabet and the numbering...

 in Legion of Super-Heroes
Legion of Super-Heroes
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 30th and 31st centuries of the . The team first appears in Adventure Comics #247 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....

.

Smallville

On the television series Smallville
Smallville (TV series)
Smallville is an American television series developed by writers/producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar based on the DC Comics character Superman, originally created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The television series was initially broadcast by The WB Television Network , premiering on October...

, depictions of the written Kryptonian language began, primarily, with English transliterated into the official Kryptonian transliteration font - mirroring the practice of the comics. The style of these depictions has since evolved over the life of the series from decipherable transliterated writing to a more stylized (and indiscernible) form. In the process, an increasing amount of logographic
Logogram
A logogram, or logograph, is a grapheme which represents a word or a morpheme . This stands in contrast to phonograms, which represent phonemes or combinations of phonemes, and determinatives, which mark semantic categories.Logograms are often commonly known also as "ideograms"...

 components have been added with symbols that have been explained to represent words, ideas, or names.

In the episode "Gemini
Smallville (season 7)
Season seven of Smallville, an American television series, began airing on September 27, 2007. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman...

," a character muttering in an unconscious state is revealed to be speaking Kryptonian. Although almost completely unintelligible, this is the first instance of Kryptonian being spoken on screen or radio.

Superman/Batman: Apocalypse

Both Superman and Supergirl converse in spoken Kryptonian (the movie used a mix of esperanto
Esperanto
is the most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Its name derives from Doktoro Esperanto , the pseudonym under which L. L. Zamenhof published the first book detailing Esperanto, the Unua Libro, in 1887...

 and gibberish).

Outside DC

In 2003, Darren Doyle, a linguist from UT Austin, began a project to develop Kryptonian, not only as a transliteration of English, but as a language all its own. The characters are based largely on the Kryptonian alphabet released by DC Comics in 2000, but have evolved to encompass a broader range of sounds and lingual mechanics. This project can be found at http://kryptonian.info

Comics

When Krypton was destroyed in an explosion, it was thought that the entire Kryptonian race was destroyed. This was untrue as the scientist Jor-El
Jor-El
Jor-El is a fictional character, an extraterrestrial in the . He was created by the writer Jerry Siegel and the artist Joe Shuster, and he first appeared in a newspaper comic strip in 1939 as Superman's biological father....

 managed to send his newborn son, Kal-El, off-planet to Earth right before Krypton's demise. Kal-El grew up on Earth as Clark Kent, and eventually discovered his Kryptonian origins. Superman's cousin Supergirl
Supergirl (Kara Zor-El)
Kara Zor-El is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics and related media, created by writer Otto Binder and designed by artist Al Plastino. As Supergirl, Kara Zor-El serves as the biological cousin and female counterpart to DC Comic's iconic superhero Superman, created...

 also survived Krypton's destruction, as did Kristin Wells, who had been on the run in space at the time of the planet's destruction. Kryptonian survivors of alternate worlds such as Power Girl
Power Girl
Power Girl is a DC Comics superheroine, making her first appearance in All Star Comics #58 ....

 (Kara Zor-L) and the canine Krypto
Krypto
Krypto, also known as Krypto the Superdog, is a fictional character. He is Superman's pet dog in the various Superman comic books published by DC Comics. Krypto's first appearance was in a Superboy story in Adventure Comics #210 in March 1955...

 also reside on Earth. Kryptonians General Zod
General Zod
General Zod is a fictional character who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, a supervillain who is one of Superman's more-prominent enemies. The character first appeared in Adventure Comics #283 , and was created by Robert Bernstein and George Papp...

 and Ursa are imprisoned within the Phantom Zone prior to Krypton's destruction, and even go on to have a child, who would later be adopted as Christopher Kent
Chris Kent (comics)
Christopher Kent is a fictional character, a Kryptonian in the , who first appeared in Action Comics #844 , the first part of the Action Comics story arc "Superman: Last Son". Created by Richard Donner and Geoff Johns, he is the biological son of General Zod and Ursa, and the foster son of Clark...

.

The Kryptonian city Kandor
Kandor
Kandor is the name of the former capital city of the fictional planet Krypton in the DC Universe. It is best known for being stolen and miniaturized by the supervillain Brainiac...

, was also spared from destruction as it was shrunken by Brainiac
Brainiac (comics)
Brainiac is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Action Comics #242 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....

. Kryptonian people live there in standard but microscopic, non-superpowered lives. Also, the inhabitants of the planet Daxam are descendants of Kryptonians who long ago ventured into space and settled on another planet, and as such possess similar powers and abilities when on the planet Earth.

The monster Doomsday
Doomsday (comics)
Doomsday is a fictional character, a supervillain that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appears in Superman: The Man of Steel #18 , and was created by writer-artist Dan Jurgens. IGN's list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time ranked Doomsday as #46...

 is the last of the prehistoric Kryptonians.

Film

In Superman, teenage Clark discovers who he is in the Fortress of Solitude
Fortress of Solitude
The Fortress of Solitude is the occasional headquarters of Superman in DC Comics. Its predecessor, Superman's "Secret Citadel", first appeared in Superman #17, where it was said to be built into a mountain on the outskirts of Metropolis...

, where a hologram of Jor-El tells him, "You are the only survivor of the planet Krypton." This remark appears to prove untrue in Superman II
Superman II
Superman II is the 1980 sequel to the 1978 superhero film Superman and stars Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Terence Stamp, Ned Beatty, Sarah Douglas, Margot Kidder, and Jack O'Halloran. It was the only Superman film to be filmed by two directors...

, as prisoners of the Phantom Zone
Phantom Zone
The Phantom Zone is a fictional prison dimension featured in the Superman comic books and related media published by DC Comics. It first appeared in Adventure Comics #283 , and was created by Robert Bernstein and George Papp...

, such as General Zod
General Zod
General Zod is a fictional character who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, a supervillain who is one of Superman's more-prominent enemies. The character first appeared in Adventure Comics #283 , and was created by Robert Bernstein and George Papp...

, also survive the destruction of Krypton. However, Zod and his lieutenants only survived because they were at that time incarcerated within the Phantom Zone and were not in fact on Krypton at the time of its destruction. The film Supergirl
Supergirl (film)
Supergirl is a 1984 superhero film directed by Jeannot Szwarc, and stars Helen Slater in her first motion picture role in the title role of the DC Comics superheroine Supergirl. Faye Dunaway played the primary villain, Selena. The film was a spin-off from the Salkinds' Superman film series which...

shows inhabitants of Argo City
Argo City
Argo City is a fictional Kryptonian city in the DC Comics Universe, and the birthplace of Supergirl. Argo City was first seen in Action Comics #252 .-Earth-One:...

 who also survived, including Superman's cousin Supergirl. In Superman Returns
Superman Returns
Superman Returns is a 2006 superhero film directed by Bryan Singer. It is the fifth and final installment in the original Superman film series and serves as a alternate sequel to Superman and Superman II by ignoring the events of Superman III and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace .The film stars...

, it is implied that Clark is father to the half-Kryptonian child Jason White.

Television

In Smallville
Smallville (TV series)
Smallville is an American television series developed by writers/producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar based on the DC Comics character Superman, originally created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The television series was initially broadcast by The WB Television Network , premiering on October...

, Clark Kent initially believes himself to be the last survivor of Krypton. However, his father Jor-El's essence remains sentient in the mysterious Kawatche Caves and Fortress of Solitude, and the disembodied spirit of Zod is similarly sentient albeit trapped in the Phantom Zone. In Season Five
Smallville (Season 5)
Season five of Smallville, an American television series, began airing on September 29, 2005. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman...

, Clark discovers that the Disciples of Zod and Kryptonian artificial intelligence Brainiac
Brainiac (comics)
Brainiac is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Action Comics #242 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....

 arrive on Earth, serving Zod's trapped spirit. In Season Six
Smallville (Season 6)
Season six of Smallville, an American television series, began airing on September 28, 2006. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman...

, Clark discovers his father's assistant Raya was spared by being placed in the Phantom Zone, with her body intact, and for a time resides on Earth after escaping. Season Seven
Smallville (season 7)
Season seven of Smallville, an American television series, began airing on September 27, 2007. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman...

 introduces Kara Zor-El, having been sent to Earth at the same time of Clark but trapped in suspended animation since then; later, through schemes put into practice before his death, Clark's uncle Zor-El and mother Lara are resurrected with powers intact for a time. Later, it is revealed that another Kryptonian, the scientist Dax-Ur, has been living on Earth for over a hundred years, using Blue Kryptonite to render himself powerless, and has even fathered a son with his human wife. Dax-Ur is killed soon after by Brainiac. In Season 8
Smallville (season 8)
Season eight of Smallville, an American television series, began airing on September 18, 2008. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman...

, it is revealed that Zod's wife Faora
Faora
Faora is the name of several female super-villains in DC Comics Superman titles. All of them have some connection to Superman's home planet of Krypton.-Pre-Crisis:The first Faora, Faora Hu-Ul, was introduced in Action Comics #471...

, also a disembodied wraith, was sent into the Phantom Zone with her husband, but not before they genetically engineered their son, fusing genetic material taken from the most violent Kryptonian life-forms with their own. The child was attached to Clark's ship in the form of a cocoon; on Earth it assumed a human form and became known as Davis Bloome, but would periodically assume its true form: the monster Doomsday
Doomsday (comics)
Doomsday is a fictional character, a supervillain that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appears in Superman: The Man of Steel #18 , and was created by writer-artist Dan Jurgens. IGN's list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time ranked Doomsday as #46...

. In the season finale, Zod makes his first full bodied appearance on the series.

In Superman: The Animated Series
Superman: The Animated Series
Superman: The Animated Series is an American animated television series starring DC Comics' flagship character, Superman. The series was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on The WB from September 6, 1996 to February 12, 2000. Warner Bros...

and later Justice League Unlimited
Justice League Unlimited
Justice League Unlimited is an American animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics universe, and specifically based on the Justice League superhero team, it is a direct sequel to the...

, the only survivors of Krypton are Clark, and two Phantom Zone criminals (Jax-Ur and Mala, introduced in "Blasts From the Past", parts 1 and 2). Kara In-Zee, alias Supergirl, is the lone survivor of Argos, Krypton's sister planet knocked out by the planet's explosion; however, in the Justice League Unlimited
Justice League Unlimited
Justice League Unlimited is an American animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics universe, and specifically based on the Justice League superhero team, it is a direct sequel to the...

episode "Fearful Symmetry", Doctor Emil Hamilton, who has examined Superman, calls her DNA "Kryptonian", indicating that Argosians are genetically related to Kryptonians. Failed clones of Superman (the mentally handicapped Bizarro
Bizarro
Bizarro is a fictional character that appears in publications published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Otto Binder and artist George Papp as a "mirror image" of Superman and first appeared in Superboy #68...

 and the monstrous Doomsday
Doomsday (comics)
Doomsday is a fictional character, a supervillain that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appears in Superman: The Man of Steel #18 , and was created by writer-artist Dan Jurgens. IGN's list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time ranked Doomsday as #46...

) and Supergirl (the sociopathic Galatea) are later created.

In Legion of Superheroes, the citizens of Kandor, Superman and his clone Superman-X, might all be considered surviving Kryptonians.

External links

  • Kryptonian Language Project—Project to create spoken and written Kryptonian language.
  • Kryptonese alphabet—Pre-Byrne reboot Kryptonian language and alphabet
  • Alan Kistler's Profile On: SUPERMAN—Comic book historian Alan Kistler gives a detailed analysis of Superman
    Superman
    Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...

     over the decades, as well as the different interpretations of the planet Krypton
    Krypton (comics)
    Krypton is a fictional planet in the DC Comics universe, and the native world of the super-heroes Superman and, in some tellings, Supergirl and Krypto the Superdog. Krypton has been portrayed consistently as having been destroyed just after Superman's flight from the planet, with exact details of...

    and how Kryptonians acted.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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