The Super-Dog from Krypton was a Superman story published in Adventure Comics #210 (March, 1955). Penned and illustrated by Otto Binder and Curt Swan, it introduced Krypto, Superman's dog.
Clark Kent learns that a strange stray dog walks loose around the streets of Smallville. Cages cannot restrain him, bullets cannot hurt him, gravity cannot keep him down. Even more strange— when Clark manages to approach the dog, the animal lunges at him and starts licking his face happily, as if the dog knows Superboy.
The dog leads Superboy to a space rocket which recently crashed in a deserted field. As investigating the rocket, Clark finds a note and discovers that dog is in fact his pet dog, Krypto. His father Jor-El used him as a test animal for a prototype rocket when Kyrpto was a puppy. After blasting him off into space, a meteor surely altered the course of the rocket, so that it took years to reach Earth.
Clark is overjoyed to find he has his own dog, but he is about to find out that taking of a pet is a difficult task, especially when it has Kryptonian powers and a dog-like level of intelligence.
Tropes:
- Action Pet: Subverted. Krypto has the whole Kryptonian powerset, and at the beginning he is seen confronting two crooks, but Superboy seems more interested in playing with his returned pet dog than in fighting crime together.
- Amplified Animal Aptitude: When Superboy runs into Krypto for the first time, Clark notes that mysterious dog seems strangely intelligent for a dog, being able to understand everything humans say and do.
- And I Must Scream: As a puppy dog, Krypto was taken away from his owner, placed in an experimental rocket and blasted off into space. His rocket was supposed to return to Krypton, but it was knocked off course by a meteor, and Krypto spent about fifteen years trapped in a rocket, drifting aimlessly in space, until his vessel crashed on Earth (it is generally assumed that Krypto was placed in suspended animation during his trip).
- Animal Jingoism: Even though he is not really a dog but an alien animal which happens to look like an Earth dog, Krypto chases after cats, and goes nuts when he hears a meowing.
- Artistic License – Space: Jor-El needs to test an experimental rocket but he has not time to look for test animals, so he grabs his son's pet puppy and puts him into the rocket right away. However, such a brilliant scientist as Jor-El should know that test animals need years of training and conditioning, so that picking and shoving Krypto into the rocket would make the experiment worthless and his dog's sacrifice senseless.
- Bad Liar: Clark spots Lana Lang approaching right when he needs to get rid of a steel girdle. Clark quickly rushes into an alley and chucks the girdle far away. When Kana walks into the alley and asks what happened to the girdle which he was carrying, the best Clark can do is to stammer "I— I don't know what you mean!"
- Bad People Abuse Animals: Two crooks decide to shoot a stray dog just because he was around.
- Blasting It Out of Their Hands: Variant. When a couple of thieves shoot at Krypto, Clark Kent notices the bullets are ricocheting towards him, so he subtly raises his hand and deflects the bullets back towards the crooks, knocking the guns out of their hands.
- But What About the Astronauts?: Krypto survived Krypton's explosion thanks to Jor-El putting him in an experimental rocket and blasting him off into space.
- Covers Always Lie: The cover features Krypto fetching back and dropping a safe which Superboy just left at town hall, a scene which does not happen at any point in the issue.
- Dead Man Writing: Jor-El put a letter in Krypto's rocket explaining where the dog came from, correctly guessing that it would only be read long after his death.
- Does Not Know His Own Strength: Krypto is very intelligent for a dog, but he is still a dog, so he does not understand how strong -and dangerous- he is upon arriving on Earth. Even a mere wag of his tail accidentally shatters rocks.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: In his first appearance, Krypto looks mostly like a cartoon dog thanks to his Pluto-like huge round eyes. Upon becoming a permanent cast member, Krypto was quietly redesigned to look like a real Earth dog, usually a white Labrador retriever (although he has also been depicted as a spotless Dalmatian, or even a dire wolf).
- Flashback Effects: The flashback panels showing how and why Krypto ended stranded on Earth have rounded corners and wavy borders.
- From Stray to Pet: Teen Clark Kent happens upon a super-powered stray dog which is spreading chaos across Smallville. Upon learning that strange god is his actual dog, Clark decides to adopt him.
- Getaway Driver: Two crooks rob one store and rush towards their getaway car, but before their driver can get them out of there, they are delayed by Krypto and arrested by a cop.
- Go Fetch: When Krypto innocently approaches Clark Kent carrying a steel girdle in his mouth, Clark quickly throws the girdle away so that Krypto flies after it before somebody sees him and his dog and puts two and two together.
- Impact Silhouette: When a stray cat whom Krypto is chasing escapes through a tiny hole in a wall, Krypto smashes through said wall, leaving a larger, Krypto-shaped hole, so detailed that you can see his flappy ears's silhouette.
- Kick the Dog: Two crooks who have just robbed one store and reached their getaway car when they notice a stray dog growling at them. Instead of getting in the car, they stop to shoot at the dog simple because they find him annoying.
- Last of His Kind: Jor-El used his son's puppy Krypto as a test animal to try his prototype rocket, thus saving his life when Krypton exploded. Although Clark always ends up running into other Kryptonian humanoids like himself, there has never been found another surviving Kryptonian "dog".
- Metal Muncher: Variant. Krypto grabs a crook's gun and starts gnawing it out of curiosity and boredom rather than dietary needs.
- Mugging the Monster: A couple of crooks steal from Jonathan Kent's general store right in front of the owner's son, unaware that he is Superboy. While making their getaway, they shoot a stray dog who was passing by, and are shocked when the growling pooch just ignores their bullets.
- Mundane Utility: Superboy fixes a door with some old boards and nails, using his fist to hammer the latters into the formers.
- "Open!" Says Me: A dog-catcher lures one stray dog into his van and locks the door. Said stray turns out to be Krypto, who right away tears the door off and gets away.
- Origins Episode: For Krypto, Superman's Kryptonian pet dog.
- Pet Positive Identification: Puppy Krypto is forcefully separated from his baby owner. When he happens upon teenager Clark Kent fifteen years later, Krypto instantly leaps on him and starts happily licking his face. Krypto soon proves he can recognize Clark regardless of his clothes.
- Stock Animal Diet: Shortly after arriving on Earth, Krypto uses his X-Ray vision to find and dig up old buried bones.
- Tempting Fate: While chasing after a weird dog with super-powers, Superboy feels relieved because it at least cannot fly...one second before his prey takes off. Lampshaded by a dialogue box:Superboy: "I must capture him and examine him! Luckily, he can't fly!"
<Dog soars upwards>
Narrator: "What did you say, Superboy?..."
Superboy: "That, too?" - There Is Another: Young Clark Kent runs into another Kryptonian survivor...although he is a dog.
- There Was a Door: When Krypto is locked up in the dog-catcher's van, he smashes himself through the car's rear to escape.
- Third-Person Flashback: As Superboy reads his father's letter left on Krypto's rocket, the young Clark has a flashback showing Kryptonians using test animals on experimental rockets, his father taking Krypto away to test his own prototype ship, and said vessel being knocked off course. Clark was only present in one of those scenes, and he had forgotten about it completely because he was only a baby.
- Undying Loyalty: As a puppy, Krypto is taken away from his baby owner, shoved into a rocket and blasted off into space. Krypto spends around fifteen years stuck in his ship until finally crashing on Earth, and still when he smells young Clark, pounces on him and starts licking his face happily.
