Kryptonian


Kryptonians are a fictional extraterrestrial race of humanoids within the DC Comics universe that originated on the planet Krypton. The term originated from the stories of DC Comics superhero, Superman. The stories also use "Kryptonian" as an adjective to refer to anything created by or associated with the planet itself or the cultures that existed on it.
Members of the dominant species of the planet Krypton are indistinguishable from humans in terms of their appearance; their physiology and genetics; however, they are vastly different. In some continuities Kryptonians are difficult to clone because their DNA is so complex that human science is not advanced enough to decipher it. The cellular structure of Kryptonians allows for solar energy to be absorbed at extremely high levels. On the planet Krypton, whose parent star has often been depicted as an ancient red supergiant with a relatively low energy output, their natural abilities were the same as humans. When exposed to a young yellow star like Earth's Sun, which is much smaller than their own sun and with a vastly higher energy output, their bodies are able to absorb and process so much energy that it eventually manifests as vast superhuman powers.
Almost 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 and powers

Kal-El can lead an alter ego as Clark Kent because Kryptonians appear identical to humans. Also, in both Silver Age and Modern Age continuity, Kryptonians have more than one ethnic group, such as dark-skinned Kryptonians from Krypton's Vathlo Island that resemble Earth humans of Sub-Saharan African descent and a group from the continent of Twenx that resemble Earth Asian and Latino peoples. In the first stories about Superman's origins, all Kryptonians possess on their homeworld the same powers Superman has on Earth. In later depictions, their abilities are attributed to the differences between Earth's gravity and that of Krypton and the different radiation of the stars they orbit. Kryptonians use solar energy from yellow, blue, orange or white stars on the cellular and molecular levels to gain superhuman abilities. The light of dwarf stars, pulsars, and quasars also grants Kryptonians different abilities. Some stories also show that Kryptonians have bioelectric fields that surround their bodies and protect them from harm and which are the means by which Kryptonians fly. Certain individuals have sometimes been depicted with "tactile telekinesis". The abilities of Kryptonians evolve and grow more powerful as Kryptonians age and develop.
Mating between Kryptonians and other species is difficult because Kryptonian DNA is so complex as to be nearly incompatible with that of other species. The only notable exception is represented by the original native Daxamite population. Breeding between Kryptonian explorers and this race created a new Kryptonian hybrid race that could interbreed with a larger number of humanoid races—including Earth humans. No other races are yet known to exhibit the same degree of compatibility of the native Daxamites. However, in some continuations humans are not only able to reproduce with Kryptonians, but are able to create fertile offspring with them.
Superpowered Kryptonians are vulnerable to kryptonite, radioactive remnants of Krypton, magic and black holes.

Culture and technology

Comics

Kryptonians are a highly culturally and technologically advanced people. Self-grown crystals, both natural and synthetic, which covered the vast majority of their planet's surface gave their homeworld a bluish hue when viewed from space and underlay Kryptonian technology. Relatively small crystals can hold vast amounts of information. The Fortress of Solitude is often portrayed as a recreation of Krypton's surface and a storehouse for all the knowledge that the Kryptonian race had obtained.
A pictographic crest or symbol represents each Kryptonian family, or House; the head of the House usually wears it. According to the Superman movie and sequels, a shape similar to the Latin letter "S" represents the House of El, for example. 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. Male Kryptonians are identified by hyphenated names, which identify both them and their houses, such as "Jor-El" and "Kal-El". Female Kryptonians have one given name but take their father's name as their last name. For example, Kal-El's mother is named Lara Lor-Van, taken from her father's name.
The different Houses were also broken up into a loosely-based caste system as well. The Religious, Artist, Military and Science castes had representation on the ruling council, while the Worker caste did not. The different castes lived in buildings with different architectural styles that represented various styles throughout Krypton's history.
The severe xenophobia of Kryptonian society conveniently explains Kal-El's being the first Kryptonian to leave the planet. Non-superpowered Kryptonians are genetically dependent to their home planet; as such, Kal-El was sent to Earth as a newly conceived embryo within a birthing matrix in order to survive in Earth's atmosphere. He was also devoid of any Kryptonian minerals, because any such minerals would turn to kryptonite upon leaving Krypton's atmosphere. Kryptonians are evolutionarily related to the also-severely xenophobic Daxamites. The Daxamites 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, despite a lack of understanding of the nature of the zone, its danger to the imprisoned and the presence of exits.
Krypton's red sun was named Rao. It was worshiped by the Kryptonians as a deity.
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.

Television

The Kryptonian society, as described in is ruled by aristocracy. Arranged marriages between the members of nobility are common, sometimes as early as birth, and numerous concubines are allowed. Settling of noble disputes by private duels is fully legal and apparently gives advantages in terms of reputation. Criminals are punished for capital crimes by having their bodies dispersed across the universe. All Kryptonians are capable of long range telepathic communication. The society is highly pragmatic and the Kryptonians seen were surprised and displeased with Clark's unwillingness to kill. Unlike in the comics, the main clothing color seen is black.
In Supergirl, some of the elements, like their black clothing and telepathy, was retained except that the shields featured a different letter, indicating a different House other than Zor-El's. This shield is worn on the right shoulder. Like in Smallville, a number of criminals imprisoned by the Kryptonians in the Phantom Zone are from other planets and have different powers from those of either Superman or Supergirl.

Language and alphabet

Comics

For most of Superman's published history, Kryptonian writing was represented by random, alien-looking squiggles. In the 1970s, E. Nelson Bridwell attempted to rationalize these squiggles into a 118-letter alphabet, referring to the language as "Kryptonese". This standardized alphabet was then used by DC Comics until John Byrne's 1986 "reboot" of the Superman universe.
In 2000, DC introduced a transliteration alphabet 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 written using this transliteration alphabet to replace the native alphabet with a one-to-one correspondence, in a similar fashion to Interlac in Legion of Super-Heroes.

''Smallville''

On the television series Smallville, 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 form. In the process, an increasing amount of logographic components have been added with symbols that have been explained to represent words, ideas, or names.
In the episode "Gemini", a character muttering in an unconscious state is revealed to be speaking Kryptonian.

''Superman/Batman: Apocalypse''

In the movie, a mix of gibberish and Esperanto is used to depict Kryptonian dialogue spoken by both Superman and Supergirl.

''Man of Steel''

The 2013 film Man of Steel featured Kryptonian writing created by graphic designer Kirsten Franson. The mechanics of the writing system, as well as the Kryptonian language that it depicts, were created by Dr. Christine Schreyer, a linguistic anthropologist and assistant professor of anthropology working at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan. The writing can be seen in several places on Superman's suit in the subsequent films and Justice League.

''Supergirl''

On the television series Supergirl the official Kryptonian transliteration font is used for depictions of the Kryptonian language in various scenes throughout the series.
In season 3, episodes 2, 6, 7 and 13 featured a few short lines of Kryptonian dialogue using words from the language created by Darren Doyle, citing the first time a constructed Kryptonian language has been spoken in any official media.

Calendar

Comics

In the 1970s and 1980s, details about the Kryptonian calendar as it existed in the Earth-One universe were revealed. The Kryptonian time units were defined as follows:
According to one story, in which the Phantom Zone prisoner Quex-Ul had served his full sentence, 18 Kryptonian sun-cycles is about 25 Earth years. It can be demonstrated that one Kryptonian sun-cycle is approximately 1.37 Earth years, as follows:
Using this ratio of 1.37 Earth years per Kryptonian year, and ignoring any potential Kryptonian leap day and any differences in time of day, one can approximate other units of time:
Major events in the Kryptonian calendar include:

Comics

When Krypton was destroyed, it was thought that the entire Kryptonian race was destroyed. This was untrue – the scientist Jor-El 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 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 and the canine Krypto the Superdog, also reside on Earth. Kryptonians General Zod and Ursa had been imprisoned within the Phantom Zone prior to Krypton's destruction and even went on to have a child, who would later be adopted as Christopher Kent.
The Kryptonian city Kandor was also spared from destruction, as it was shrunken and collected by Brainiac. 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. As such they possess similar powers and abilities to traditional Kryptonians when exposed to a yellow sun.
The monster Doomsday is the last of the prehistoric Kryptonians.
On Earth-Two, the Kryptonian Val-Zod survive Krypton, along with Kara Zor-L/Karen Starr.

Film

In Superman, teenage Clark discovers who he is in the Fortress of Solitude, 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, as prisoners of the Phantom Zone, such as General Zod, 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 shows inhabitants of Argo City who also survived, including Superman's cousin Supergirl. In Superman Returns, it is revealed that Clark is father to the half-Kryptonian child Jason White.
In Man of Steel, Kryptonians are depicted as a genetically-engineered race of beings. They are artificially grown in "genesis chambers" using information from the Codex, a skull containing the entire genetic code of the Kryptonian race. With this method, Kryptonians are designated pre-determined roles in society at their conception – for example, Jor-El is a Scientist, whereas General Zod is a Warrior. In ancient times, they were a race in the midst of an era of expansion, travelling to other worlds via scout ships in order to colonize them. Kal-El is the first naturally-born Kryptonian in centuries, as Jor-El and Lara believed that Krypton had lost the freedom of choice and wanted their son to choose to become who he wanted to be. As in the comics, Kal-El's powers are depicted as being superior to other Kryptonians, due to his spending a far greater period of time exposed to Earth's yellow sun and atmosphere, though some have an advantage over him in terms of combat experience. While the other Kryptonians receive great strength and speed from Earth's sun, they require solar-suits to regulate the radiation and avoid being stricken by pain. In addition, it is shown that without some form of training, Kryptonians are left vulnerable to their own abilities, as the case with Zod when Superman destroyed his solar-visor and caused him to develop a sensory overload.

Television

In ', it was shown that a sizable Kryptonian colony has survived the destruction of the planet. Clark had to go to the colony as its official ruler, but returned to Earth soon after.
In Smallville, Clark Kent initially believes himself to be the last survivor of Krypton. However, his father Jor-El's memories remains sentient in the mysterious Kawatche Caves and Fortress of Solitude an disembodied AI, and the disembodied spirit of Zod is similarly sentient albeit trapped in the Phantom Zone. In Season Five, Clark discovers that the Disciples of Zod: Nam-Ek & Aethyr and a Kryptonian artificial intelligence: Brain-Interactive-Construct aka Brainiac arrive on Earth, serving Zod's trapped spirit. In Season Six, Clark discovers his father's assistant Raya was spared by being placed in the Phantom Zone, with her body intact. She helped Clark on Earth until her death a short time after her escape from the Phantom Zone. Season Seven 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, it is revealed that Zod's wife Faora, 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. In the season finale, Zod makes his first full bodied appearance on the series, along with a large number of other Kryptonians who are later revealed to be clones created as part of an old experiment. Initially powerless due to their cells having been treated with blue kryptonite radiation, these clones later gain powers when Clark is forced to provide Zod with a sample of his blood to heal him after he is shot, Zod using this blood to empower his followers. The clones are relocated to a new world that they designate 'New Krypton' at the conclusion of Season Nine, with Clark Kent remaining on Earth and Zod being sent to the Phantom Zone to merge with his original self when the clones learn that Zod killed his lover Faora for objecting to his plans.
In ' and later Justice League Unlimited, the only survivors of Krypton are Clark and two Phantom Zone criminals. 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 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 and Supergirl are later created.
In Legion of Super Heroes, the citizens of Kandor, Superman and his clone Superman-X, might all be considered surviving Kryptonians.
In Supergirl, another Kryptonian House was revealed, this one led by Alura Zor-El's twin sister, General Astra. Her shield featured a "Q" on her uniform, indicating that besides her niece Kara, she and her house survived the destruction of Krypton, along with the Kryptonian prisoners sentenced by Alura that crash-landed on Earth via the prison ship Fort Rozz. One of Astra's operatives, Vartox, was ordered to sabotage the Department of Extra-Normal Operations by causing a plane crash that was thwarted by Supergirl, and to alert Astra that Kara survived the explosion and now has come into discovering her powers. In "Hostile Takeover" more Kryptonians, led by Astra's husband Non, surfaced on Earth preparing for take over of the planet, and came prepared to counter the kryptonite weapons with anti-kryptonite body armor.

Video games

In the One Earth Regime universe featured in and Injustice 2, Krypton is attacked by the rogue Coluan scientist Brainiac. The Kryptonians find themselves at the mercy of Brainiac's forces and Kara Zor-El barely escapes the destruction of Argo City. Her mother Alura rescues her from Brainiac's drones and reveals she and Jor-El have both been working to create two ships, one for Kara and the other for her baby cousin Kal-El. Kara and Kal-El escape Krypton as it is destroyed by Brainiac, though Kara's ship is damaged by the explosion knocking it off course and putting Kara into hyper sleep. Kal-El is raised on Earth as Clark Kent and becomes Superman. As Superman he forms the Justice League and befriends Batman. However, the Joker ends up tricking Superman into attacking Lois Lane, who was pregnant with Superman's child. This results in her death which triggers a nuclear explosion that destroys Metropolis. Superman murders the Joker and establishes a tyrannical government called the One Earth Regime. However, Batman, opposed to Superman's methods, forms the Insurgency to overthrow the Regime. With the aid of the Justice League from another universe, the Regime is defeated and the Insurgency works to rebuild. However, Superman's ally, Black Adam, finds Kara's ship and brings her to Earth. Together they free Superman's current lover Wonder Woman from imprisonment on Themyscira. Wonder Woman and Black Adam hide the tyrannical nature of the Regime from Supergirl and train her to use her powers in secret, though Brainiac attacks Earth after being alerted to Kal-El's survival due to his Regime's supporting the Sinestro Corps. in a war with the Green Lantern Corps. Supergirl and the Regime try to break Superman out of prison, but are stopped by Batman and his allies, though Batman decides to release Superman, calling a temporary truce between the Regime and the Insurgency to combat Brainiac. During Brainiac's attack on Metropolis, Supergirl witnesses Wonder Woman's brutal attack on their ally Harley Quinn after Harley tried to stop Wonder Woman from killing the Cheetah, as it violated Batman's no-killing policy. Supergirl saves Harley's life and confronts her cousin at the Fortress of Solitude. Supergirl is horrified to learn her cousin approves of Wonder Woman's actions, though he believes it would be best to deal with Harley after Brainiac is dealt with. Supergirl compares his methods to General Zod's and briefly fights Superman and his allies, though Brainiac's attack forces them to focus on dealing with him first. Superman and Supergirl work together to attack Brainiac's ship, but are stopped by its barrier. Brainiac destroys Metropolis reminding Superman of his past failure, causing him to attack the ship with all his might, only to be seemingly killed by Brainiac. Batman confronts the grieving Supergirl and reveals that Superman was once his friend. Believing Kara is the last surviving Kryptonian, Brainiac offers to spare Earth if they hand over Kara Zor-El as he wishes to study the effects of yellow sun radiation on Kryptonian cells, though Batman refuses. Batman, his allies and the remaining Regime members manage to overload the shields protecting Brainiac's ship. Batman and Supergirl manage to infiltrate the ship, but Supergirl is captured, though Batman discovers that Superman is still alive and the two join forces to defeat Brainiac and free Supergirl. However, after Brainiac's defeat, Superman and Batman argue over Brainiac's fate, leading to an end to their truce. Despite Brainiac being responsible for Krypton's destruction, Supergirl sides with Batman and choose to spare Brainiac so he can help them restore the worlds and cities he has collected. Supergirl tries to reason with her cousin by telling him of how his father opposed General Zod, only for Superman to reveal he agrees with Zod's methods, believing that if Jor-El had been more like Zod, then he would have been able to save Krypton. In Superman's story mode ending, Batman is defeated, though Superman spares him due to not wanting him to become a martyr. Superman merges with Brainiac's ship and imprisons Supergirl in his former cell. He reveals that all the cities have been restored and Earth is once again under the control of the Regime. Superman reveals there is still a place for her and that he is creating an army using beings freed from Brainiac's collection. Supergirl refuses to join him, though Superman reveals he has used Brainiac's technology to turn Batman into a brainwashed slave and threatens to do the same to Kara if she continues to resist. In Batman's story mode ending, Superman is defeated by Batman after Kara leads him to the Batcave. Batman apologizes to Kara for not being able to save her cousin. Superman is taken prisoner and Batman decides to imprison him in the Phantom Zone. Superman vows to escape and is hurt by Supergirl's betrayal. Supergirl reveals to Batman the House of El's S symbol is supposed to be a symbol of hope; though her cousin turned it into a symbol of fear, Batman, however, states that its meaning is determined by the one who wears it and tells her of how he and Superman used to fight for justice as members of the Justice League, before offering her a chance to do the same, having earned Batman's trust. In Supergirl's character ending, she joins Batman's Justice League, working with them to restore Kandor and cities collected by Brainiac. Supergirl notes that while she could not save her cousin, it will not stop her from trying to bring people hope. She is last shown flying with other Kryptonian survivors in the sky of a restored Kryptonian city. In Sub-Zero's ending, Superman joins forces with Kryptonian criminals General Zod, Ursa and Non after escaping the Phantom Zone through a portal accidentally created by the Batman's Justice League while trying to create a portal to Earthrealm. Sub-Zero confronts Superman, while Supergirl faces General Zod, and Batman battles Ursa and Non. In Injustice: Gods Among Us, General Zod appears as a DLC character, though he plays no role in the game's story. In Injustice 2, Power Girl appears as an alternate character skin for Supergirl, though she does not appear in the main story and originates from Earth-2.