Krypton: Bibliography

Creators

Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster

First Appearance

FIRST APPEARANCE: (historical) ACTION COMICS #1 (June, 1938); (current version) MAN OF STEEL #1 (June, 1986)

Main appearances.

ACTION COMICS ANNUAL #2 (1989); ERADICATOR #1-3 (1996); WORLD OF KRYPTON (second series) #1-4 (1987)

Secert Origin

Krypton had an enigmatic beginning. Its name comes from the element Krypton (Kr) which was discovered in 1898 and derives its name from the greek word kryptos, meaning "hidden". However it made its first comicbook appearance in 1938 with the first Superman story in ACTION COMICS #1, but it was not until the character took off and obtained his own newspaper strip that the planet was elaborated on. In "The Superman in Born" (1939) Siegel and Shuster give the planet the name, Krypton, for the first time and described it as "A distant planet so far advanced in evolution that it bears a civilisation of Supermen -- beings which represent the human race at its ultimate peak of perfect development". We witness the death of the planet and the escape of little Kal-L (he didn't become Kal-EL until the Silver Age) with little real explanation of the history and culture of Krypton.

Over the next decade scant details were added to Krypton until a shift pushed Superman from pulp-like adventure hero to science fiction superhero and Krypton rose to the challenge. Parts of Krypton began turning up - Kryptonite (red to start off with), exiled criminals and even a return trip by Superman. Many of these elements were pulled together in "The Origin of Superman" (SUPERMAN #48, 1948), which this fan still considers as the quintessential Superman origin story.

The Silver Age Krypton (50s-70s) began to bloat under the weight of the dozens of stories which drew on the dead planet for their inspiration, each seeking to add something new to the Superman myth. An unfortunate creep began to appear in the stories - for a dead world it sure had a lot of survivors! First pet-animals sent into space by Jor-El, then criminals imprisoned in another dimension and even an entire city stolen by a supervillain. However this Krypton is the one that many people grew up reading about (even in reprints) and many of fans still consider it the quintessential version.

While the comicbook Krypton remained in the 1950s the announcement of the Superman: The Movie (1978) allowed production designer John Barry (Clockwork Orange, Star Wars) to remodel the world into his version of a sterile white crystalline utopia. This was brought to life by cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth (2001: A Space Odyssey, A Bridge to Far). Unsworth used special projection material, which is four hundred time more reflective than normal material, to high-light costumes and buildings to create a brilliant white glow. The overall effect was of a sober world of massive architecture and hidden science all bathed by an ethereal white halo. The casting of Marlon Brando as Jor-El served to add even more gravitas to the entire setting.

In 1985 the comicbook Krypton was wrapped up and put into storage to make way for a relaunch of the Superman titles which was helmed by writer/artist John Byrne. He took Krypton back to its roots, both in the first issue of the MAN OF STEEL mini-series (1986) and in the later WORLD OF KRYPTON (1987, named for a back up feature in the Silver Age comics) mini-series. We were shown snatches of Krypton's history from its early utopian days (very much resembling the Silver Age original), through the atomic horror (this was written during the last throws of the Cold War) to the bleak soulless utopia of the present (modelled partially after the movie Krypton).

The creation of such a emotionless Krypton was a necessary shift so that Superman would have stronger ties to his adopted world and therefore be more human. The technology of Krypton also had an overhaul, it was sleeker, paired down and given a definite look. The method of destruction of Krypton, originally a natural disaster, was changed to that of a long forgotten doomsday weapon, further reinforcing the atomic horror motif.

In the post-Byrne years Krypton has grown once more. The addition of the Eradicator, the horror of Doomsday and the mystery of the new Phantom Zone have all served to show us a world where technology and science had replaced all imagination and creative thought. The relics of this Krypton are ghostly wonders of a barren utopia.