20 Years Before ‘Superman,’ the Man of Steel’s Best Friend Led His Own Forgotten Series

After tackling lesser-known characters, such as Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy and DC’s Christopher Smith/Peacemaker (John Cena), and making them such fan-favorite icons in their respective universes, James Gunn is handling the biggest superhero of all time with Superman, played by David Corenswet in the DCU. While there have been many different live-action Superman films of varying degrees, Gunn’s Superman stands out for having the Man of Steel’s best friend make his live-action big-screen debut. From Rocket Raccoon in the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy to Weasel in Creature Commandos, Gunn loves making audiences care about animals and different creatures in his projects. His latest project, Superman, looks to continue that trend with Krypto the Superdog being a big focus in the film. Safe to say, audiences are already loving the canine, even if he’s a little rough around the edges. Although this is Krypto’s live-action debut in theaters, the Superdog leads an animated theatrically-released film, DC League of Super-Pets, with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson voicing that character and Black Adam. Other than that, Krypto has shown up in various TV shows and direct-to-video movies. But before all of that, Krypto had his own animated series, titled Krypto the Superdog, from 2005-2006. After Alan Burnett and Paul Dini worked together on Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series, they developed Krypto the Superdog, which premiered on Cartoon Network exactly 50 years after Krypto’s debut in the comics, and featured 75 segments split into 39 episodes across two seasons. If you’re looking to get some Krypto before or after Superman, this show will keep you company.
‘Krypto the Superdog’ Focuses on the DC Superpets Instead of Superman

Since the character isn’t that well-known to general audiences, Krypto the Superdog starts by explaining that Krypto (voiced by Samuel Vincent) is a dog from the planet Krypton, belonging to a young Kal-El/Superman. After he crash-lands on Earth, years after Superman did, Krypto befriends a young boy named Kevin Whitney (Alberto Ghisi) who helps him become a superhero. After Krypto realizes he has super abilities, like Superman, he saves animals on a sinking ship, which catches the attention of his former owner, Superman (voiced by Michael Daingerfield). While Superman is happy to finally be reunited with Krypto, he sees that Kevin and Krypto have already formed a bond, so he tells Kevin to take care of Krypto as he’s too busy saving the world to take care of a dog. At first, this sounds like a lazy excuse to not have Superman be in the show, but it is in character for Superman to bring joy to kids everywhere. Although Krypto the Superdog isn’t geared towards people of all ages like Superman: The Animated Series, the animation style is reminiscent of classic Hanna-Barbera shows like Scooby-Doo and The Flintstones, and also introduces young audiences to characters that hadn’t been seen in the movies before. The series sees Krypto team up with other superpets like Streaky the Supercat (Brian Drummond), who belonged to Supergirl in DC Comics, and Batman’s partner, Ace the Bat-Hound (Scott McNeil). Krypto and Ace’s dynamic is almost identical to Superman and Batman’s connection, which might explain why the show kept bringing back Ace throughout the series. The series even introduces a literal robin to be Robbie the Bird Wonder (David Paul Grove) as Ace’s temporary sidekick. It also goes for a very deep cut in DC Comics by featuring the Dog Star Patrol, a cosmic team of dogs with different abilities like telekinesis and super-speed. The show is relatively low-stakes when it comes to the action and drama, but it’s entertaining to watch these different characters come to life on screen and interact with one another.
Krypto Went Up Against Iconic Villains’ Pets in ‘Krypto the Superdog’

Image via WB Animation

With comic book superpets involved in Krypto the Superdog, the series also includes pet antagonists belonging to popular villains. There’s Lex Luthor’s (Brian Dobson) pet iguana Ignatius (also voiced by Scott McNeil), Joker’s hyenas Bud (Peter Kelamis) and Lou (Lee Tockar), and Catwoman’s cat Isis (Kathleen Barr). Even Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin has three trained birds called the Bad News Birds who steal for him: Artie the puffin (Dale Wilson), Griff the vulture (Matt Hill), and an actual penguin named Waddles (Terry Klassen). While it seems that Ace the Bat-Hound is more of a focus as most of the series’ villains are from Batman’s rogues gallery, Krypto is the one who ultimately figures out how to save the day. Even when Krypto temporarily loses his abilities throughout the show, he’s still able to come out on top by using his quick thinking and outsmarting his foes. Krypto the Superdog also features completely original villains that have no ties to other antagonists in the comics. The main enemy in the series is Mechanikat (Mark Oliver), an alien cyborg cat who wants to conquer Earth. His underlings include the ever-so-threatening Snooky Wookums (Nicole Bouma) and the simply-named Delilah (also voiced by Kathleen Barr). Maybe it’s due to the lack of connectivity to iconic villains, but Mechanikat and his henchcats are not very memorable. They don’t stand out in comparison to Bud and Lou, Isis, or the Bad News Birds, who just embody their owners so well. Even though it’s strange to think Lex Luthor would own an iguana, Ignatius has Lex’s mad-scientist mindset by experimenting with different machines and chemicals. It’s fun to see how Krypto the Superdog almost presents itself as a Silver Age DC Comics series with the sort of adventures and villains featured in the show.

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“Where is the dog!?”

‘Superman’s Krypto Is Getting Short Films in the DCU

Image via DC Studios

With an animated series, film, and his live-action big-screen debut in Superman, Krypto is getting even more love. During a press event for Superman, Gunn revealed that Krypto is getting four seasonal short films after Superman is released. When describing the tone of the shorts, Gunn said, “It’s for families, and it’s just really fun and goofy. It’s pretty cool.” Safran confirmed it would be the same Krypto fans will meet in Superman: “It’s definitely the Krypto you fall in love with in Superman. He’s a terrible dog.” While it’s unclear if these shorts will be live-action or animated, it’s good to know that Krypto is getting as much representation as possible. At a time when Bruce Timm’s Justice League Unlimited and Glen Murakami’s Teen Titans were on the air and Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins was hitting theaters, it’s interesting that Krypto the Superdog was developed. Was there an audience craving to see Krypto and other superpets? Probably not, but it did open the door for young audiences to learn about Superman’s furry best friend. And now Krypto is finally getting his time to shine in Gunn’s Superman. Krypto the Superdog is available to rent on Amazon Prime.

Krypto the Superdog

Release Date

2005 – 2005

Network

Cartoon Network

Directors

Scott Jeralds

Writers

John Loy, Michael Merton, Ken Koonce, Paul Dini, Joseph Kuhr, Wendell Morris, Len Uhley, Alan Burnett, Jeff Elmassian, David Teitelbaum, Ken Pontac, Matt Wayne, Julie McNally Cahill, Timothy Cahill, Bradley Zweig, Andy Merrill, Matthew Wilson, Bill Matheny, Phil Harnage, Ralph Soll, Steven Darancette, Julia Jane Lewald, Renee Palyo, Earl Kress

Brian Drummond

Streaky (voice)

Sam Vincent

Krypto (voice)

Scott McNeil

Ace the Bat-Hound (voice)