Editing Krypton (comics) (section)

===Krypton in the [[Modern Age of Comic Books]]===
[[File:Krypton (post-Crisis version) exploding.png|thumb|upright|The exploding planet Krypton from ''History of the DC Universe'' #1 (1986).]]

====''The Man of Steel''====
Following ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'', which [[reboot (continuity)|rebooted]] the history of the [[DC Universe]] and retroactively eliminated the existence of the Golden and Silver Age versions of Krypton, writer/artist [[John Byrne (comics)|John Byrne]] was given the task of recreating the entire ''Superman'' mythos. This rewrite was started in the 1986 [[The Man of Steel (comic book)|''Man of Steel'']] miniseries, which addressed Krypton in both its opening and closing chapters.

Krypton itself was the main subject of the late 1980s ''The World of Krypton'' miniseries (not to be confused with the 1979 miniseries of the same name). This miniseries was written by Byrne and illustrated by [[Mike Mignola]], and filled in much of Krypton's new history.

====History====
The new Krypton was approximately one-and-a-half times larger than the Earth and orbited a red sun called Rao fifty [[light-years]] from the [[Solar System]]. Krypton's primordial era produced some of the most dangerous organisms in the universe. It was for this reason that 250,000 years ago, Krypton was chosen as the place to create [[Doomsday (comics)|Doomsday]] through forced evolution. Until its destruction, many dangerous animals, including ferrophage moles, still existed on Krypton. Kryptonians had to use their advanced technology to survive.

Over 200,000 years ago, Krypton had developed scientific advancements far beyond those of present-day Earth, and had discovered a way to conquer disease and aging by perfecting [[Clone (genetics)|cloning]]; vast banks of clones, kept in stasis, held multiple copies of each living Kryptonian so that replacement parts were always available in the event of injury. All Kryptonians were now effectively [[Immortality|immortal]], "with all the strength and vigor of youth maintained",<ref>{{Cite comic | writer = [[John Byrne (comics)|Byrne, John]] | penciller = [[Mike Mignola|Mignola, Mike]] | inker = Bryant, Rick | story = Pieces | title = The World of Krypton | volume = 2 | issue = #1 | date = December 1987 | publisher = DC Comics | location = New York | page = 15 | panel = 3}}</ref> and for millennia they enjoyed an idyllic, sensual existence in an [[Arcadia (utopia)|Arcadian]] paradise.<ref>{{Cite comic | writer = Byrne, John | penciller = Mignola, Mike | inker = Bryant, Rick | story = Pieces | title = The World of Krypton | volume = 2 | issue = #1 | date = December 1987 | publisher = DC Comics | location = New York}}</ref>

100,000 years later Kryptonian society was tipping toward decadence and eventually political strife resulted from the debate about the use of clones (three by each Kryptonian; one child, one teen and one adult, perfectly preserved in stasis in large clone banks) to repair any hurt and avoiding death, if they were sentient beings and should have rights to be awakened to live as any other Kryptonian, sparked in addition by the presence of an alien missionary known as [[the Cleric]], who carried "the Eradicator".<ref name="actionannual2"/> Eventually this disagreement led to open violent conflict. A woman named Nyra, seeking what she considered a suitable mate for her son, Kan-Z, had one of her younger clones removed from stasis. The clone gained full sentience and was presented to society as a normal woman. When Kan-Z discovered that his fiancée was in fact his mother's clone, he killed the clone, then publicly killed his mother and also attempted his own suicide before being stopped. Kan-Z also publicly broadcast the entirety of his discovered findings as to what his mother had done across the entire planet. This key incident ignited the Clone Wars which lasted for 1,000 years, during which Kryptonian science was turned to warfare and several superweapons were developed and used. Among them was the device known as the Destroyer.

Although the Eradicator's effects (altering the [[DNA]] of all Kryptonian lifeforms so that they would instantly die upon leaving the planet) were felt immediately, the Destroyer's effects were possibly more significant: by the time the Kryptonian government admitted defeat and abolished the clone banks, a pro-clone rights terrorist faction known as [[Black Zero (DC Comics)|Black Zero]] had started the Destroyer (activated by Kan-Z himself), a device which functioned as a giant atomic energy gun, projecting massive streams of nuclear energy into the core of Krypton, intended to trigger an explosive chain reaction within Krypton's core almost immediately.

The destruction (by Van-L, an ancestor of [[Jor-El]]) of the Destroyer eliminated the Post-''Crisis'' city of Kandor in a fiery nuclear explosion, but it was believed at the time that the device had been stopped before it could achieve planetary destruction. Centuries later, Jor-El himself would discover that the reaction had only been slowed to a nearly imperceptible rate and it would eventually destroy the planet as intended.

====Destruction====
Though it survived the war, Krypton was scarred deeply by it. The formerly lush garden world was burned and blasted to a desert, and a sterile society—emotionally unlike its predecessor—emerged. The population lived isolated from one another in widely separated technological citadels, shunning all physical and personal contact, to the point that even family members would only interact with each other via communication devices. Procreation became a matter of selecting compatible genetic material to be placed within an artificial womb called a "birthing matrix"; the parents almost never met in person and never touched one another. The planetary government was deeply isolationist and forbade space exploration and communication with other worlds.

The young scientist Jor-El was born into this world. By his adult years, a mysterious "Green Plague" was killing Kryptonians by the thousands, and upon researching the matter, Jor-El discovered that its cause was growing radiation produced by Krypton's increasingly unstable core. This process was going to cause the planet to explode.

Unable to convince his associates to abandon tradition and consider escape, and reasoning that modern Kryptonian society had grown cold, unfeeling and sterile, Jor-El removed the Eradicator's planetary binding genes from his unborn son Kal-El's genetic pattern, took Kal-El's birthing matrix and attached a prototype interstellar propulsion system to the vessel.<ref name="actionannual2"/><ref name="worldofkrypton4">{{Cite comic | writer = Byrne, John | penciller = Mignola, Mike | inker = Bryant, Rick | story = Pieces | title = The World of Krypton | volume = 2 | issue = #4 | date = March 1988 | publisher = DC Comics | location = New York}}</ref> Just as the planet began to shake apart and massive, exploding streams of green energy erupted through the surface of Krypton, Jor-El launched the matrix towards Earth, where it would open and give birth to the infant upon landing (the Post-''Crisis'' Superman therefore was considered to be technically "born" on Earth). Jor-El was not only determined that his son would survive the death of his birthworld, but that he would grow up on a world that vibrantly embraced living, as his forebears once did.

====The Last Son of Krypton====
A central theme of this version of the Superman [[Mythology|mythos]] was that the character was to remain the last surviving remnant of Krypton. Thus, Silver Age elements such as [[Supergirl]], [[Krypto]], [[Beppo (comics)|Beppo]], and [[Kandor (comics)|Kandor]] had never existed in this version (though Post-''Crisis'' versions of these elements were eventually reintroduced).

The supervillain [[Doomsday (comics)|Doomsday]] was revealed in the 1990s as a being genetically engineered by Bertron, an alien scientist, on an ancient Krypton. Doomsday left the planet after killing Bertron and Krypton's natives found the remains of Bertron's lab, thus obtaining the knowledge of cloning.

In the newer continuity, Superman also became aware of his alien heritage only sometime after his debut as a [[superhero]] - initially assuming himself to be a human mutated in some manner and launched as part of an Earth space program - when a holographic program encoded into the craft which brought him to Earth uploaded the information into his brain (although Lex Luthor had earlier discovered his alien heritage when his attempts to create a [[Bizarro|clone]] of Superman were complicated by the unexpected x-factor of Superman's alien DNA).

====Revisiting Krypton====
In ''Action Comics'' #600 (May 1988), Krypton was close enough to Earth that the radiation from its explosion (traveling only at light speed) was able to reach Earth.

In a 1988 storyline, Superman traveled to the former site of Krypton to discover that the planet was slowly reforming from the vast sphere of debris remaining. It would take millions of years before the planet would be solid again. This sphere of debris had been turned to [[kryptonite]] by the planet's destruction, and the radiation caused Superman to have a [[hallucination]] in which the entire population of Krypton came to Earth and colonized the already inhabited planet, prompting Jor-El to initiate a Terran-based resistance movement, pitting him against his estranged wife Lara and now-grown son Kal-El, at which point the hallucination ended.<ref>John Byrne: "Return to Krypton", ''Superman'' (vol. 2) #18 (June 1988)</ref>

In ''Superman: The Man of Steel Annual'' #3, "Unforgiven" - an [[Elseworlds]] tale - Jor-El convinces the Science Council to relocate selected Kryptonians to Earth.<ref name="superman18">{{Cite comic | writer = Byrne, John | penciller = Mignola, Mike | inker = [[Karl Kesel|Kesel, Karl]] | story = Return to Krypton | title = [[Superman (vol. 2)|Superman]] | volume = 2 | issue = #18 | date = June 1988 | publisher = DC Comics | location = New York}}</ref>

In a 1999 ''[[Starman (Jack Knight)|Starman]]'' storyline, Jack Knight became lost in time and space, and landed on Krypton several years before its destruction, meeting Jor-El as a young man. The story implies that it was this early meeting with a Terran that led Jor-El to study other worlds and eventually choose Earth as the target for his son's spacecraft; at the story's end, Jack gives Jor-El a device with the coordinates and images of Earth.<ref>{{Cite comic | writer = [[James Robinson (comics)|Robinson, James]], [[David Goyer]] | penciller = Snejbjerg, Peter | inker = [[Keith Champagne|Champagne, Keith]] | story = Midnight in the House of El | title = [[Starman (Jack Knight)|Starman]] | volume = 2 | issue = #51 | date = March 1999 | publisher = DC Comics | location = New York}}</ref>

In a 2001–2002 storyline, an artificial version of the Pre-''Crisis'' Krypton was created in the Phantom Zone by [[Brainiac 13]], a descendant of the original [[Brainiac (character)|Brainiac]] who had traveled back in time to the present.<ref>{{Cite comic | writer = [[Jeph Loeb|Loeb, Jeph]] | cowriters = [[Joe Casey]], [[Mark Schultz (comics)|Mark Schultz]], ''et al.'' | penciller = [[Ed McGuinness|McGuinness, Ed]] | copencillers = [[Duncan Rouleau]], [[Pasqual Ferry|Pascual Ferry]], ''et al.'' | inker = [[Cam Smith (artist)|Smith, Cam]] | coinkers = Marlo Alquiza, Tom Nguyen, ''et al.'' | title = Superman: Return to Krypton | date = March 2004 | publisher = DC Comics | location = New York | id = {{ISBN|1-4012-0194-6}}}}</ref> This version of Krypton was based on Jor-El's favorite Kryptonian historical period.<ref name="action793">{{Cite comic | writer = [[Joe Kelly (comics)|Kelly, Joe]] | penciller = [[Pasqual Ferry|Ferry, Pascual]]<!--spelled "Pascual" in comic's credits--> | inker = [[Cam Smith (artist)|Smith, Cam]] | story = Return to Krypton II Part Four: Dream's End | title = [[Action Comics]] | issue = #793 | date = September 2002 | publisher = DC Comics | location = New York | page = 20}}</ref>

====''Superman: Birthright''====
In the 2004 miniseries ''[[Superman: Birthright]]'', a new retelling of Superman's origin and early years, [[Mark Waid]] located Krypton in the [[Andromeda Galaxy]] 2.5 million light-years away, and adopted elements from several previous versions of the planet.<ref name="birthright">{{Cite comic | writer = [[Mark Waid|Waid, Mark]] | penciller = [[Leinil Francis Yu|Yu, Leinil Francis]] | inker = [[Gerry Alanguilan|Alanguilan, Gerry]] | title = Superman: Birthright | date = 2004 | publisher = DC Comics | location = New York | id = {{ISBN|1-4012-0252-7}}}}</ref> Although usually depicted as a [[red giant]] or [[red supergiant]], in this story Rao is mentioned by Jor-El to be a [[red dwarf]].

In previous comic versions, it was assumed the "S" shield on Superman's costume simply stood for "Superman"; in ''Birthright'', Waid presented it as a Kryptonian symbol of [[hope]]; he borrowed and modified a concept from [[Superman (1978 film)|''Superman: The Movie'']], wherein the "S" was the symbol of the House of El, Superman's ancestral family.

====Post-''Birthright'' revisions====
Beginning with ''[[Infinite Crisis]]'', writer [[Geoff Johns]] began laying subtle hints to a new origin for Superman. [[Superman: Last Son|''Last Son'']], a storyline co-written by Geoff Johns and ''Superman'' film director [[Richard Donner]], further delves into this version of Krypton which reintroduces [[General Zod]] and the Phantom Zone criminals into mainstream continuity as well as the crystalline technology known as "''Sunstones''". With art by [[Adam Kubert]], the design of Kryptonian society is distinct yet again from ''Birthright'', incorporating elements of both Pre-''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' continuity and Donner's work on the first two [[Christopher Reeve]] films, in particular the notion of Krypton's Council threatening Jor-El with harsh punishment if he were to make public his predictions of their planet's imminent doom.<ref name="lastson">{{Cite comic | writer = [[Geoff Johns|Johns, Geoff]], [[Richard Donner]] | artist = [[Adam Kubert|Kubert, Adam]] | story = Last Son | title = [[Action Comics]] | issue = #844–846, #851, ''Annual'' #11 | date = December 2006–July 2008 | publisher = DC Comics | location = New York}}</ref> This variation of Krypton's past was again seen in flashbacks during Johns' ''[[Brainiac (story arc)|Brainiac]]'' and ''[[New Krypton]]'' story arcs. The very different depictions of Kryptonian clothing in the Golden and Silver Age comics, in the Christopher Reeve films, and in John Byrne's ''The Man of Steel'' all appeared in Johns' ''[[Superman: Secret Origin]]'' (which superseded ''[[The Man of Steel (comics)|The Man of Steel]]'' and ''[[Superman: Birthright]]'').

Multi-ethnic versions of Kryptonians that resemble [[Ethnic groups of Africa|Africans]], [[Indigenous Australians]], [[Pacific Islanders]], [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indigenous Americans]], and [[Asians]] have also made appearances in the stories. Previously, "black" Kryptonians were mainly confined within the Kryptonian continent of [[Vathlo Island]], but a 2011 storyline depicted Kryptonians resembling black and Asian humans who were more integrated into Kryptonian society than they were in the Silver and pre-Modern Age DC Universe.<ref>Brady, Matt (January 7, 2009). [https://web.archive.org/web/20160323165700/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/28543087/ "Superman's planet is racially diverse - finally"]. [[NBC News]].</ref>

====''The New 52''====
Following Grant Morrison's run on ''Action Comics'' during ''[[The New 52]]'', Krypton is again a scientific and cultural utopia, and Kryptonians themselves are highly intelligent, even from infancy; Morrison describes Krypton as "the planet of your dreams. A scientific utopia. I wanted to explore Krypton as the world of super people. What would happen if they worked it all out, if they lived for 500 years with amazing technology?" Cody Walker elaborates on this, saying that "Kal-El is the next step in evolution physically, but he comes from a planet that is the next stage in evolution as well. If his strength makes him the Man of Steel, then the ideologies that rule his planet make Superman the Man of Tomorrow".<ref>Walker, Cody (April 2013)[http://sequart.org/magazine/19610/humanity-heroism-and-action-grant-morrisons-action-comics-3/] "Humanity, Heroism, and Hope: Grant Morrison's ''Action Comics'' #3"</ref> In ''Action Comics'' #14 (January 2013 cover date, published November 7, 2012) astrophysicist [[Neil deGrasse Tyson]] appears as a character in the story. He determines that Krypton orbited the [[red dwarf]] [[LHS 2520]] in the [[Corvus (constellation)|constellation Corvus]] 27.1 [[light-years]] from [[Earth]]. Tyson assisted DC Comics in selecting a real-life star that would be an appropriate parent star to Krypton. He picked Corvus, which is Latin for "crow",<ref>Wall, Mike (November 7, 2012). [http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=supermans-home-planet-krypton "Superman's Home Planet Krypton 'Found'"]. ''[[Scientific American]]''</ref><ref>Potter, Ned (November 5, 2012). [https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2012/11/superman-home-planet-krypton-found-in-sky/ "Superman Home: Planet Krypton 'Found' in Sky"]. [[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]].</ref> because Superman's high school mascot is a [[crow]].<ref>Gregorian, Dareh (November 5, 2012). [http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/nyer_is_super_smart_seMJnvJaXju74neeqHgM2M "NYER is 'super' smart"]. ''[[New York Post]]''.</ref><ref>Henderson, David (November 5, 2012). [http://multiversitycomics.com/news/neil-degrasse-tyson-consults-on-action-comics-14-finds-krypton-in-real-life/ "Neil deGrasse Tyson Consults On ''Action Comics'' #14, Finds Krypton In Real Life"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130630025422/http://multiversitycomics.com/news/neil-degrasse-tyson-consults-on-action-comics-14-finds-krypton-in-real-life/ |date=2013-06-30}}. Multiversity Comics.</ref> In a 2012 round-table discussion, Tyson stated that he chose to use real science when finding Krypton's location. He explained that many artists may only use bits and pieces of science, allowing for greater latitude in their creativity, but he wanted to show that using real science, particularly astrophysics, allows for just as much creativity.<ref>American Museum of Natural History (2012, November 14). [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZYLN_Ouu5U?t=5m33s Neil deGrasse Tyson on Finding Krypton]</ref>