Editing Krypton (comics) (section)

====Krypton in transition====
Over the course of the 1940s and 1950s, various alterations and additions to the makeup of Krypton were made in the comics. Among them was an explanation of why the natives of Krypton perished if they had possessed superpowers on their native world (as was the case in the earliest versions of Krypton outlined above, although this only became a problem once Superman &mdash; and by extension anyone from Krypton &mdash; was portrayed as increasingly powerful, able to withstand nuclear explosions, contrasted with his original power level in which a bursting [[Mortar (weapon)|mortar]] shell could penetrate his skin).

Thus, it was explained by the early 1950s that Kryptonians were powerless on their own planet and would gain superpowers only within a lower [[gravity]] environment. This matched the correct theories being published that humans who traveled to the moon would be able to lift greater masses and leap greater distances than on Earth due to the lesser gravity. In the early 1960s, added to this was the need to be exposed to the rays of a yellow [[sun]] (versus Krypton's red sun, Rao, which was older and cooler, or put out less energy) to gain superpowers, with the yellow sun aspect soon gaining the much greater emphasis. Other changes to the concept of Krypton and its culture were introduced, many of which were stylistic.