Editing Krypton (comics) (section)

===Krypton in the [[Silver Age of Comic Books]]===
By the late 1950s, Krypton played an increasing role in various ''Superman'' stories, with greater detail provided about Krypton's makeup.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fleisher |first1=Michael L. |title=The Original Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes, Volume Three: Superman |date=2007 |publisher=DC Comics |isbn=978-1-4012-1389-3 |pages=130–143}}</ref> Superman's Kryptonian heritage was a frequent factor in [[Silver Age of Comic Books|Silver Age]] ''Superman'' comic storylines, as he was fully aware of his origins from an early age. Superman would use this knowledge for such tasks as constructing advanced Kryptonian technology or observing some of Krypton's traditions.

====History====
[[File:Krypton map.jpg|thumb|upright|Map of Krypton]]
Kryptonians made use of their advanced science to create a world where scientific inventions and research influenced much of daily life. Robots and [[computers]] were used for many tasks on Krypton, even for determining what career paths young Kryptonians would take as they grew up. Scientific and technological research were highly valued on Krypton, with the ruling body of Krypton named the "Science Council".

Several stories featured characters traveling back in time to visit Krypton before its destruction; one example is the 1960 story "Superman's Return to Krypton", in which Superman is swept back in time to Krypton some years before its destruction. Powerless, he spends some time on the planet, where he meets his future parents-to-be and falls in love with a Kryptonian actress named [[Lyla Lerrol]]. A ''Superman'' "imaginary story" entitled "What If Krypton Had Not Exploded?" (reprinted in the [[Trade paperback (comics)|trade paperback]] ''The Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told'') gave more insight into Krypton's society. This era also established that the [[Guardians of the Universe]], the administrators of the interstellar police force, the [[Green Lantern Corps]], were themselves aware of Krypton's pending destruction and assigned [[Green Lantern]] [[Tomar-Re]] to avert it, but he was ultimately unsuccessful in his attempt.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Maggin |first1=Eliot |last2=Dillon |first2=Dick |last3=Giordano |first3=Dick |title=The Greatest Green Lantern of All |journal=Superman |date=October 1972 |volume=1}}</ref>

In 1980, a three-issue [[Limited series (comics)|miniseries]] titled ''[[World of Krypton]]'' was published,<ref>{{cite book|chapter= 1970s|title = DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle|publisher=[[Dorling Kindersley]] |year=2010 |isbn= 978-0-7566-6742-9 |page= 181 |quote = The worldwide success of ''Superman: The Movie'' motivated [DC] to publish more Superman-related titles. With that, editor E. Nelson Bridwell oversaw a project that evolved into comics' first official limited series - ''World of Krypton''...Featuring out-of-this-world artwork from Howard Chaykin, [Paul] Kupperberg's three-issue limited series explored Superman's homeworld.}}</ref> providing a great amount of detail into Krypton's history just before its destruction, along with the life story of [[Jor-El]] himself. A three-issue miniseries entitled ''The Krypton Chronicles'', published in 1981, tells of Superman researching his roots<ref>Manning, Matthew K. "1980s" in Dolan, p. 195: "The Man of Steel took a look at his family tree in this three-issue miniseries by writer E. Nelson Bridwell and longtime ''Superman'' mainstay artist Curt Swan".</ref> when, as [[Clark Kent]], he was assigned to write an article about Superman's family by an assignment editor impressed with the television miniseries [[Roots (1977 miniseries)|''Roots'']]. To do so, he and Supergirl travel to Kandor, where they learn the history of the El family. In 1985, writer [[Alan Moore]] gave a somewhat darker glimpse into the world of Krypton in his story "[[For the Man Who Has Everything]]" (in ''Superman Annual'' #11), the premise being an elaborate dream of Superman's in which Krypton had not exploded and he had grown to adulthood there. Background details are culled from other Krypton stories. This same story was retold in the animated series ''[[Justice League Unlimited]]'' in an episode by the same name and several elements were used in the [[Supergirl (TV series)|''Supergirl'' series]] episode "[[For the Girl Who Has Everything (Supergirl)|For the Girl Who Has Everything]]". The story was also an inspiration for ''[[Krypton (TV series)|Krypton]]'' episode "Mercy".

====Flora and fauna====
Krypton has a vast number of flora and fauna, both wild and domesticated. Some of them look very similar to Earth's animals, due to [[parallel evolution]], e.g., [[birds]], [[felids]], [[canids]], [[simians]], etc., as seen in [[Krypto]] and [[Beppo (comics)|Beppo]]; while others look very different, due to [[divergent evolution]], e.g., [[fish]]/[[snake]]/[[Anguilliformes|eel-like]] hybrid creatures called "''fish-snakes''", [[Caprinae|goat-like]] creatures called "''Zuurt''", [[bovinae|bovine-like]] creatures called "''Rondor''", [[rhino]]/[[ceratopsian|ceratopsian-like]] hybrid creatures called "''Thought-Beasts''", [[dragon|dragon-like]] creatures called "''H'Raka''", gigantic, one-horned [[serpentes|snake-like]] creatures called "''Drang''", and [[jellyfish|jellyfish-like]] [[invertebrate]] creatures called "''Shoggoth''".

====Moons====
One of Krypton's moons, Wegthor, was accidentally destroyed by the Kryptonian scientist [[Jax-Ur]], who was experimenting with a nuclear missile that was diverted from its intended destination. The disaster killed 500 inhabitants of the moon and Jax-Ur became the first and only criminal to be banished eternally to the [[Phantom Zone]]. This disaster also prompted the Science Council of Krypton to ban space flight completely.<ref>{{Cite comic
 | writer = [[Paul Kupperberg|Kupperberg, Paul]]
 | artist = [[Howard Chaykin|Chaykin, Howard]], [[Frank Chiaramonte|Chiaramonte, Frank]]
 | story = The Last Days of Krypton
 | title = World of Krypton
 | volume = 1
 | issue = #3
 | date = September 1979
 | publisher = DC Comics
 | location = New York
 | pages = 2–3
 }}</ref>

====Survivors====
A Silver Age Superman was not alone in the survival of Krypton's destruction, being joined by his cousin [[Supergirl (Kara Zor-El)|Supergirl]], the [[Phantom Zone]] criminals, [[Krypto|Krypto the Superdog]], [[Beppo (comics)|Beppo the Super-Monkey]], a juvenile delinquent named [[Dev-Em]], the entire population of the city of [[Kandor (comics)|Kandor]], Supergirl's biological parents, and even Superman's biological parents (in hibernation on a space ship - ''Superboy'' #158 (July 1969)), although it was discovered that they actually died from lethal radiation. When the planet exploded, one entire city of Krypton, Argo City, survived the cataclysm.

Argo City drifted through space on an asteroid-sized fragment of Krypton, which had been transformed into [[kryptonite]] by the explosion. The super-advanced technology of its Kryptonian inhabitants allowed them to construct a life-sustaining dome and a [[lead]] shield that protected their city from the kryptonite radiation of the asteroid. The protective shield was destroyed in a meteor storm, exposing the inhabitants to the deadly radiation.

The sole survivor of Argo City, [[Supergirl (Kara Zor-El)|Kara Zor-El]], was sent to Earth by her scientist father to live with her cousin Kal-El, who had become known as Superman. Kara adjusted to her new life on Earth and became known as Supergirl. It was later discovered that Supergirl's parents had survived in the Survival Zone, a parallel dimension similar to the Phantom Zone, from which she released them. When the bottle city of Kandor was finally enlarged on a new planet that was similar to Krypton, Supergirl's parents joined its inhabitants to live there.

====Daxamites====
The people now known as the Daxamites were originally Kryptonians who left their homeworld to explore the universe. In post-''[[Crisis on Infinite Earths]]'' continuity, the [[Eradicator (character)|Eradicator]], an artificial lifeform programmed to preserve all Kryptonian culture, altered the birthing matrices ("artificial wombs") that the explorers took with them so that all newborns would be fatally vulnerable to lead and other materials such as greenhouse gases and certain rocks. Thus, if they persisted in their anti-Kryptonian wanderlust, they would all die from it. One Daxamite, [[Mon-El]], was poisoned by lead and preserved in the Phantom Zone until [[Brainiac 5]] found a cure in the 30th century, whereafter Mon-El became a member of the [[Legion of Super-Heroes]].

====Vathlo Island====
{{Infobox fictional location
| name        = Vathlo Island
| image       = vathlo.jpg
| image_size  = 
| caption     = Vathlo Island, from map of Krypton in ''Superman'' #239 ([[Sal Amendola]], artist).
| blank_label = [[:Category:Comics publishing companies|Publisher]]
| blank_data  = [[DC Comics]]
| first       = ''[[Superman (comic book)|Superman]]'' #239<br />(June/July 1971)
| source      = [[Superman (comic book)|Superman]]
| creator     = [[Sal Amendola]]
| genre       = [[Superhero comics]]
| type        = Island continent
| people      = Iph-Ro<ref>[[Mark Schultz (comics)|Mark Schultz]] (2001-04). ''Superman: The Man of Steel'' #111 (April 2001).</ref>
| races       = [[Kryptonian]]s
| locations   = 
}}
'''Vathlo Island''' is a fictional location on Krypton, notable as an early attempt to explain in-universe the seeming non-presence of [[black people]] throughout the universe.<ref name="vathlo"/> Other scholars have called Vathlo Island out more broadly as a stand-in for different non-white diaspora communities, such [[Hispanic and Latino Americans]].<ref>{{cite book| last =Aldama| first =Frederick Luis| title =Latinx Superheroes in Mainstream Comics| publisher =[[University of Arizona Press]]| date =2017| pages =9| language =English| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=R3wzDwAAQBAJ| isbn = 9780816537082| accessdate=2024-04-03}}</ref>

In issue #234 of ''Superman'' (February 1971), the first apparently dark-skinned Kryptonian was featured, and described as being employed at "Vathlo Station", but the origin of this previously unseen Kryptonian ethnicity otherwise went uncommented on.<ref name="vathlo">{{cite book| last=Zeichmann| first=Christopher B.| editor-last=Darowski| editor-first=Joseph J.| title=The Ages of Superman: Essays on the Man of Steel in Changing Times| chapter=Black Like Lois: Confronting Racism, Configuring African American Presence| publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]| date=2012| pages=78–90| language=English| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E_86DwAAQBAJ| isbn=9780786463084| access-date=2019-08-31}}</ref>

Half a year later, in ''Superman'' #239 (June 1971), a panel drawn by artist [[Sal Amendola]] described a "Vathlo Island" in the "Old World" hemisphere of Krypton as being populated by a "highly developed [[Black people|black]] race".<ref name="vathlo"/>

DC generally lagged behind its competitor [[Marvel Comics]], and Superman comics generally more so than other DC titles, in depicting characters of color,<ref name="vathlo"/> and there were few previous appearances of black characters in the series, mostly stereotypical "natives".<ref name="bookofpdr">{{cite web| last=Ryall| first=Patrick D.| title=The First Africans In Superman| website=The Book of PDR| date=March 19, 2023| url=http://www.bookofpdr.com/2023/03/19/the-first-africans-in-superman/| access-date=2023-03-19}}</ref> It is unknown who exactly was responsible for introducing these first nonwhite races to Krypton's demographic makeup, but [[Mark Waid]] has speculated that it was [[E. Nelson Bridwell]], editorial assistant on the Superman books at the time.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newsarama.com/1890-supermen-of-color-the-non-white-kryptonians.html|title=Supermen of Color: The Non-White Kryptonians|last=Brady|first=Matt|date=2009-01-06|website=newsarama.com|publisher=[[Newsarama]]|access-date=2019-08-31|quote=I cringe to tell you this [says DC writer Mark Waid], but the Kryptonians of Color were all on 'Vathlo Island, Home of a Highly Advanced Black Race'. It wasn't until the mid-70s, when more 'World of Krypton' back-up stories ran more regularly, that we really saw any ethnicity whatsoever on the planet.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130722154336/https://www.newsarama.com/1890-supermen-of-color-the-non-white-kryptonians.html
|archive-date=22 July 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> The commentary on the Vathlorians being "highly developed" (as if it were peculiar and noteworthy that people with dark skin might be developed) is generally seen by modern commentators as being well-intended but "cringeworthy".<ref>{{cite news| last=Chamary| first=JV| title=Science Says Superman Should Be Black| newspaper=[[Forbes]]| location=[[Jersey City, New Jersey]]| language=English| date=2016-03-31| url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jvchamary/2016/03/31/black-superman/#529cc7913b18| access-date=2019-08-31}}</ref>

Other commentators have noted that the creation of Vathlo Island inspired a whole host of other questions, such as 'If there are black Kryptonians, why are they so seldom seen, and why do they appear to live only on one island?' ''[[Gizmodo]]'' noted that a Krypton structured this way seems "segregated as hell",<ref>{{cite web| url=https://gizmodo.com/a-brief-history-of-dc-comics-black-supermen-1846654682| title=A Brief History of DC Comics' Black Supermen| last=Pulliam-Moore| first=Charles| date=2021-04-12| website=[[Gizmodo]]| publisher=| access-date=2021-07-20| quote=Unexamined as Vathlo's existence has gone for the bulk of DC Comics' history, its creation immediately raised a number of questions about Kryptonian society that Superman comics, and much of the fandom, have never been particularly keen on asking. By presenting Vathlo as an island full of Black Kryptonians without explaining what they were doing there, Giant Superman made it impossible not to regard it as being a reflection of our reality's history of racial segregation, even if that wasn't DC's express intent.}}</ref> while [[Gene Demby]] observed that this was an example of "segregation in everything".<ref>{{Cite tweet| last=Demby| first=Gene|author-link=Gene Demby|user= GeeDee215|number= 849621436557910016|date= 2017-04-05|title=So yeah. #housingsegregationineverything. Even Krypton.|script-title=|trans-title=|language= English|retweet=|location=|access-date= 2021-07-20|link= https://twitter.com/GeeDee215/status/849621436557910016|ref=}}</ref> DC Comics writer [[Mark Waid]] called this an "error of omission" coming from DC's desire to represent people of darker skin as living on Krypton, but implementing this in a way with unintended implications.<ref>{{cite book| last=Goodrum| first=Michael| title=Superheroes and American Self Image: From War to Watergate| publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]| series=| volume=| date=2017| pages=| language=English| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eggkDwAAQBAJ| isbn=9781317048398| accessdate=2024-04-03}}</ref> However, other writers have pointed out that DC would go on to re-use this as a rationale to explain the non-presence of black skinned characters in other contexts, as with the [[Tyroc]] character.<ref name="circ">{{cite book| last=Schwartz| first=Roy| title=Is Superman Circumcised?: The Complete Jewish History of the World's Greatest Hero| publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]| date=2021| pages=231| language=English| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XIMwEAAAQBAJ| isbn=9781476662909| accessdate=2024-04-03}}</ref>

Vathlo was rarely if ever referenced beyond these few issues, although a black Kryptonian named "Iph-Ro of Vathlo" appeared in the more recent ''[[Superman: The Man of Steel]]'' #111.<ref>[[Mark Schultz (comics)|Mark Schultz]] (2001-04). Superman: The Man of Steel #111 (April 2001).</ref> An offhand reference to the island was made in [[Alan Moore]]'s story "[[For the Man Who Has Everything]]", where "racial trouble with the Vathlo Island immigrants" are mentioned in a dream-world Krypton that had avoided destruction.<ref>{{cite book| last=Reynolds| first=Richard| title=Super Heroes: A Modern Mythology| publisher=[[University Press of Mississippi]]| date=1994| pages=62| language=English| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rrx-5cn1F8oC| isbn=9780878056941| accessdate=2024-04-03}}</ref> It is believed, based on the appearances of black Kryptonians in recent Superman issues, that the Vathlonians eventually were integrated into Krypton proper, although there has been no canonical statement about this from DC Comics.<ref>{{cite web|author=Brady, Matt|title=Superman's planet is racially diverse-finally|publisher=[[NBC News|MSNBC.com]]|date=January 7, 2009|access-date=2009-01-11|url= http://www.nbcnews.com/id/28543087|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160323165700/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/28543087/|url-status= dead|archive-date= March 23, 2016}}</ref>

In ''[[Superman: World of New Krypton]]'' #4, it is established that Vathlo Islanders settled in [[Kandor (comics)|Kandor]] prior to the destruction of Krypton.<ref>''Superman: World of New Krypton'' #4 (August 2009).</ref>

In ''[[Final Crisis]]'' #7 a black version of Superman is shown to reside on the alternate universe of Earth-23. This Superman, whose given name is Kalel but adopts the human alias of Calvin Ellis, is shown to originate from Vathlo Island of his reality's Krypton.<ref name=ACv2iss9>{{cite magazine| last1= Morrison| first1= Grant| author-link1= Grant Morrison| last2= Ha| first2= Gene| author-link2= Gene Ha| last3= Lyon| first3= Art| author-link3= | last4= Brosseau| first4= Pat| date=July 2012| orig-date=| editor1-last= Idelson| editor1-first=Matt| editor2-last= Moss| editor2-first=Wil| title= The Curse of Superman| magazine= [[Action Comics]]| type=Comic| language= English| publisher=[[DC Comics]]| publication-date= 2012-05-02| volume= 2| issue= 9| quote= "Their world was called Krypton, and greatest of all its mighty cities was the science-capital Jandra-La on Valtho Island in the Green Danahu Ocean. It was there, as the planet was ripped apart...that two desperate young scientists named Jorel and Lara performed their last, most daring experiment together. Unable to save themselves from Krypton's apocalypse, they placed their only son, Kalel, in a prototype rocket and shot him across the empty gulfs of space... Now, disguised as United States President Calvin Ellis, Kalel of Krypton fights a never-ending battle for Truth, Justice, Liberty and Equality as... SUPERMAN."
}}</ref>

While the island itself did not appear and was not referenced in the television series ''[[Smallville]]'', [[Ethnic groups of Africa|African]]-looking/dark-skinned Kryptonians have been featured. One was a disciple of [[General Zod|Zod]], who goes by the name Nam-Ek (portrayed by [[Leonard Roberts]]). Another was named Basqat (played by Adrian Holmes).

Dark-skinned Kryptonians have also appeared in the SyFy television series ''[[Krypton (TV series)|Krypton]]'', including Lyta-Zod, one of the series' main characters, and General Zod himself. In this version, Vathlo Island is not mentioned.

Characters in [[Eric Jerome Dickey]]'s novel ''The Son of Mr. Suleman'' discuss Vathlo Island and react with derision to the idea that there was segregation on Krypton.<ref>{{cite book| last=Dickey| first=Eric Jerome| authorlink=Eric Jerome Dickey| title=The Son of Mr. Suleman| publisher=[[E. P. Dutton]]| date=2021| pages=126| language=English| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RKxPEAAAQBAJ| isbn=9781524745233| accessdate=2024-04-03}}</ref>

====''Crisis on Infinite Earths''====
After the 1985 miniseries ''[[Crisis on Infinite Earths]]'', the Silver Age version of Krypton was replaced by a newer version. The Silver Age Krypton made a rare Post-''Crisis'' appearance in [[The Sandman (Vertigo)|''The Sandman'']] #48, during a flashback sequence.