For years, one of the most important parts ofSuperman’slore was that Superman was the last living Kryptonian; there weren’t any other survivors in the entire universe. But as the DC Universe continued to expand, the idea of Superman as the last living Kryptonian started to seem like a waste of potential.
After a few decades of Superman being the last living Kryptonian, DC began introducing more survivors, both as friends and enemies to the former Last Son of Krypton. These additions includedmajor characters such as Kara Zor-El’s Supergirl and General Dru-Zod. While Kryptonians were once thought to be nearly extinct, there are more than ever now, with at least fifteen known survivors — and likely many more.
Superman’s New Logo Makes Him More Alien Than Ever For DC’s Absolute Universe
Superman’s ‘S’ shield gets an edgy yet recognizable redesign that is perfect for DC’s darker reimagining of the character in Absolute Power.
First Appearance:Supergirl#13 by Mike Johnson, Sami Basri, Dave McCaig, and Rob Leigh
H’El is a strange case, as he believed himself to be a skilled Kryptonian explorer working for Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van, whom he loved like his own parents. It was eventually revealed thatH’El wasn’t a true Kryptonian, but a clone. When Krypton was about to explode, Jor-El built a rocket ship and helped H’El escape, making him promise to protect the legacy of Krypton. 27 years after Kal-El arrived on Earth, H’El arrived, immediately bringing him into conflict with the Superman Family. He tried to murder Superboy Kon-El for being a clone, making him one of the Super-Family’s most dangerous enemies.
14Eradicator
First Appearance (as a Device):Action Comics Annual#2 by Roger Stern and Curt Swan
Being obsessed with preserving the legacy of Krypton seems to be a common trope of Kryptonian survivors, and the Eradicator perfectly embodies this. The Eradicator wasdesigned as a weapon to preserve Kryptonian culture. While initially little more than a weapon, the Eradicator eventually evolved into having a full body. This evolution was spurred on bySuperman being killed by Doomsday.Eradicator was responsible for both Superman’s return after Doomsday seemingly killed him and the creation of the Fortress of Solitude. While initially a villain, Eradicator has helped Superman in the past.
First Appearance:Superboy#89 by Robert Bernstein, George Papp, and Joe Letterese
Mon-El is another strange example, as he’s not technically a Kryptonian. When he landed on Krypton, he was quickly warned of the impending explosion by Jor-El, and was sent to Earth. He arrived a few years after Superman and quickly made friends with Clark Kent’s Superboy, though he lost his memories due to his travel. Seeing as Mon-El had the exact same powers as him, Superboy assumed him to be a Kryptonian and was overjoyed to meet him. But after Mon-El demonstrated complete immunity to Kryptonite, it was revealed Mon-El was actually a Daxamite, an offshoot of Kryptonians who are weak to lead.
Mon-El Is often a staple character of the Legion of Super-Heroes, DC’s classic team from the far future!
First Appearance:Superman#668 by Kurt Busiek, Rick Leonardi, Dan Green, Pete Pantazis, and Comicraft
Krypton wasn’t always the planet of science and reason that it was before it exploded. It used to be a massive military empire, and that empire needed soldiers.Karsta Wor-Ul was one of these soldiers, and she invaded plenty of planets in the name of Krypton. Eventually, Krypton gave up its militaristic ways and recalled its forces, but Karsta and her group refused to return, instead going AWOL and becoming space pirates.After the destruction of Kryptonand her group being slaughtered, Karsta settled down on Earth, reasoning that anyone who hated Kryptonians would attack Superman before finding her.
First Appearance:Adventure Comics#283 by Robert Bernstein and George Papp
Xa-Du wasthe first prisoner of the Phantom Zoneand is best remembered for fooling Superman with increasingly absurd disguises. When Xa-Du first escaped the Phantom Zone, he took the place of Johnathan Kent as he tried to locate the Phantom Zone Projector. He was eventually defeated and sealed away in space. Eventually, Xa-Du returned to Earth and took his next disguise as Superman’s dentist, hypnotizing Clark into wanting to destroy Earth. Many years later, during the New 52 reboot, Xa-Du returned as thePhantom King, the first ruler of the Phantom Zone.
Xa-Du returns to DC lore as part of 2024’s DC All In initiative. Catch the storyline in which he appears starting withAction Comics#1070 by Mark Waid and Clayton Henry, available October 9th, 2024 from DC Comics.
10Zor-El
Superman / Batman#9 by Jeph Loeb, Michael Turner, Peter Steigerwald, and Richard Starkings
Zor-El is the father of Kara Zor-El — Supergirl. A skilled scientist, he tried to save the city of Argo from Krypton’s destruction. He also helped verify his daughter escaped. Unfortunately, after arriving on Earth himself, Zor-El was be killed by Lex Luthor’s task force, who were made to hunt down and murder Kryptonians during the events ofNew Krypton. Zor-El didn’t fair much better in the New 52 timeline either, as he was kidnapped by Brainiac and brainwashed into becoming an evil Cyborg Superman. Despite his sympathetic origins, he’s now a majorenemy to the Superman Familyand a great personal villain to Supergirl specifically.
9Doomsday
First Appearance:Superman: The Man of Steel#17 by Louise Simonson, Jon Bogdanove, Bob McLeod, Glenn Whitmore, and Bill Oakley
Doomsday is possibly the first Kryptonian to exist. He was born on Krypton and experimented on for nearly hundreds of years, long before the humanoid Kryptonians had even evolved. He was experimented on by a mysterious alien named Bertron who wanted to create the strongest living organism, and while he succeeded, he also created a monster that hated all life.While Doomsday will happily kill anything in his path, he holds a special hatred for anything specifically from Krypton, which is what led the monster into his first encounter with Superman during theDeath of Supermanstoryline.
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8Krypto
First Appearance:Adventure Comics#210 by Otto Binder, Curt Swan, and Sy Barry
Krypto was the El family pet. When Jor-El realized Krpyton was going to explode, he immediately began building rockets to save Kal-El. But needing to test the rocket first, he had no choice but to use Krypto as the first test subject. So, after stuffing Krypto in a rocket, Jor-El fired the family dog into outer space. Thankfully, Krypto actually mad it to Earth, but it took him a few years longer than Kal-El. By the time Krypto arrived, Kal-El was already a young teenager, andKrypto has been by Clark’s side ever since, protecting both him and the other members of the Super-Family.
7The Lost City of Kandor
First Appearance:Action Comics#242 by Otto Binder and Al Plastino
The Lost City of Kandor is the biggest bastion of surviving Kryptonians in DC history, even with their population fluctuating depending on the story. The bottled city of Kandor has been stated to hold 10 million, 7 million, and 100 thousand Kryptonians. They were able to survive the destruction of Krypton due to Brainiac stealing the city long before Krypton exploded. Even thoughSuperman saved the City of Kandorfrom Brainiac, it took him years to figure out a way to reverse Brainiac’s shrinking technology. When he eventually did, it led to the events ofNew Krypton, which, unfortunately, ended in tragedy.
First Appearance:Earth 2#19 by Tom Taylor, Nicola Scott, Robson Rocha, Oclair Albert, Trevor Scott, Pete Pantazis, and Dezi Sienty
On Earth 2, Val-Zod was one of several Kryptonians to escape to Earth along with Kal-El and Kara Zor-El. Learning from his parents that violence was meaningless, Val-Zod took up an oath of pacifism. After landing on Earth, he was discovered by Terry Sloan, a businessman who kept Val in isolation.It wasn’t until Lois Lane discovered him that he finally entered the real world.With Superman brainwashed and going on a rampage, it was up to Val-Zod to fight the rogue Superman and try his best to save the world. After Superman’s death duringWorld’s End, Val-Zod became the new Superman of Earth 2.
