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In the latest issue of Empire Magazine, Supergirl writer Ana Nogueira identified Krypto as the key to unlocking the movie. Not only does the Krypto’s connection to her own dog help Nogueira find the emotional center for her superhero movie, but an injury dealt in the movie’s first act gives Supergirl a reason to go on her adventure.
In this way, Supergirl follows the lead set by Superman, which also turned Krypto into a household sensation. But really, both movies are just applying the lessons learned by DC Comics, when the company started giving all of its major heroes animal friends, most with incredible powers of their own. Given the popularity of Krypto and DC Studios co-head James Gunn‘s general love of animals and goofy comic book concepts, the time is right for more super-pets to invade the cinematic universe.
To be clear, we’re talking here only about specific pets, not just about animals or animal-themed characters from DC Comics. We realize that we sometimes run into Disney logic here, where Pluto’s a pet and Goofy is not—and Comet’s backstory further complicates things—but you won’t find Detective Chimp, the Green Lantern Ch’p, nor any member of Captain Carrot’s Zoo Crew on this list.
Comet the Super-Horse
Our first entry might also immediately render this list out of date, but we need to start with Supergirl’s pet from the comics. Comet the Super-Horse has not only been part of Supergirl’s story since 1962, when he made his first appearance in Adventure Comics #293, but he’s an integral part of Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, the comic series that inspired the new film. But so far, we haven’t seen any evidence that Comet will be in the movie.
We can understand why producers would be hesitant to include Comet, because he’s not actually a horse. He’s a centaur from ancient Greece, who fell in love with the sorceress Circe. Due to Greek god shenanigans, Biron was transformed into a horse and given superpowers. In horse form, Biron spent centuries in the cosmos, finally meeting Supergirl, where she adopted him as Comet the Super-Horse—a name she kept even after he briefly took on human form and romanced her.
Ace the Bat-Hound
In 1940, DC Comics scored a massive hit by working Robin Hood into their comics by giving Batman a teen sidekick modeled on Errol Flynn’s laughing swashbuckler. In 1955, Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff tried again, this time pulling from Rin Tin Tin and Ace the Wonder Dog, the stars of adventure serials to introduce Ace the Bat-Hound.
Ace’s first appearance in Batman #92 follows a standard animal adventure plot, in which he helped Batman and Robin find his master. However, after he became Bruce Wayne’s official dog, Ace started assisting in fights against supervillains, wearing a bat-mask the entire time. Ace never was as prominent as he was in the first decade of his existence, but he would be a perfect fit in the DCU’s animal embrace.
Beppo the Super-Monkey
As we saw in Superman, the new DCU’s Jor-El isn’t quite the benevolent paterfamilias we’ve usually seen. Tough as that revelation was for Kal-El, it does open a way for Beppo to enter the cinematic universe.
Introduced in Superboy #76 (1959) by Otto Binder and George Papp, Beppo was a chimp that Jor-El used for scientific experiments. He escaped his cage during the destruction of Krypton and slipped into the rocket that took Kal-El to Earth. Like the humanoid people of Krytpon, Beppo’s cells reacted to Earth’s yellow sun, gaining all of the enhanced abilities of Kal-El, without losing any of his monkey mischievousness.
Flexy the Plastic-Bird
Popular as they were in the 1950s and ’60s, super pets were among the first to go when the Bronze Age of comics took a darker, grittier turn. Some were reinvented as regular pets, and others appeared in imaginary tales, but they were most often handled with embarrassment, a relic of a sillier, less important era.
However, as creators such as Grant Morrison began to bring Silver Age concepts back into the mainstream, a space opened for super-pets. So in 2018’s Super Sons Annual #1 by Peter Tomasi and Paul Pelletier, the Legion of Super-Pets reformed, complete with a brand-new animal: Flexy the Plastic-Bird. Like his human counterpart Plastic Man, Flexy can stretch into any shape or form, a great ability, but one that’s only netted him three appearances so far.
Itty
Now it’s time to get weird. So far, the pets on this list have been superpowered versions of Earth animals, but that’s not the case with Itty, the little friend of Green Lantern Hal Jordan. A starfish-like alien that Hal met on one of his adventures, shown in 1975’s The Flash #238 by Dennis O’Neil and Mike Grell. After helping Hal get out of a trap, Itty became a constant companion, sitting on Hal’s shoulder, even out of costume.
Itty stuck around when Green Lantern reunited with Oliver Queen aka Green Arrow for a second round of more gritty, grounded adventures in the later ’70s, but he eventually changed form, first growing into a strange white thing with tendrils, and later into a gas creature. In this last form, Itty had matured to adulthood and left Earth to go find a mate, a decision that both Hal and Ollie fully supported.
Jumpa
Wonder Woman sometimes gets the short shrift when compared to Batman and Superman. But when it comes to super-pets, Diana beat the guys by more than a decade. In 1942’s Sensation Comics #6 by William Moulton Marston and Harry G. Peter, Wonder Woman got a ride from Jumpa, a Kanga living on Paradise Island. Kanga’s do indeed look like the more familiar kangaroos, but their proximity to the Amazons makes them larger, and gives them the ability to jump incredible distances, perfect for Wonder Woman.
Sadly, Jumpa was a bit before her time, and only had a handful of appearances, until her last story in 1949. Since then, she’s only been mentioned in non-canonical stories and especially kid-focused spin-offs.
Koko the Space-Monkey
Most other pets on this list belong to heroes, but even bad guys need furry friends. Case in point: Koko the Space-Monkey, the original companion of Man of Tomorrow big bad Brainiac. A white, short-haired simian with two antennae sprouting from his head, Koko made his debut with Brainiac in 1958’s Action Comics #242, by Binder and Al Plastino.
In his first appearances, Koko largely functioned as a sounding board for Brainaic, giving the villain someone to whom he could monologue. Brainiac went on, but Koko more or less disappeared from comics, outside of the occasional homage (see: the space-monkey pet of Legion of Super-Heroes member Brainiac 5). But Man of Tomorrow would be a perfect time for Koko to return, perhaps as one of those internet monkeys still running free after Superman.
Proty
Speaking of the Legion of Super-Heroes, meet Proty. As fitting the Legion’s setting in the 30th century, Proty belongs to an alien race called the Proteans, a shapeshifting blob of goo that can form telepathic bonds with its master. Proteans can also shapeshift, which makes Proty a natural choice to pair with Chameleon Boy, the Legion’s resident shapeshifter.
Proty was introduced in 1963’s Adventure Comics #308 by Edmond Hamilton and John Forte, a story that dealt with the death and apparent resurrection of Legion co-fonder Lightning Lad. That story had a goofy, sci-fi tone, but it sets the stage for future Proty adventures, in which the lil’ blob takes the form of Lightning Lad, first to prevent the hero’s death and later to replace him altogether.
Streaky the Super-Cat
As any cat owner can attest, cats do their own thing and don’t care about anyone else, human or otherwise. So it’s somewhat fitting that Supergirl’s cat Streaky, created by Jerry Siegel and Jim Mooney for 1960’s Action Comics #261, doesn’t follow the model of other superpets. Streaky is not a cat from Krypton. Rather, he’s from Earth, and only got powers after being exposed to an experimental form of Kryptonite.
Streaky had a few adventures alongside Proty and Krypto in the Legion of Super-Pets, and initially disappeared around the time that animal sidekicks fell out of favor with comic book readers. Once again, though, Streaky had to do things his way, reappearing in the form of a regular (if someone haggard-looking) cat that gets adopted by Power Girl (who is also Supergirl, but we don’t have time to get into that here).
Topo
We end with perhaps the biggest cheat on this list, because Topo has in fact appeared in the DCU… sort of. After a cameo in Aquaman, Topo gets a bigger part in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, helping Arthur and Orm complete their mission. But as Jason Momoa‘s recasting as Lobo shows, this version of Aquaman belongs to another universe, making room for Topo once again.
Hopefully, the new DCU will follow in the footsteps of the previous Aquaman movies. Since his first adventure in Adventure Comics #229 (1956) by Ramona Fradon, Topo has been more of a sidekick than a pet, helping Arthur solve difficult puzzles and even getting into the fight. Later incarnations reimagined Topo as a sea monster, but Topo works best when he’s just a friendly octopus. Perhaps he can hang out with one of Lobo’s space dolphins, bringing everything full circle.
The post Krypto and the Superpets We Want to See in the DCU appeared first on Den of Geek.
