"A shining jewel in a vast, dark universe."

— Zod, to Lana Lang, Zod

Krypton was a planet in a distant galaxy millions of light-years from Earth. It was the homeworld of the Kryptonians.

Krypton orbited the red sun Rao, which was worshiped as a patron deity by Kryptonians. It also had several moons.

It was considered by the universe as a peaceful and advanced planet until civil war broke out, leading to its destruction in 1986 by Zod and Zor-El after they used Brainiac to ignite Krypton's unstable core.

Physical Appearance

Krypton had a stark white terrain of jagged, frozen/crystalline plateaus stretching broadly under heavy, dark red skies from its red sun. Despite its arctic nature and freezing temperatures, it was close enough to its sun to sustain life.

History

Prehistory

(All birth dates for those born on Krypton are in Earth years)

Kryptonians were initially a fierce and savage race of brutal yet honorable warriors; in the distant past, they waged war against other civilizations, both on their homeworld and on other planets. Over time, they evolved into a more peaceful and intellectual people, eventually becoming devoted to science.^[2] They scrapped their society of dictatorship, instead having a government run and headed by the Ruling Council, who ran the planet peacefully. Kryptonians gained in technology greatly for the next few generations, and soon became the most advanced civilization in the 28 known galaxies; they were even looked upon as deities by some other races.

When Rao's prophecy was written, it foretold that, if Krypton was destroyed, a chosen Kryptonian could rise on another planet and make a utopia. In relation to this prophecy, a Kryptonian male of the House of El hid all of Krypton's knowledge in the form of a crystal that was broken into three pieces, creating the Stones of Power. This Kryptonian journeyed to the planet Earth, where he hid the stones at three different locations; he also came across a tribe of Indians known as the Kawatche and started a new prophecy on Earth about how he would return from the stars to save their world or send another Kryptonian.

Dax-Ur was one of the greatest scientists to live on Krypton. He designed the Brain InterActive Construct, a self-aware and conscious supercomputer that could permanently run Krypton on a day-to-day basis without the need for manual labor. Dax-Ur then realized the destruction that his creation could cause if it fell into the wrong hands and abandoned his designs without completing their construction. He fled Krypton, seeking solace on Earth, where he planned to study the effects that the planet's yellow sun had on various Kryptonian minerals.

Jor-El, Zod, and Faora were all born on Krypton in 1935. Jor-El's brother Zor-El was born in 1940. Lara was born in 1942.

In 1961, Jor-El traveled to Earth as a rite of passage by his father, Seyg-El, fell in love with Louise McCallum, and met Hiram and Jessica Kent. He left his memories, stored in a memory pendant, behind on Earth and returned to Krypton.

Jor-El and Lara met sometime after his adventures on Earth, and the two were married sometime before he became a member of the Ruling Council.

In 1966, a terrible war was fought against Black Zero, who succeeded in destroying the city of Kandor; among those killed were the wife and young son of Zod who, at that time, was a major in Krypton's military. During this time, the Council commissioned Jor-El to construct an Orb containing the DNA of Krypton's strongest (including Zod and Jor-El himself) with the intent of sending it to Earth so they would be resurrected if Rao's prophecy ever came true. Kandor was re-built sometime after its destruction by Black Zero.

Zor-El's daughter Kara was born in 1968.^{[citation needed]}

Years after the death of his wife and son, Zod rose to the rank of General, married Faora, and began his plans to take over Krypton.

The War

Early War

Zod was a strong believer in the old barbaric ways of Kryptonian society, and believed that his people had become weak and therefore needed to be dictated. So over the years as he grew in power, he gathered loyal disciples and forces that he would use in an attempt to overthrow the Ruling Council and conquer Krypton. When he believed that he had enough forces, Zod mounted an attack on Krypton, beginning a war with the Council.

After the war had been going on for some time, Zod had caused damage to the Council, so they asked Jor-El to create Dax-Ur's Brain InterActive Construct to aid in the war against Zod, using its extensive knowledge to help the Council defeat Zod. However, Zod learned of the creation of Brainiac and was able to corrupt it, making it an ally to him and his disciples.

During this time, Zor-El attempted to kill Jor-El, believing that his brother had stolen Lara from him. After his assassination attempt on Jor-El, he was disgraced as a scientist and became the operator for Kandor's mine. Zod used Zor-El's hatred of Jor-El against Krypton, and Zor-El joined Zod's efforts to take over Krypton.

Since Zod and Faora were unable to have children, they decided to genetically engineer their own "ultimate" son and thus gathered the DNA of the most violent Kryptonian species, fusing them all together with their own DNA. Zod and Faora planned to send their "son" to Earth, where he would destroy the population, leaving the planet deserted so that, in case Zod could not rule Krypton, they would rule Earth as a family instead.

Zod gave major roles in the war to his two closest disciples, Aethyr and Nam-Ek, whom he would let make decisions on where their forces should attack. Nam-Ek and Aethyr often conversed with Zor-El, who would tell them of the Council's plans and where would be best to attack and weaken the Council.^[3]

As the war on Krypton raged on, Kal-El was born to Jor-El and Lara.^[4]

Leading to Krypton's Destruction

Krypton began experiencing massive tremors during the war, and the Council asked Jor-El to investigate. Jor-El suspected that the tremors where caused because Zor-El was operating Kandor's mine (the last one remaining not in Zod's hands) at full capacity, mining too deep. When the Council questioned Zor-El, he claimed that, without the mine working at full power, the Council would not have enough resources for the war, and that the tremors were temporary and caused by the attacks suffered during the war. Convinced, the Council allowed Zor-El to continue operating the mine at the same capacity.^[5]

Zor-El, however, had a different agenda. A strong believer in Rao's prophecy, he believed himself to be the chosen Kryptonian who would rise on Earth and create a paradise. Because of this, when he realized that Zod was starting to fulfill the prophecy by ravaging Krypton, Zor-El decided that he would complete the prophecy by igniting the planet's core and destroy Krypton.^[3][6][7]

Jor-El and the Council eventually managed to apprehend Zod and most of his followers.^[7] Jor-El convinced the Council to destroy all portals leading to Earth in order to prevent the rest of Zod's followers from escaping through them.^[7] The Council and Jor-El destroyed Zod's physical body and placed his essence in the Phantom Zone, along with Faora, leaving them with no escape unless they inhabited a Kryptonian vessel.

After Zod was captured, Jor-El learned about his association with Zor-El. He forced his brother to stop the dangerous mining operations and placed him under arrest by locking him inside the powered-off mine control room.^[7] Zor-El was almost finished with the ignition of the planet's core, so he commanded Brainiac to override the lockdown, allowing him to complete the ignition and escape.

Destruction

Zor-El made plans for him and Kara to flee Krypton before its destruction, but she found out about his ties with Zod and tried to expose him. Zor-El, with the help of his disciple Augo, tried to stop Kara, but she was able to notify Lara. When Zor-El tried to stop Kara, she pushed him into a cluster of hologram crystals, injuring him. Zor-El then erased Kara's memory and sent her away to Earth in a spaceship along with a blue crystal that contained his DNA, which could create a clone of him since his injury prevented him from traveling to Earth with Kara.^[7][8] He also put Lara's DNA in the crystal for two reasons: Because of his feelings towards her, and to lure his nephew Kal-El to the crystal should Kara fail to complete her task.^[9]

After Kara contacted Lara, she warned Jor-El about Zor-El's plan to ignite Krypton's core, so they sent their only son Kal-El in a spaceship to Earth away from Krypton's doom.^[8] Sometime before Kal-El left Krypton, Zod and Faora attached the genetic matter that was their "son" to Kal-El's ship.

Jor-El placed his assistant Raya in the Phantom Zone to escape while he and Lara went to try and stop Krypton's destruction.

In 2008, Brainiac traveled with Kara back through time to Krypton just before its destruction, in an attempt to kill Kal-El so he wouldn't grow up to become Earth's protector. He tracked down Kal-El and his ship, presumably killing Jor-El and Lara, before Kara attempted to stop him. Brainiac easily overpowered Kara (who was powerless due to Krypton's red sun) when Clark Kent arrived from the future; Brainiac overpowered him as well. That distracted him enough for Kara to find a sharp crystal and stab it through Brainiac, weakening him as Clark placed baby Kal-El in his ship, sending him to Earth as planned.

After Brainiac began igniting the planet's core, he contacted Nam-Ek and Aethyr, and told them that Zod had indeed been placed in the Phantom Zone and that the only way they could release him was to locate the Stones of Power before Kal-El; otherwise, they would have to force Kal-El. The three of them were able to escape from Krypton in another spaceship, known as the Black Ship.^[3]

Shortly after they all escaped, Krypton's core eventually ignited, leading to the total destruction of the planet, killing billions of people, including Jor-El, Lara, Zor-El, and the Ruling Council.

Interplanetary Relationships

Krypton had noticeable relationships with other planets and galaxies, as it was one of the most powerful and advanced civilizations in the universe.^[10] Some planets saw Kryptonians as a cold and harsh race.^[11] Many other planets looked up to Kryptonians as deity-like creatures, whereas others would despise their power and greatly hate Kryptonians.^[12]

Some planets, such as Earth and Mars, had good relationships with Krypton, with Kryptonians traveling to Earth frequently via portals. These trips to Earth spawned many Kryptonian connections to Earth, including the birth of the Kawatche and the occult interests in the Stones of Power by the witches Margaret Isobel Thoreaux, Brianna Withridge, and Madelyn Hibbins. Kryptonians, benevolent or otherwise, saw Earth as a paradise due to the powers and abilities they gained under the planet's yellow sun; this caused Earth to become the prime conduit of Kryptonian affairs, chosing it as the place where the Orb, and thus the lifeline of their civilisation, would be sent. However it can be speculated that the Ruling Council strictly controlled the Kryptonians who visited the Planet, allowing only powerful or influential citizens access, probably all too aware of the potential dangers a corrupted and empowered Kryptonian would pose to Krypton as well as Earth. Martians also had a good relationship with Krypton, as the Martian Manhunter would often go to Krypton to aid his friend Jor-El, but some Kryptonians would look down on Martians as a lower species.^[13]

The planet Almerac was a distant planet to Krypton, and their young would often be told stories about Krypton, in particular Kryptonian men and about how brave and gallant they were. Many Kryptonian men were desired as mates by Almeracian women.^[14]

The destruction of Krypton is well-known throughout the universe, with many species having knowledge of its destruction.

Notable Citizens

• Ruling Council: A democratic group that was established and appointed to office sometime after Kryptonians evolved from strict, lethal warriors to gentle, technologically efficient people.
• Seyg-El: Father of Jor-El and Zor-El, he sent his eldest son Jor-El to Earth as a rite of passage in 1961.
• Jor-El: The father of Kal-El, Jor-El was a highly respected scientist on Krypton and an influential member of the Ruling Council.
• Lara-El: The mother of Kal-El and loyal wife to Jor-El, Lara was a loving mother and also aunt to Kara, and notified Jor-El about Zor-El's plan to destroy Krypton, giving their son a chance to get off the planet alive.
• Kal-El: The son of Jor-El and Lara, Kal-El was born on Krypton a couple of weeks^[15] prior to its destruction and sent to Earth by his parents, who believed he would be safe there and become Earth's savior.
• Zor-El: The father of Kara and younger brother of Jor-El, he caused Krypton's destruction by igniting its core, believing that he would be resurrected on Earth and create utopia as foretold in Rao's prophecy.
• Dax-Ur: A scientist who designed the Brain InterActive Construct, he abandoned his life on Krypton and retreated to Earth.
• Kara Zor-El: The daughter of Zor-El, she too was sent to Earth along with the blue crystal so she could unknowingly resurrect her father and create a Kryptonian utopia on Earth.
• Zod: A renegade army leader, he started a civil war with the Ruling Council in an attempt to conquer the planet with the aid of Brainiac and Zor-El as well as his army of followers.
• Faora: The second wife of Zod, as well as a former soldier in his army. Before marrying Zod, Faora's DNA was taken and placed in the Orb.
• Vala: Female member of Zod's army and sister of Faora. Vala's DNA was taken and placed in the Orb, which later resurrected her as a clone after Krypton was destroyed.
• Disciples of Zod: Loyal servants to Zod, they were given major roles in the civil war and, after Zod's capture, fled with Brainiac to Earth to locate Kal-El to release Zod and create a new Krypton on Earth.
• Basqat: A member of Zod's army, his DNA was taken and placed in the Orb that was sent to Earth. Years later, he was resurrected as a clone.
• Alia: A female member of Zod's army, her DNA was taken and placed in the Orb, which later resurrected her after Krypton was destroyed.
• Raya: An assistant to Jor-El and loyal to the House of El, she tried to help Jor-El and Lara save Krypton, but was put in the Phantom Zone by Jor-El to be safe along with a Crystal of El to protect her from the phantoms.
• Augo: A student at Kara's school in Kandor, he was also Zor-El's disciple who strongly believed in Rao's prophecy and aided in any way he could to fulfill the prophecy.
• Bizarro: Created by accident in a laboratory experiment on Krypton, he was a backwards Kryptonian and was placed in the Phantom Zone for his cruel attitude and dislike for life.
• Brainiac: Krypton's supercomputer that ran every system on the planet, designed by Dax-Ur. Jor-El created a version of Brainiac that took a humanoid form to help win the war with Zod, but was corrupted so that it aided in the destruction of the planet, fleeing before its impending doom.

Geography

"Where I'm from, we have colors that you've never seen. Our moons are so close, they fill up half the sky. We have sunsets that last for hours." – Jor-El, to Louise McCallum, Relic

Krypton could be described as an "ice cube" of a planet,^[16] referring to the planet's ground of frozen plateaus and the crystalline structure of its buildings and technologies. Its point of medium or central core was what ultimately destroyed the planet when Zor-El ignited it using Brainiac.

Krypton orbited the red sun Rao. The planet's terrain was slightly similar to Earth's except for the crystalline architecture of its buildings, its constant cold temperatures, and its icy ground; therefore, the Fortress of Solitude, with its crystalline appearance, is a re-creation of Kryptonian landscape, with its crisscrossing crystal towers.^[17] Krypton had oceans that ran between the massive continents of frozen plateaus, much like Earth's geography with its land sea.

Krypton's climate was cold and still. It is unknown how far Krypton was from its red sun, but had to be close enough to sustain life and water.

Doomsday is the result of his parents Zod and Faora fusing their genetic matter with DNA taken from the most violent, vicious, and malevolent creatures that, apparently, could have been found on Krypton; these creatures roamed the planet and were most likely avoided by most Kryptonians.

Education

In Kara and the Chronicles of Krypton, Kara attended an educational facility with other young Kryptonians. It was a crystalline structure similar in design to the Fortress of Solitude. The building was destroyed during the war with Zod, after Zor-El planned for it to be attacked by Zod's army in Kandor. Both Kara and Augo narrowly escaped damage from the blast.

Location

Clark tells Chloe Sullivan that he's "not from anywhere near this galaxy." Later, Kara asks Clark how pieces of their home planet traveled through 23 galaxies. There are 28 known and inhabited galaxies in the Smallville universe, so that suggests that Earth and Krypton are very far apart.

The closest galaxy of comparable scope to the Milky Way Galaxy is the Andromeda Galaxy, which is approximately 2,560,000 light-years away. The closest body capable of being called a galaxy is the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy, approximately 25,000 light-years away. Even if Krypton was in this mini-galaxy, it would still take at least 25,000 years before Earth would notice its disappearance. However, since kryptonite traveled across 23 galaxies, Krypton must be much further away than this.

We know that Jor-El came to Earth in the early 1960s, therefore meaning that Krypton may have existed at least until 40 years earlier. However, since Kryptonian technology has demonstrated the capacity to manipulate time, it is possible the teleportation portals connected different points in time as well as space. This would be consistent with our present understanding of the consequences of a fold in space-time, or wormhole.

Also, Dr. Virgil Swann states that he traced the signal from Krypton "billions of miles" to where the star should have been. While this is not technically wrong, a more logical and comfortable measure of the distance to the stars would be given in trillions of miles, not billions.

In the Comics

In the comics, Krypton was the home of Kryptonians: Kal-El (Clark Kent/Superman), Kara-Zor-El (Kara Kent/Supergirl), Jor-El, Lara Lor-Van, Krypto (Superdog), Zor-El, General Zod, Brainiac, and the Kryptonian monster Doomsday.

Krypton exploded and only a few Kryptonians survived (Kal-El, Kara, Zod, Brainiac, and Krypto) while the spirits of Jor-El and Lara lived on in the Fortress of Solitude.

There are two versions in the comics of how Krypton was destroyed, the first being the radioactive core blew up the planet, and the second being the planet's unbalanced structure caused it to explode, destroying every part of the planet. However, in earlier incarnations of the Superman origin story, the city of Kandor survived Krypton's explosion, but was shrunk by Brainiac.

In the current comics, Kandor survived the destruction of Krypton, but was shrunk and held captive by Brainiac. Superman and Supergirl managed to free Kandor and its people, as well as resurrect the world on Earth. But after dealing with human prejudice and the assassination of Krypton's leader and Supergirl's father Zor-El, the City of Kandor left Earth and, through Krypton technology, re-built itself as an entire new planet, orbiting opposite of Earth. This planet is named New Krypton.

Superman of New Krypton is a twelve-issue limited series featuring Superman and the Kandorians of New Krypton. The series takes place after the 2008-09 Superman New Krypton crossover story arc.

Mentions

Season One

• Pilot – Clark learns that he is from another planet.

Season Two

• Skinwalker – Kyla Willowbrook tells Clark that Naman's homeworld is described as a missing "eye" in a cluster of stars forming a wolf's head.
• Rosetta – Clark learns that his home planet is called Krypton, and that it was destroyed.
• Exodus – Jor-El tells Clark that he is the last son of Krypton and must fulfill his destiny on Earth.

Season Three

• Relic – Clark learns that Jor-El was sent to Earth as a young man from Krypton.
• Legacy – Dr. Virgil Swann tells Clark that he received another Kryptonian message and also obtains the Key after Jor-El communicates to Jonathan Kent about their deal.
• Memoria – Clark partially regains the memory of his last moment on Krypton.
• Covenant – Kara tells Clark that Lara and Jor-El are waiting for him in the cave wall.

Season Four

• Crusade – Kal-El begins to search for the Stones of Power so that he can fulfill his destiny, and locates the Crystal of Fire.
• Run – Lex Luthor gets hold of a Manuscript that shows the way to the Crystal of Air that holds some of Krypton's knowledge.
• Scare – In Clark's hallucination, he tells Lana that he's from Krypton just before she stabs him with kryptonite after blaming him for her parents' death.
• Sacred – Clark learns that all of Krypton's knowledge is encoded in the Stones of Power.
• Commencement and Arrival – Clark unites the Stones of Power, and they transform into the Crystal of Knowledge, which Clark uses to create the Fortress of Solitude.

Season Five

• Arrival – Clark learns what Krypton resembled after creating the Fortress of Solitude, and tells Chloe Sullivan that he is from Krypton.
• Splinter – Brainiac tells Clark that he is from Krypton like him.
• Solitude – Clark learns that Zod was one of the main factors in Krypton's destruction, and that Brainiac helped him and aimed to release him on Earth.
• Reckoning – Clark tells Lana Lang that he is from a planet called Krypton.
• Vessel – Clark learns that Zod is responsible for the destruction of Krypton.

Season Six

• Zod – Clark, in the Phantom Zone, meets Raya, who is one of the few surviving Kryptonians.
• Fallout – Raya tells Clark that Zod and Brainiac were the cause of the destruction of Krypton. Baern tells Clark that Krypton resembles an ice cube of a planet.
• Labyrinth – Dr. Hudson attempts to convince Clark that he is not from Krypton and imagined it.
• Phantom – Clark tells Lana he's from Krypton. The Martian Manhunter explains to Clark that the last remaining Zoner on Earth is the result of an aborted experiment on Krypton.

Season Seven

• Kara – Clark learns that Zod started a global civil war on Krypton that probably led to its destruction.
• Lara – Kara remembers leaving Krypton during the war with Zod.
• Traveler – Clark learns that Dr. Swann kept a diary of messages from Krypton.
• Veritas – Brainiac manages to get Kara to travel back to Krypton with him after putting Lana in a coma.
• Sleeper – Clark learns that Kara has traveled back in time to the year 1986, where Brainiac is trying to kill Kal-El as a baby on Krypton.
• Apocalypse – Clark travels back through time to Krypton moments prior to its destruction, and puts his baby self into his spaceship and rockets him off while Kara fights and defeats Brainiac. After Kara and Clark leave, Krypton explodes.
• Quest – Clark learns from Edward Teague that Kryptonians were a race of warriors before they were a race of science.
• Arctic – Lex says that Clark is the first in many of Kryptonians coming to Earth to destroy it, and that he must kill Clark to save Earth from destruction.
• Kara and the Chronicles of Krypton – Details on how Krypton came to its impending doom and the build-up to how Kara and Kal-El left Krypton.

Season Eight

• Instinct – Maxima tells Clark of how, as a little girl, she was told stories about gallant Kryptonian men.
• Bloodline – Davis Bloome is told that he is the "son" of Zod and Faora, and that he is from Krypton. Kara heard rumors in the Phantom Zone that Kandor may have survived Krypton's destruction.
• Abyss – Jor-El tells Clark about the "Ultimate Destroyer" from Krypton.
• Legion – Brainiac tells Davis that he is the result of a Kryptonian experiment.
• Infamous – Clark informs Lois Lane that he is an alien from Krypton and tells her to publish his story. She does, and the world accepts Clark until Linda Lake twists the story, leading Clark to reverse time so he doesn't tell Lois his secret.
• Hex – After Zatanna hexed Chloe and granted her wish to be Lois, she mentions Krypton along with other things she knew about Clark as she tried to prove she wasn't Lois.
• Eternal – Tess Mercer informs Davis that she knows his history by telling him the story of how he came to Earth from Krypton along with Kal-El.
• Injustice – The Orb tells Tess that she will be the savior of Kandor.

Season Nine

• Savior – Major Zod tells his troops that he presumes that Krypton is destroyed and that is the reason they are now on Earth.
• Kandor – We see a series of flashbacks of events that took place on Krypton 20 years before its destruction through the eyes of a clone of Jor-El.

Appearances

• Kara and the Chronicles of Krypton ^[18]
• Season Three: Memoria
• Season Seven: Lara, Apocalypse
• Season Nine: Kandor

Notes

• Smallville's presentation of Krypton borrows heavily from the Superman feature films. In fact, the footage of the exterior shots of Krypton used in Lara, Apocalypse and Kandor is re-used footage from Superman: The Movie.
• Krypton has appeared five times in Smallville canon. The first was a dream sequence in Season Three's Memoria, the second was in Season Seven's Lara, the third time was in Season Seven's Apocalypse, the fourth was in Kara and the Chronicles of Krypton, and the final, to date, was in Season Nine's Kandor.

See also

• Kryptonian
• Clark Kent's knowledge of Krypton
• New Krypton

External links

• Krypton at Supermanica

References

Kryptonite in Smallville Types Natural: Green • Red • Blue • Gold Kryptonite • Processed: Black • Silver • Gemstone • Refined Effects Meteor infection • Psychosis • Meteor freaks Objects Bullet • Cage • Handcuffs • Heart • Key • Ring • Kryptonite necklace (Necklace) • Victory ring Other Krypton • Meteor showers (1989, 2005, Earth-2), • Lead (box) • Appearances of Green K (usages)

Places in Smallville Smallville Crater Lake • High School • Kawatche Caves • Kent Farm (barn, house, storm cellar) • Luthor Mansion • LuthorCorp Fertilizer Plant Number Three • Main Street (Beanery) • Medical Center • Miller's Field • Talon (apartment, basement) Metropolis Ace of Clubs • Belle Reve • Cadmus Labs • C&L's apartment • Daily Planet • Isis Foundation • General Hospital • LuthorCorp Plaza (Level 33.1) • Queen Tower • Suicide Slums • Summerholt Institute • University • Watchtower Other Black Creek • Checkmate Castle • D.E.O. headquarters • Egypt • Fortress of Solitude • Gotham City (Arkham Asylum, Batcave, Wayne Manor) • Granville • S.T.A.R. Labs • Star City • Themyscira Planets Almerac • Apokolips • Earth-1 • Earth-2 • Earth-Majestic • Krypton (Kandor, New Krypton, Phantom Zone) • Mars • Oa