History:

(Adventure Comics I #304) - Superboy volunteered to help the army test a new type of artillery by offering himself as a living target. After the test an adult version of Superboy, a Superman flew down from the sky. He showed Superboy that the artillery had cracked open a nearby mountainside, exposing red kryptonite, and it’s effect was to create the adult duplicate. Superboy introduced the Kents to Superman, and they were thrilled to now have two children. For the Kents’ wedding anniversary Superboy crafted a new line of Superman robots, and Superman concocted a potion that gave the Kents temporary superpowers. Superman told Superboy that his super-intellect had figured out that the two of them coexisting would cause spacetime disruptions that would destroy the solar system unless one of them left Earth in the next 48 hours. They were going to flip a coin to decide who staid, but as it was coming down Superman melted it with his heat vision, claiming it was an accident. They agreed to have the Kents decide, but Superboy used a dream projector on his sleeping parents, saw them dreaming about being superheroes once Superman made the effects of his potion permanent, so the next morning Superboy announced that he’d leave Earth after one last stroll around Smallville. Clark and Superman, posing as his uncle “Charles,” visited Lana Lang who wanted to show off her violin-playing skills, telling them she had an upcoming recital. Her high pitched playing caused the glass around her to break, but she thought her playing was pretty good. Krypto returned from one of his space jaunts in time to say goodbye to Superboy before Superman had him enter a space capsule and hurled him beyond the atmosphere towards a planet with a red sun. The Kents realized Superman was an imposter when the civilian glasses he used as Charles proved to be cracked from Lana’s music, which could never happen to Superboy’s glasses, which were made from unbreakable Kryptonian plastoid from the window of the ship that brought him to Earth. “Superman” revealed that he was actually the Kryptonian criminal Roz-Em, who’d paid a plastic surgeon to make him look like Kal-El’s uncle Nim-El in an attempt to raid the armory of forbidden weapons that Nim-El guarded. His plot was uncovered by Jor-El and Nim-El, and he was put into suspended animation inside a space capsule until it drifted near a yellow sun, giving him superpowers. He’d seen Krypton explode and baby Kal-El rocketed to Earth, so he was determined to avenge himself for his imprisonment by targeting Jor-El’s son, fabricating fake red-K and concocting his spacetime in danger story. Pa Kent had gotten Krypto to fly into space to warn Superboy that they were in danger, and Superboy returned to Earth and used the Phantom Zone Projector to exile Roz-Em.

(Adventure Comics I #306) - In the 5th Dimension Master Mxyzptlk and his rival Ququrlz were competing for top grades in practical joking, and were assigned to perform a joke outside of school as their final. Mxyzptlk knew he could play the best jokes on Earth, but that Superboy would try to foil him, so he went to Smallville and used his magic to make sure anyone saying their name backward would send them to the 5th Dimension for 90 days, not just him. Smallville celebrated the anniversary of Superboy’s first appearance in town with a giant birthday cake, and Mxy rearranged the letters to spell Yobrepus, but two naughty children ate the “S” so Superboy didn’t end up saying his name backwards, and he immediately suspected Mxy. Lana Lang questioned Superboy about why Clark Kent wasn’t at the celebration, so Superboy rushed home, changed into Clark, and told Lana he’d been kept busy with chores from the Kents. Lana decided to secretly follow him some more to prove he was Superboy. Mxy gave every machine in Smallville an electric brain and made them rebel against the public, causing belligerent cars and elevators to cause panic. Superboy flew to a mountaintop, and shouted his name backwards, causing Mxy to show up, but the imp was disappointed that his magic didn’t work, because Superboy hadn’t spoken his real name Kal-El backwards. Lana’d lost track of Clark a while back but caught up to Superboy on the mountain, and Mxy tricked her into saying her name backwards, telling Superboy he’d have to go to the 5th Dimension to save her. Krypto returned from a space jaunt, and Superboy feigned worrying that Mxy would give Krypto the power to speak and ruin his plan to save Lana. Mxy fell for the trick, and Superboy told Krypto to keep Smallville safe while Superboy traveled to the 5th Dimension. Before saying his name backwards Superboy told Krypto to do the same if Mxy came up with anything he couldn’t handle. In the 5th Dimension an adult told Superboy and Lana that because they were new to the dimension and minors they’d be assigned foster parents and have to start attending high school. Superboy used his powers to simulate magic, wowing the teachers with his practical jokes, while Lana kept getting sent to younger and younger classes because she possessed neither magic abilities nor superpowers, and Superboy hoped she’d learn a humbling lesson and stop snooping on him. Superboy got top grades in the school, surpassing Mxy and Ququrlz by carving a mountain into a replica of the school, making the teachers think school had been petrified. In Smallville Mxy gave everyone a Superboy costume and the delusion that they were Superboy, so Krypto knew it was time for Superboy to act. After hearing Krypto’s plea, Superboy fashioned a Mxy robot and had a teacher observe it playing hooky. The teacher activated the robotic dimensional truant officer to bring in Mxy, so it traveled to Smallville and brought him back. Superboy announced that trick as his final project, and was awarded top practical joking honors, infuriating Mxy, who happily sent him, Krypto and Lana back to Smallville. Superboy asked Lana if she’d learned her lesson, and she promised to stop hounding him, but kept her fingers crossed.

(New Adventures of Superboy #17) – Superboy devised a hook and shower-head system that let Krypto remove his cape and spray himself with dye to create spots, giving him the civilian dog identity of Skippy. The Kents liked the idea but warned that Skippy would have to have his shots or town dog-catcher and vet Howard Shatt would be after him. Superboy knew needles would break on Krypto, and tried to give him advice, but Krypto shook his head, stubbornly determined to figure out the situation himself. Krypto made good, melting the needle, and saving Howard Shatt from criminals that wanted him to juice their racehorse in the process.

(New Adventures of Superboy #22) - Krypto and Superboy stopped a mad-dog from mauling Chief parker. Krypto kept the dog from being put down, insisting that dogs had rights too, and eventually determined that it didn’t have rabies, but was trained to attack parker by two thugs he’d put in jail years before. Krypto harassed the thugs until they turned themselves over to Parker and confessed.

(Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #29) - Krypto returned to Earth after years of romping in space, and Superman gave him to Jimmy as a pet. Unfortunately old age slowed Krypto down physically and mentally, and he destroyed a good deal of city property when Jimmy tried to have him fight crime. Superman kept threatening to take him away from Jimmy if he couldn’t behave, and the last straw was when Krypto stole a dinosaur bone from a museum. The city council took Krypto away from Jimmy, deeming him a public menace. Jimmy impassionedly spoke at the hearing, going over Krypto’s old heroic exploits, and the judge granted that Krypto could be returned to Superman. Superman brought Krypto to a valley surrounded by kryptonite hills. Superman knew that the kryptonite infused with mineral water acted as a fountain of youth, restoring Krypto to his prime. Jimmy and Krypto got one last chance to play, but Krypto returned to the stars for another romp. Superman promised that if Krypto ever returned he’d remember Jimmy’s loyalty.

Comments: Created by Otto Binder & Curt Swan.

Krypto received a profile in Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #13. He received a profile in Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #13 under the Legion of Super-Pets entry.

Krypto had a cameo in Superboy I #161.

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