Here’s everything you might have missed.
This article consists of nothing butKryptonspoilers.
Ill be updating this every week with new info from each episode.
And hit the blue titles to get taken to full episode reviews!
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Krypton Episode 1
Kryptondoesnt waste a single second getting into its Superman lore.
From the opening shot, Krypton is surrounded by a ring of debris.
In later years that became a stylized depiction of Kryptons red sun instead.
But you’re able to also see some visual nods to the 2013Man of Steelmovie.
yo note thatKryptonisnotaMan of Steelprequel, despite these similarities.
The producers have been quite clear about that fact.
Its the thing that got me into comics, superheroes, and science fiction in general.
In our first look at Kryptons surface, we see the city of Kandor in the foreground.
Theres a LOT to unpack here, too.
While that film depicts Krypton as an icy, frozen wasteland, its cities are kind of clustered together.
Thats what happens here, except with domes.
But more importantly, Kandor being under a dome recalls its comic book fate.
He placed it in a bottle, which isnt exactly a dome, but you get the idea.
Superman eventually rescued Kandor and placed it in his fortress.
Although theSupergirlTV series hasnt taken that route, and anyway, this show isnt set in that continuity.
In any case, theres a lot of precedent for the whole city under glass thing were seeing here.
Now, as for the actual IN STORY reasons for why these cities are all under domes.
I do not know if life is like this in those other city-states.
I have to appreciate the Kryptonian architecture, though.
For decades, alien cities in general defaulted to a kind of art deco Raymondism, especially Krypton.
Daron Vex is the chief lawgiver in Kandor, serving under the Voice of Rao.
So does putting people under a spotlight when theyre being judged.
Note that Kandor is a theocracy.
Thats a long-ass way from the rational, scientifically ruled Krypton we know from movies and TV shows.
Something definitely has to change.
The scary guy in charge is the Voice of Rao.
The giant red sun that Krypton orbits is named Rao.
And their monotheistic society is based around a god conveniently named Rao.
So yes, Rao is a sun god.
Grant Morrison will tell you that Superman is also a sun god.
Im inclined to agree with him.
Anyway, comics and cartoon fans will recognize Supermans preferred exclamation of frustration, Great Rao!
He was invoking Kryptons sun god.
Gosh, its not like that could EVER happen on Earth, right?
Nah, this is science fiction and thats just too far fetched.
RIGHT?!?!
The lettering on his robe is the Kryptonian language.
Unless you want me to.
But I dont think you do.
Like most modern interpretations of the Superman legend, its not an S' its a Kryptonian symbol.
In this case, its the crest of the House of El.
Its a little smaller, a little more restrained and traditional.
Anyway, Val-El sure reminds me of another member of the El family… Because really, Ill use any excuse to do it.
But Jor-El was also a renegade who defied his planets ruling council in the name of science.
So yes, space travel is long outlawed on Krypton.
it’s possible for you to see how his great-grandson Jor-El inherited some of those traits.
And you’ve got the option to see how that is passed further down the line, too.
I really love that Val-Els final words to his grandson Seg-El are keep believing in a better tomorrow.
He was already Jor-Els father at that point, and certainly not the scrappy potential revolutionary we meet here.
Also, in the comics his name was spelled Seyg-El.
The name Seg-El (or Seyg-El) is almost certainly a tribute to Supermans co-creator Jerry Siegel.
Uh-oh…we hear that name a lot in this pilot.
Black Zero was also the name of Zods gigantic war ship inMan of Steel.
Georgina Campbell plays Lyta Zod, and yes, she is you-know-whos ancestor.
Her crest here seems to be different than any Zod crest Ive ever seen.
In any case, those Kryptonian military guild uniforms aresharp.
I love that capes are only used for ceremonial occasions, too.
Lyta is betrothed to Dev-Em, who is a very different character from his comics counterpart.
The Dev-Em of the show is a little more complicated than that.
I love the fact that were getting a TV show with Dev-Em on it.
Thats a Phantom Zone villain who has been annoying Superman since like, 1961.
He ends up taking an interesting turn, though.
Dev was also a background character inMan of Steel.
As far as I can tell, there is no Nyssa Vex in the comics.
There was certainly a Car-Vex inMan of Steel, so I have to imagine this is an ancestor.
Nyssa and Segs trip to the Genesis Chamber in Kandor reveals a LOT about Krypton, though.
Krypton has moved beyond physical reproduction and childbearing (but not recreational sex, so thats good).
I probably have given this point too much thought, though.
ANYWAY…
Theres a comics connection to this, too.
There, kids would go, get themselves scanned, and get sorted into different fields.
This sequence in the Genesis Chamber feels like a nod to that.
The key to the Fortress is named as a sunstone crystal.
I dont need to explain the Fortress of Solitude to you, right?
Of course I dont.
BUT, there are some neat things contained in the Fortress.
Yet another way that the greatest Superman movie of all time influenced this movie.
First of all, youll see those two giant statues.
The star map that makes up the roof of the Fortress is proof of Val-Els research and travels.
He has mapped the stars, while the rest of Krypton doesnt believe in life beyond their borders.
The giant oval windows you see, if you look closely, are covered in luminous Kryptonian lettering.
The only thing is…you cant read them unless you’re able to read Kryptonian.
But this is an actual detail that they put into that set, and its pretty amazing.
He was created by Julius Schwartz and Murphy Anderson, which is quite a creative pedigree.
I wrote much more about Adam Strange here.
Adam Strange is a Detroit Tigers fan.
Draw your own conclusions.
Its interesting that Adam Strange smokes.
What is that weird fake brand that arent Marlboro red cowboy killers hes smoking?
And who still buys cigarettes in a soft pack?
When General Zod and his buddies arrived on Earth, they thought it was planet Houston.
Segs parents, and thus Supermans great-grandparents, are Tyr-El and Charys-El.
A fun detail in the background.
you could see Tyr-Els medicine on a table, two gold vials with red liquid in them.
We should talk about Brainiac, right?
His MO has always been that he steals cities from the surfaces of planets and bottles them.
Hes a terrific villain, but has never been done properly in live action…until now.
Its handily one of the greatest Superman stories of the modern era, and the best of my lifetime.
The interior of his ship that we glimpse is positively full of bottled alien cities, too.
It…looks cooler than how it looked in his original comic appearances.
I wrote much more on Brainiacs road to the screen right here.
Segs best friend Kem remains mysterious, as is his background.
Kryptonian currency and the electronic method they use to swap it is solar chips.
His description of how unreliable the Zeta Beam can be is completely on point, though.
Not exactly Indiana Jones, is he?
We do get the names of the Kryptonian gods Rao defeated.
I promise to get into that soon (complete with some quotes from Aaron Pierre!).
Cool to see that were getting them here.
Now when will I hear the words Scarlet Jungle spoken?
We finally see those Fortress windows in action.
These are the stations of the Cross but for the House of El.
Tharg-El discovered the cure for the green death.
This is a cool, kind of revealing line.
In many Superman comics, as he succumbs to Kryptonite poisoning, hell start to turn green.
I hope they revisit this as the show goes on.
Adam says wow, you look super realistic… stops himself, and then the two share a nod.
And there is definitely precedent for members of the El family to have visited Earth in the past.
In any case, this is something to watch as the show develops.
I absolutely love the Rao crucifixes that Rohm and Ona carry.
Having common, everyday religious relics around really helps flesh out the world.
But theres a hugely important name introduced in this episode…
Jax-Ur.
Adam is offered a Daxamite hunting blade by one of the Rankless traders.
Daxam, of course, is the home planet ofMon-El, who some of you may hate over onSupergirl.
That same trader tries to pass off the Brainiac probe as coming from a legendary Gem City.
I am also very tired.
Adam is TOTALLY bullshitting about designing the Zeta Beam gadget himself!
Not only is it clearly alien technology, it kind of looks like Jack Kirby designed it.
Gotta love Segs Im better with the truth, line.
The guy has a strong sense of justice if you ask me.
Might have picked that up from Commander Lyta Zod.
As far as I know, theres no Kol-Da in the comics.
There is no Rohm is this shows There is no Dana, only Zuul.
But the rest of her dialogue, especially Krypton is worthy of collection is absolutely chilling.
Its even more interesting that the Voice of Rao can kind of just determine when it starts.
And why shouldnt he?
The guy literally decides when it is daylight and when it isnt in Kandor.
It would seem that Krypton might not rotate and have a traditional day/night routine.
Red Kryptonite has weird, unpredictable effects, while Blue Kryptonite traditionally only has an effect on Bizarros.
Or maybe they just look cool…which they do.
Here, Jo-Mon took on all comers on the Jewel Mountains, right?
But in the comics, Jo-Mon was a pacifist, who preached from up on those mountains.
Maggins weirder Supes stories from the late Bronze Age.
Just cool callbacks on top of cool callbacks.
After all, Superman derives his very powers from the sun.
Dont thinkSuperman IIfans didnt notice that as such, you kneel to no one line.
Kryptonkeeps digging deep on Superman lore, this time for ice goddess Cythonna and her war with Rao.
The Cythonnites themselves, though, are speaking some kind of Kryptonian dialect.
Is this like the Kryptonian equivalent of Aramaic or Latin or something?
Im also really curious about what language was used as the basis for this.
This is the second time Segs undershirt has recalled something connected to Superman history.
And what about that crazy ending, right?I explored the implications of that in detail right here.
If so…cmon, I dont need to tell you what the Hall of Justice is, right?
The big reveal here is that Brainiacs arrival isnt anything abnormal.
Hes just here to steal Kandor, as weve always known hes destined to do.
Fun fact: all the Krypton scenes inSuperman: The Movietake place in Kryptonopolis.
That sure is a cool looking Doomsday.
Ever heard of him?
Killed the shit out of Superman back in the day?
This is a neat twist.
What a terrifying opening scene.
Daron-Vex is looking to escape to Argo City, birthplace of Supergirl.
I hope we get to go there in future seasons.
The Daron-Vex/Brainiac symbiosis reminds me of whenever Brainiac teams up with Lex Luthor in the comics.
Kem delivers the punchline of an off-color joke about Rondors.
like tell me this means well get to see Nam-Ek on this show down the line.
Another nod to the fact that Kryptonians dont seem to give birth the old-fashioned way.
Adam Strange, during his soul-baring speech to Val-El, makes a reference to not having a power ring.
I desperately hope we meet a member on this show down the line.
Also, Adam is closely examiningthe Black Mercyin the Fortress.
Adams piss of, Ghost line is definitely a nod toThor: Ragnarok.
(Disclaimer: Kayti Burt caught that, not me!)
Note that Seg-El actually kills someone, albeit in self defense, and it probably wasnt his intention.
Something tells me that this is going to stick with him for a while.
This show understands Superman so well, that I think this moment will make a mark.
Zod never knew his father, who was apparently killed in the battle for Kandor.
This raises some interesting possibilities.
For one thing, it makes me question the timeline of when Brainiac is actually going to take Kandor.
It seems unlikely that Lyta is currently pregnant, and that battle appeas to be looming, right?
But if she is…would this mean that Seg-El is potentially Zods father?
That would be too convenient, and I think a little too much of a stretch for this show.
Could Dev-Em be the father?
In unrelated news, the theres someone I need you to meet moment is just absolutely gold.
The two disembodied voices are Sardath and his daughter (and Adams true love) Alanna.
I get the feeling were going to spend more time with the denizens of Rann next season.
We finally meet Jax-Ur in the flesh here.
I already discussed the comic book version of the character way up in the episode 3 notes.
You were paying attention, right?
Zods talk about how he attempted a coup is right in line with assorted tellings of his story.
I will be honest: I do not approve of the revelation that Zod is Supermans uncle.
Its all to convenient and a little too Steven Moffat for my taste.
On the other hand, this show is so good that Im willing to trust where its all going.
Plus, it does add an additional element of Shakespearean tragedy to the El/Zod conflict.
Codex technology, eh?
Thats not the onlyMan of Steelreference, though…
The House of El crest is from an ancient Kryptonian symbol for hope.
That specific meaning was first added to the crest in theMan of Steelmovie.
One of the code words Jax-Ur spits out is Flamebird.
Later on, actual Kandorians would adopt those identities.
I wouldnt be surprised if we see some version of Flamebird on this show in season two.
When Val-El returns, we can hear John Williams Superman theme faintly played.
Its great that the show has used this, but not overused it.
Always to accentuate the right moments.
But the biggest revelation of all…is the clones!
No they could not.
His moments in this episode are positively cinematic.
Still, this is exactly what it SHOULD look like!
Zod dangles the technology available on Cygnus 4019 in front of Brainiac.
I really hope we get to go there in season two.
The timeline changes, of course…and now Zod is in charge of Krypton.
Years before he was supposed to be born.
I am sure this is intentional.
The ending with Doomsday escaping is more than just foreshadowing.
This was a great live action representation of that.
Meanwhile,KryptonSeason 2 will arrive in 2019.
