Krypto #50: Krypto Red

From: Superman #162 (July 1963)

You all know the tale of Superman-Red and Superman-Blue... and if you don't, HERE IT IS! But did you know Krypto had to choose between two masters? How do you make that call? When he first meets the split Superman, he doesn't have to. They're together and committing their doubled abilities to Great Works, like melting polar ice caps on some planet and making the Atlanteans a homeworld.
Good boy! But soon, two Supermen starts to get redundant. They're just TOO competent, and villains are reforming left and right thanks to the Supes' hypno-beam (that can't be ethical). Even Mxyzptlk comes out of the woodwork to bless the Superman Family with memorials. Nice to see Krypto included, but I guess it's screw you, Streaky.
So it's time to retire, but with which piece of the supporting cast? Blue decides on Lana, and Red on Lois. So you'd think Krypto would go with Blue, because of the Superboy connection. Sure, he's hanging around Superman frequently, but the true adventures of Krypto are in Smallville, right? Wrong.
He goes with Red, Lois and Comet (Kara's horse?! neither Super-Pet to remain on Earth?) to rebuild [New] Krypton. Despite the fact they won't have powers there and can look forward to their twins having to marry inside a very small gene pool made up of reformed Phantom Zone criminals, not a woman pictured among them.

That's one imaginary story I don't buy for a second.

Comments

Never thought about it until now, but New Krypton would be a great place to send some of Earth's homeless pets. They get homes, Kryptonians get family dogs and cats, and Krypto gets some four-legged companions. Everybody wins! (Very fitting for the Red-Blue story...)
wordsmith said…
"...their twins having to marry within a very small gene pool made up of reformed Phantom-Zone criminals, not a woman pictured among them."

Actually, this point was covered in the story--the gene-pool would also be filled by the Kandorians, whose bottled-city (the "Champagne of Bottled-Cities"?) was expanded and placed on the planet New Krypton (itself created from all the gathered-together pieces of kryptonite in the universe) by Supes-Red and -Blue.

This story is available for free online @ the "Superman Thru the Ages" website, (at http://www.superman.nu/tales2/redblue/?page=1) which is a really fun site if you like Big Blue.
I'm a big fan of Silver Age Superman, and, thus, really enjoying your series, Siskoid, and looking forward to the next chapter.

Kid Kyoto said…
OMG I had no idea there was a sequel!

It's certainly an interesting story, nice to see an imaginary story/what if/elseworlds that didn't just go with 'and then everyone dies!'

thanks for the link too!
Kid Kyoto said…
No not a sequel just a faulty memory. i thought the story ended with S-R and S-B holding up the giant Ls and waiting to get hit with lightning.
Siskoid said…
It kept going! A three-part NOVEL, as the comics like to say. :)