What's that in the sky? It's Beppo, the Super-Monkey! Just kidding, nobody wants that. It's Krypto, the Superdog, making his first big-screen appearance in 2025's Superman. Here's everything you need to know about what comics' favorite canine can do.
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00:00What's that in the sky?
00:01It's Beppo the Supermonkey!
00:04Just kidding.
00:05Nobody wants that.
00:06It's Crypto the Superdog, making his first big-screen appearance in 2025's Superman.
00:11Here's everything you need to know about what comics' favorite canine can do.
00:15"...pop up and away."
00:18Super fans already know that Crypto the Superdog is basically just Superman in dog form, but
00:22let's break it down for you.
00:24First of all, Crypto can fly, just like Kal-El.
00:26Not only can the doggo dash through the air, but he can also carry objects much heavier
00:30than himself while he's in flight.
00:32We won't get into the physics of how, just know that it's a thing.
00:35As the Superman trailer hints, the loyal dog has carried Superman out of trouble before.
00:40Crypto shows off the ability to fly in just about all of his comic book appearances, where
00:44he can often be seen soaring through the skies at Superman's side or with a collection of
00:48other powerful super-pets.
00:50Like all good boys, he's a great wingman, and good at winging his way into or out of
00:54trouble with the Man of Steel's help.
00:56As a super-animal from the planet Krypton, Crypto has strength beyond that of your average
01:01dog, proportionate with most super-beings in the DC Universe.
01:04Remember that car Superman was smashing on the cover of his first appearance?
01:08Crypto can handle it.
01:09During his first appearance in Adventure Comics issue 210, the first thing Crypto ever did
01:14was break a bunch of captured pups out of jail using that incredible strength.
01:18At that point, he wasn't too bright, because the next thing he decided to do was try to
01:22eat a gun.
01:23He'd get smarter as time went on.
01:25His incredible strength can be seen in a number of comics featuring the Dog of Steel, often
01:30in service of his human friends.
01:31Time will tell if he gets to haul something heavy that isn't Superman-sized in James Gunn's
01:35film, but it seems likely.
01:37He's also faster than a speeding bullet, but maybe even faster.
01:41Most comics give Crypto powers proportionate to his smaller size, but either way, he's
01:45much faster than any Earth dog.
01:47If Superman has the speed and power to make the Earth revert its course and send time
01:51spinning backwards, Crypto might be able to at least mess up Daylight Savings Time.
01:56Controlling that speed is another problem.
01:58Crypto sometimes has a tendency to barge right ahead, since dogs will be dogs, even if they
02:02come from space.
02:04Like Superman, Crypto is also gifted with super breath, which means his exhalations
02:08are strong enough to move mountains.
02:10Whether it's tobbling bad guys, putting out fires, changing the weather, or just giving
02:15the room a quick dusting, super breath can accomplish it all.
02:18Also like his owner, Crypto's breath can be super chilled, turning objects or villains
02:22into convenient, helpless ice cubes.
02:25His ice breath can be used to create bridges, cool down hot objects, or ice over lakes.
02:30Though Crypto doesn't get to use his power as often as his master does, it's a skill
02:33that seems to be possessed by all Kryptonians.
02:37What does someone do when icing things over doesn't solve the problem.
02:40Kryptonian heat vision can melt steel, or be focused enough to act like a surgical laser.
02:45And like Superman, Crypto's eyes usually glow an eerie red when he does it.
02:49Heat vision's pretty handy in a tight jam.
02:51Whether it's melting through handcuffs, breaking through a wall, disintegrating meteors, zapping
02:56bad guys, there's not a lot that a focused beam of heat can't fix.
03:00Naturally, both man and beast have to be very careful with this power.
03:03But in the end, Crypto can use his heat vision to tunnel through the thickest wall and rescue
03:07his human friends with all of the panache of his master.
03:11Can a Kryptonian dog survive a bullet to the chest, just like Superman?
03:14Well, yes.
03:15It's one of the first things he ever does on the comic pages.
03:18Crypto has a level of invulnerability that keeps him safe from heat, fire, and projectiles.
03:23That invulnerability shows itself in multiple ways, allowing him to fly in space without
03:27getting crushed or suffocating.
03:30And in at least one instance, the only thing that can hurt Crypto is himself.
03:33In the DC League of Super Pets animated film, Crypto's so physically strong that he can
03:38harness the power of the solar paw punch.
03:40To use it, he has to harness the power of the sun to make a single fatal strike, but
03:44the impact would also kill Crypto.
03:46If anything does manage to injure Crypto, he can recover from that injury pretty quickly.
03:51That healing ability means he and Kal-El can take an enormous beating without suffering
03:55any prolonged injuries.
03:56Because of their invulnerability, they can be blasted through several skyscrapers or
04:00fly through a volcano and survive with little more than a scratch.
04:04But if they do, no big deal.
04:06Does that injure, maim, or kill a human being are just minor inconveniences to a Kryptonian.
04:11But all of this can be negated with the famous weakness of all aliens from Krypton.
04:15Kryptonite will weaken and hurt both Superman and his canine sidekick, stripping them of
04:20all of their powers.
04:21An injured Crypto who's also exposed to the deadly rock probably wouldn't last long.
04:26Once again, just like Superman, Crypto has the ability to see right through solid steel
04:30and most other opaque surfaces, thanks to his X-ray vision.
04:34Superman and Supergirl have used this ability to spy on criminals, rescue innocent civilians,
04:39find hidden treasures, and even find medical anomalies in the sick.
04:43Like other canine pals through history, Crypto uses it to track his friends, as well as to
04:47find children and other vulnerable humans when they're in danger.
04:50They all share the same weakness, though, as none of them can see through lead.
04:53All Kryptonians, dogs included, gain enhanced power from exposure to the radiation of yellow
04:58suns, and Crypto is no exception to that rule.
05:01And in this way, his X-ray vision can be bolstered.
05:04With enough power, he can see right through skin and into the delicious bones of his human
05:08and animal friends, as well as dense walls and thick floors, whether he's looking for
05:12a bomb or a treat.
05:14Crypto is mostly just under Superman's level of power in all of his abilities, except for
05:19one thing that Dog's already superpowered at — hearing.
05:23Superman's hearing is written pretty inconsistently, sometimes allowing him to hear through the
05:26void of space or to hear the sounds of molecules.
05:29But whatever it is, Crypto can do it better.
05:32And like most dogs, his sense of smell is also superpowered, meaning he can smell and
05:36hear things even Superman might miss.
05:38Batman used Crypto's keen sense of smell to search out Poison Ivy during Batman's hushed
05:43storyline, and it may be one ability that Crypto uses a lot more often than Superman.
05:47The Man of Steel leaps tall buildings, but he doesn't usually sniff them.
05:52Or pee on them.
05:53Or sniff his own butt.
05:54Well, he might do that, I don't know.