Welcome back, friends. It’s another month and another mystery. I’m Alex Jaffe, better known to our illustrious DC Community as “HubCityQuestion,” and this is “ASK… THE QUESTION,” my regular column where all the secrets of the DC Universe you’re dying to know are revealed, no matter how granular or obscure. It’s a simple process to get involved. All you need to do is step by my office in the DC community, and put in your request for the answers you crave. There, I or another member of our tight-knit cadre of truth-seekers may be available to address your case. Otherwise, you may see the answers you desire printed in this very column. Answers… like these.
This month’s questions come from:
@EternalKnight
@Nobody.bladesmith
@nickthehobo
Last Kennel of Krypton
EternalKnight asks:
Has it ever been stated that Krypto is the last Canine of Krypton?
That was certainly the intention when Krypto was first introduced. In 1955’s Adventure Comics # 210 , a second rocket landed in Kansas years after Superboy with a dog on board and a record explaining his predicament. Right before Krypton’s destruction, the Kryptonian space program had begun experimentation with test rockets loaded with animal passengers. The first “manned” flight off-planet was baby Kal-El’s own, and in the moments before the end, Jor-El only had time to load one of Krypton’s test animals into another ship—that, of course, was Krypto. Years later, we would learn of a second test animal survivor, Beppo the Super-Monkey, who had stowed away on baby Kal’s own rocket and scrambled off before the Kents could find it. But apart from that, no other animals were known to survive Krypton’s destruction…
…until you remember the city of Kandor, that is. Miniaturized and bottled by Brainiac before the end of Krypton, life continued for the inhabitants of Krypton more or less as normal in miniature. It stands to reason that as Kryptonians continued to live their lives in Kandor, so too would their domesticated animals. 1963’s Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen #69 introduced a kennel full of yellow, long-snouted telepathic dogs, each with the power to track whoever you needed to find just by thinking about them. Enter “Nighthound,” animal companion to Kandor’s own premiere dynamic duo of Nightwing and Flamebird—who, unknown to the native Kandorians, were actually none other than a miniaturized Clark Kent and Jimmy Olsen. Though Nighthound was originally used by their enemies, the dog recognized the goodness in Jimmy’s heart and accepted him as his new master. Once their enemies were defeated, Jimmy always intended to see Nighthound again on his next trip back to Kandor, but that was never quite to be.
Oh, well. I’m sure he’s fine.
To see the other questions answered and learn a little more about Tanya Spears and Barbara Gordon, head over to DC Comics!
Do you have a question about any DC character or event that needs answering? Head over to the dedicated request thread and you may see your question in next month’s ASK… THE QUESTION!
