While investigating his homeworld of Krypton, Superman learned the dark reason it needed to be destroyed. In 1988’s Superman #18, Hawkman and Hawkwoman took Superman to where Krypton once stood. Upon his arrival, he was subjected to a dark vision of Krypton – one where they survived their destruction. And not only did they survive, the Kryptonians went on to conquer and subjugate the people of Earth. Thankfully, the humans had a most unlikely champion: Jor-El!

Although there have been multiple incarnations of Krypton throughout the years, a few aspects remain the same, especially the planet’s destruction. Krypton is always depicted as a scientifically-advanced society, albeit one blinded by its own hubris. In 1986, writer/artist John Byrne overhauled the Superman mythos, and Krypton was radically changed. The pre-Crisis Krypton, a world of color, life and art was gone, replaced by a sterile, cold and calculating society. On this new Krypton, personal contact was shunned, and instead Kryptonians were conceived in gestation chambers. Jor-El, a freethinker, became aware of the planet’s impending doom, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. In a desperate bid, Jor-El attached a hyperdrive unit to his son’s gestation chamber, and sent it to Earth. Jor-El’s son was raised by humans, but always knew he was different. At the conclusion of 1986’s Man of Steel miniseries, Superman learned he was from Krypton, but questions still remained.

In Superman #18 – written by John Byrne and drawn by Mike Mignola – Superman had to travel to where Krypton once was in order to find a cure for his radiation poisoning. Upon arrival, Superman had an intense vision – one where the planet’s entire population was able to escape. Much like Kal-El, the Kryptonians arrive at Earth, making first contact with Ma and Pa Kent. The Kryptonians promise to usher in a new golden age for Earth, but these plans quickly go awry, and before long, the Kryptonians have subjugated the people of Earth, creating a system where humans are second-class citizens. Superman’s father Jor-El grows angry over how his fellow Kryptonians are treating humans, becoming their hero and eventually helping to liberate Earth. Superman comes to, and tells the Hawks that he always thought Kryptonians were above “the pettiness that’s plagued humankind all these years,” but that he now believes an entire race of Supermen cannot help but be conquerors.

Kryptonians Aren’t Gods – But They Can Behave Like Them

Krypton has always been portrayed as a highly scientific and technological society, with varying attitudes on how they interact with other species. Many classic depictions showed the planet as a utopia, and full of life and culture. John Byrne did away with this, instead turning the Kryptonians into a cautionary tale on science run amok. Byrne took it a step further, showing that if other Kryptonians had survived the planet’s destruction, it would have been bad news for Earth and most likely the entire universe. While this version of Krypton has been retconned out of the DC Universe, it proved influential, as even today, depictions still show a Krypton with major problems and its fair share of conquerors, including General Zod.

As if to prove Superman’s point, many years later he liberated the bottle city of Kandor, which was home to 100,000 Kryptonians. They later settled on Earth, creating a shift in geopolitical power that proved too much for the planet, and forcing them to go elsewhere. Superman still feels the tragedy of losing his home planet, but the unimaginable power granted to the citizens of Krypton elsewhere in the universe shows that the galaxy is likely fortunate that their society ended when it did.