Throwback Article:
In Case You Missed It: Krypton
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I am sure you — just like me — were confused and slightly puzzled when you heard about Syfy’s new series Krypton. A Superman show without Superman? I was not really sure how I felt about that. When the show premiered Wednesday night, I had to give it a watch.
Spoilers.
The show follows Seg-El, the headstrong and fearless grandfather of Superman. Seg-El meets the time-traveling Adam Strange, who warns him that parties in the future (specifically Brainiac) have traveled to the past to ensure that Superman — the greatest hero in the Universe — is never born.
The premise is a solid one and a brilliant move by the writers. Because Superman has been around for eighty years, we know relatively little about the planet Krypton and Kryptonian society as fans. They have virtually given themselves a blank canvas on which to add to Superman lore, and I am excited to see where they go with it. In the pilot, there are plenty of nods to the future; Seg-El discovers the Fortress of Solitude and is romantically interested in one of General Zod’s ancestors. Finally, while we only get to see him for a second, we get a taste of Brainiac. He is utterly unique and precisely as we have always wanted him to be in those few seconds.
As an audience, we cannot help but root for the El’s and for more reasons than just the fact that they are the relatives of Kal-El. They fight to proclaim the truth boldly, champion justice, and protect the weak. In many ways, they prove that Superman’s willingness to defend the “American way” is as much a byproduct of his Kryptonian DNA as his upbringing in Smallville, Kansas.
The best part of the show is the world-building. The alien world of Krypton is a visual spectacle. It is foreign, it is exotic, and it is believable. The Art Direction seems to have spared no expense with their attention to the detail required to bring Krypton to life. It pays off, and I cannot wait to explore more of this world as a viewer.
In case you missed it the first time, you should check this one out. Krypton has all the makings of an excellent Sci-fi show and something you should consider giving a chance, even if it does not feature the Last Son of Krypton himself. I had my doubts, but I am looking forward to the rest of this season of Krypton. It is bold. It is original. And while it is still too early to say definitively, I suspect that it may well be on its way to becoming the best DC show on television.
