Krypton TV series is less superhero and more medieval comic book series
By Shawn Lealos
SyFy and DC Comics debuted their latest comic book TV show Krypton last Wednesday and fans seemed polarized by the effort.
At the base of the story, most fans see it as a Superman origin story — but that is not what this series is about at all. Krypton isn’t even a superhero TV show even though there is a superhero in it (time-traveler Adam Strange). Instead, this is a series that walks a tight line between a futuristic sci-fi series and a medieval TV show.
Imagine if The Inhumans TV show was made and the Royal Family were all dicks instead of superheroes and it was a member of the working class that rose up to earn their freedom. Yeah, that is kind of what Krypton is like — but with a time travel, save the world aspect.
When asked about the design of Krypton, showrunner Cameron Welsh spoke about the advancements of the planet — even though the series takes place 200 years ago. See, while the planet Earth was still using horses and the industrial revolution had yet to start, Krypton already had tablets and holographic devices.
"“This is a planet that has evolved so far beyond where we’re at even back then,” Welsh told Slash Film. “They’ve always been portrayed as the most technologically advanced society in the universe so we felt it was important to have them be more advanced than we are now, even in their past.”"
There is no reason to think that this should bother fans too much. Star Wars took place “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away” and they had space travel, laser guns and all kinds of technological advances. Why shouldn’t Krypton?
Superman’s grandfather Seg-El watched his government kill his grandfather and his parents and has been told that an alien called Brainiac is on its way to Krypton to enslave it and make sure his grandson is never born.
All Seg-El has to do is rise up against Krypton — as a 20-something with no super powers or abilities or status in life — and save his planet. He has to do all this while getting thrown into an arranged marriage with one of the ruling class’ daughters and having a secret affair with the daughter of the head of the military class — who also happens to be a Zod.
Yeah. There is a lot going on here but — at least after one episode — it works.
Now, the question is how the fact that the timeline is already changing will affect the future of the universe since Superman’s existence hangs in the balance.
"“History has already changed in the pilot,” Welsh said. “By the time the pilot’s ended, things have already, by virtue of Adam Strange being there, things are already different. So the timeline has already changed which is kind of the irony of that as a device really.”"
The excitement should come when Brainiac arrives, although Welsh said that he will affect things on Krypton before he ever shows up. That means that there will be a lot of drama as Seg-El tries to save his planet and — much like his son Jor-El did years later — will have the entire government of Krypton out to stand in his way.
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Unlike Jor-El, Seg-El will have to overcome the odds and allow the planet to survive if Superman is ever to be born.
Krypton airs on Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. EST on SyFy.