Entertainment
 

Kryptonian

From Smallville Wiki

Kryptonians are a humanoid alien race originating from the planet Krypton.

When Kryptonians became the dominant species on Krypton, they were initially a race of warriors (Quest). Eventually, through generation and evolution, they became more peaceful as their technology became more advanced, and they became a race of science, having a Science Council to decide matters on a democratic level instead of an army. General Zod still believed in the way of the warrior, which fueled his war with the Council as well as his greed for power and control (Kara and the Chronicles of Krypton).

Contents

[edit] Powers and Abilities

See also: Clark Kent's powers and abilities

Under their native red sun, affected by Krypton's mass, Kryptonians possess physical attributes similar to normal humans. However, when exposed to solar radiation from a yellow sun, Kryptonians gain superhuman abilities that greatly surpass those of humans:

When Kryptonian's first come to earth and if they are already familiar with acquiring their native powers, they display four key abilities that appear to be the easiest to control: Super strength, Super speed, invulnerability and flight. More experienced Kryptonian's then learn to control their other abilities and some that they don't know about.

  • Super Strength: Allows a Kryptonian to move greatly heavier objects than any normal human, which can be increased further by direct exposure to sunlight.
  • Super Speed: Enables a Kryptonian to move at incredible velocities.
  • Invulnerability: Renders a Kryptonian capable of withstanding bullets, artillery shells, lasers, and even nuclear explosions. Kryptonians are also invulnerable to extreme temperatures (both hot and cold), and are highly resistant to electric shock.
  • Healing Factor: Allows a Kryptonian to completely heal instantly from any wounds, as long as they are not exposed to kryptonite.
  • X-ray Vision: Allows a Kryptonian to see through anything except lead.
  • Heat Vision: Allows a Kryptonian to fire beams of intense heat at a target by looking at it with the conscious act of activating this power. Kryptonian heat vision is usually first activated by sexual attraction.
  • Super Hearing: Enables a Kryptonian to hear any sound at any volume or pitch, over great distances, and to filter out background sounds.
  • Flight: Allows one to maneuver precisely in any direction, as well as hover, and travel against the force of gravity.
  • Super Breath: Enables a Kryptonian to blow objects away with a stream of highly compressed air.
  • Super Stamina: Enables a Kryptonian to run, fly or exercise for long periods of time without tiring.
  • Longevity: Allows a Kryptonian to grow old without appearing to age, enabling them to be effectively younger than their actual age. Dax-Ur, for example, left Krypton as an adult and spent one hundred years on Earth appearing only to be middle-aged after a century living on earth and having blue kryptonite. Several precognitives have implied that Clark will live an extended lifespan as well.
  • Super dexterity: Kryptonians are able to determine distances, angles and trajectory and have a perfect aim. When Clark Kent failed to throw a football in a hoop, Martha Kent was shocked and stated that she had never seen him miss.

It is possible for a Kryptonian to develop new abilities if their bodies are forced to adapt to a newer environment or through intense physical and mental training, allowing them to grow even more powerful. Kryptonians also possess a telekinetic and telepathic connection to Kryptonian devices.

Kryptonians who have had their powers stripped from them can regain them again through absorbing large amounts of sunlight (Odyssey). Kryptonian powers be transferred to humans, when kryptonite and electricity combine while a Kryptonian and human are touching (Leech, Asylum, Wrath).

[edit] Vulnerabilities

Super-powered Kryptonians are vulnerable to kryptonite, highly radioactive fragments of their home world. They are also vulnerable to different types of kryptonite, having different effects.

Kryptonians have a vulnerability to other alien species who have similar or superior power levels; an attack or very advanced alien devices can penetrate a Kryptonians otherwise invulnerable body, as shown when Zoners were able to physically overpower or harm Clark Kent.

Kryptonians also have a vulnerability to magic, and to the mental and physical powers of certain metahumans; however, these effects have yet not been demonstrated against any Kryptonian other than Clark.

Kryptonians are also vulnerable to metal from Krypton. They can be cut or stabbed with ease without the need of enhanced physical strength, e.g. the Starblade.

Kryptonians are also vulnerable under the light of a red sun. While yellow sunlight empowers them, red sunlight does not, and so they are left as powerless as a non-powered Kryptonian. This happened to Clark when he time-traveled back to Krypton to prevent Brainiac from killing his infant self. (Apocalypse)

Kryptonians are also vulnerable to the Persuader's atomic axe: the metal seems to be able to bypass their invulnerability, causing a severe wound which also hindered Clark Kent's ability to heal instantaneously. However, he healed a few minutes after the attack. (Legion)

[edit] Language

The Kryptonian alphabet.

The Kryptonian language is an alien language filled with hieroglyphics and shapes that can be read by its people. The Kryptonian language is referred to as "Kryptonian", not "Kryptonese" [citation needed]. Written Kryptonian is made up two separate writing systems: an alphabet and a logographic writing system.

The Kryptonian alphabet is a transliteration of the English alphabet. Like the English alphabet, it has 26 letters; it also has 10 numbers, corresponding to the ten Arabic numerals. Each Kryptonian letter corresponds to an English letter, and every Kryptonian number corresponds to an Arabic numeral.

The Kryptonian symbol for "hope" burned into the Kents' barn.

Kryptonian logograms often combine letters in the Kryptonian alphabet into a single character. For example, Clark burned the Kryptonian logogram for "hope" into the side of his barn. The logogram is made up the four Kryptonian letters corresponding to the English letters H-O-P-E, rearranged into a single glyph.

The Kryptonian spoken language is rarely spoken on camera. Even when two Kryptonians speak, they are shown speaking English. For example, in Memoria, when Clark is shown as a baby remembering his birth parents speaking, they are speaking English, and during a flashback in Blue, Lara-El, Kara, and Zor-El are also shown speaking English on the Kent Farm. (It is unclear if they are actually speaking English, or if they are speaking Kryptonian but it is rendered as English as a convenience to viewers.) An alternate explanation is that English and Kryptonian are somehow related languages.

Clark learned Kryptonian by having the information downloaded into him, and Kara mentions that she "studied" the English language on Krypton, becoming a fluent speaker with command even over idiomatic expressions. It is possible that Kryptonian technology can download a language into someone's brain, turning all interested Kryptonians into native speakers of the English language.

Spoken Kryptonian has only been heard once on the show, when Casey Brock is babbling incoherently in what Bizarro identifies as Kryptonian hex codes.

[edit] Survivors

Virtually all Kryptonians perished when Krypton was destroyed due to the war with General Zod. However, there have been known to be a few survivors who escaped the planet's destruction, by either being in a spaceship or in the Phantom Zone or on Earth.

In a spaceship

  • Kal-El - survived because his parents sent him to Earth in a spacecraft. After learning of his true origins, Clark Kent assumed that he was the last son of Krypton.
  • Nam-Ek and Aethyr, the Disciples of Zod - survived due to being inside the Black Ship at the time of Krypton's destruction. Nam-Ek was killed by Raya many years later while in the Phantom Zone.
  • Kara - survived by being sent to Earth by her father, Zor-El, in the Red Ship.
  • Jor-El as an artificial entity - The brainwaves of Kal-El's father traveled to Earth stored in Clark's ship, allowing the creation of the artificial entity known as Jor-El.
  • Doomsday as genetic matter - Doomsday was created by Zod and Faora and was attached to Clark's ship as genetic matter which grew on the 3 year journey to earth and formed a camouflage persona named Davis Bloome.

In the Phantom Zone

On Earth

  • Dax-Ur - survived Krypton's destruction due to living on Earth as a human for 100 years until he was presumably killed by Brainiac.

Clone Technology

[edit] Kryptonian devices, artifacts, and sacred areas

[edit] In the Comics

Kryptonians are their appear in the comics
In the comics, Superman/Clark Kent has displayed some other Kryptonian powers that have yet to be displayed on Smallville; super smell, and on one occasion he displayed super scream. Superman in other versions has displayed some form of telekinesis. Another common power that hasn't yet been shown on Smallville is Arctic Breath where Superman is able to blow out ice beams, ice waves, icy winds or other forms of ice manipulation from his mouth.

[edit] Notes

  • The four most common abilities that Kryptonians display are Super strength, super speed, invulnerability and flight. There are many Kryptonians that have only displayed these abilities when they have been on earth: Jor-El, Zor-El, General Zod. The Disciples of Zod and Raya both displayed all the abilities but flight but could have used these abilities off screen.
Retrieved from "http://smallville.wikia.com/wiki/Kryptonian"
Rate this article: