Kryptonian
fictional species in the DC Comics universe
Kryptonians are a fictional extraterrestrial race within the DC Comics universe that originated on the planet Krypton. The term originated from the stories of DC Comics superhero, Superman. The stories also use "Kryptonian" as an adjective to refer to anything created by or associated with the planet itself or the cultures that existed on it.
Kryptonians are indistinguishable from humans in terms of their appearance, but in terms of their physiology and genetics they are vastly different. In some continuities, Kryptonians are difficult to clone because their DNA is so complex that human science is not advanced enough to decipher it. The cellular structure of Kryptonians allows for solar energy to be absorbed at extremely high levels. On the planet Krypton, which orbited a red star, their natural abilities were the same as humans. When exposed to a young yellow star like Earth's Sun, which is smaller than their own sun and has a vastly higher energy output, their bodies are able to absorb and process so much energy that it manifests as vast superhuman powers (such as superhuman strength, superhuman speed, invulnerability, flight, x-ray vision, heat vision and superhuman senses).
Almost all Kryptonians were killed when the planet exploded shortly after the infant Kal-El was sent to Earth. In some continuities, he is the planet's only survivor.
“Kryptonian” enters the record as fictional species in the DC Comics universe. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Kryptonian, fictional and species can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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“Kryptonian” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Kryptonian, fictional and species provides the most credible route into that argument.
Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6439708. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
Scientific names, classifications and consensus can change while older terminology persists in catalogues and historical literature. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Kryptonian” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.