Forget Krypto, DC Comics is Reviving Superman’s OTHER Animal Sidekick

by

We all love Krypto, the Superdog, but DC Comics is surprisingly bringing back one of Superman’s more unusual animal companions. As a long-time reader of Superman comics, I can tell you his history is full of bizarre things – everything from evil clones to visitors from other dimensions. The ‘Silver Age’ of comics, in particular, saw creators really experiment with Superman’s story, adding all sorts of wild ideas. Some of those ideas stuck and became important parts of his legend, while others were eventually forgotten.

What I appreciate about the current take on Superman is that the writers aren’t afraid to revisit and reimagine past storylines. We see this in the ongoing Supergirl comic, which brings back the idea of Superman sending her to an orphanage. Or, they’ll take older concepts, like the powerful being Aethyr from the Phantom Zone, and update them for today’s readers. The creative team clearly loves Superman’s rich history, and they seem open to bringing back any element from the past – even classic characters like a certain monkey sidekick.

DC Reintroduces Beppo, the Super-Monkey

In Superman Unlimited #12, a team including Dan Slott, Lucas Meyer, Giuliano Peratelli, and Dave Sharpe depicts a celebration in El Caldero, the country now holding the Earth’s largest source of kryptonite after a meteorite impact. Though Superman is missing following the events of DC K.O., the people of El Caldero are commemorating his heroism by unveiling a new statue in their capital city. When asked if Superman’s disappearance will hurt kryptonite sales, President Castilho dismisses the concern, stating that there’s strong demand for kryptonite in various applications.

I heard something incredible – and terrifying! Apparently, in a hidden lab here in Metropolis, scientists are messing with kryptonite, giving it to monkeys as part of some experiments. One of them actually broke free! They tried to lock everything down, but it was too late. This monkey, they call him experiment #06638, is now loose in the city. What’s even scarier is what the scientists said – they think he’ll become incredibly dangerous in about ten hours, when the sun goes down.

Near Hob’s Bay, Bibbo, a friend of Superman, is closing up his food truck for the night when he spots a monkey helping himself to some pierogis. Bibbo isn’t bothered and even offers the monkey a soda. He notices a tag on the monkey’s wrist with the number 06638, but reads it as the name ‘Beppo’. The monkey happily accepts the name and shares a few playful moments with Bibbo, both unaware of the adventures that await Beppo when morning arrives.

Beppo is About to Go Bananas on Metropolis

Beppo isn’t as well-known as other super-powered pets like Krypto, Streaky, or Comet. He was one of the animals Jor-El experimented on before sending Kal-El to Earth, and he secretly stowed away on the ship. He’d occasionally show up as a funny character in Superboy’s stories. Like many unusual parts of Superman’s past, he was removed from the official story during Crisis on Infinite Earths. But thanks to changes in the story’s continuity later on, Beppo has reappeared from time to time, though he never became as popular or memorable as Krypto.

Okay, I’m really intrigued by how they’re connecting Beppo to all this new kryptonite. We’ve already seen that recent find cause trouble for the Super-Family, but so far it’s been pretty basic – weapons, a little bit of flashy stuff. What’s got me hooked is that we haven’t seen what scientists are doing with it, what secrets they’re unlocking, or what they’re mixing it with. Whatever they’ve put in those drugs Beppo’s been given? Trust me, it’s going to be a massive headache when the sun comes up over Metropolis.

I don’t think Beppo will become a true villain – that would be as surprising as Streaky suddenly turning evil. However, we’re still unsure how the kryptonite mixture will affect him. Will it give him Superman-like powers? Will he grow to an enormous size? And the Super-Family is currently stretched too thin, so if things go badly, they won’t have Superman immediately available to deal with him. I’m hoping Beppo won’t become completely destructive, but I suspect his antics will cause some serious trouble when the sun comes up.

https://comicbook.com/comics/feature/dc-can-undo-its-most-controversial-superman-twist-in-years/embed/#

Read More

2026-04-18 18:13