Smallville's Krypto The Dog Story Wouldn't Work In Superman & Lois
Superman & Lois has taken a lot of inspiration from Smallville, but one story from the prequel series that wouldn’t work in the Arrowverse show is its Krypto the Superdog episode. In DC Comics, Krypto is the super-powered canine sidekick of Superman and a hero who has appeared in several comics and cartoons. Krypto also appeared in DC's Titans show. Due to the kid-friendly nature of his character, most of his stories are geared toward children.
In Smallville season 4, episode 14, titled “Krypto”, Lois Lane (Erica Durance) accidentally hit a golden retriever with her car, and took the dog home to the Kent Farm. Clark (Tom Welling) and the others later discovered the dog possessed super strength. Apparently, he and another dog acquired enhanced physical capabilities from a Kryptonite-infused serum. With his help, Clark defeated the episode’s villains. Afterward, the dog's powers wore off, but he – who they named “Shelby” – became the Kent family dog and stuck around for the remainder of the series.
Smallville didn’t do much with Shelby after that, but “Krypto” amounted to a fun attempt at a somewhat grounded, live-action adaptation of Krypto the Superdog. It even contained a few DC Comics Easter eggs, such as Clark Kent suggesting they name the dog “Krypto” since his powers came from Kryptonite, and Lois throwing a red towel over his back as a reference to his classic cape. Some fans may like to see Superman & Lois take a stab at a story like this, but it’s hard to imagine it working well in the Arrowverse series, given its more serious tone.
Smallville could be serious too, but it also took deep dives into some very silly territory, such as the time Lana (Kristin Kreuk) was turned into a vampire or the episode where Lana, Lois, and Chloe (Allison Mack) were all controlled by evil, 17th-century witches. There was also the time when they had to fight a ghost who was possessing the main characters just so that she could attend the prom. Though not nearly as cringeworthy as some of the others, a story with super-powered dogs does fall into that category. Even so, Smallville succeeded in making its take on Krypto work for the show. Superman & Lois, on the other hand, would face greater difficulty in pulling it off if it were to head in the same direction.
The parallels between Superman’s teenage sons and Tom Welling’s Clark, numerous Smallville Easter eggs and other similarities prove Smallville has had a strong influence on Superman & Lois, but there are limits of what it can pull from. It may continue paying homage to the series, but based on its more grounded approach, fans shouldn’t hold out hope for Krypto the Superdog to become the Kents’ new pet anytime soon.